Rome Challenge

A walk through Rome, the Italian capital, is like going back in time to when the city was the centre of the Roman Empire and gladiators battled it out in the Colosseum. At the height of its power, the empire had expanded across most of Western Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia Minor. However, its success was also its downfall. The bigger the empire grew, the harder it was to manage. As time passed, corruption, in-fighting, and attacks from barbarian tribes caused its collapse.

There were a handful of significant rulers such as Julius Caesar. Using brilliant political maneuvres and excellent military strategies, Caesar greatly expanded Rome's empire. Despite never being an emperor, his adopted great-nephew Augustus became the first and longest-reigning Roman Emperor, ruling peacefully for 41 years over an ever-expanding empire. Trajan was the first non-Italian emperor who reigned for 19 years during the peak of the empire. His cousin Hadrian succeeded Trajan, and built Hadrian's Wall in the UK. Hadrian ceased expansionism and ruled for 20 years. Roman emperors are often portrayed in popular culture as having short-lived reigns, usually because they were assassinated. However, history shows that most of the emperors who left a lasting legacy had lengthy and successful reigns and generally died of natural causes.

The Romans were great engineers and builders, as seen through the many monuments, grand aqueducts, and ancient roads that continue to exist today. Rome has two nicknames. In the first case, "The City of Seven Hills" refers to the ancient city built on seven hills. The second, the "Eternal City," refers to the ancient Romans believing that no matter how many empires rose or fell, Rome would go on forever. Well, that much is true. After the fall of the empire, Rome endured the Dark Ages, became annexed by the French Empire, and was bombed heavily during WWII before emerging as one of Europe's largest cities.

The historic centre of Rome has no high-rises or skyscrapers. The layout is more horizontal, with only St Peter's Basilica dominating the skyline. Most buildings are no more than 3-4 stories high, with narrow streets separating them. Pockets of small piazzas pop up everywhere, and landmarks are dotted amongst all these. It's not unusual for large monuments to appear suddenly just around the corner. They are often tightly packed into the city's landscape.

Major roads may lead to a junction or a large piazza, while the Tiber River snakes through the city centre with bridges connecting the banks. The city appears to be divided into three major sections:

• 1. West of the river is St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican City, and Castel Sant'Angelo.
• 2. East of the river is the city's heart with the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Navona.
• 3. Southeast of the river is ancient Rome in the form of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

I started my journey by crossing the Ponte Sant'Angelo over the Tiber River. Constructed by Hadrian in the 2nd century, this five-arched bridge, built of stone and beautifully adorned with five angel statues on each side, brought me to the entrance of Castel Sant'Angelo.

The castle has a grand cylindrical design with a fortified passageway that connects with Vatican City. Hadrian commissioned it as his family's mausoleum, where their ashes are buried deep within the building. In the 5th century, it was converted into a military fortress and by the 14th century it became the Papal residence and place of refuge when under siege. Since 1925 it has served as a museum.

Admiring the castle's architecture, I meandered around its perimeter through a landscaped garden with a bronze statue of Hadrian in the centre of it.

I left Castel Sant'Angelo via its eastern exit and walked around its star-shaped perimeter, heading north into the pretty neighbourhood of Prati. The area is not a tourist destination but a quiet and well-to-do place with lovely art nouveau-style apartment blocks. Wooden shutters adorn the simple designs of the buildings that are painted in cream or ochre colours.

Taking a counterclockwise approach, I swung back towards the Tiber River, passing the Vatican City, a city-state and enclave. Besides being the Pope's residence, the Vatican City holds some of the most precious art and antiquities collections in the world within its museum. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescoes, and St. Peter's Basilica is renowned for its Renaissance architecture and stunning central dome. A staggering 1.1 million printed books and 75,000 codices are held within the Vatican Library, one of the oldest libraries in the world.

As I walked up the wide cobblestoned Via della Conciliazione, I saw the Basilica rising before me and framed by a grand piazza. There are 284 colonnades, four rows deep, surrounding the piazza, topped with 140 statues of saints and martyrs. At the centre is an Egyptian obelisk with two disks on either side. When I stood on one of the disks, only a single row of colonnades was visible instead of four.

Instead of crossing the river, I continued south towards the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi for a fantastic aerial view of the city. Several prominent landmarks could clearly be seen in the distance. Nearby was the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, an excellent military leader who, in the 19th century, helped with the unification of Italy and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy.

I passed through the bohemian neighbourhood Trastevere, where artisan shops, craft beer pubs, and trendy restaurants were tucked away in narrow streets. Ivy-draped walls gave the streets a gorgeous garden-like character. Trastevere wasn't always this funky. As wealth seeped into the area, grand villas were established, evoking old-world charm amid chic commercial businesses.

Crossing the Tiber River, I walked to Aventine Hill, one of the Seven Hills of ancient Rome, to check out a unique view through the Knights of Malta Keyhole. Peeking through the keyhole, I could see a garden path lined with tall hedges beautifully framing the dome of the Basilica. The keyhole is tiny, and part of the oldest chivalric order in the world called the Knights of Malta or, more correctly, the Knights of St. John Hospitaller.

Satisfying my curiosity with the keyhole view, I moved on to Parco degli Acquedotti (The Aqueduct Park), where the ruins of seven different aqueducts are contained within a public park. Built between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD, the aqueducts supplied water to the urban areas. A typical aqueduct consisted of arches supporting the top section where the water flowed through a carved groove. Four of the seven aqueducts - Vetus, Anio Novus, Claudius, and Aqua Marcia - were considered the "great aqueducts of Rome". Ranging between 40mi (64km) and 56mi (90km) long, each aqueduct partially ran underground. The remains in the park are an amazing reminder of the Romans' exceptional engineering and construction skills.

I found myself in a park on a narrow path bordered by tall shrubs and felt like I was in the countryside. But no sooner, the park grounds opened up, and there to my left was another ancient aqueduct. Much lower in height than what I usually envisaged, it seemed to have a bulkier shape. While the arches were also shorter, the brickwork between them was much wider. I walked beside the aqueduct until I exited the park into a narrow street. From there, I walked through Rome's suburbs amongst low-rise apartment blocks.

I stopped to take in the interiors of the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. As one of four papal basilicas, the church is also the largest in Rome dedicated to Mary. The church is splendid, with the most incredible gilded ceiling that was apparently built with gold that Christopher Columbus brought back from the Americas. Detailed paintings, marble carvings, and intricate mosaics furnish the interiors. One day in the middle of summer, a blanket of snow appeared on the hill where the church was located. In commemoration of the day, white flower petals are dropped from the ceiling every year.

One of the most bustling roundabouts is at Piazza della Repubblica, near Termini, Rome's main railway station. In the middle of the circular plaza is the Fountain of the Naiads, with four bronze statues of nymphs and a central sculpture of a sea god holding a dolphin spouting water. On one side of the roundabout, two imposing semi-circular buildings give way to Via Nazionale, which leads into the historic centre. On the other side is the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. Though it doesn't look like much from the outside, the moment I stepped inside, I was blown away by its grandeur and stunning interiors. The church was built on the former site of a Roman-era public bath. A fascinating feature inside is the 147ft (45m) long meridian line made in bronze with yellow-white marble edging. An oculus, a small hole in the ceiling, allows light to filter onto the meridian line.

I continued past the church to finish the day in Villa Borghese, an extensive landscaped garden and public park developed on a former vineyard. In 1605, Cardinal Scipione Borghese commissioned the garden and a villa of the same name to house his extensive art collection. Today the park contains several villas converted into museums, as well as pavilions, a lake, and sculptures. The Galleria Borghese holds a significant part of the Cardinal's art collection, including works from Bernini, Rubens, and Raphael, to name a few.

Southwest of the park is Passeggiata del Pincio, a promenade featuring more than 200 busts of prominent figures. The paths, wonderfully shaded by tree canopies, led to a large open terrace overlooking the city and the landmark square Piazza del Popolo, where I will head next.

I entered Piazza del Popolo (People's Square) through the northern gate. It was a large public square at the junction of three main roads. At the centre was an Egyptian obelisk surrounded by four lion fountains. From here, looking south, were the twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, separated by Via del Corso. This one-mile (1.6km) straight road that ends at the Altar of the Fatherland was intentionally built this way so the viewer may see the grandeur of the building from the opposite end.

Taking Via del Babuino, the street on the left, I walked to the famous Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps). This fabulous square is known for its iconic 18th century baroque stairway leading to the Trinita dei Monti church. At the base of the stairs was the Fontana della Barcaccia, a fountain shaped like a half-sunken ship. I climbed to the first terrace for a view down to the fountain and the shopping street beyond. At the top, in front of the church, was another terrace with an even better view. Although the area is a popular meeting and resting point, oddly enough, eating is not permitted on the steps.

I strolled on Via Vittorio Veneto, a street that gained international fame with the 1960 film La Dolce Vita and with renowned celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant frequenting the glitzy bars. Today, luxury hotels and high-end restaurants continue to line the street, making it one of the most expensive streets in Rome.

One of my favourite parts of wandering through Rome is all the narrow streets, the little shops serving pizza slices with a myriad of topping options, the hundreds of fountains tucked away in alleyways and piazzas, and when I least expect it, I turn a corner to find a grand landmark as I did with Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain).

One of the most famous fountains in the world, Trevi Fountain is quite large, being 161ft (49m) wide and 86ft (26m) high, yet it is tucked away in a small piazza surrounded by narrow streets and low-rise buildings. But to stand before it, it is truly a beautiful work of art. Made of white travertine stone like the Colosseum, the fountain's backdrop is Palazzo Poli with double-storey height Corinthian columns. In the centre of the fountain is the statue of Oceanus, the Titan god of the river Oceanos, standing in a shell chariot. Two tritons taming hippocamps are on either side, and behind them are the statues of Abundance, goddess of prosperity, and the shepherdess with a snake drinking from her cup. A popular activity is tossing a coin in the fountain after making a wish. More than one million euros are collected annually and donated to a Catholic charity called Caritas.

Weaving through more narrow streets, I passed the Pantheon and made my way to Piazza Navona. The piazza was built atop a 1st century stadium, and its shape perfectly replicates the stadium's perimeter. The original stadium was built by Emperor Titus, and its remnants, now a UNESCO site, can be seen beneath the piazza. Three stunning fountains are found in the square, with the middle one containing an ancient obelisk. Restaurants and cafes spill onto the walkways in-between grand Baroque buildings, while artists fill the square selling a variety of works. Piazza Navona is one of those places where you could lose yourself for hours having lunch, sipping espressos, and watching people passing by.

I strolled beside the Tiber River beneath the shady canopies of the trees bordering the footpath. I headed to Campo de' Fiori, where a daily market has been trading since 1869. Set inside a public square, the market is filled with stalls selling fresh produce, all sorts of cheeses, crunchy loaves of bread, and gorgeous flower bouquets. The market's perimeter was filled with cafes where I could smell the espresso's aroma wafting outdoors, drawing me in for a cuppa.

A short while later, I wandered on to Piazza Venezia, where the enormous Victor Emmanuel II National Monument, also known as the Altar of the Fatherland, stood before me. It was opened in 1935, commemorating the unification of Italy and its first king, Victor Emmanuel II. Set over three levels, it is overwhelmingly large and seems a little out of place compared to the ancient ruins surrounding it. However, up close, this white marble structure is a blend of Greek, German, and Teutonic architecture containing tall Corinthian columns, fountains, and hundreds of steps leading to terraces for fabulous views of Rome and inside to a museum and the crypt of the unknown soldier.

Behind the monument are the ancient remains of Foro Romano (the Roman Forum). Once the centre of daily life, politics, and religion, the Forum is a ghostly shadow of its ancient past. Remnants of grand colonnades, ornate arches, temples, and statues are scattered throughout the grounds. Via Sacra was the central avenue that led from the Colosseum through the Forum, where triumphal parades once marched beneath the Arch of Titus and the elaborate Arch of Septimius Severus.

Between the two arches was the House of the Vestals, where a line of statues stood beside an old palace. The Vestals were a group of six priestesses entrusted with keeping the flame of the Temple of Vesta eternally lit. It was believed that misfortune would befall the city if the fire were ever extinguished. They were chosen very young and sworn to celibacy for thirty years. Any infraction was severely punished, either by whipping for letting the fire go out or a live burial for losing their virtue. On the other hand, the priestesses had extraordinary privileges, such as owning property and prime seating during the games at the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is a 2000-year-old architectural marvel. An elliptical amphitheatre, it was built in the first century to host games, gladiator contests, animal hunts, and battle re-enactments. Holding up to 80,000 spectators, the Colosseum was constructed on a drained lake from travertine limestone, volcanic rock, and brick-faced concrete. It took a mere eight years to build, and while the design may seem simple, the structure is quite complex. Let's have a look at it by peeling back the layers.

The building originally had an inner and outer wall. Unfortunately, an earthquake in 1349 severely damaged the outer wall leaving very little of it today. In the original design, the building consisted of three levels and 80 arches, and each arch held a statue that stood 15ft (4.6m) tall on levels two and three. The window-based fourth floor was added later to increase capacity. Three different column orders were used on each level, with Doric style on level one, Ionic on level two, and Corinthian on level three.

Inside, the seating layout had an order with the lower levels reserved for the Emperor, the Vestals, and wealthy citizens. The middle section was for the commoners, and the top level was a standing-only section for the women, the poor, and non-citizens. The arena floor was wooden and covered in sand. Below it was a series of tunnels housing wild animals and the gladiators. The inaugural games in 80 AD lasted 100 days, and the Romans would use the Colosseum for entertainment for the next 500 years. The last recorded games were in the 6th century. Over the following centuries, the building was abandoned, occupied by bandits, used as a quarry, and damaged in earthquakes until the 1990s, when restoration efforts commenced. The resilience of the Colosseum is evident as it continues to stand today, and it is a testament to the highly skilled Roman engineers, architects, builders, and artists.

Rome is an incredible city where history is around every corner. It is dotted with landmark buildings, hundreds of fountains, piazzas filled with cafes, and sculptures of every size adorning buildings, parks, and bridges. No matter which street I turned into, it was an experience and a surprise waiting to happen.

Finding a cafe adjacent to the Colosseum, I took a load off my feet, ordered an espresso, and reflected on everything I had seen.

Farewell for now.