As I open up google maps, I anxiously anticipate the interesting tour I am about to take of Rome, from my living room at school.
Beginning my day with the Piazza del Campidoglio, I walk down Via Monte Tarpeo to the entrance of the Piazza, standing on the summit of Capitoline Hill. The guidebook describes the Piazza as the most sacred of ancient Rome, where triumphant generals made sacrifices to the gods for giving them victories. When I first arrive at the destination, I instantly notice the design of the piazza ground. The grey and white stone laying brings the piazza together, in an elegant, captivating fashion. The guidebook specifically points out the equestrian statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. This statue is copy of the original that stands in the Capitoline museum standing to my left. The museum Capitoline architecture is not described in the guidebook. Critically speaking I think this is a mistake, as the building is captivating and beautiful. Specifically the detailed layout of columns along the corridors at ground level, lining each window, and represented in the gate like feature at the top of the building brings an elegant symmetry.
Figure 1: Postle, Bruno. Hugin Tutorial- Perspective Correction. July, 2005. http://hugin.sourceforge.net/tutorials/perspective/en.shtml
The book then points out the Palace of the Conservatory, outlining the architectural plan of the palace crediting Michelangelo as the planner. Otherwise there is no more information provided. When I critically assess the palace I notice the cascading staircase leading from the main entrance, running down to both ends of the building. This I thought could potentially be of use for the spectacle of culture and pageantry. I also notice the clock tower standing on top of the building. The architecture of the palace mimics that of the Capitoline museum with the columns. The use of columns paired with the clock tower brings a grand presence of the piazza and leads the eye up to the sky.
Figure 2: Capitolini, Museo. Musei Capitolini. 2012. http://www.in-roma.com/place/musei-capitolini/
Finally the book outlines the third building, enclosing the piazza is the Senatorium (town council building). This is of the same architectural design of the palace and the museum, tying in the elegant notion of the piazza.
Overall, critically speaking, the guidebook did a good job of describing what to visit, but not much background information of the architecture/ what specific elements to look for.
After visiting the piazza, I am able to decipher the beautiful architectural features of the buildings, along with the stonework of the piazza itself, but for someone who has not taken an architecture course before visiting the area, the book would not be of much use.
The second stop of the day is the Fori Imperiali (Imperial Forums). My initial impression of the forum is one of surprise. I was not anticipating it to encompass such a large area. The guidebook outlines the Trajan's column, looking to the east of the column I see the Basilica Ulpia and see the large marble columns rise to the sky. Moving from here to the East is Forum of Julius Caesar, and continuing from there I pass the Forum of Augustus on my left and on my right is the Forum of Nerva. From Nerva, I look again to my east and see Forum of Vespasian, and following it is the Temple of Venus and Roma. The book best describes the Trajan's column of all the forum monuments in my opinion. It describes its intricate base relief sculpture depicting Trajan's victorious campaign against Dacia at the dawn of the 2nd century.
The guide provides a detailed guide, directionally of what to see, that was easy to follow on Google maps.
Figure 3: Apiphile. Trojan's Column. 2012.http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/trajan's%20column
Conveniently, Trajan's column is the element of the forums that I found the most beautiful. The detail of the column, one of the only elements of the previously standing forum, is in great condition. The statue that stands on the top of the column brings the eye up to the sky again, representing Trajan in a very positive light.
The rugged look of the whole forum, with the green grass growing where ancient buildings used to stand, provides a very captivating view. The decaying of the forums brings even more significance to Trajan's column and its detailed condition it is in.
The book continues to provide a full day of itinerary with my next stop is the Arch of Constantine, then to the Coliseum.
Now having arrived at the entrance of the Coliseum, I am
reminded of the feeling I had when I saw the Coliseum in person this past
summer. Google maps provides a decent image, but it lacks the detail the
building demonstrates when in person. The guide provides some background
information on the Coliseum in regards to building materials, structure size
and suggests taking an hour and a half to explore it. When I visited the
Coliseum this summer, I took a walking tour that consisted of that amount of
time, and proved to be very enjoyable.
The guide directs attention to the Arch of Constantine next.
Then to have lunch and proceed to the Roman Forum.
The guide does not provide directions to the Roman Forum, in
this case google maps was helpful in locating it. The write up on the Roman
Forum, Palatine Hill and the Palastine Museum is quick. Basic background
information is provided and rather than providing descriptions of the
monuments, the guide provides direction of where to direct your attention to.
Again in the case of Palatine Hill, the guide suggests to take three hours to
tour and investigate the area.
The guide then gives bus routes to take to the last 5 stops,
The Pantheon, Caffe Sant’Eustachio, Scala di Spagna, Piazza Navona, ending at
the Trevi Fountain.
Overall, I think this exercise is helpful and I will use
google maps before going on touring vacations. The use of the maps allows you
to get acquainted with the area, and get a feel of what monuments will interest
you, therefore providing a basis for your travel itinerary. This can also help
in the future with decisions on what travel guide to use. Personally I found
that Frommer’s provided a good guide of what parts of Rome to see. When
comparing back to my visit to Rome this summer, the guide encompasses all the
monuments I personally saw.
In terms of architecture and urbanism, if going to visit
Rome to critically analyze the architecture, perhaps a guidebook more directed
to the architectural concepts would be more suitable.
My visit to Rome proved very interesting, and I would definitely like to return again!
That's all for now, can't wait to see what next week has coming for me!
- Ali
