Catacombs of Rome and The Appian Way

There was a host family outing to Rome and I got to join them on a tour of some of the catacombs of Rome and then a biking tour of the famous Appian Way. For some reason, there is a "death" theme these past few days with a trip to the Cerveteri Necropolis and the catacombs. It is the way it is. I have to provide full disclosure that both tours were given in Italian and I simply was able to understand about every 8th word (usually a number) so my understanding and descriptions are second hand from my friends who were able to translate for me.

The "Priscilla" catacombs, named after the woman who donated the land many centuries ago have some 13km of catacombs. As you may imagine they are completely dark. Photos technically not allowed, but I am the king of stealth photography. It's all for my audience.

Along the passageways tufa was dug out bodies wrapped in cloth and sprinkled with lime were placed in their final resting place.

Most probably an infants grave

Once the body was laid, the area was bricked over and a marble plate, much like tombstone marker of today, put over the front. Makes me wonder whether or not people of the future will look upon the way we bury our dead in the same wonderous way.

An airshaft

A collection of the many oil lamps found throughout the catacombs.

We had a picnic at the park which is located at the entrance of the Appian Way.

A group of SYA Italian host moms

The Appian Way was the road that lead from Rome to Brindisi. Many kilometers of the road are preserved and is a greenspace in the middle of the metropolis.

Many residents and tourists come to walk and bike along the road.

Some of the biking is rough as the original stones of the Appian Way are still in place.

These are the ruins of a tomb of Romulus. Many tombs of Roman residents were located on the Appian Way. As it is in modern times, the larger one's tomb and the closer one's tomb to the center of Rome, the wealthier and more status you had.

This is a private circus maximus that could hold 10,000 spectators. This one is better preserved that the one's around the Colisseum as the starting blocks and such are still in place.

From what I heard, people used to plant flowers on the top of this tomb in honor of the deceased. To this day, colorful flowers bloom from the remains.

Throughout Rome you'll see public items with the initials SPQR (not sure what they exactly translate to) and pictures of the Capitoline Wolf and and the babies Romulus and Remus sucking from her tits. Supposedly the two babies were suckled (is that the word?) by her and an artist sculpted a famous statue depicting this story. That statue has become the symbol of the city of Rome. It is found on the crest of the Roma Calcio Team.

This is a headstone that was found along the Appian Way and placed along the road. There are these headstones up and down the road.

There are some private homes along the road. As you can tell, having an Appian Way address has great cache.

Uncovered in the front yard of one home were ancient thermal baths. The Italian government purchased the home from the owner to continue excavation.

It was a gorgeous, sunny and crisp fall afternoon for biking.

The shadows were beautiful as the sun went down with the city of Rome in the distance.

The 218 Bus goes to "Divine Love." That's Italy for you.