Bicycle Races

As the penultimate day in Rome we travelled in a pretty somber way. We met for class at what is called the piramide. It literally is a pyramid that was built by Julius Caesar and Antony after they conquered Egypt. Apparently in that time all things Egyptian was very en vogue. Anyway, we talked about the pyramid a little, then went behind it to the Protestant Cemetary. It basically is the cemetary for anyone in Rome who is not Catholic. We saw greek, english, american, chinese, canadian, finnish and swiss tombstones. The only truly famous name buried there is John Keats whose headstone reads, Here lies a man whose name was writ in water. Names and ethinicity aside, the cemetary was quite beautiful and well established, especially the plantings. Being behind the walls, it was asthough we were out of Rome, away from the city and sounds. The large variety of plants and the mediterranean lighting probably added to the effect. We also stopped by the Roman WWII cemetary just to see a comparison of cemetary types. I found both rather sobering...each in its own way.
In the afternoon we headed south to the area of the Appio Antico. This is the road the Romans used to send their troops out of the city to conquer other towns, cities, and countries. Many of the original stones are still there today, but I will get to that in a moment. To start the afternoon we went to the Catacombs di San Calisto. There are over 15 km of catacombs in 4 floors. the tour only took about 1/2 hour and we only saw two tombs containing remains, but it still was very interesting to see the place where 100,000 romans were buried, including martyrs and popes. We also went through the church that according to locals contains a footprint of jesus from when he visited St Peter after he fled Rome and crucifiction(sp?). To make the day a little lighter we rent bicycles to ride down the Appio Antico. Since the road is ancient stone, it is desrepair in many places. The large stones make for interesting rides on a two wheel 3 speed bicycle. On the side on the road there were some paths put in but they too had their own form of moguls that took out more than a few of us. The scenery however was beautiful and we road by acres and acres of ruins that now make up a part of a huge public park. Inside this park stands some of the old aquaducts, churchs and castles. They all sit on rolling hills with fields of tall grass with red poppies and camomile. It was an enjoyable and very picturesque day. My roomates and I finished off the day by walking back to the park where we started the week. We watched the sun set on the city as we pointed out all the places we had been and what we had learned. I know it sounds little hokey, but I am suprised at myself and all I now know about the city of of S.P.Q.R and Rome.