Rome: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Many first-time visitors to Rome are disappointed when they see the actual ruins of the famous Forum. Time, war, and scavaging have left the place a pile of indecipherable rubble punctuated by a few isolated columns, still standing after millennia have passed. To make sense of the jumble, it's best to have a knowledgeable guide who can paint a picture in your mind of what used to be and re-assemble the stones into a temple, a merchant stall, an altar, a palace.

Months before I arrived in Rome, I had pre-booked a private walking tour of the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill for my first full day in the city. The tour promised exclusive access inside the recently discovered Palace of Augustus on Palatine Hill, which overlooks the Forum. I could not believe that I was actually going to be walking around inside the place Emperor Augustus and Empress Livia called home.. standing in their foyer, gazing at their frescoed walls, snooping around their bedroom and occupying the same space they did, although at a different point in time. 

Giddy with excitement, I awoke after my first night in the city and hurriedly prepared for this once in a lifetime experience. Getting there was an easy walk down the Aventine hill to the metro, and one stop to the Colosseo (Colosseum). There I found my tour group, right where they said they would be. All was looking good! Then I saw the Italian police... and the crowds gathering at the front of the Colosseum entrance. 

This wouldn't happen if Commodous were here

It was not to be. A strike had been called by the union representing the antiquities staff who manage the ruins; the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill were closed until further notice. Strikes in Italy during the summer are not uncommon, but still, I felt like I had been sucker-punched. What to do? 

After allowing myself a few seconds of self-pity, I resigned to fate and slipped into "travel mode", that state of being where nothing is urgent, nothing needs doing, and whatever happens is precisely what is supposed to. I declined a refund and instead went along with the guide, who did her best to make up a tour by skirting around the outer perimeters of the Colosseum and Forum.  

You know what? We had a great time. I actually think we got a better perspective of the Forum from above it, on the outside. We certainly learned a lot about the city's history, past and present. So I didn't get to see inside Augustus's Palace -- just another reason to return to Rome.

The Forum viewed from Capitoline Hill