Palatine Hill/Roman Forum

Today was my first day of class. We had a brief overview of the monumental Roman art and architecture we would be studying in these next two weeks. After class we had to take the bus south, almost outside of Rome, to register with the police department. The Rome bus system was quite confusing and overcrowded. I definitely prefer the Metro! Then, I grabbed lunch back near the University. I had a Padina, which is an Italian quesadilla thing stuffed with whatever you choose. In the afternoon we visited the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. On the way there we saw the Coliseum! That will have to wait until tomorrow unfortunately. The Palatine Hill was the residence of many cult temples and rich aristocrats. All of the remains left are in brick, which is one reason why I prefer Greek architecture. Marble is much more aesthetically pleasing than brick! The original Roman structures would have been cased in marble though, so they would have been just as grand looking as their Greek counterparts. Anyway, after scrambling through the Palatine Hill (we unfortunately didn't even stop for the Museum), we then proceeded to the Roman Forum, which is adjacent to its left. The Forum had many more marble objects, such as the Arch of Titus, marking its beginning, and the Temple of Vesta. As we exited the Forum, we passed through the massive arch of Septimius Servus. Afterwards, I split off from the group and did some more exploring of the city. After several hours, I called it a night and ate my first real Italian brick oven pizza. It was delicious!