The second full day of our itinerary was a visit to the Colosseum and the Forum archaeological site.
The metro took us directly to the Colosseum, where you step out of the station facing the massive structure.
Immediately, you are in awe of the scale of the building, even more so, realising that construction started almost two thousand years ago, a true testament to the methods used.
One thing that people often fail to recognise is that the building has been extensively modified, broken up, shored up, and rebuilt over its whole lifetime. Work is still happening today.
A view showing the width of the curving perimeter walls, and the arcades running around the entire structure, which was 4 storeys high on the outer side.
We had bought entrance tickets online and had to wait for our allotted time to queue for entrance. Although the queue seemed long, it moved along quickly enough and, after passing the security checks, we were inside the structure.
One of the outer arcades, with people to show the scale. Immense.
A glimpse of the passageways, cells and other features that were originally hidden below the arena floor.
It is always packed with visitors inside and outside, getting 'people free' photos is virtually impossible.
Enormous, even from the inside.
A view showing how the arena floor might have looked during its time hosting the games. Imagine the floor covering the entire centre.
A view of the South side, where the outer two walls have been lost to collapse following a devastating earthquake.
Over the centuries, the site has had many 'owners' and uses, but now it is simply a tourist attraction.
Next to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Basically, a sprawling area of ruins, though many of the sites have great archaeological value and give a glimpse into the lives of some of the great rulers of Rome, all the way back to Romulus, the founder of the city.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Forum and the surrounding area. The various sites ranged from just a pile of stones to almost intact buildings.
More Colosseum and Forum images in the album ...