Italy Rome is an amazing city, full of history and legends. The former capital of the greatest empire ever, it tells its story with every step you take.
I am in a Romanian historical reenactment group called Terra Dacica Aeterna, which means I attend historical festivals, wearing clothing belonging to the antiquity and showing people how we used to live 2000 years ago. This means crafts, cooking, housing and any other aspects of daily life. My persona is a Sarmatian woman: a nomad from Central Asia which travelled along with her tribe all the way to Dacia (modern-day Romania), allied with the Dacians at first, then with the Romans, helping them conquer Dacia.
This is a photo of me, prepared for battle with the Romans (yes, Sarmatian women did fight. Not all of them, but some did).
We travelled to Rome for such a festival in 2018, and it was an amazing trip. After a long journey passing through the Alps with their great views, we finally got to our final destination.
Of course, we did visit the main historical places in the city, and the most impressive was by far the Trajan’s Column. As Romanians, we were basically looking at the beginning of our genesis as a people. It was amazing to be one of the characters on the Column, as the monument depicts Trajan’s expeditions in Dacia and the two wars he led to conquer it.
This was the most impressive site we visited, as it represents our history. But we were also anxious to see the other wonders Rome has to offer.
Back in the age, the Column was full of vibrant colors. They eventually faded out throughout time, so nowadays it looks like bare stone. Still, archaeologists were able to re-color it and bring the column back to its former glory. For now, only digitally.
On our way to Trajan’s Forum, we stopped by the forum of Vespasian and the forum of Caesar. They are mainly ruins now, but if you look carefully, you can imagine the greatness of both plazas in the time of the Roman Empire.
This is a panorama of Vespasian’s forum:
And some of our Sarmatian tribe at Caesar’s forum:
We just couldn’t miss the Pantheon, La Fontana di Trevi and the Vatican, since we were there. It was a really rainy day and we kept fighting to stand on our feet as our historical shoos kept slipping. Still, it was really worth the challenge, as Rome has amazing views and sites to visit
The Pantheon of Marcus Agrippa, with two of my colleagues: a Sarmatian holding our standard, and a Roman centurion:
Fontana di Trevi. It’s a struggle to get closer, as it’s full of tourists, but it’s worth the time and patience. It’s really an extraordinary work of art:
We managed to reach the Vatican, but the queue to the museum was so long, we didn’t have time to visit it. We did get the chance, though, to visit Saint Peter’s Square and admire the unique classical architecture. It is free and easy to get in, so don’t miss it while in Rome.
The Vatican, officially called Vatican City State, is an independent city-state enclaved in the city of Rome. It has been the residence of the Pope (the head of the Catholic Church) for centuries and the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population.
If you’re wondering if we went to Rome and missed the Colosseum, well, we didn’t. It was another of the amazing sites we visited on our way through the city (only on the outside this time) and we were amazed by its size and history. Being one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, we were indeed happy to see it.
This was a place where gladiator fights took place, as well as hunting shows and public executions. Ancient Romans loved a good show, so they gathered to watch all of the terrific events that might horrify us today. Emperors knew that, so to keep their people happy, they would give it “bread and circus”.
Just next to the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, the largest Roman triumphal arch. It was erected to commemorate the victory of the emperor Constantine over Maxentius in AD 312. On the arch, we can see large sculptures representing Dacians, dating from Trajan’s time (2nd century AD). The sculptures were initially placed on a frieze in the Forum of Trajan, which still hosts the Trajan’s Column I talked about earlier.
Rome is a wonderful city to visit and we were far from seeing all of it. I sure hope I’ll be able to go back and see more, as this trip was only a weekend long. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as it’s said, so you do need a lot of time to see it and feel its history.