The Villa of Maxentius didn't seem that interesting at first glance, but the freedom of being able to wander around and actually climb on the remains of the structures inside was really amazing. The dead hedgehog we found, not so much, but still! Very cool stuff. It was really neat to be able to walk around the grounds and see the arch of triumph (if I remember correctly- it might very well have been called something else and it's just completely escaped me. if that's the case, as always, please tell me in the comments so I don't just look silly) up close. It's one thing to say you've seen these ruins- it's another matter entirely to be able to say we ran around on top of the ruins. That's something worth bragging about.
The tomb of Caecilia Metella (which really looks like it's much more difficult to say than it actually is) was neat, but I'm rather biased towards anything involving a castle- even if the castle came later than the tomb itself. It's too bad that there wasn't much left to see, beyond the artifacts found within the courtyard (ish?) area.
I especially enjoyed the burial urns (I believe that's what they were), that I unfortunately didn't get a great picture of from my phone. But the statues pictured were also very beautiful, I loved the detail in the folds of the clothing, even though the head of the pieces had been missing.
The catacombs of Saint Sebastiano were amazing to go through, though I really wish we would've been allowed more freedom to wander the catacombs without the guide. The information about the two apostles was really interesting, especially that they had been believed to be currently buried within the catacombs after being moved. The carvings on the ceilings and the fresco above one of the tombs was really amazing to see- I really wish we could've taken pictures!
Inside the church was also really beautiful to see- the sculpture of Saint Sebastiano was really breathtaking to see in person.
Good post Sev! It was fun today, with climbing all over the tracks remains. It felt like Ostia again, where we could climb over stuff like that. The castle was alright but there was not that much there other than the quarry underneath the castle. But the catacombs and the church were magnificent today, I thought at least.By the way, what has been you most favorite part about this trip so far?
ReplyDeleteNot sure if we were supposed to be walking on the ruins but I mean hey I agree it's worth bragging about! I also enjoyed being able to go beyond the city and the MASS numbers of people in the tourist-ridden areas of Rome. I especially found the catacombs to be super neat (I took pictures oops) but I agree it would have been neat to be able to explore them on our own, although I would most likely get lost and have a panic attack cause honestly despite its coolness its also really creepy. Have you ever visited any other catacombs throughout your travels that you could compare with Saint Sebastians?
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