I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Be afraid. Be very afraid....
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Be afraid. Be very afraid....
Member since:22.02.2001
Reviews:166
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The Circus Maximus is best viewed from one of Rome's great hills, the Palantine. From here you can see down onto the immense stretch of grass, where crowds of just under a quarter of a million people would come to watch the chariot racing.
They used to do it in a bit more splendour than you can now see. Back then, there would have been row upon row of marble seats, where as now there are just the raised and grassy banks remaining.
It takes a bit more work on your imagination here to try and drum up the sounds of neighing horses, clashing metal and bloodthirsty cries from a hyped up crowd, but if you manage to chuck the odd bottle of Vino down your neck, it does make it a bit easier. Oh, and do that once you've made the journey DOWN from the Palantine Hill and are standing at the side of the arena.
There used to be an obelisk, dating back to the times of Egypt's Rameses II (circa 13th century BC) that was brought back to Rome by the Emperor Augustus and erected in the Circus Maximus. But they moved it. It's not there now. You've got to go the Piazza del Popolo to see that.
So there you have it. Not one of the most stunning sights you'll see in Rome, which, let's face it, is spoiled for them, but just try and imagine what went on here all those thousands of years ago, and it does get a bit more impressive.
Sadly, no signs of any statues to Charlton Heston..
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