Today, April 21, is Rome’s birthday (Natale di Roma)! There will be a lot of fun events happening this weekend, and we’re celebrating by listing the sites that we think give the clearest sense of daily life in Ancient Rome. Places like the forum are amazing, but without expert knowledge or a guide, they’re just piles of columns. So we’ve picked out places we think anyone can enjoy.
But first, the birthday. The tradition that Rome was founded on April 21 goes back to antiquity. Which year was much in dispute, but Varro’s date, 753 BCE, won out. (Before you correct our math, remember that there is no year ‘0’.) There were several ancient versions of the founding itself: all feature Romulus, who gives the city his name. In most of them he quarrels with his brother Remus about where to build the city, or about which of them received better omens from the gods, or something else (brothers, right?). Remus leapt over the (knee-high) wall that Romulus was building for his city, and Romulus killed him. Not exactly a savoury story but one that proved prophetic given the Romans’ long history of civil war.
Everybody’s Rome
Rome’s most famous monument, the Colosseum, even in its dilapidated state, is a reminder of Roman engineering at its best. When you walk in and alongside it, it’s easy to imagine the crowds, keen to see the gladiatorial and beast combats. Also, the nearly unimaginable cruelty and violence that kept the Roman populace entertained. Nearly as interesting, and much less crowded, is the Ludus Magnus, the most famous gladiatorial training school. There’s not much left, but you can see the remains of the barracks.
Not far from these monuments is the Circus Maximus, the largest ancient stadium for chariot racing. Today it is a park where people lie about. But parts remain and one can still marvel at the length and width of the area. Unlike its depiction in certain films (e.g., Ben-Hur), the horses did not race in circles but in a ‘U’-shaped circuit. Where today there are grassy hills, in antiquity there would have been stone stands for the audience.
Elite Rome
To get a sense of how the elite lived, we recommend a visit to the Domus Aurea (Golden House) of Nero. After the fire of 64 CE had reduced much of Rome to rubble, Nero decided that it was a perfect opportunity for him to snatch land. A lot of land: three of Rome’s seven hills and parts of two others. During the years after Nero’s fall and subsequent disgrace, parts were levelled or destroyed for other buildings, including the Colosseum and the baths of Trajan, built directly on top. Only a fraction of the Domus Aurea remains and, after many years, it is open again. Even the small area encompassed by the tour reveals roomsful of beautiful vaulted ceilings, painted walls, and the like. A virtual-reality show shows just how spectacular it was, and is perhaps the best part of the experience.
The Palazzo Massimo, near Rome’s central train station, has a ton of amazing things. Most relevant for daily life in ancient Rome are the frescoes that once adorned the house of Livia Drusilla. This was the Livia who was wife of the emperor Augustus. Her actual villa was 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the city, and you can visit its remains. And the frescoes in the Palazzo Massimo give you a wonderful sense of the rich and beautiful decoration that adorned the rooms. Throughout the Palazzo there are a number of other reconstructed rooms, including a dining room, that give you some sense of how the Romans conducted their daily life.
Religious Rome
No mention of Rome’s birthday is complete without mention of the Pantheon. This amazing building (probably our favourite in the whole city) deserves a post of its own. But for now we will note that one of its most astonishing features is the ‘oculus’ (eye), the 27-foot (9-metre) opening at the top of the building. As the sun moves around in its yearly rotation, it illuminates different parts of the interior of the Pantheon. On April 21, however, at midday, the sun shines directly on the entrance of the Pantheon. The emperor, entering to make sacrifice to all the gods, would have been bathed in light.
So Happy Birthday, Rome. And if you’re in Rome today, look for us at the entrance to the Pantheon!
