Sierra bikes across Rome...and heads home!

Philip, Flat Sierra, and I had a wild ride across Rome yesterday. Man, it was hot! Dad (that's me) decided he wanted to take a closer look at the remains of some of the ancient aqueducts of Rome. Our first stop on the city bus was the tomb of Augustus Caesar. We didn't necessarily set out to go to this tomb, but it just happens to be near the place where you pick up your rental bikes...and the end of the line of bus 913. Most of what is left is a circular brick wall circumscribing the mausoleum. It is of historical significance, however. Augustus was the first Emperor of Rome and died almost on this date, August 19th, the year 14 A.D. This would have been a place of worship for the Romans who practiced the imperial cult, believing that their emperors were divine, and divinely chosen for their responsibilities.

Thanks, Kate, for the bike rental cards. They came in handy. I would highly recommend seeing a city like Rome on bike. You save an immense amount of time getting around. The traffic is a little tricky, but you get used to it! It was a pure blast to pedal up via del Corso, around Piazza Venezia and down to the Colosseum, and all that in about 10 minutes.

We stopped on Via del Corso at Piazza Colonna to have a look at one of the beautiful victory columns in Rome. This column was erected in honor of Marcus Aurelius between 180 and 196 A.D., commemorating his victories over the German peoples and the Sarmatians. It is thought that these conquests held off the barbaric invasions for several centuries. Every portion of the 20 spirals tells part of the story.

Next we headed around Piazza Venezia (Napoleon's mother lived here in the Palazzo Bonaparte) and down the road that separates the Fora (forums) on our way to the Colosseum. Here we took a shortcut past the Arch of Constantine and made a left around the bowl-shaped crater that was the Circus Maximus. A couple blocks later Philip and I stopped for a water break, appropriately in front of the Baths of Caracalla. This was a huge bathing and sports complex built by Emporer Caracalla to accommodate 1500 people at a time, at the height of the Roman empire in 216 A.D.

Yes, it was appropriate to be looking at the Baths of Caracalla and aqueducts on such a thirsty hot day in Rome. It was a 96° F day with very low humidity. It was not an uncomfortable heat but we went through our water bottles fast. We each drank about a dozen bottles of water throughout the whole day. Fortunately there are fresh water fountains all over Rome, so we were able to fill up a dozen times free of charge! Some of these fountains are still fed by the original, ancient aqueducts.

The next stop on our jaunt was a remnant of the aqueduct that was built to feed the Baths of Caracalla. Only one arch remains of the aqueduct and has been named the Arch of Druso. This arch is found near the beginning of the Appian Way, the ancient road that runs from Rome to Brindisi on the east coast.

Not far from the "Ancient" Appian Way is the New Appian Way, and several blocks farther north you begin to find the miles of aqueduct ruins that lie on the east side of Rome, near the highly traveled via Tuscolana.






It was a good thing we were not on foot, because we started at one aqueduct park, then followed our noses into the city to what seemed to be one end of the different aqueducts, then finally back out to the eastern edge of Rome where there were still more long lines of them. We saw the ruins of the Marcius (144 B.C.), Claudio and New Anio (both 52 A.D.), and Felice (16th century A.D.) aqueducts.

By the time we were done with our inspection of the aqueduct system, we still had an 11 km. bike ride back into the center of Rome to drop off our bikes, and finally the bus ride home. We were pooped.

Sierra's plane leaves Rome on Monday. She's going to miss all the history and excitement. I wonder where she's going next?