Rome, Day IV Part 1

The fourth day of our holiday was a blend of ancient and, well, just old.  But we did so much, I have ot split this day up into two posts!  During the day we visited some ancient Roman baths, the Christian catacombs, a Roman highway, and the basilica of St. John Lateran.  In the evening, we crossed the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo off of our itinerary.

Circus Maximus
On our way to the Baths of Caracalla we passed by the Roman chariot race course, the Circus Maximus.  This ancient arena held around 150,000 people--three times as much as the Colosseum.  Most people know of the Circus (which means "circle") from the famous chariot race in the film Ben Hur.  There's not much to see nowadays, except a nice view of the Augustan palace on the Palatine.

Baths of Caracalla
These Roman baths are very well-preserved.  Even many of the floor mosaics are still there.  Roman baths were kind of like ancient shopping malls, in a sense.  People congregated there to hang out and swim, but there were also libraries, barber shops, and markets.  It was your one-stop social milieu.

The Appian Way

Still the longest stretch of straight road in Europe, the Appian Way was a Roman highway and military road that runs for 39 miles.  It was lined with monuments and tombs of wealthy Romans, and was the site of the crucifixion of Spartacus and his slave army.  Remains of the old Roman paving can still be seen.

The Circus of Maxentius

Inside the tomb of Caecilia Metella, wife and daughter to some very powerful Romans.  This tomb was also used as a fortress and gate to control the road.

Original Roman paving stones.

The gate into the city.

The Catacombs of San Sebastiano

Unfortunately, pictures are not permitted inside the catacombs, so I'll just have to describe it.  The catacombs were excavated by Christians in the first four centuries as a place to bury their dead.  Roman law prohibited burials inside the city walls, and pagans usually practiced cremation anyway, so the Christians, usually part of the lower classes, dug vast labyrinths of tunnels in which to lay their dead to rest.  The catacombs stretch on for miles, narrow, dark tunnels with alcoves dug into the sides for tombs.  These tombs will usually be marked with ancient Christian symbols, such as the icthus, a dove, or an anchor, making them easily identifiable.  The martyr Saint Sebastian was buried inside this particular set of catacombs, and a church dedicated to him sits on top of them.  The other notable part of this site was a small room with walls covered in ancient writing--graffiti to Peter and Paul.  Our tour guide told us that during persecutions, Christians were forbidden to celebrate their festivals.  As such, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, Christians would meet here, in the catacombs, to celebrate.

Next time: St. John Lateran, the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo!