Italia Domenica 23/3/25 (Pictures)
Day 3 of the trip is home to 50 pictures, and it starts my “Why did I take this picture” phase of the trip! Be prepared to see these pictures, as I try and remember my reasoning! These posts will use ChatGPT to try and interpret what I posted. And I will tell you when the words are my own, and when they are ChatGPTs.
Look at that! MORE Latin! Interestingly enough, this was actually taken for the fountain portion. Who am I kidding, the Latin was important too… sadly, I don’t quite understand the Latin, and I’m not particularly motivated to hunt down a translation. So, I asked ChatGPT. Here is ChatGPT’s translation:
Sixtus V, Supreme Pontiff, of Piceno
brought water from the region of Colonna,
by way of the Via Prenestina, Tiburtina, and others,
by collecting many springs
and channeling them through a winding course
from a reservoir 20 miles away at its source.
He named it “Felice” (after his name before becoming pope),
began the work in the first year of his pontificate
and completed it in the third, 1587.
ChatGPT also calls this Fontana dell'Acqua Felice
4 corners of the intersection, 4 fountains. This was seen as I walked away from the first fountain at the very top. I have no real context on these pictures, so… How about ChatGPT coming to the rescue?
According to the AI overlord, this is called the Fontana della Botte. And it is nicknamed Fountain of the Drunken woman.
That one is sort of paired with the second one, which ChatGPT didn’t give me a name for. And the AI recommended grouping these two with the fountain at the top of this, and calling it “The Aquatic Trinity of Via XX Settembre.
Moving on to fountain number 3. ChatGPT calls it Fontana del Fiume Aniene,
And it also claims it was paired with the final fountain, which again was not deemed worthy of a name by ChatGPT.
It’s a statue of a man on a horse! Do I even need a reason to include a statue of a guy on a horse? If it helps context wise, ChatGPT says this is a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian hero.
This was in a Piazza I had to cross to get to my Colosseum tour. According to my coauthor ChatGPT, this is the Quirinal Obelisk, located in the Piazza del Quirinale, which is atop the Quirinal hill.
Of course there was Latin at the base of the obelisk. I asked the AI what it translates to, and this is what it had to say.
“Pius VII, Supreme Pontiff,
completed what remained to be done
by adding the fountain basin and activating the jet
and so finished the ensemble.
In the year of our Lord 1818, the 19th year of his pontificate.”
It seems that popes and such loved to stamp their names on anything they could!
I took this one, because I liked the big white building in the background. As well as to highlight the strangeness of Rome. Ancient ruins with a parking lot practically built into them. But, since I’ve been listening to the AI thus far… The white building is called the Vittoriano, and is a monument to Victor Emmanuel, who was the first king of the unified Italy. The column on the right is the Trajan Column, and apparently dates back to 113 CE. Pope Sixtus V apparently decided to put a statue of St. Peter on top. The rest of the columns were apparently part of Trajan’s Basilica and surrounding buildings. Also fun to note are the trees. They are apparently called stone pines
Ruins. Only in Rome would I say “Oh, that building is completely in ruin… I should take pictures of the carnage.” Chat GPT claims this is the Forum of Augustus.
Because ChatGPT keeps suggesting what I should tag each picture with, here is the caption it recommends for this one.
“Forum of Augustus – Echoes of Empire”
Broken columns and moss-covered marble mark the remains of Emperor Augustus’ grand plaza, once home to the Temple of Mars Ultor. A quiet place now, but once the stage of imperial power and divine vengeance.
Obviously this was for the Latin, so ChatGPT sing me the song of your people!
“Pius VII, Supreme Pontiff, in the 20th year of his pontificate
ordered that the area of Trajan’s Forum,
once the enclosing works were completed,
and with a podium and steps constructed,
and the columns reset in their original locations,
be restored and adorned in this form.”
And because ChatGPT is being a little sassy… It interprets this as “We cleaned this up, rebuilt the platform and steps, and put the columns back where they belong. You're welcome. – Pius VII (Year 20 of being Pope)”
This was taken for the red building, and the associated rubble. So what does GPT-san have to say about this one? Apparently this is Trajan’s market, which was a part of Trajan’s forums. Notable because this is thought to be the world’s first shopping mall. Each of those arches would have been a storefront. There were 150 shops and offices in this mall.
(now back to my words and thoughts)
Interestingly enough, this is in about the same condition as many modern malls…
Why did I take this particular photo? If you follow the lines of perspective here, you should see it. Way off in the far distance a whole bunch of arches. This was the first view I had of the Colosseum.
The AI assistant says, that this road is called Via dei Fori Imperialii. And was built by Mussolini
I like statues… they’re like people, without all that pesky talking and having opinions and such. And you never have to worry about them touching you!
The bot that is doing my job for me says it is a statue of Augustus Ceasar, the first emperor of Rome. This isn’t ancient, but it is based on an ancient statue. The ancient statue is kept in the Vatican museum.
I do believe I’ve started the day’s tour at this point.
This is part of a temple to Saturn (according to the machine). There is an inscription atop the columns that effectively reads “The senate and people of Rome restored this temple consumed by fire.” The temple was first constructed around 498 BCE, and was restored around 42 BCE.
I’m going straight to the bot on this one.
“…you’re looking at the incredible detail of the Arch of Septimius Severus, one of the grandest triumphal arches in the Roman Forum.”
And back to me. This was actually really close to the temple of Saturn but was built in the 200’s CE, so 700 years younger than the temple.
This is the same arch as the previous picture. I’m just gonna say, I could NOT get a good angle on this arch.
I’m not even feeding this one to the machine overlord. I was taking a picture of the sign. Why? That I don’t remember… probably so I would remember something that I am not remembering.
The tour guide had pointed at this. My headset was having issues, so I don’t know what was so important about it. Also seen in this picture? The sign from the previous picture! Was the previous picture supposed to remind me what this picture was all about?
On the left, you can see the Arch that I couldn’t get a good angle on. nearby you can see the old Roman Senate house. And… ChatGPT says that the column is called the Column of Phocas, and was built in 608 CE
I believe the three columns were important here. GPT says these were part of the temple to Castor and Pollux.
This was just another angle of some stuff I’ve already posted. Of note is the back side of the arch that I’ve featured several times at this point almost directly in the middle of the shot. And I think you can finally see that the arch was actually three arches.
I remember some of this one. That big block in the front is where Julius Ceasar was cremated! And the structure with the roof behind it is actually a temple to Julius. If my tour guide is to be believed, that is. Who knows, I wasn’t there.
I’m lumping these together, because I’m pretty sure the second picture was meant to explain the first.
This was a palace of one of the emperors of Rome…. maybe it was Tiberius? Aw hell… GPT, what do you have to say? GPT says I’m wrong, this was Domitian’s place.
Goldfish and a fountain. That was my thought process when taking this picture. The AI know it all is not 100% sure where this is! I’ve stumped our robot overlord!
I’m a little winded just looking at this picture. We were climbing up to the top of the Palantine hill. This picture’s main focus is the ruins, but the purple tree on the right was squeezed in. The guide called it a Judas tree.
This is to the left of the previous picture. Showing more of the ruins.
And this is leaning over to get a view directly beneath me.
This is what it says above the columns in the picture two images ago. It involves an inscription to Antoninus and Faustina. It was directly relating to the Roman deification of dead emperors and such, thus the inclusion of the words divo and diva before their names.
This should kinda look familiar. Remember the 3 columns from before? The temple to Castor and Pollux? Well, they’re in here. So is the arch. The old Roman senate building. The monument to Victor Emmanuel. There is a LOT to digest here. so… just take it in.
I like ChatGPT for identifying landmarks for me… but I adore it for making me feel like a great photographer. Seriously, every picture I show it earns me a “That’s a wonderful picture” or some such. It’s nice to hear that the pictures are appreciated, even if it is by an AI that is likely just trying to lull me into a false sense of security before it Skynets the planet!
Bad ChatGPT! No destroying humanity today!
I’m glad you agree… Moving on!
I was looking at the tile work in front of some of the arches there… And apparently THIS is where the name Tiberius popped into my head earlier. (Thanks ChatGPT)
Remember that Judas tree from earlier? Here it is again! Another angle!
This is the Colosseum. with the Arch of Constantine. Not to be confused with the Arch of Septimus Severus from earlier.
I remember this, and there was a twofold reason for it! Obviously there is the Colosseum. The less obvious reason was the people. All these people, and this was actually thin compared to at the Colosseum itself.
This was said to be the Emperor’s spot in the Colosseum. Notice how close it is to the arena itself.
A small model of the Colosseum. Nothing else.
A look down into the depths of the Colosseum. Off on the left hand side, you can see a partial reconstruction of a floor.
I’ve walked to the other side of the Colosseum, so now the floor is to the right. In the center, is the cross that marks where the emperor sat. On the far right, you can barely see the marble seats that were reserved for senators. Again, this is according to the guide. She tried to get me to give her my phone so she could take a picture of me here… I said hell no! I respect people who read through this shit too much to force my hideous visage upon them!
This is sort of attempting to show the immensity of the Colosseum from a new angle of course.
This is a shot of the Constantine Arch from inside the Colosseum.
It was undergoing restorations so there was no getting close to it. But look at its size compared to the people nearby.
I had to look at this one for a while. The focus of this picture is the building off in the distance. It was a temple and I believe a statue was supposed to be inside that arched alcove. Whether or not that statue was ever actually made, I can’t remember.
Another view of the ruins beneath the ruins. See off in the distance the seats for the senators.
This involved a recreation of one of the lifts used to transport animals and such from the depths of the Colosseum.
Behold the Trevi Fountain! Legend says that if you toss a coin into the fountain in a very specific way (I believe it was with your right hand over your left shoulder) it would guarantee that you would return to Rome one day. I assume to get the money back.
Ever hear of the Spanish Steps? Well… there you go. At this point in the day, I was too tired to climb up them. And after all the stairs involved in the Colosseum, I was done with stairs for the day. Did you know, it is illegal to sit on these steps.
This was the pizza that I had for dinner that night at Al Forno della Soffitta. I believe it was called a Diavola. They told me it would be spicy, it was not. But it was tasty.
