The Wykehamist
see the remains of the Hospitalia, the libraries the courtyard of the Imperial Palace.
The coloured marble display at the Capitoline Museums
The bath at Hadrian’ s Villa
The baths of Caracalla
We returned to Rome in the evening and had a look around the Spanish Steps before dinner. Above the steps one can find the Church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti, overlooking the Piazza di Spagna. Some of us endured the pain of climbing the stairs and reached the church, where a service was taking place in French.
In the morning of day 5 we were given some time to go shopping for souvenirs in Rome. A few of us keen classicists took this as a chance to wander around translating Latin inscriptions from walls and columns. The first site we visited that day was the Baths of Caracalla, a public bathhouse built at some point between 212 and 217 AD. It was again an enormous building, since Roman bathhouses did not only serve the purpose of bathing but also acted as a hub of social interactions; there were gymnasiums, swimming pools and even libraries in some places. Everything about this building was fascinating, from the high walls of the changing rooms to the incredibly well-preserved mosaic tile floors.
Next on the schedule was the Basilica of Saint Clement, the basement of which served for some time as a Mithraeum. We were able to explore this basement as well as admire the artistic marvels of the church itself, above all the painted ceiling. We then had a guided tour of the Roman catacombs. The human remains had been removed from their burial places in order to make the experience less frightening. One notable feature of the catacombs was the early Christian art, like sculptures and frescoes. Here ended the penultimate day of the trip.
On the last day, we went to the Ara Pacis Augustae, or the Altar of Augustan Peace, a huge altar dedicated to the Pax Romana. The Roman Senate commissioned the monument in 13 BC in order to commemorate Augustus’ return from his years in Hispania and Gaul and reflects the traditional Roman culture regarding religion. It stood in the Campus Martius and later was buried underground, but was restored in 1938. In the gift shop, WEG purchased a book on coloured marbles, with which he was greatly pleased.
Finally, after a short visit to a small museum in Rome it was time to return to the UK. The Rome trip provided us all with a series of unforgettable memories. Many thanks to the Classics department for organising such a wonderful Leave-Out.
Anthony Kim( E, 2021-) and Annabelle Brunt( D, 2023-)
35