Our last touring day of Rome and indeed our Italian holiday. We thought we'd start by wandering through Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. There was no queue at all at the Palatine Hill gate, so we waltzed straight on in grabbing a map on the way through. We hadn't even considered booking a tour for this site and in hindsight it may have been worth it. Instead we followed our noses.
Palatine Hill sits at the centre of the Seven Hills of Rome. Legend surrounds this area as where Rome's history really begins. Brothers, Remus and Romulus are thought to have lived here with the latter being the supposed founder of Rome. Years later this majestic hill which overlooks the Colosseum, Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum was chosen by emperors and aristocrats for their luxurious palaces and villas.
After entering we veer left and walk beneath the Aqueduct Claudio the most important aqueduct in Rome. A short distance further we find Domus Severiana, the final extension to the Imperial palaces built by Emperor Septimius Severus on Palatine Hill.
Climbing up, we observe the stadium from above. Now standing higher within the Domus Severiana complex we are greeted with wonderful views over Circus Maximus and can cross this sight off our 'to see' list!
Walking around ruins were beginning to wear thin with the girls so we stop resting on a low brick wall, have a drink, look at the map and plan what we would like to see. Skipping the rest of the Imperial palaces (Domus Augustana and Domus Flavia) we make our way to the Temple of Apollo. Here Ella goes to take a photo only to discover she doesn't have her camera. She turns to us and asks for her camera, which neither of us have before realising she'd left it behind on the wall. Sprinting the 200m back to the wall she is devastated to find it missing. We retrace our steps a little further back but to no avail the camera is nowhere to be seen.
Ella is distraught and we are too. Over our time in Italy, Ella had taken a real interest in photography. We'd let her take our expensive camera, rather than her cheaper one as it had more functions to tinker with. Now we were a bit bummed about losing the expensive camera but more regretful that we hadn't downloaded the previous day's photos that Ella had taken of the Colosseum which could never be replaced. Hopeful that some kind and thoughtful stranger may have handed the camera in, we headed to the nearest entrance point. The lady was sympathetic and took my mobile number incase it showed up (it was only lunchtime), but despite several queries through the day we eventually had to give it up as lost.
It took Ella a considerable amount of time to come to terms with the situation and we all lost a bit of enthusiasm to continue looking around this historical place. While Ella recovered, Katy and I found spectacular views of the Roman Forum while looking for somewhere to buy a snack to help perk Ella up.
The Roman Forum, now a sprawling labyrinth of ruins but was once the grandiose centre of day to day life in Ancient Rome. In times gone by the forum was a place of public meeting, law courts, gladiatorial combats, it was the site of many of the city's imposing temples and important monuments and was lined with shops and open air markets. We could have easily spent another few hours exploring this place. Sadly though none of us felt in the mood to do so and thus we headed for the exit enquiring about Ella's camera on the way out to no avail.
Back along our favourite busking street, Via dei Fiori Imperiali, we couldn't be cheered up by the bubble man as he was on a break. As we passed by the Colosseum, Ella took a few replacement photos of the beautiful facade in the late afternoon sun and then again at night.
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