Our morning started off with a visit to the amazing Museo Monte Martini, a museum filled with the latest acquisitions placed in a very different setting: an old power plant. When I first heard of this set up I was skeptical of how it would work and look. I was pleasantly surprised!!! The effects were amazing and the artefacts were spectacular. Everything from sarcophagi, friezes and busts were within. The most exciting part of this visit was finding my first real busts of famous Romans, most importantly, Augustus and Domitian!!!! As most know, Domitian is my all time favourite Roman, and words cannot describe how excited I was to actually see one of his busts, I would have loved to have taken it home!!! A photo of Domitian and I is below :). Another great artefact that I adore is the Barberini Togatus, it was amazing to see an artefact that is so iconic and in every text in real life!!!
After our adventure in the museum, we caught the train to the Pyramid of Cestius where I had my first presentation and we had the opportunity to look inside the awesome structure. It may sound morbid, but my love of funerary monuments is very large, and this pyramid is just an awesome example of commemorating someone's life. Entering the pyramid was strange, the tunnel to get in (made by grave robbers) was awfully narrow and low, like something out of a film! After the walk through the tunnel, we arrived into the chamber, which was unexpectedly tiny. Personally, I was expecting an Egyptian styled inside, with many rooms and corridors (especially considering the vastness of monument). After getting over the shock of the size, the room was quite beautiful, with friezes still existing and graffiti from centuries ago on the walls. Considering most people do not have the chance to go inside, it was a very worthwhile experience. After our visit to the pyramid, it was time to make way for Ostia, the ancient port city of Rome. Personally, this was a part of the trip I was not looking forward to, but the hours we spent in the town of ruins completely changed that.
The city of Ostia is so well preserved, the lower level of most buildings is still intact and in good enough condition to walk through, on and around. It was astounding to think that we were walking around what was once such a great, busy city. I don't have a great deal to day about Ostia other than it was a surreal and awesome experience to see all the buildings, mosaics and artefacts almost in situ. The day was tiring but very worth the amazing experience!! Ostia was also where I had my first Italian gelato, a vanilla (I think) gelato for the first and a strawberry sorbet as the second, definitely very exciting!!
Anyway, more will hopefully follow tomorrow after another jam packed day!!
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