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Next time you visit Rome and you find the subway system lacking, try imagining how deep we need to go.
On a related note: Ikea was planning to open a shop in the outskirts of Rome some 25 years ago. They had their store designed and just when they started digging foundations they found roman remains. The whole store had to be redesigned, raised one level and only then built. The process took 10 additional years, but now when you go to Ikea you can see some of the remains, including a roman road in the parking lot underneath.
http://ifg.uniurb.it/static/lavori-fine-corso-2012/grifoni/2...
It's a blessing that most of roman ruins still stand relatively intact even after applying two thousand years of human stupidity to them. For example, they could definitely ruin a lot with an early subway.
And yes, it was kind of strange that Milan outran Rome in terms of subways.
On the other hand, Saint Petersburg is built on the swamp, and metro had to be 50+ meters deep and featured underground river flooding one of its tunnel for 10+ years. At least you're happy to have this place genuinely diggable.
Wonderful. I had no idea when I visited Rome. I already considered it one of the most beautiful cities ever made. At every street corner there can be a wonderful church, or a great facade. It's surprise on top of surprise every step you take.
And here's a 3d tour from the imperial times of this most historic of cities from khan academy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgA6G75XsI
I think those views are from http://romereborn.frischerconsulting.com
Great, but I find the 3D map of modern Rome in Apple Maps better. Interactivity really adds to the experience.
I really hope that someone at magic leap is working on making 3d reconstructions of ancient ruins explorable in real time and real space.
Hell yah! I'm forwarding your comment to my peeps there.
Hey, every history teacher: spend a day and read this page to your kids. Now I want to visit Rome and see old crap!
My favorite paragraph:
> Wandering a bit we find more modern additions, post-excavation. One of the most beloved 20th century heads of the Vatican Library has been buried here, just below the now-restored old altar of the lower church. And the tomb of St. Cyril [or possiby it contains Cyril and his brother Methodius – there is debate] is here. They are the creators of the Glagolitic alphabet (ancestor of the Cyrillic), surrounded by plaques and donations and tokens of thanksgiving from many Slavic countries who use that alphabet.
This is an absolutely marvelous bit of history!
Great read!
(but sheesh... the site designer needs to fix those link styles.)