Skip to main content

Palatine Hill and The Forum...where the leaders live

Hi kids and blog followers!

Today’s note will focus on the Palatine Hill. Though Rome is a city that includes seven hills, this one is the most important and well known. Think of the word “palatine” – does it remind you of any English words? If you guessed “palace” then you're right. The Palatine Hill is where the emperor lived!

 This picture is of me starting up the hill.



Mrs. Kinahan and I are lucky enough to stay in a hotel that is minutes away from the Palatine Hill, Colosseum, and ancient Roman Forum. Every morning, when we start our day, we walk through and around the ruins of these areas – the heart of the ancient city. Historians who want to protect them have built bridges and passageways along and through the remains of the buildings, but at every turn you can see something that functioned as an important element of the empire long ago. I’m including a picture of a current excavation happening in this location as we speak! These students are carefully brushing away rubble, looking for important artifacts! The search isn’t over!

 Here are some pics of what we see each day just a few yards away from our hotel. Can you spot the excavation?





You can’t get up the Palatine Hill without a ticket, and we decided to have a guide show us around. Originally, this hill was a place where warriors would station themselves to fight off enemies who might be trying to invade. Beneath the hill (and the other hills as well) the city was a vast swamp. The Romans figured out a way to drain this swamp so that the land could be livable and usable. This dry space was called “the forum” which means "outside space". Therefore, there are multiple forums in Rome – open outdoor places for people to meet, talk, trade, shop, etc. This forum right outside of the Palatine Hill is famous because it was the "outside space" next to where the emperor lived, therefore making it extra beautiful as well as the location where the senate would meet. Basically, all of the really important stuff happened in this area of Rome!

Here are some pictures of how the forum looks today...


    























You probably remember that Julius Caesar wasn’t very popular when he was in charge. This was mostly because he wanted to make all of the imperial decisions without consulting the senate. Eventually, things ended badly for him. However, his adopted nephew, Augustus (also known as Octavian) was a favorite among the Romans. Here are a couple of reasons why…

1.     He wanted the Romans to see him as “the first among equals” – meaning that he was modest and humble. He even avoided building a giant palace on the hill, instead constructing a small but functional house on Palatine.
2.     He was a man the people felt they could trust and he used the republican form of government as it was intended, so that more people had a say as to how the city would be run.
3.     While he was emperor, the country was at peace. There was no war, civil or otherwise.

When Augustus’ reign was over, he was forever remembered as someone who was fair and thoughtful. People saw him as a man who put the needs of the city/empire before his own.

However, we all know there was a LONG LINE of leaders who came after him. Not many of these personalities could bring themselves to live so modestly. Palace after gigantic palace was built on top of the Palatine Hill to represent the divine power of the emperor. Who do you think paid for this construction? Sadly, the Roman taxpayers did, and they often felt frustrated.

Probably the worst offender of letting his ego get in the way of doing what was in the best interest of the people was Nero. After a giant fire that wiped out a huge area of the forum, he razed the ground and built himself the most enormous palace of all. Well…we all know what happened to Nero!

This all makes me think out the qualities a good and successful leader must have: Whether in politics or within a group of friends, individuals become leaders because others view them as fair and considerate in each decision that they make. When a person makes a decision that benefits the most people around them, people take notice. They start admiring that person and following their lead. It is important to have a vision that extends outside of your own wants and desires. We all have the potential to be leaders though we’re all bound to make some mistakes along the way. Still,  it seems like an important idea to consider: When I do what’s right (even when it’s hard) I’m showing strong leadership skills.

If you want, take a closer look at who the most successful Roman emperors were. What did they do right? Think about the most beloved American presidents. Are there similarities?

Off to Florence tomorrow!

Ciao,


Mrs. B.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Duomo - Florence's Cathedral

Ciao! Today, we visited The Duomo , a major cathedral in the center of Florence. From the ground, it is quite a sight to see, but when we climbed the cupola to the very top, we were overwhelmed by the breathtaking view of all of Florence. Here are two views of The Duomo from the ground - can you guess why it is called The Duomo ? Here is an incredible picture (that I did not take myself) of Duomo from a distance at dusk. Domes are amazing architectural achievements. You might be reminded of The Pantheon in Rome from a recent blog post. Rome's Pantheon was indeed a inspiration to the Florentine people. But of course, they wanted their dome to be even larger! When looking at the pictures above, can you imagine how this dome was built? Can you envision the workers putting it together piece by piece? How did they do it? How long did it take? How did they get the materials from one place to another without modern technology? Here is a brief expla...
Post a Comment
Read more

Firenze!

Ciao friends! Today was our first full day in Florence (Firenze). This city is smaller than Rome and a lot less busy. It is also much easier to get around! Today, the highlight was going to Museum Accademia to see Michelangelo's David . Remember one of my older posts where I talked about an artist who considered himself primarily a sculptor, but still agreed to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Well, the city of Florence is home to perhaps the most famous and incredible sculpture of all time - no surprise that it is also a creation by Michelangelo. It's called "The David." The statue was sculpted between 1501 and 1504 AD when Michelangelo was in his mid 20's. Like the story of how Michelangelo persevered for hours on end in his efforts to create the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, this statue represents a labor of love. In fact, the block of marble from which it was chiseled was rejected by many other sculptors who did not want to work with a stone th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Layers upon layers of stories and ideas

Another amazing day in this city that astounds me at every turn. Though pretty hard to navigate, with roads that meander this way and that, Mrs. Kinahan and I walk everywhere (likely about ten miles a day) often off course, but eventually arrive at our planned destination. Today we left our hotel at 9:30am and returned at 11pm. There is just too much to see and do! Today, our focus was the Vatican which includes several other VERY important religious and historical sites. Once we figured out how to best tour these places, we made great friends with our guide named Roberto, who wowed us with his ability to show us the most special and tremendous areas of a hugely impressive religious mecca. In this blog, I'll just focus on some of the most meaningful and interesting stories. It seems to me, that everything historical in Rome has a story within a story within a story. I think this is part of the reason this city is so intriguing. There are layers of history everywhere. We walk ou...
Post a Comment
Read more