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Rome, Italy

This is
the Pantheon!

Rome is the capital city of Italy.
Rome is situated on the Tiber River.
Rome has a population of almost two and a half million people.
Rome is over 3,000 years old! It was not built in a day!
The Seven Hills of Rome are not very high!
The People who live in Rome are Italian.
Italian people speak Italian!
Bongiorno! – that’s “good day” in Italian

“There’s a spotlight inside the Pantheon, Cousin Isabella. No, wait, it’s a hole in the roof which lets the light come in, and it’s huge!”

That’s right, Cousin Adrian. It is called an ‘oculus’ and it was the wonder of ancient Roman engineering. It lights the entire building, and no other oculus in all of ancient Rome came close to it in size!”

“But it’s open, Cousin Isabella! What happens when it rains?”

“Calm down, Cousin Adrian! The oculus has always been open. But, since the floor is slightly curved and the drainpipes underneath the floor still function, the rain just runs off, and no one gets wet feet!”

“What an idea! That’s really cool!”

THE SEVEN HILLS OF ROME –
Ancient Rome was founded on a group of “seven hills” in 1,500 BC. That means that it is more than 3,000 years old! WOW! That’s really old! We could explore “the seven hills of Rome” together if you were here!

But what is meant by BC? It means “before Christ” and it is a way to indicate the time before the birth of Jesus. AD, anno Domini, is Latin for in the year of the Lord, and it is used to indicate the time after the birth of Jesus. You will see these letters a lot when learning about Rome.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME –
Today, many people from all over the world visit Rome! How do they get there? There is a saying that “all roads lead to Rome”, and in ancient Roman times, they did! Today, however, they do not! For example, if there is an ocean between you and Rome, you will have to take a plane. You can still take one of those many roads, however, when there is no ocean in your way! Of course, the train is also a modern-day possibility as long as there is no ocean in your way!

ROAM –
Do you like to spend time outdoors? The people of Rome do! Romans also like to walk. Do you like to walk? If you were here, we could walk to the Spanish Steps and to Trevi Fountain!

The Spanish Steps

There are 137 steps in all which form a double staircase. If you were here, we could count every one of them, being very careful not to trip! That could really ruin your trip when visiting the Roman ruins!

Trevi Fountain

Many tourists like to throw a coin into this famous fountain so that they will return to Rome someday! If you were here, you could throw a coin, too! Go ahead! But, be careful not to fall in because swimming is not permitted here!

HOW MANY ROMAN RUINS ARE THERE IN ROME?
There are many Roman ruins all over Europe, but some of the most famous in Rome are the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon.

The Colosseum

WHO WON?

This giant amphitheatre, which measures 620 by 513 feet overall and seated 50,000 spectators, was dedicated in AD 80. The dedication ceremony included 100 days of games!

Would you like to play some games?

We could play some games if you were here! Do you have some favorites that you would like to play for 100 days? That’s really a long time, isn’t it!

Today, although all of the 50,000 seats and all of the decorations have disappeared, the Colosseum is still a very impressive ruin!

THE ROMAN FORUM –
Located between two of the Seven Hills of Rome, the Palatine and the Capitoline hills, the Roman Forum was considered to be the most important forum in ancient Roman times. But what is a forum? A forum in ancient Roman times was a public gathering place where meetings and events took place. There were also temples, law courts, shops and open-air markets in the forum. Today, when you visit the Roman Forum, you can see the ruins, or in other words, what remains of the temples and the monuments from ancient Rome.

THE PANTHEON –
This Roman building was begun in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa, but was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian between AD 118 and 128.

In all these years, however, no one has been able to determine exactly how the Pantheon was built! The 27-foot-wide hole in the ceiling of the dome, which alone lit the big circular space inside the building, was extraordinary! No one had ever put such a large hole in the roof of a building before. If you had a hole in your ceiling, what would you do? Would you keep it open or would you try to repair it?

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO IN ROME?
If you were here,we could visit the Bioparco Zoo.

We could also visit a water park called Hydromania.

Please tell a parent or other responsible grownup that the Hydromania website is in Italian but not too difficult to navigate, and that you might enjoy taking a look with their help!

We could also visit Explora, The Children’s Museum of Rome, if you were here! Again, a parent or another responsible grownup might like to know that, although this website is also in Italian, the reservation page, (Prenotazione Online ) is in English!

And, of course, the Vatican Museum

has some treasures that you may find awesome!

With the help of a grownup . . . .
Take a look here for some other “Fun Things to Do in Rome” if you were here!

Finally, “When in Rome . . .”
If you were here,we could eat lots of pizza and ice cream! Pizza was invented by the Italians and the ice cream, which is called gelato, is extra special! Of course, spaghetti is also a good choice “when in Rome!”

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Help SOMEONE you know learn about this famous place!
Click on the gamecard postcard below to place your order,
and Heckery Dekkery Dot will send it on its way to help YOU get the travel game underway!

It's FUN! And, it's EDUCATIONAL, too!

Who will win?

Everyone wins when children learn more about the world around them!

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Thank You:
http://www.britannica.com
http://kids.britannica.com
Britannica and Britannica Online for Kids are excellent resources for information.

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com

http://www.rome.info/pantheon/

A special thank you goes to my daughters Alicia and Janella for their valuable input and to my husband Barthold, to Eveline, and to the Damen der Englisch-Gruppe in Marburg for their help with the German translations.

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All photos on this site were taken by me on my travels unless otherwise indicated.

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