Day 3- Rome, Italy
Today was filled with many miles walked as we explored both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Leslie booked another private tour with a great tour guide named Hectori. He was a Roman and gave such a neat historical perspective at the famous areas.
We started in the Roman Forum where many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. People started meeting in the Forum around 500 B.C.
{The picture above is where Julius Caesar was cremated}
Above is a marble statue of a vestal virgin- one of the most interesting stories that we learned.
Young girls at the age of 6 were taken from their homes (usually homes of families of wealth and power) and had to serve until they were 30 years old. Emperors and other high ranking officials relied upon them to look for messages from the gods to determine important political and social decisions such as what battles/wars to engage in and when plagues were on the horizon. If they “received” the wrong message and something bad happened to the city, the virgins were the scapegoats and were given three candles and three days worth of food and sent out of the city. They were led to a hole and buried alive. People would return after 3 days to see if the gods spared them, which was very much like the Salem witch trials here in the United States. However, if these virgins did "receive" the right message from the gods, they were privileged and lived a very lavish life style.
{One of the many aqueducts we drank out of-- very refreshing, clean, and cold}
{Above is a seat where young boys drew on them of what they were seeing}
Afterwards we went to the Spanish Steps and had a charming lunch with the best bruschetta that I have ever had.
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