Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Ave Caesar!

They say All roads lead to Rome. So just take any road and it should lead you to Rome eventually. Thats exactly what I did. I flew from Oslo to Milano and took the path to Rome through the beautiful cities of Florence and Pisa, famous for its renaissance art and home to several great artists Leonardo Da vinci, Michel Angelo, Donatello, Raphael(Reminds me of the Four Mutant Ninja Turtles ;-),Ghirlandiao and several others... As I explored more on why they made that statement, I found out that wherever Romans invaded and occupied(Brittany or Gaul or Spagna) they put up a Mile marker along the path specifying exactly the distance between that point in the occupied territory to a specific point in Rome called 'Milarium Aerium' which was supposedly the Center point of Rome in those days, located inside the Roman Forum(only ruins remain now). All roads were considered to start from this Milarium. So the reverse must also be true. Q.E.D (Hence Proved!) ...
Ave caesar! Morituri te salutamus - Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you. (gladiators before the fight) ... Kill...Kill..Kill...
This fervent chant seemed to resonate through the building in space and time in this Colossal Colosseo in Rome. In the Movie Gladiator, Juba says to fellow gladiator Maximus(played by Russel Crowe): "Did you ever see anything like that before? I didn't know man could build such things". It was so true and that showed the power and richness of the Roman Civilization hundreds of years ago. I don't support the reason for such a cause to kill and play with lives of men and animals just for entertainment, but just the architectural beauty of the whole building itself is a wonder. It is well planned with wide stairs and can seat easily around 50,000 people and whole concept of elevator to being men one level up to fight in the arena has been well thought of, many centuries ago. It apparently had 52 gates so people can be seated in their seats in just 5 minutes after entering the Colosseo. Now all that remains is just the ruins of a great Roman empire which once ruled much of Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia. Marching along the different streets or 'Viale' of Rome, chances are that you will come across a historical monument every 100 metres. Such is the beauty of that city and its just a view to watch a technologically advanced fast car zipping through a road with the Roman ruins and Colosseo in the background. Its purely a city of Wonder. You need a lifetime to truly explore and understand the history of this magnificient city. Remember "Rome was not built in a day". Being and there and done that, makes me feel very happy now.
To read the whole blog about my Italy Tour, Please read my Travel Blog and also individual blogs. For Photos check out my photo album
  1. Rome Blog - Rome Photos
**Not all links are active as of now. So please check back later.

Scarlet red Prancing Horses !!!

What better way to follow up one beast with another one... I mean a Concorde followed by none other couple of Scarlet red Prancing Horses! I saw a couple of Ferraris when I was touring Italy in Rome. The Home of Ferrari... What a beauty! Enjoy....
This F1 car was sighted in a Ferrari Store on 'Via Tomacelli' in Rome. The store was closed and I couldn't go inside. What a tragedy! They had lots of Ferrari Accessories for Ferrari Fans and naturally looked very expensive from Outside.


The sporty scarlet red car was the beautiful V12 Ferari Enzo(named after Enzo Ferrari) sighted near Piazza Del Popolo in the Center of Rome.

P.S: For Serious Ferrari Fans - Please forgive me if I am wrong with the Ferrari Model or the Technical Details.