Senior Classics students visit Rome

While the trip to Rome was incredible and exhausting in equal parts, I think I can safely say that my favorite part was the Colosseum. The Colosseum, or the Flavian amphitheater as it was originally called, is one of well-known the icons of ancient Rome. We made our way out of the crowded Metro and, for the first time laid our eyes on the amphitheater where hundreds of gladiatorial games once took place. It stood towering high above us, imposing and grand. It had a presence to it that none of the other sights we visited even came close to. I just couldn't stop looking at it. It doesn't even need to be said that I loved every part of exploring it. I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch the games in it's glory days. Despite how must I loved Ostia Antics and how much I wanted to see the Pantheon, the Flavian amphitheater was really something else.
Svetlana Cvetic (6th Year)

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Rome. I found the city of Rome fascinating as it is purely a city of ruins. Everywhere you looked you were able to see something of ancient times. I didn’t expect the city to look the way it did, everything was much bigger than you expect it to be. As we walked down the streets we saw fallen columns embedded in the grass or excavations right in the centre of the city. From studying Mortimer Wheelers Art and Architecture book, you are given pictures of the sites that we saw, but when you see them in real life you see that the photos don’t do the sites justice at all.

I really enjoyed seeing the Garden of Livia as I found it so amazing that they constructed a room to fit the fresco. The fresco added space and light to the room without windows. I loved it because it sat so effortlessly on the wall yet had so much depth to it. We only study one wall of the Garden of Livia, so it was nice to see the other three walls. I definitely will go back to Rome as we saw so much that at times it was hard to process all of the information, so I want to go back and spend some time appreciating all that was around me.
Carmel Grey (6th Year)

The Palatine Hill was my favourite part of the Classcial trip to Rome. The hill that once housed the emperors of the Roman Empire is littered with ruins and overlooks the vast area of Rome.
Paul Stafford (6th Year) 

For more photos see the 2015-2016 Web Gallery!