Palatine Hill

lat:41.88809434569689
lng:12.48807902054591

Believed to be the birthplace of Rome in the 8th century BC, excavations have shown that people have lived in Palatine Hill as far back as 1000 BC.  While you aren’t likely to be blown away by any sights — it’s mostly just a very ancient neighborhood — there are a few things worth taking a look at while you make your way from the Forum to the Coliseum including some of the residences of various Roman emperors such as Augustus and Tiberius.  Additionally, Palatine Hill offers some of the more spectacular views of the Forum from the gardens above.

Coliseum

lat:41.89027478275451
lng:12.492198893592786

When you first see the Coliseum it’s tough to take your eyes off it.  Standing in at 615 feet long, 510 feet wide, and 157 feet high, the Roman Coliseum is the iconic Rome — and possibly Italy too — tourist attraction.  Construction on the Coliseum would start around 72 AD and finish approximately 8 years later, although it would have to be re-built several times over the years because of fires and other natural disasters.  The name itself likely derives from the colossal statue of Nero, long since vanished, that stood outside of the amphitheater.  Seating up to 50,000 people, the coliseum was not only used for gladiator contests, but also animal hunts, executions, and famous battle re-inactments.One thing that inevitably comes with any visit to the Coliseum is a huge line.  Stretching for what seems like a quarter of the way around the the amphitheater — and this wasn’t even high season — it’s the second thing you’ll notice after the Coliseum itself.  Although initially disheartening, you can ease your pain by buying a ticket at Palatine hill for all three sites.  While you will still need to stand in line, it should be a lot shorter.  I highly recommend going this route to make the mind numbing process of waiting for your ticket a little more palatable.However, what I’m absolutely not going to recommend is spending the extra €7.00 euro on the audio guide for the Forum and Palatine Hill.  Given the past few experiences I’ve had in museum’s, I thought it might be worth spending a little extra to get a better feel for both sites.  Unfortunately, it was the single most maddening experience on this trip so far.  A typical experience went something like this:

Florence

lat:43.76783284616484
lng:11.253066608474683

Florence, Italy — From the outset, Florence seems like a contrast in styles.  The city is filled with that beautiful, old world renaissance architecture, and yet those very same buildings house the top names of every high fashion designer you can think of:  Gucchi, Prada, Versace, and Armani to name a few.  It’s not until you understand the rich history of Florence that you come to understand the essence of why this makes complete sense.The generally accepted date for Florence’s founding is 59 BC by Julius Caesar.  Florence would rise and fall over the years until the mid-fifteenth century when Cosimo de’ Medici’s stranglehold on power would fuel Florence’s place in history for years to come.  Although not a publicly elected official, Cosimo would rule Florence from behind the scene due to his great wealth largely acquired through the family’s banking business.  Cosimo would use this money both to strengthen his position as Florence’s puppeteer, and influence the cultural and artistic aspects of Florence through his philanthropy.  Cosimo, and his family’s successors — most notably “Lorenzo the Magnificent” — would commission or buy many of the great pieces of art you so frequently hear about today.  It’s this nourishment of the arts that would lead many of the pre-immenant renaissance artists and literary figures to land in Florence including Michaelengo, da Vinci, and Machiavelli.  With a lineup like that, it’s easy to see why those those fashion designers can intermingle their stores within the confines of the age old architecture.Florence is a “must do” for anyone who enjoys the Italian renaissance.  You won’t be let down.  Just be sure to make reservations for any museums you might want to see because I can guarantee that a good portion of time will be spent waiting in lines like everybody else trying to get in.This isn’t to say Florence didn’t have it’s drawbacks.  If I’m going to poke fun at Barcelona for being the UK’s warm weather destination spot, then I’m obligated to point out that there was a lot of english being spoken.  However, this time it wasn’t the Irish or UK kind, it was strictly the familiar sound of American’s.  And boy were they out in force.  I think part of this was due to the fact that I hit a lot of people on their spring break trips — I saw enough high school and college students to make your head spin — but also because there is apparently a big international contingent at the university.  Almost everywhere I went the American presence was not hard to find or hear.