The most fundamental part go this is the sacred spring at the roman bath. The water in the roman bath rises to the temperature of about four hundred and sixty degrees and travels at the rate of about one million, one hundred and seventy thousand liters every day. This is a method that has been going on for thousands of years. This apparently was believed to be the work of the gods.  There is a shrine that has been built here by the Celts and the Goddess Sulis is the Patron to whom this shrine has been dedicated to.

After the Romans invaded this place, the Romans identified Sulis with the goddess Minerva. However, Sulis was the name that was still sued to indicate and identify the shrine> this is how the Roman name of Aquae Sulis came into being which meant the waters of Sulis.

When the Romans occupied Britain, the grand temples and the bathing complexes were built. And this was founded in the year seventy five AD. The powers which were of healing, due to the mineral rich water which was in the springs were what attracted the many visitors from all across the roman empire.

The Roman withdrew the baths and they were all miss maintained and lost due to the whole thing silting up to a point where the repairing became too much of  hassle.  When bathing later became a trend in England, the site was re opened again.  The Georgian buildings are now what stands erected at the end of the eighteenth century.

The roman Baths were excavated and then rediscovered till the late eighteenth century. In fact his is a major archeological find. This has also been one of the largest attractions in the city.

The water in the baths pass through the lead pipes which were fitted by the Roman’s and hence this is unfit for bathing.  The thermal spa was opened in the year two thousand and four in September. This is what the bathers experience for themselves with the many waters.

Corinth today happens to be one of the largest sites of interest to the pilgrims and the many tourists around.

When Corinth was first inhabited, in the Neolithic period, this place used to flourish quite a bit as one of the most famous Greek cities known.  From the eight century before the broth of Christ right till the time that it was destroyed in the year one hundred and fifty before Christ. The roman ended up destroying this city.

The isthmus of the Corinth had a commanding position over this area. And this is the main strop of land that actually separated the peoloponese from the north of the beautiful country of Greece. The diolkos which was also controlled by the Corinth was connected to the sardonic gold. This was mainly responsible for the over hauling of what was called the highly valuate and overly crowded route theta s used by most passengers during those trays.   The passengers and the cargo needed for this place to work and function was hard to avoid and all this proved to be quite time consuming.  Every time they had planned to make a trip around and about the Peloponnesus, it used to be quite a drain on the immediate resources.

Since Greece used to be a huge naval power, the country was financially quite well off. This was pretty much what enabled them to establish many colonies in the Sicilian Island which lie on the modern region of Corfu.  However, it seems that these served as trading ports, the colonies, and were used too many ornamental and bronze works like textiles, pottery and various other produce by the Corinth.

In the year three hundred and eighty two before Christ, there was a huge spring of what looked like a replica of the Olympics game s, back the it was the isthmian games. These were actually held in the honor of the great sea god Poseidon. The temple of Apollo was one of the largest landmarks of this place. And it was also contracted in the year five hundred and fifty before Christ. This was the enormous height of the wealth of the city.

Check back here to know more about the beautiful city of Corinth..

This site belongs to the 19th-century basilica and it is traditionally linked to the Saint Denis’s beheading in the third century. Denis was the patron of the city. Legend says that he was martyred and Bishop Denis carried his severed head to several miles in the north. This is where the suburb of Saint-Denis is located.

France was defeated by Prussians in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. The Sacré-Coeur Basilica was then offered as a guilt to the communes and also to gain their vote of confidence for curing the French misfortunes. This church was devoted to Sacred Heart of Jesus; it was a cult which became really popular after 1873. The first pilgrimage was set up in Burgundy to Paray-le-Monial. Christ’s sacred heart encouraging prayer revelations were reported here in the 17th century.

Basilique Sacré-Coeur’s foundation stone was first laid in the year 1875. The structure was declared sacred in the year 1891 and the construction was completed in 1914. After the First World War ended, the Basilique Sacré-Coeur was then given the basilica status in 1919. This building has a lot in common with the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourviere, located in Lyon.

Basilique Sacre Coeur was made by Paul Abadie and he used a Romanesque-Byzantine architectural theme. The basilica was inspired by St-Front located in Perigueux or Dordogne. It is a multi domed church built on a Roman theme. Sacré-Coeur has three arched portico and it is surmounted by 2 bronze statues of local saints – King Saint Louis IX, and Joan of Arc. The statues are designed by Hippolyte Lefebvre.

Savoyarde, the great bell, too has nationalist references. France annexed Savoy in 1860 and the bell is one of the worlds heaviest, weighing in at 19 tons. The basilica is made up of Seine-et-Marne or Château-Landon stone. It is a frost-resistant travertine which bleaches through the ages to gleaming white color. There are big bronze doors to the main portal and it has foliage designs.

On the inside, the Basilique Sacre Coeur is dim and quite gloomy. The only exception here is the golden mosaics which glow from the apse. The Greek cross has a large dome of 83m height and it is located over the crossing.

This is what was called Urnes style of animal art. This building was still built later on,and according to the ruins that were found , the archeological investigations have discovered that there were two churches before the Urnes church. then further excavations were being carried out, holes were uncovered that belonged to posts that belonged to an early post styled church. the design used here was the type with walls that were supported by short sills that are inserted between free standing posts. according to the style the roof should be higher that contemporary nave churches.

The earliest church was said to be from the eleventh century. now during the seventeenth century, the nave of the church  which is otherwise a raised Central room which happens to be surrounded by an aisle from all sides was actually extended southwards. later on additional structures were added to the church like the baptismal font , the wooden canopy , the pulpit and the alter. windows were added to the church in the 18th century along with the altarpiece which shows Christ on the cross with the virgin Mary and john the baptist. The parish later on was dysfunctional after 1881 and further became a part of the parish of solvorn. and after that this structure has never been used in that same fashion again.

The north wall along with the portal, the details and all  are all decorated in a a classic Urnes style . These relics are believed to be from another church , may be even earlier. this portal is believed to be the main portal that faces the west side. over the centuries , there has been great interest taken in the icons and carvings that have been made on the north wall. the carvings depict a snake trying to climb upwards and the lower part of the carving shows a four legged animal biting into the snakes body. amongst the many interpretations , the one; that this is a fight between the forces of good and evil. The animal that is shown  biting the snake seems to looks like a well decorated lion. apparently in christian mythology, the lion is a symbol of Christ.

And the lion biting the snake is common taken for granted as an interpretation that the snake is Satan. Although it can also be said that the decorations are all Nordic. Also many carvings in early churches were very similar to images and icons fro Nordic mythology. under the church, lies a christian burial ground. since the church was made of wood, there are precise methods to find out the exact age of the wood and hence the age of the church as well. during the time that church was built , Urnes used to belong to a famous chief and his family. This chieftain owned many farms like the one that house the church. because of all of these situations, the chieftains were pretty powerful people. and quite rich. the carvings on the church  are quite distinct and regional  that had far away influences. this shows that artists and craftsmen were brought it from far away. When restoration were being done in the early nineteen hundreds, at the time windows were added in. although until that , there were no windows in the church before that.

Also known to be one of the holiest of places during ancient times. The story of Baalbek (according to an archaeological theory) goes way beyond five thousand years ago. The Phoenicians decided to construct a temple to their sun god – Baal; in Baalbek. This is because; according to legends, this region was the birthplace of the sun god Baal. Later on when the Romans came to the region, they made even more temples for Baal.

The city of Baalbek is dedicated to the sun god Jupiter. This place has the largest stones structures that the Romans built. The Romans however, could not complete building it, as they lacked the necessary technology and engineering capabilities to carve and place the huge stones under their constructions. Apart from the temple that was creation for Baal, another two temples were constructed as well. One for Venus and the other one for Bacchus. There were initially fifty-four columns on in the Jupiter temple. The earthquake in the early twentieth century reduced the only nine remaining columns to about six. Roman constructions involved placing one structure on top of the other.

The Romans constructed a large outer wall and crafted it finely. The stones here vary in weight from about four hundred and fifty tons to twelve hundred tons. These are the largest crafted stones used for construction; in the whole world. Jupiter- Baal was represented here as a beardless god wearing drapes with a whip and thunderbolts in his hands. The statue of Zeus bore busts of seven planetary powers on the front of the pillar. Later on, few other Emperors added to the earlier constructed temples and statues. Nero built a tower alter opposite the temple of Jupiter. Emperor Trajan added a forecourt to the same temple. The white granite was brought in from Egypt. Emperor Philip was the last to add to the temple. He constructed a hexagonal forecourt.

Even contemporary builders are baffled by how they could logistically manage using these stones for building. As moving them and transporting them would be impossible. Baalbek is considered to be an epitome of Imperial Roman architecture. Its is been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Various theories have been made on how the megalithic stones were moved from the quarry to the construction site. One of those theories are that, these huge stones were mounted on wooden or metal rollers and transported over in short distances.

Originally used as a market in the 6th century B.C., the forum gradually became significant at the time of the Republican period when temples and more public monuments were erected here. In the later period, many of these were transformed into holy churches. That which goes up has to come down – anything that receives prosperity has to ultimately bear the adversity. The same fact holds true even for this complex when in the Middle Ages it was ruined, monument stones were taken away for other works, and that the area lastly became a cow meadow.

My Visit

I was with a tour guide who took us to visit some of the most remarkable monuments of the Roman Forum. The admission fee was €9.

First, I saw the Arch of Septimus Severus of 203 A.D. located at the west tip at the base of the Capitoline Hill, which marks the emperor’s conquests over what is today called Iran and Iraq. It is adorned with the reliefs of fighting episodes. Next, we went to see the Arch of Titus (Arco di Tito) made in 81 AD that is located in a bit raised manner on the Palatine Hill, which is at the roman Forum’s entrance. It was built to mark the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD and is adorned with reliefs of the Roman soldiers taking away the riches of the Jewish temple.

The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (310 AD) is a huge brick edifice that once held the famous giant statue of Constantine and acted as the public court during the reigns of the Emperor Maxentius and his successor Constantine. The Column of Phocas (608 AD) was dedicated to an atrocious Byzantine ruler who killed Emperor Maurice and his five sons. After two years of this edifice, Phocas was overthrown and persecuted to death. The Proconnesian marble was used to make the Corinthian column.

Then, we explored the Decennalia Base (303 AD) that was rebuilt version next to its original site in the Rostra of the Roman Forum. It was among the five honorary columns to mark the first visit of Diocletian to Rome due to his reign’s 20th anniversary. Made from monolith pink Aswan marble, all its sides are adorned with ideal reliefs in marble.
At the facing side, two grouped victories with a medallion saying “Happy Tenth Anniversary of the Caesars” is seen, whereas the left one shows a procession of Roman senators. The right one has a scene of a bull, sheep, and pig being sacrifice, while the rear one displays the emperor sacrificing after being crowned by a winged Victory.

Now, it was the turn of the House of the Vestal Virgins near the Temple of Vesta wherein the young priestesses were to look after the sacred flame. Some of the women statues are still seen today in its rectangular structure. The virgins were to serve the temple for 30 years wherein 10 years were for learning, 10 to do the duties, and 10 to teach the new ones. On failure, they were punished severely, for example, if the flame blew off, she was beaten up, or if virginity was gone, she was buried alive.

The Temple of Vesta, a small round shrine, was famous for its holy flame that represented the continuity of the Roman state taken care by the Vestal Virgins.

The Temple of the Dioscuri (5th BC), the Temple of Castor and Pollux, was dedicated to the mortal Castor and immortal Pollux. The Greek and Roman mythology says that Leda, the wife of Zeus (Jupiter), gave birth two twin sons – Castor and Pollux. Even today, its three columns are seen.

History/Legend

After the sect of Castor and Pollux arrived in Italy through the Greek culture of the south, the twins were honored for their victory in the Battle of Lake Regillus. As per the legend, the two young ones magically emerged on white horses on July 15 at the battle against Latins to help the Romans. After the victory, they were seen at the spring of Juturna next to the current Roman Forum watering their horses after which they declared the victory of the Romans.

After the victory in the battle that was considered a vital one over the Latins, the Roman general Aulus Postumius promised to dedicate a temple to the twins, which was met in some 10 years. The first Temple of Castor and Pollux was built in 484 B.C. supposedly at the sight where the two were last seen at the spring. After this, the temple witnessed much rejuvenations marking the Roman defeat of the Macedonians and victories in Dalmatia.

After a fire of 14 BC, Augustus took a firm decision of rebuilding the Temple of Castor and Pollux. The festive day from 15 July now became January 27, as the twin sons were now linked with the royal princes Gaius and Lucius Caesar. Their death delegated the completion task of the new temple to Tiberius and his late brother Drusus in 6 AD.

Architecture

The Temple of Castor and Pollux is now near the Arch of Septimius Severus in the historical Roman Forum. What you can see today is the Corinthian-style temple belonging to the Julio-Claudian period. Only three columns have been left today, even they are not the original ones, but the newly erected ones after their collapse in an earthquake.

The octostyle temple made of white Italian marble once had eight Corinthian columns and eleven on the short and long sides respectively. A cella of mosaics was adorning the temple in olden days, now all of which have gone. Today, you can only see the podium that is 7 m high. Two side stairs were found through which one can reach the podium, which actually defies the belief of a central staircase to the podium. Originally, the facade of the podium was made in such a manner that it forms a stage for the speaker, but it was then altered to make up a single staircase in the 3rd century.

If you go inside, you will come across the remains of 25 small chambers that was supposed to be used at the time of the temple functions. However, I felt that one of them might have been taken over by a dentist.

Festivals

When Romans used to rule, 15th July was the day to remember the two gods. On this day, a parade was held to mark the victory at Lake Regillus. To resemble the two gods – Castor and Pollux, two young men on white horses led the parade along with 5,000 knights in purple attire holding spears and shields.

History

Interestingly, I was on a guided tour to this temple when I visited Athens. The guide first told us about its delayed construction by narrating the following brief.

With the construction work of the Temple of Olympian Zeus that started in the 6th century by Peisistratos, decreasing wealth and dethrone of the Pisistratus’s son, Hippias 510 B.C was enough to stop it. It took some 700 years to complete the work that happened during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian in 131 AD. The main reason behind this delay was that the Classical Greeks who inhabited in between were of the opinion that it really quite vast and it represented the egotism to be equal to the Gods. However, in the 2nd century B.C during the reign of Macedonians, the left work was started again by Antiochus the IV of Syria who had an aim to have the largest temple on the planet. Alas! Even he died leaving his dream unfulfilled.

Exploring the Temple

Once this temple was the home of 104 Corinthian columns of 17 m high that were made from the Pentelic marble. But today, only 15 of them can be seen. Certainly, you can imagine the expanse of the temple complex from only its columns. The guide told us that some two columns during its construction were taken away to Rome for the Temple of Jupiter by the Roman General Sulla in 86 B.C.

Close to the temple is the Arch of Hadrian built in 132 A.D. to commemorate the Emperor Hadrian soon after the building work of the Temple of Olympian Zeus was over. It is an arched doorway at the northwest corner of the complex that acted as a gate amid the ancient Athens and the Roman Athens. Made from the Pentelic marble, it has two inscriptions. At the side looking towards the Acropolis (west) says, “This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus”, whereas on the contrary, the other facing the complex says, “This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus”.

The guide then told us that the emperor had built a massive gold and ivory statue of Zeus along with his own within the temple, but now have disappeared. All thanks to the loot of the big egoists and selfish people to did not honor the temple and took all its treasures to build their own buildings. And nevertheless, the natural calamities have never shown its mercy even to the sacred places too. He said, some people say that the Temple of Olympian Zeus was buried down due to an earthquake, but no one knows the real reason for its turning into ruins.

He then spoke about the dwelling of the ascetics who used to live for many days on the pillars’ and columns’ atop in 1880s. They were known as stylite, the term that is derived from the Greek stylos for column. All this is evident from the early paintings and drawings.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mother Mary and was built over a Roman Temple of Isis, the goddess of wisdom mistakenly said as Minerva. This is evident from some of sections of the Roman temple that still can be seen since the era of Augustus (63 B.C – 14 A.D). Now, you can understand why the church is so named.

The Church

Just in front of the church, I first saw one of the most peculiar edifices in the nation called the Pulcino della Minerva. With the elephant as the base for the Egyptian obelisk, the structure’s obelisk is the smallest Egyptian obelisk in Rome out of a total of 11 taken away from Sais to adorn the former Temple of Isis. This is basically due the obelisk’s religious significance that it is the home of the divine spirit. On its base, the Latin inscription says

“…a strong mind is a must for holding a solid knowledge”

The original front of the church was quite a Baroque style built by Carlo Maderno in the 16th century, said a visitor there. However, what I saw was actually the rebuilt one of the 19th century that exhibits its neo-medieval style. What was even more appealing on the facade is its marks of the 16th and 17th centuries that depict different floods of the Tiber rising to 65 feet.

Talking about its interior, the 13th century nave has very sharp Gothic arches and partial Baroque elements added later. The stained glass windows are also fantastic. Beyond its facade, the arched dome is adorned with outstanding red ribbing and blue ones with golden stars, which is actually not the original, but the efforts of the 19th century.

Cappella Carafa

Known as the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Carafa chapel holds the tomb of Gian Pietro Carafe – the Pope Paul IV in 1555. Herein, I was amazed with its 15th century frescoes and the two Marian scenes, the Annunciation and the Assumption. What was further worth noticing was St Thomas awarding Cardinal Carafa to the Blessed Virgin above the altar and on the right wall is his Glory of St Thomas.

Cappella Capranica

Also known as the Chapel of the Rosary, the stucco ceiling is simply remarkable. It is here that you will see the works of Fra Angelico – Madonna and Child.

Michelangelo’s Cristo della Minerva

Also known as Christ the Redeemer or Christ Carrying the Cross, this is a sculpt of marble at the left of the prime altar. It was made by Michelangelo Buonarroti that was completed in 1521.

Cappella Aldobrandini

Herein, I saw the canvas showing the Institution of the Eucharist dated since 1594 and the memorial of the parents of Pope Clement VIII, Salvestro Aldobrandini and Luisa Dati. It was in this chapel that the first Blessed Sacrament Confraternity was approved by the Holy See.

The timings for visitors are weekdays: 7:15 am – 7 pm and weekends: 8:15 am -7 pm. Note that it is closed between 2 pm – 5:15 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays.

What attracts visitors at the Roman Theaters of Lyon is not only its antiquity, but also the amalgam of prosperous history and culture with modern structural design and culture. Among the structures, what is unique for the Roman antiquity here is the ruined semicircular theatres namely, Grand Theater and the Odeon. Today, live concerts are held at these two theaters at the summertime Fourvière Nights festival.

What I Visited

The Grand Theater

Misunderstood to be an amphitheatre, this is a full theatre wherein gladiators’ contests were held. Dedicated to Augustus in 15 B.C., it is the most ancient theater in Gaul that includes the current France, Belgium, western Switzerland, and parts of the Netherlands and Germany. I was delighted to be in most ancient theatre after knowing this fact. It is a fun to be at such a legendary place.

Originally, it had only two tiers of seats accommodating 9000 audience, but later an upper and a lower covered walkway were transformed to add two more tiers that increased to 10000 people.

The Odeon of Lugdunum

This is among the only two Odeons in the Gaul area, but the largest one that is in competition with the Odeon in Athens. The other one is in Vienne at 30 km from Lyon towards south. Nevertheless, this Odeon is comparatively smaller to the two other theatres at the Roman Theaters. In the past, Odeon was where the poets and musicians showed their talents that was compared and awarded by the people. This tradition is still in its roots kept alive in form of musical and dramatic shows not only here, but also at the modern theaters and concert halls.

The Odeon of Lugdunum is made up of two stories out of which the first one has a domed gallery adorned using a mosaic. There was also a pavement standing due to powerful columns. It seems as the huge semicircular wall was once holding a wooden roof, which was a tradition followed in building the Odeon during the era of Greece and Rome Empires.

The Museum of Gallo-Roman Civilization

Do not miss to visit this monumental exemplary piece located towards the north of the Roman Theaters of Lyon. Not only its exterior look is outstanding, but what is holds is also worth a visit even if you are do not like exploring museums. Herein, you come across a noteworthy collection of archaeological excavations at the Fourvière site that emphasis on the personal and public lifestyle in Lyon right from its origin in 43 B.C.

The most brilliant exhibition in the museum is that of the Five Centuries of Discovery named so due to the relics, inscriptions, statues, currencies, and porcelains assembled by the experts of Lyon in the 16th century. Further, there are more exhibitions – the Largest City of Gaul, Men and God, Games, an Economic Metropolis, and Artists and Artisans.

For deserving more tourists’ visit, the museum organizes workshops that charge 1.5 € for child and 3 € for adult along with shows for the little ones. On these specific days, for viewing the collections, a specific time is decided upon.

The museum is open on all days, except Mondays, 25th December, and the first of Jan, May, and Nov. The full fee is 3.8 €.