Roman Ruins
/The second day in Rome pales in comparison to the first, but is still amazing by any other standard. The thing about Italy is that the Monday after Easter is still part of the holiday, ergo many places are closed: restaurants, museums, stores. We hit the outdoor sights, Roman ruins, piazzas, and fountains. To sit by the ruins and imagine all the things that happened in this same spot is out there. Granted, most places have had people, but the people in this small area controlled 30-40% of the world population. There are untold number of great stories that happened here. The other thing is that all the ruins are about 20 feet under ground level. One sign described an early explorer’s experience here & all he saw were the tops of columns sticking out of the ground. What an odd sight.
The arch (Arch of Constantine) is important. It marks Constantine’s victory over Maxentius. Constantine made Christianity the religion of Rome, thus elevating its status as a dominant world religion. Thank you Constantine. (pics)
