May 20, 2025 DAy 2 – Ancient Rome

”Rome is not like any other city. It’s a big museum, a living room that shall be crossed on one’s toes.” -Alberto Sordi

Proposed Plan: We’ll do some time-traveling this morning as a local guide takes us on a walking tour through the ancient heart of Rome, telling us vivid tales as we stroll around the outside of the larger-than-life Colosseum and into the history-drenched Roman Forum, ending with the spectacular Pantheon. You’ll be set free for the rest of the day to explore more of Rome. Consider joining the Jubilee Year crowds for a modern-day pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (reserve in advance) or simply soak up more of Rome’s artistic, historic, and cultural heritage (don’t forget to taste some refreshing gelato along the way).

Strenuous walking: 2–8 miles throughout the day with lots of hills, stairs, and uneven terrain. No bus. Sleep in Rome.

Actual Events: We met up with the group and walked to the metro station together and took the train to the Colosseum stop. It was truly overwhelming to walk out of the station to see the Colosseum towering above us.

The Roman Forum is in a valley that was covered by layers of sediment over the centuries. Archeological excavations that were started in the 19th century revealed the magnificent structures that you see today. The Roman Forum is only a small fraction of Ancient Rome which lies under the foundations of buildings constructed over the last 2000 plus years.

As we exited the Forum Archeological Park, we climbed the Capitoline hill to the magnificent square at the top which is surrounded by the Capitoline museums and the mayoral palace with an enormous statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback in the center.

From there we made our way to the Pantheon which is perhaps the most impressive structure of Ancient Rome. It is certainly one of the best preserved monuments due to the fact that is was adapted from a Roman Temple to a church and burial place for an artist and two kings.

The formal tour ended at the Pantheon so we wandered our way back to our hotel crossing the Tiber River and passing by the Castel Sant Angelo. We definitely need to come back because this city is so rich with monuments and historical sites.

The highlight of the day was seeing Giusy Sciacca. We had a nice chat over a glass of wine and snacks. We learned a bit about what life is like for Giusy in Rome and she gifted us a copy of her latest book called “Onore Il Nostro Sesso”. Giusy translated a speech which was derived by Fanny Salazar Zampini at the World Congress of Representative Women in 1893. The subtitle is “Yesterday’s Things Said to Today’s Women”. We look forward to reading both the Italian and English versions.