My guidebook says this tour is perfect for first time visitors, so I am expecting some in depth information about the architecture and monuments.
I am deciding to head straight to the Colosseum as my first destination. My guidebook says that it is the most thrilling of Rome's ancient sites, with a history of merciless violence. The guidebook is really playing up the aspect of violence, bloodthirsty crowds, and slaughter that occurred here in ancient times. I find that a little off putting as violence seems like such a commercialized thing, it seems like they are trying to sell the idea of the Colosseum to me. I am happy to see that they are using terms such as ionic, doric and corinthian to describe the aesthetic styles of the columns.
Next I will travel to the Pantheon. The guidebook says that along with the Colosseum, it is one of Rome's most iconic sites and it is the most influential building in the Western world. It would have been nice to have some specific examples as to how this building has had influence, such as naming some other architecture or areas of the world where this far-reaching style has made its mark. The Pantheon is surrounded by a crown of muddled buildings - it seems to barely squeeze into the city! The guidebook tells me that the Pantheon was made for multiple Gods and then converted to a Christian church. Something fascinating that I find about the Colosseum is the massive dome structure - my guidebook tells me it is the largest unreinforced dome in the world. I would like to know more about its construction but that's about all the information I get.
Finally I am going to visit the Trevi Fountain. My guidebook doesn't have a lot of information about this site, so I explore it myself. It is really beautiful - my questions are why was it built? Who are the figures, and what do they represent? What is the building behind it? My guidebook tells me it is a depiction of Neptunes chariot being lead by Tritons with one wild and one docile sea horse to represent the moods of the sea, which I find quite interesting. I also learned this site was designed in 1732, which was a lot more recent that I had thought. I also learn the name Trevi means "three roads" which converge at the fountain. I do not learn what the building behind it is, though. Again, pop culture and media is referenced with this site, as it says it received its iconic status when Anita Ekberg "splashed here in La Dolce Vita". I understand that Western culture links a lot of things to media and television, but it is just annoying when you ruin something that was completely non-influenced by Hollywood by sticking a Hollywood reference in there anyway.
Overall, I am satisfied with the information from the guide books. It certainly attests to the level of power and grandiosity in Roman architecture.
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