Palantine Hill

March 20, 2011 (Part 3)

Following our tour of the Colosseum, we met up with Dad and grabbed a snack at one of the street vendors. Dad and I split a variation of a ham sandwich. It was heated and it was delicious. We then crossed the street and entered Palatine hill. And, of course, we had many steps to climb to reach the top of the hill.

The Palantine is the site of the ruins of a huge palace that was built at the end of the first century A.D. It is hard to visualize how absolutely huge this palace complex was but just enough remains of some of the walls and

building sections to give us a good idea of how massive it must have been. There were numerous sections of the palace, and there were beautiful gardens and fountains in and among the buildings. There was also a stadium area where athletic activities and competitions took place, and there was a very large public hall where the emperor greeted formal guests and petitioners.

Additionally, located on the northwest portion of Palantine hill are the ruins of dwellings from a 9th century village where Romulus -- the fabled founder of Rome -- lived with his family. Also in this

area are the ruins of the house of the Emperor Augustus and his wife Livia. Augustus was the first emperor of Rome, having claimed this position and title for himself in the 1st century A.D. It

is the emperors after Augustus who built the nearly by palace began to live excessively opulent lives. In contrast, Augustus chose to live very simply, as these ruins suggest.