Rome: Palatine Hill

 As a part of our Viator tour, we also were shown through Palatine hill. This photo was taken as we walked from the Colosseum to Palatine Hill, the entrance to which is on the right a few trees down. See the woman in the white? She is about 75 to 80 and she did the entire Colosseum tour - including all the stairs - with us. It would have been much easier for her had the elevator not be broken that day.

 To get there, we walked right by the Arch of Constantine.

 At this point, we have just passed the ticket booth  for Palatine Hill and are now inside. It was approaching noon, so we stopped for a water and bathroom break at this point. There is one of the many Roman fountains here, and everyone including the tour guides filled their water bottles.

 Now for a few picturesque photos of nothing in particular.

 As you'll recall from the earlier mention of Remus and Romulus, they were raised by a she-wolf. In adulthood, they each picked a hill and Romulus picked Palatine Hill. During an argument, Romulus killed Remus. Later, he went on to found Rome.

 The original Rome settlements are on Palatine Hill and recent excavations show people have lived there since about 1000 BC. Many affluent Romans lived on this hill as well as many emporers including Augustus, Tiberius, and Domitian.

 The Colosseum peeking through the trees.

  The Stadium was part of the Domitian palace, with the oval shape added by Theodoric in the 6th century.

 More of those gorgeous red May Italian poppies!

 The Constantine Basilica

 This is the Arch of Titus, constructed in 82 AD by the Roman Emporer Domitian shortly after the death of his brother Titus, to commemorate Titus' victories including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

 It is located at the foot of Palatine Hill, in the Via Sacra.

A Roman-era road between Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. This road was walked by virtually all of the Roman Emporers. Cool!

 The Constantine Basilica again.