After we saw the Colosseum, we were then directed by our tour guide to the Palatine Hill.  The Palatine was where the Emperors of Rome made their residence, from Augustus down to Septimius Severus.  From what I can understand it sounds as though most of the Emperors felt they had to build their own residence here, so there were lots of different palaces on this enormous hill.  Here is the entrance to the hill:

     When you go through this archway, you then climb up a fairly large hill, on the top of which is the remains of the many palaces.  The Palatine was important to Rome way before the Emperors took over it, however.  Apparently it was from the Palatine that Romulus, one of the founders of Rome, traced the outline of what would be the city of Rome. It then served as the seat of the kings of Rome, before Rome became a republic.  This is probably why the Emperors wanted it for themselves; they had to get in on the act and claim as many direct links as they could with pre-republican Rome.  I'm just guessing, though.
     The first sight you see is this magnificent racetrack, built especially for one of the emperors as his own racetrack, so that he could enjoy sporting events with just him and his buddies.

     And just facing the race track is this enormous ruin of a previous palace:

 

 

     We then preceded to go through Palatine Hill, but to be honest I was disappointed.  So much of it is in ruins that all you can see is the foundation stones of these old palaces. Here is an exception:  one of the walls of the monstrous 'receiving rooms' is still standing: 

 

 

     And there are no signs telling you anything about what you are seeing, which I think is criminal!  Apparently if there were signs, people would not need a tour guide, and there is a thriving tour guide business in Rome, so there you go.  We did have an excellent tour guide, however, so I'm not going to complain.  He was very funny; I even took a picture of him.

 

 

 

     So, after the enormity, but emptiness, of Palatine Hill, our guided tour was considered over and we were left to brave Rome's ancient forum by ourselves.  I have to say that seeing the Roman forum was one of the highlights of the trip for me.  There was something special about it; although it was in ruins I was fascinated by it and if you use your imagination a little bit you can really get a sense of what it might have been like 2,000 years ago.

     The forum is full of temples of different gods, and not only that, Rome itself lasted for so long that people would build temples upon temples.  There is still lots of excavation work going on, and the ground is at a much lower level than it was in late Rome because they have unearthed so many things.  Sometimes the entranceways to buildings will be 6 feet off the ground because that's where the ground level was when the building was erected.  So you get this sense of a place that must have been so busy, so bustling, so crowded, and yet also an evolving place.  Here is the gate by which you could enter the forum from the Colosseum side:

 

 

     And a few of the imposing temples:

 

 

     In the middle of the forum was the temple of the Vestal Virgins, who were priestesses who kept the 'eternal flame' of Rome burning at all times.  All that is left of that temple is these three white pillars:

 

 

 

     One thing that got me especially excited was the Rostra. This is where orators would stand and speak on political matters.  Candidates for office would come and speak here, as well as others.  Just think of it:  Cicero may have spoken here.

 

 

 

    Here are a few more 'panoramic' views of the forum:

 



 

 

    It was amazing to me that the people that came to this forum were the same ones who debated about the importance of a res publica and libertas.  Our ideas about law, liberty, and participation in the political process all started here, even, to an extent, in this very spot!  I found the whole of the forum to be nothing short of inspirational.