Rome: Day 4, Appian Way, Catacombs, Aqueducts, Baths of Caracalla

We again jumped on the metro to head out to catch a bus to get to the Appian Way ... phew!

The Appian Way was the largest, widest and fastest road ever - called the "Queen of Roads". It was built in 32 B.C., named after Appius Claudius Caecus, it connected Rome with Capu (near Naples) and it ran in a straight line - ignoring the contour of the land. This road eventually spanned 430 miles ... and Michael REALLY wanted to see it.

Michael walking on the original stones of the Appian Way:

A private driveway off the Appian Way:

Vino break!!

Circus Maxentius, similar to Circus Maximus (same purpose - chariot races):

Catacombs of San Sebastiano. It was an underground cemetary named for the Christian soldier who was tied to a column and shot with arrows because of his faith. We took a tour of the catacombs and went 3 stories below ground level to see how the Christian's used to bury their family members.

We ended the tour up in the church above the catacombs (it is said that the bodies of Peter and Paul were kept here for awhile in the 3rd century), this is where the remains of San Sebastian are kept:

alter in the church:

When we left the catacombs we walked for-ev-er to find the aqueducts. With some luck, and some quick maneuvers to dodge crazy Roman drivers, we were able to find the aqueducts in town ...

... that led us to the ancient aqueducts still standing!!

Aqueduct park!

We were finally able to find a metro station so we could head back into the heart of Rome and one of the last stops of the day was at the Baths of Caracalla! This was probably one of the most under-rated sites that we saw - and we loved it!! The baths were huge - built by Emperor Caracalla - they even had slaves on the floors beneath to stoke the fires and heat the water in certain rooms:

Parts of the mosaic tile floors are still in tact!

The size was overwhelming - it was almost too much to even conceive how this was built (it included 3 main baths, libraries, workout rooms, etc)!

A painting still on the wall:

A partial mosaic still in tact:

afterwards we had to walk right past:

at sunset. :)

I finally took a picture of the cappuccinos we drank every morning in the hotel - YUM!!!

We ate a quick breakfast the next morning and headed to ... Firenze!!