I have recently been reading in various newspapers and travel magazines about ancient sites that have been opened or reopened to tourists in Rome. I mentioned in a previous blog post about how Largo di Torre Argentina, a square near Campo de' Fiori (one of my favorite spots in Rome) and the site of a number of ancient ruins, opened to visitors this past June after roughly 2,000 years. This is the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated, no less. And shortly after that, it was announced that Rome's "lost" imperial palace, Domus Tiberiana, located on the top of the Palatine Hill, has been reopened to tourists after a six-year restoration. This was the home of many of Rome's emperors, including Nero, who from all accounts was a really fun guy, especially after he was crowned emperor when he was 16 years old. Full of hijinks was that kid - kind of like a young Donald Trump. And, of course, there are new discoveries at Pompeii, including a Shrine of Serpents, naughty frescos in The House of Vetti, and a perfectly preserved ancient fast food restaurant (no frescos of Golden Arches found, surprisingly). Since one-third of Pompeii is still unexplored, I am sure there will be even more discoveries soon. And best of all, there is a new high-speed train that will take you to Pompeii in less than two hours. But only on Sundays, for some reason. Let's face it, the Italians are weird. The photograph above, by the way, I took of the Parthenon back in the spring of 2018 when my sister Susan and I visited Rome. The Parthenon was never undiscovered, since when Rome fell, the barbarians (i.e. Germans) left it intact because it was a church. And still is. You see, even barbarians have some scruples. Unlike Donald Trump.
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