Rome in 2 Days Catacombs, Colosseum, Vatican Museum Small Group Guided Tours

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Colosseum

The Colosseum (/ˌkɒləˈsiːəm/ KOL-ə-SEE-əm; Italian: Colosseo [kolosˈsɛːo]) is an oval amphitheater in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. Despite its age, it is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world today. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian (r. 69–79 AD) in 72[1] and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir, Titus (r. 79–81).[2] Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (r. 81–96).[3] The three emperors that were patrons of the work are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheater was named the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium; Italian: Anfiteatro Flavio [aɱfiteˈaːtro ˈflaːvjo]) by later classicists and archaeologists for its association with their family name (Flavius).

Foro Romano

• The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum (Italian: Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.
• For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history.[2] Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly.[3]

Palatine Hill

• The Palatine Hill (/ˈpælətaɪn/; Latin: Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; Italian: Palatino [palaˈtiːno]), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire."[1] The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites.
• Imperial palaces were built here, starting with Augustus. Before imperial times the hill was mostly occupied by the houses of the rich.
• The hill originally had two summits separated by a depression; the highest part was called Palatium and the other Germalus (or Cermalus). Using the Forma Urbis its perimeter enclosed 63 acres (25 ha); while the Regionary Catalogues of the 4th century enclose 131 acres (53 ha).[2]

Catacombs of Saint Callixtus

• The Catacombs of Rome are underground galleries used for centuries as cemeteries. The catacombs began in the 2nd century and were not finished until the 5th century. Here the pagan citizens, Jews, and the first Christians of Rome were buried.
• The word catacombs means "next to the quarry" and come from the fact that the first excavations made to be used as a burial site were carried out on the outskirts of Rome, next to the ground of a quarry. Christians did not share the heathen tradition of incinerating bodies. These enormous cemeteries were created underground to solve the problems of lack of space and the high cost of land.
• The Catacombs are made up of an infinity of underground tunnels that form authentic labyrinths of kilometers along which several rows of rectangular niches were excavated. The corpses were wrapped in a sheet and placed in these niches that later were closed with marble or cooked clay tombstones where the name of the deceased was engraved with a Christian symbol.

Vatican Museums

• The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display,[1] and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.[4]
• Pope Julius II founded the museums in the early 16th century.[5] The Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling and altar wall decorated by Michelangelo, and the Stanze di Raffaello (decorated by Raphael) are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums.[6]

Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel (/ˌsɪsˈtiːn ˈtʃæpəl/; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina [kapˈpɛlla siˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, in Vatican City and the official residence of the pope. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who built it between 1473 and 1481. Since then, the chapel has served as a place of religious and functionary papal activity. It is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate the interior, most notably the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.