Our first post-Coliseum stop - the Palatine Hill.
This was where the imperial palaces once stood. Only ruins remain now.
I had hoped to use Rick Steve's map of the Palatine to navigate my way around the ruin. But while his map had certain advantages, the fact that the map was not drawn to scale made following it really difficult. The lack of visible landmarks for orientation certainly did not help.
I probably would have fared better if I also had this drawn-to-scale map from the University of Texas.
So there, lesson learned - for ruins, bring more than one map and at least one should be drawn to scale.
Accordingly to mythology, the Palatine Hill was where the she-wolf raised the twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
The ruins can be separated into three complexes:
1) Domus Augustana ("Augustan Palace"), named after Augustus, but was actually built by a later emperor. Augustus himself actually lived in a very modest building elsewhere on the hill.
2) Domus Flavian
3) Domus Tiberiana
I really hope that a detailed guide of the Palatine Hill will eventually become available. Better yet, maybe even a digital reconstruction of what the buildings once looked like. As it stands now, the site needs more maintenance and proper signage.
We tried to visit the restored "House of Augustus" and "House of Livia" but gave up after getting a bit lost (Thanks a lot Rick Steve!) Just as well, because as I later found out, a separate ticket is needed for admission that could only be purchased at the forum entrance.
Oh well, next time.
For now, I will have to be content looking at photos other people have posted online.
This was where the imperial palaces once stood. Only ruins remain now.
I had hoped to use Rick Steve's map of the Palatine to navigate my way around the ruin. But while his map had certain advantages, the fact that the map was not drawn to scale made following it really difficult. The lack of visible landmarks for orientation certainly did not help.
I probably would have fared better if I also had this drawn-to-scale map from the University of Texas.So there, lesson learned - for ruins, bring more than one map and at least one should be drawn to scale.
Accordingly to mythology, the Palatine Hill was where the she-wolf raised the twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
The ruins can be separated into three complexes:
1) Domus Augustana ("Augustan Palace"), named after Augustus, but was actually built by a later emperor. Augustus himself actually lived in a very modest building elsewhere on the hill.
2) Domus Flavian
3) Domus Tiberiana
Stadium
Once a garden encircled by a track.
The palace walls was once covered with marble decors such as this one.
Courtyard
View from the Palatine Hill - Circus Maximus - the chariot race course, featured in the movie Ben Hur - now a mere strip of gravel. The spectators of the races would sit on the two adjacent hills.
Shows how tall and multi-leveled the buildings once stood.
Main Courtyard with Octagonal Fountain
Palatine Museum
Magna Mater ("Great Mother")
Reportedly carved from a piece of.meteorite. The statue had interchangeable heads.
An sample of the frescoes once covered the palace walls.
Samples of the amazing intricate marble marquetry that once adorned the palace walls.
House of Griffins
Nymphaeum of the Mirrors
I really hope that a detailed guide of the Palatine Hill will eventually become available. Better yet, maybe even a digital reconstruction of what the buildings once looked like. As it stands now, the site needs more maintenance and proper signage.
We tried to visit the restored "House of Augustus" and "House of Livia" but gave up after getting a bit lost (Thanks a lot Rick Steve!) Just as well, because as I later found out, a separate ticket is needed for admission that could only be purchased at the forum entrance.
Oh well, next time.
For now, I will have to be content looking at photos other people have posted online.
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