Life is short but art endures

Ars longa Vita brevis.
Life is short but Art endures.

Latin proverb

We spent much of our second day in Rome underground. My prayers were answered when the guide for our "Italian language" tour of the Colosseum's basement (the only tour for which I could buy tickets) announced that she would do the tour in English because most of the other participants were in the same boat as us. The sight of the reconstructed elevator to hoist the animals into the arena was astounding, as was the view from the uppermost tier, 48 m above ground level, across the vast expanse of the building and over the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.

In the afternoon we visited the multiple levels of San Clemente church and the second century Mithraeum in its basement. I love visiting this place and its multiple layers of sacredness. Then we hiked over to house of the emperor Nero, which is only open for visits on weekends because it is a working archaeological site (hence our hardhats). My breath was taken away by the virtual reality presentation that is included in the tour because it brings to life all the research that has been done recently. Spectacular. Nero had so little time to enjoy it, but now some 1950 years later we can now appreciate the magnificence of his vision.

The wine today was the table wine for Da Francesco hosteria in the Fig Tree Piazza. The gladiatorial doorman who manages who gets in and who doesn't took pity on the wee Canadians and allowed us a table in the very busy establishment. Their wine originates in Montepulciano so we will definitely be imbibing more of it in the near future. The bruschetta platter was delicious but the main show was worth waiting for . . .

We each ordered a different pizza and shared. With thin, crisp crust and a true tomato sauce, there was not a problem to clean our plates of the final crumbs.

We worked off some of the calories with a walk to the Trevi Fountain. I must throw my coin in because I always want to return to la bella Roma. As we took our photos, a young Italian fellow beside us presented his girlfriend with a ring and a marriage proposal. The whole crowd of hundreds of fountain worshipers burst into applause and congratulatory wishes. Yes, my ol' romantic self shed a tear of joy for the couple.

Flavour of the Day

The creamiest sour black cherry gelato packed with fruit came from an artisanal gelateria around the corner from our hotel. One of ways to identify a quality product is seeing that the ice cream is housed in lidded metal chambers that are only opened when the cone is ordered.

At the end of the evening, walking along the cobblestone street to our hotel, we caught the strains of some pretty terrific jazz coming from a concert at Trajan's Forum. Back in the room, we took in the view of Nerva's Forum from our window. What an amazing city! So full of life and so full of art. Bellissima!