Rome Part 1

I decided to write my first history post about Rome because it is one of my favorite places in the world. Rome is not just any place, it is one of the oldest places in the world. When you think about Rome you may think about one of its most famous structures, the Colisseum or Colosseum. It can be spelled either way. When it was constructed, it was complete like a modern-day stadium. But, over time, the stones of the Colisseum were used to make other buildings. What remains is still awesome. In the Colisseum gladiators would fight, usually after lunch. They would fight wild beasts with the sword or other gladiators with a choice of weapons. There were 5 different categories of gladiators [you could tell which was which because of their armor and fighting techniques]. The gladiator styles were Scissor, Murmillo, Secutor, Retiarius and Tharex. Visiting the Colisseum was amazing and educational. One of my other favorite sites in Rome are the Spanish Steps. They were made famous to the American audience by the movie Roman Holiday featuring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. There are 135 steps. People mistake the drainage system for the first step. The steps were designed by the little known Francisco de Sanctis. The fountain in front of it is part of the Piazza di Spanga. In the piazza, at the bottom of the steps, is where the English poet John Keats lived and died. I do not know who John Keats was but my Dad seemed to have read his poetry. On Christmas each year they place a 19th century crib on the first landing of the stairs. --Pilar [more to come]