Rome walking tour, third day

In 212, the Roman Emperor Caracalla built the largest baths ever, but unfortunately they were destroyed in 538 by the Goths during raids against Rome. The inside of this giant building featured mosaics and white marble on the ground and mosaics on the walls that were up to 30 meters high.

Every day, about 1,600 bathers, both rich and poor, enjoyed this paradise located a few meters from the Roman Forum.

There was a system and order to visiting the various rooms at the baths and during this tour you will follow the same order the bathers did:

The first large room is the fitness gymnasium and has some remnants of mosaics on the ground and the walls.

After some strenuous exercises, the bathers walked to a small room, called the laconium, which had high temperatures to trigger sweating to cleanse the pores and release toxins.

Next, the bathers enjoyed the caldarium, a giant round room with a heated swimming pool.

After the caldarium, they continued to the tepidarium (semi-heated pool).

Finally, they finished in the frigidarium, an open-air cold swimming pool, leaving them refreshed and fully cleansed.

Located between the Aventine and Palatine hills, the Circus Maximus was the first (built in 400 B.C.) and largest chariot racing stadium in ancient Rome (in Latin circus means circle or ring, not to be confused with the modern-day idea of a circus with clowns and acrobats).

This giant building could accommodate 250,000 spectators and is still the largest sport venue ever built. The stones and marbles of the Circus Maximus were later used during the Middle Ages to erect Christian churches.

"La Bocca della Verità" is a sculpture from the first century and is famous for its role as a lie detector: It was believed that if someone told a lie with their hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. Hence its nickname: "Mouth of Truth."

Santa Maria in Cosmedin is famous for the bell tower from the 12th century, perhaps the most beautiful in Rome.

In front of the church was the "forum boarium," a giant cattle market, and the "forum olitorium," the vegetable market. The boats arrived on the Tiber and stopped near the bridge to deliver goods to the market.

The Temple of Vesta was built under Augustus and is incorrectly named as there has been Church of the Gesù one Temple of Vesta in Rome, located inside the Roman Forum.

The Temple of Portunus (which was once mistaken for the Tempi della Fortuna Virile) was built around 200 B.C. and is preserved extremely well.

The Arch of Janus was built in 400 B.C. and is the only quadrifrons arch preserved in Rome today. It was originally built to honor Constantine I or Constantius II, but it was renamed during the Renaissance based on its four-fronted, four-arched style.

The first bridge at this location was built in 200 B.C. but collapsed twice. In 1575, Pope Gregory VII built Ponte Rotto again and the lonely arch is the last remnant of the medieval bridge.

Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina)
Legend claims that the shape of this small island looks like the ship that carried the god of medicine, Esculape, to Rome in 293 B.C. during a great plague. Esculape arrived in Rome in the shape of a magic snake and as the boat was stopping the snake immediately swam to the island. Because the snaked decided to stay on the island, Romans decided to build a temple dedicated to the god of the healing. Today, there is still a hospital on this island.

Fabricius, who was in charge of the public roads, built this bridge in 62 B.C.; it is the last remaining Roman antique bridge. However, tourists often overlook this landmark.

The large hole in the middle of the two arches allowed the water from flash floods to pass without applying to much force on the structure of the bridge.

The Temple of Apollo was erected in 500 B.C. and dedicated to the god Apollo, god of light and sun, truth and prophecy, medicine, poetry and more. The three beautiful columns are remnants of the renovation of this temple ordered in 34 B.C. by Caius Sosius.

Caesar started the building of the Theatre of Marcellus, which was completed under Emperor Augustus. He dedicated the theater to his son of his sister, Octavia.

As Rome's second-largest theater, it accommodated 13,500 spectators daily. The theater had three floors and the stones of the third floor were later used to build the Cestius Bridge during the fourth century.

The arches of the theater look like those of the Coliseum, which was built on a model of a theater. The same stones were used to erect both, coming from the gravel pit of Tivoli.

The last show in this theater occurred during the fourth century and the houses seen on the arches are remnants of Savelli's palace from the 16th century. This mix of medieval and antique history is typical of Rome, and you will notice it in many other places throughout the city.

The Chiesa del Gesu is the mother church of the Jesuits, founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola as a reaction against the theories of the Protestant reformers (such as Luther and Calvin). The atypical style of the front is a precursor of the famous Baroque style.

Luxurious decoration were added to the interior 100 years after St. Ignatius of Loyola during the 17th century.

The giant fresco ("Triumph of the Name of Jesus") on the ceiling was painted by Baciccia in 1679. This trompe l'oeil (optical illusion that makes the depicted objects appear in three dimensions) is one of the most famous Baroque-style paintings.

In the middle of the church on the left you will find the St. Ignatius Chapel, designed by A. Pozzo between 1696 and 1700. The lapis lazuli representing the earth is thought to be the largest piece in the world. The statue of the saint is actually a copy, as Pope Pius VI had the original silver statue melted down to pay war reparations to Napoleon.

During daytime the statue of St. Ignatius is hidden behind a painting, but every day at 5:30pm the painting slides away to reveal the statue.

This cute, small place contains Roman remnants that are among the oldest of the city and were not discovered until 1929. This place was busy during ancient times as it was surrounded by two theaters and the baths of Agrippa and Saepta.

Be sure to check out this old medieval street. Do not miss the passage depicted on the picture--without a doubt the best and most romantic way to access the market of the Campo dei Fiori.

Until the 13th century, this area was an unused space between Pompey's Theatre and the Tiber until the Orsini established themselves here during the 13th century. Nevertheless, the square remained a wild field until the 15th century.

In 1456 Cardinal Trevisani paved the area, triggering its development. During the 16th century it was a seedy place surrounded by bars, one of which--the Hostaria della Vacca--was owned by Vanozza Cattanei (1442-1518), the mistress of Pope Alexander VI (with whom she raised four children).

The statue in the middle of the piazza commemorates the execution of the Franciscan monk Giordano Bruno, who was burned.

The Palazzo Farnese was built in 1534 by Pope Paul III, a member of the Farnese family.

Since 1635, the building has been the embassy of France and has received plenty of famous people, including Gen. de Gaulle in 1959, the French poet Joachim du Bellay in 1553, who wrote "les Antiquités de Rome," and the queen of Sweden in 1655. The difference between the architecture of the first and second/third floor is due to a change of architect. The famous Michelangelo built the second and third floors. Unfortunately, it is not possible to go inside this building.

This small palace was built between 1483-1513 by Pope Sixtus IV; the building still belongs to the Vatican and is not open to visitors.

See the guide: Rome walking tour for detailed information on the most famous place in Rome.