One of the most difficult things to understand in life is how someone who professes to love you can then go on to abuse you.  Many people feel traumatized and confused after a romantic relationship with an abusive Narcissistic partner ends. They wonder: “We were so in love, yet he went from telling me that I was the love of his life to treating me like garbage. He cheated on me.  He devalued me.  He embarrassed me in front of our friends.  How can I trust anyone again, if I so badly misjudged this person?”  

If you have ever been abused by a Narcissistic mate or lover and now are out of the relationship, you may be wondering how you could have made such a big mistake—and how you can avoid doing it again in the future.

The good news is that most people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are very predictable.  They tend to follow the same relationship pattern over and over again.  And, unlike common perceptions about Narcissists, most are not very devious.  Narcissists are continually signaling that they are Narcissists.  You can learn to recognize the early signs that the new love of your life is a Narcissist by paying close attention to how they behave towards you in each stage of the relationship. Then it is up to you to decide if you want to continue the relationship. Here are some of the basics that you need to know:

Why Are Narcissists Prone to Being Abusive?

When people have a Narcissistic Personality Disorder, two things interact to predispose them to be abusive:

• They are low on emotional empathy.

Emotional empathy is the capacity to feel what another person is feeling (or what you imagine that the person is feeling).  Having emotional empathy decreases the likelihood that you will want to hurt other people because you will literally feel some of their pain.  Without emotional empathy, you have less motivation to pay attention to the pain that your words and actions are causing your partner.

Narcissists can have “intellectual empathy” without also having emotional empathy. Intellectual empathy is the ability to cognitively understand that you are causing the other person pain. Intellectual empathy requires that you stop and think about what the other person might feel in response to your actions. Narcissists, therefore, can understand that they may be causing you pain, but they have less motivation to care because they are not feeling anything negative themselves.

• They lack “whole object relations” and “object constancy.”

One of the main reasons that people abuse others that they profess to love is that they lack “whole object relations” and “object constancy.” Briefly defined: “Whole object relations is the capacity to see oneself and other people in an integrated and realistic way as having a mix of good and bad qualities, some that you like and others that you dislike. If you have “whole object relations” you can accept that someone is not perfect and still value the person for the good qualities that he or she has.  “Object constancy” is the ability to maintain your positive emotional connection to someone that you care about while you are feeling angry, frustrated, disappointed, or hurt by the person. Having “object constancy’ helps you rein in your impulses to hurt someone during a fight.  Not having “object constancy” makes people more likely to be willing to emotionally and physically damage their mate.

NOTE: Not all people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are equally abusive. Narcissists range from those who put you on a pedestal and then verbally devalue you when they realize you are not the perfect being that they expected you to be, to people who physically abuse their mates and try and control their every move—who they see, what they spend money on, how often they speak to their family.

The Three Stages of the Narcissistic Relationship Abuse Pattern

Although there are Narcissists who are “players” and not looking for a serious long-term relationship, many people with Narcissistic disorders do want to settle down and get married. Unfortunately because they lack whole object relations, they tend to be extremely unrealistic about what they expect in a mate. They have only two categories, perfect and flawed. 

Perfect = You are pleasing me right now.

Flawed = You are doing something that I do not like right now.

As a result, instead of finding the perfect relationship that they crave, Narcissists end up repeating what I think of as “The Narcissist Relationship Abuse Pattern” over and over again. Each relationship stage has its own form of Narcissistic abuse that you can learn to spot. Below are the three basic stages, the type of Narcissistic abuse typical of that stage, and the behaviors that predict the abuse.

STAGE 1: Chasing the Unicorn

In the beginning, you seem like that rarest of imaginary creatures, “The Unicorn.” They love everything about you, even your flaws seem like endearing idiosyncrasies. Narcissists are extremists and have no middle ground. When they first find you attractive, they are likely to idealize you and believe that you are the perfect mate for them.  At last they have found someone who will never disappoint them. They give chase and pursue you with attention, gifts, texts, flattery, and anything else that they think will work to prove their total devotion.  In this stage, while you are slightly out of reach and they have not yet sealed the deal, they are totally focused on convincing you to give them a chance to prove their love.  Some Narcissists just repeat the “Chase Stage” over and over with different people because they really do not know how to have an actual relationship with someone that they have “caught.” 

Stage 1 Abuse Pattern: After spending an enormous amount of time, energy, and sometimes money trying to convince you of their devotion, your pursuer immediately loses interest in you after you stop running. You are left feeling disappointed and bewildered that this person who said he wanted you to be the mother of his future children (or the father) has “ghosted” on you and will not even answer your texts. 

Predictors of Abuse: Here are some typical signs that you may want to notice at this stage of the relationship that signal your “lover” may become a Narcissistic abuser

• The over the top nature of their chase is a signal that they are unrealistic.

Unlike most people who want to gradually get to know the person that they are datingbefore they start to make commitments about the future, Narcissists often try to engage you in planning your future together after your first date. They may start talking about all the places that they want to take you this Summer on vacation, or even want to discuss how many children the two of you will have together and where they should go to school.

• They worship the ground that you walk on.

I know that this sounds like a good sign, but it is not.  What goes up, must come down.  This degree of idealization is actually a sign that they are not seeing the real you at all.  Instead they are simply projecting their fantasy woman onto you.  The real you is not perfect and certainly is unlikely to fit every item on their wish list.  Once they discover that you are not exactly like their fantasy woman, they are likely to be resentful and disappointed.  If you are lucky, they will simply disappear from your life at that point instead of proceeding to the next Narcissistic Relationship Abuse Stage.

• All their former lovers ended up disappointing them.

However they describe their former lovers and mates is how they are likely to eventually describe you. If they are perpetually disappointed in people, it says more about them than the people they feel disappointed by. If you ask why their previous relationships did not work out and they tell you that they found out that their lovers were very different than they first seemed, this is a sign that you too will be described that way one day.

STAGE 2: The Construction Project

Once you are “caught,”  Narcissistic lovers start to relax and enjoy your company.  Now that they have time to take a good look at you, they slowly begin to notice little things about you that they think detract from your perfection. Your idiosyncrasies no longer seem so adorable. Now they are flaws.  It is at this point that you can start to recognize the signs that this person may be a Narcissist. 

Stage 2 Abuse Pattern: Narcissistic lovers start suggesting ways that you should change “for your own good.” “If only you would do your hair differently, work out more, or wear sexier (or less sexy) clothing, you would be even better. Don’t you want to be better?” “Don’t you want to please me?”  I think of this stage as “The Construction Project” because they keep suggesting ways to renovate you.  

Predictor of Abuse: How they deal with their disappointment and react to your "no." Many people discover that their new lover is not as perfect as they first assumed and are disappointed. This can be quite normal.  What differentiates Normal disappointment from Narcissistic disappointment is how they react to you saying “no” to their suggestions.

• Normal Disappointment: They would love you to make slight changes to please them, but if you really do not want to, they can accept that without devaluing you or losing interest in you as a mate.  They may occasionally bring up the topic again, but they more or less gracefully make peace with the idea that you will not give them every single thing that they want.  They also accept that you are a separate person from them and have a right to your own ideas.  You’re a not a doll for them to dress, or a house to renovate; you are a real person.
• Narcissistic Disappointment: They cannot understand why you want to stay the way you are. When you resist their suggestions, they feel insulted—as if you have criticized them, and not the other way around.  They become angry, want to punishyou, and they begin to get nasty.  They start picking fights with you about every little thing that you do that they do not like. The ratio of compliments to devaluing comments shifts.  You find yourself starting to wonder: “What happened to the sweet man I fell in love with?”

STAGE 3: Devaluation

Stage 3 Abuse Pattern: One day you wake up and realize that the compliments have stopped and all you are hearing are criticisms. 

Predictors of Abuse: The criticisms are no longer phrased politely as suggestions.  They are outright insults.  He says: “You look like a clown in that dress.  It makes your butt look like the rear end of a cow.”  Or she says, “I hate that scent you are wearing.  It smells like something my grandfather would wear.  When did you become such an old man?” 

• Eventually, the insults go public.  One day you are out together with friends and your beloved not only starts criticizing you in front of them, but to them in front of you. 
• The verbal abuse escalates until it is the main way that your lover speaks to you. Your wishes are ignored and you are treated cruelly. The fights escalate into screaming matches and you find yourself yelling or crying hysterically. You may get hit or physically abused in some other way.  Unless you put a stop to this quickly, this will become your life from now on.

Conclusion: Once you learn to recognize the above, you may still find yourself in love with a Narcissist one day.  The question you then need to ask yourself is: “How much abuse am I prepared to take?”  If your answer is “very little,” then you may want to take your heart and leave before it gets well and truly broken.

Many women find sex to be the deepest form of love and connection, and many women are very sexually oriented. While his orgasm may be quicker, hers is often more powerful and her incredible capacity for pleasure includes multiple orgasms.

But the ways that women experience and express their sexuality are often very different from their male partners (See How Men Really Feel about Sex.) Here are some of the most common ways that women may differ from men.

Sex begins in the mind. Men are often disappointed that she doesn’t crave it in her body as much as he does. But her body is very different hormonally. Testosterone does cause physiological desire in both genders, but to differing degrees – proportionately, male hormonal drive is a loud scream and hers is an occasional whisper. For her, it’s the fantasizing, remembering, and imagining hot sex that revs her engine. So, in times of infatuation or falling in love – when she is constantly thinking about being together – her sexual appetite is high and arousal is easy.

Sex is about being desired. Sex researcher Meredith Chivers says “being desired is the orgasm” for women. While seeing (and some women are more visual than others) an attractive man might cause a small spike of excitement in a woman, it’s the thought of his reaction to her – “I wonder if he thinks I’m hot?” – that hits her brain like a lightning bolt. Knowing that her man is hungry for her engages her imagination and ignites sexy thoughts in the brain (see above!). Just as men often expect abundant sex after marriage, women have expectations of lots of continuing romance that assures her of her sexual desirability.

Sex is a mixed bag. Most women do love sex, but desire can easily be derailed by tiredness, resentment, and physiological problems of pain and menopause. In fact, without the physiological driver of enormous testosterone like males, a main task for women is to turn off the inner "brakes" says sex therapist Emily Nagoski - the distractibility of the laundry, children and work or the inhibiting voices inside that tell her no from her history or her religion. Women often come to bed willing to have a good experience but not yet really wanting and craving sex until aroused. And sometimes getting to the peak of arousal can be bumpy climb (for most women it may take up 45 minutes). Experiencing regular orgasms is not as easy for women as it is for men, but it is necessary for continued desire. So, while men love variety, women may prefer a tried and true position or routine because there is more guarantee for her pleasure which allows her to relax in the moment.

Sex is contextual. While a great many women do learn orgasm through self-stimulation, there is also a large proportion who begin their sexual lives within a relationship or hook-up. The first time they are touched intimately may be by another person, whereas nearly all men start their sexual lives with masturbation. Feeling sexual desire is, at its core, the rawest form of vulnerability – to want our lover to touch us and bring us pleasure is to experience need. Often, relationship ups and downs cause women to withdraw desire and protect their heart in a way that men don’t, and can’t, given the force of their biological drive. Her need to feel safe emotionally before the sexual moment cannot be overstated. Romance and seduction are ways that both men and women can co-create a context for sex that helps her separate from the cares of her day and her mental checklist of things to do and brings her to a place of vulnerability.

The area between the Tiber and the group of hills nearest the river - Capitoline,Palatine and Aventine - was occupied in ancient times by the Forum Boarium(from bos, ox), where the cattle market was held. This plain was of fundamental importance from Rome's earliest times, as the meeting point of the Tiber with the road running north-south to connect Etruria with Campania.

In the area between the three temples of the nearby Forum Holitorium and the temple of Portunus, the deity protecting the port, lay the commercial port of the city. The legends about the Foro Boario indicate the market precisely in this point, on the bank of the river, as the first nucleus for the development of the city.

The two temples of the Forum Boarium in Hellenistic style date from the Republican age (509-27 BC): the temple of Portunus, already mentioned - the so-called Temple of Virile Fortune, and the temple to Hercules the Victor also known as the temple of Vesta.

The Roman Forum is situated in the area between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Three thousand years ago, this valley between Campidoglio and the Quirinal, which was to become the future social and political centre of one of the greatest empires of ancient times, was submerged in marshlan

By an incredible invention of engineering, which was commissioned by the last two Etruscan kings, the so-called Cloaca Maxima, a canal that is still in function to this very day, allowed for the drainage of the land.

The area soon began to develop and already at the end of the 7th century BC, it was home to many markets and a hive of social activity.

Foro was the name that the Romans gave to the central square of the urban settlement and we must try to imagine this busy, crowded place as the pulsing centre of a modern city. Here the masses would flock to see the meetings of the orators, attend criminal trials and discuss internal politics or the latest military campaigns, or quite simply to comment on the games or running races (an activity that the Romans particularly enjoyed).

In the area around the Forum, the city was also home to markets, shops and taverns. You could also find the typical Termopolia, which were the ancient equivalent of today's fast food restaurants. In short, the Forum was the heart and soul of city life. It was in Caesar's time, when Rome has become the capital of a vast empire, that the Forum became a place for celebrationsand in the Imperial era it was the symbol of the Empire.

The most incredible panoramic view of the entire Forum complex can be seen from the magnificent terraces of Campidoglio. Here you can observe the imposing ruins of Basilica Emilia, the only remaining Republican basilica, or the Curia, which was once the seat of the Senate. Nearby you will also note three trees, a vine, fig and olive tree, cited by Pliny the Elder, which were replanted in recent times.

Starting from the Arch of Septimius Severus, the pathway winds through the most unique place in the world and passes beside the imposing Basilica di Massenzio, one of the most magnificent buildings of Imperial Rome, and ends near the Arch of Titus, where you will get a glimpse of the unmistakable Colosseum. During the Middle Ages, the Forum fell into a state of ruin and was abandoned.

Its monuments were often used to build medieval fortifications and at times were even completely dismantled and their materials used elsewhere. In those times, the area was used for cultivation and grazing and it took on the name of 'Campo Vaccino', or 'cattle field'.

It was only in the eighteenth century that the Forum was rediscovered and finally the definitive process of the recovery of the ancient ruins began, bringing this long-forgotten and barbarically plundered historic patrimony back to life.

Rome could not be imagined without the remarkable counterpoint of its squares and fountains. Enclosed in the fabric of the renaissance and baroque districts or designed as a spectacular backdrop for the most important roads, the squares of Rome scatter the city with numerous points of historical, architectural and tourist interest.

And there is not a square in Rome without a fountain. Water flows plentifully in the subsoil and gushes forth from the hundreds of small and large fountains, each with its own artistic value and history.

The Vatican Museums begin just beyond a massive bronze door that, like magic, takes you out of Italy and into the smallest country in the world: the Vatican. There are priceless works of art here, collected by the popes or often expressly commissioned by them.

More than 70,000 pieces are on exhibition in over 42,000 square meters, with another 50,000 pieces preserved in the vaults and storerooms. Forget about seeing everything in a single visit: it simply can't be done.

To the millions of visitors that come here from every part of the globe to admire these marvels, the whole complex seems to be one gigantic museum but the Vatican Museums, with their full name "Papal Museums and Galleries", are the Museum of Museums, the result of the union of various collections, collections that often take the name of the pope that began them.

The most sought-after stop on the Vatican Museum trail is without doubt the Sistine Chapelhowever every room is rich in history and precious examples of life from every era.

The birth of the Museum was almost by chance: it all began in 1506, when an ancient sculpture was found in a vineyard on the Esquiline Hill near Nero's Domus Aurea. It was only later that it was recognized as one of the most famous statues ever: the Laocoonte, described even by the Latin author Pliny. The subject of the work is taken from an episode of Virgil's Aeneid in which the seer and priest Laocoonte, for having predicted Ulysses' use of the Trojan Horse, was punished by the gods who sent two enormous snakes to strangle him and his two children in their deadly coils.

Like all the pontiffs, Pope Julius II had always shown great interest in artwork, and he immediately summoned Michelangelo and Giuliano da Sangallo to authenticate the sculpture. The pope then decided to acquire it, making sure no one else could do so before he did.

The Vatican Museums begin just beyond a massive bronze door that, like magic, takes you out of Italy and into the smallest country in the world: the Vatican. There are priceless works of art here, collected by the popes or often expressly commissioned by them.

More than 70,000 pieces are on exhibition in over 42,000 square meters, with another 50,000 pieces preserved in the vaults and storerooms. Forget about seeing everything in a single visit: it simply can't be done.

To the millions of visitors that come here from every part of the globe to admire these marvels, the whole complex seems to be one gigantic museum but the Vatican Museums, with their full name "Papal Museums and Galleries", are the Museum of Museums, the result of the union of various collections, collections that often take the name of the pope that began them.

The most sought-after stop on the Vatican Museum trail is without doubt the Sistine Chapelhowever every room is rich in history and precious examples of life from every era.

The birth of the Museum was almost by chance: it all began in 1506, when an ancient sculpture was found in a vineyard on the Esquiline Hill near Nero's Domus Aurea. It was only later that it was recognized as one of the most famous statues ever: the Laocoonte, described even by the Latin author Pliny. The subject of the work is taken from an episode of Virgil's Aeneid in which the seer and priest Laocoonte, for having predicted Ulysses' use of the Trojan Horse, was punished by the gods who sent two enormous snakes to strangle him and his two children in their deadly coils.

Like all the pontiffs, Pope Julius II had always shown great interest in artwork, and he immediately summoned Michelangelo and Giuliano da Sangallo to authenticate the sculpture. The pope then decided to acquire it, making sure no one else could do so before he did.

The Vatican Museums:

1. The courtyard of the Pinecone
2. Chiaramonti Gallery
3. Braccio Nuovo
4. Pio-Clementino Museum
   1. Octagonal Courtyard
      1. Apoxyomenos
      2. Apollo del Belvedere
      3. Laocoonte
   2. Galleries of the statues
   3. Belvedere Torso
   4. The round hall
   5. Sala a Croce Greca
5. Gregorian Egyptian Museum
6. Gregorian Etruscan Museum
7. Gallery of the Candelabra
8. Gallery of Tapestries
9. Gallery of Maps
10. Sala Sobieski
11. Raphael’s rooms
    1. Hall of Constantine
    2. Room of Heliodorus
    3. Room of the Segnatura
    4. Room of the fire in the Borgo
12. Sala dei Chiaroscuri
13. Cappella Niccolina
14. Appartamento Borgia
15. The Sistine Chapel
    1. Frescos
    2. The ceiling
    3. Last Judgment
16. Musei della Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
17. Pinacoteca Vaticana
18. Museo Gregoriano Profano
19. Museo Pio Cristiano

The great Basilica of Saint Peter, the most important in the Christian world, is the monument that manages to unite in a single place the religious faithful and lovers of art. It’s dedicated to Peter, first among the apostles, first pope and head of the Church.

To understand the origins of the Basilica, we need to go back in time almost 2,000 years. It wasn’t by chance that it was built here; this was the place where the apostle was killed and then buried. Peter, given this name by Jesus because he would be the “pietra”, the rock, on which the Church would be built, was the most dynamic of the Apostles: he was put in jail and then miraculously liberated, he left Jerusalem for Rome, center of the Roman Empire. Here he was first bishop then pope for 25 years.

During the ferocious persecution ordered by Nero, Peter ended up in jail along with thousands of other Christians and died crucified, around 64 AD on the Vatican hill. Contrary to popular belief, Christians were not killed in the Colosseum as many films would have us think, but rather in the circuses and it’s in this very spot, where Nero’s gigantic royal complex spread out surrounded by palaces, temples and gardens, that Peter’s execution and burial took place, he who was the first and most authoritative of the Apostles of Christ. The story has it that he wished to be nailed to the cross upside down because he didn’t think he merited being crucified in the same manner as his Lord.

The area outside Nero’s Circus, far from the center of town, was considered unhealthy and fit only for burials. Soon after Peter’s martyrdom, veneration of this sacred place began, so enduring was it that, while the grandiose Roman buildings fell to ruin, a great necropolis was built for Christian and pagan burials.

When, in the 4th century, Emperor Constantine decided to erect a great basilica dedicated to Saint Peter, a solid foundation was needed: his architects created it by destroying the Vatican hill and flattening the ground over the tombs. Many tombs were buried and disappeared this way, notwithstanding the protests of their owners as they watched the necropolis buried by force. This is how the first Basilica was born that, since then, has represented the physical and spiritual centre of Christianity. It was a spectacular building, that safeguarded priceless works of art and golden relics. It appea Basilica of Saint Peter functioned for more than a 1,000 years and was very different from what it is today. Its original shape, now lost forever, was the same as the Basilirs that the pilgrims of those times were overwhelmed before such great marvels. The firstca of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, built in the same period, with 5 naves, the colossal central one incredibly high-ceilinged.

The building Constantine wanted protected what for everyone was a monument of Christianity: the tomb of Saint Peter. Its exact spot is known thanks to the strength of the tradition that passed down the location, and to the fact that Christians and above all the first popes, did anything they could to be buried as close as possible to the founding father of the Church. Remember that the main altar, covered by Bernini’s “Baldacchino” in the Basilica today, is exactly above the altar of Constantine’s basilica which is located exactly above the tomb of St. Peter. It’s truly incredible to think that underneath that altar, more than ten meters down, are preserved 2,000 years of history.

A thousand years after its founding, Constantine’s Basilica began to show signs of collapse. At the dawn of the 15th century, Pope Nicholas V and the architect Bernardo Rossellino, wanting to build something that surpassed Constantine in magnificence, set to work on what would be one of the most famous and demanding building sites of the Renaissance; the so-called “Brickworks of St. Peter”, that would go on for a good 200 years. Constantine’s imposing edifice was demolished to leave space for the new Basilica, that which we know today. Many prestigious architects and artists of the time were involved with the construction of St. Peter’s, but almost a hundred years after the work began, it was first Donato Bramante and then Michelangelo who created the revolutionary plan of the new construction.

The first design of the Renaissance Basilica, Bramante’s, was daring and grandiose: an immense dome as big as that of the Pantheon, on top of an equally majestic church. Saint Peter’s Brickworks continued with many changes during construction and interruptions until Pope Julius II called Michelangelo, entrusting him personally with the job of finishing the basilica and of designing his monumental tomb, something that became an obsession for Michelangelo. Later, it would be the same pope that would ask the artist to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The dome was one of Michelangelo’s many flashes of genius. He modified Bramante’s original design to give the dome more importance. He wanted it larger than the one on the church of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, designed by Brunelleschi, but which had certainly inspired him. In fact, the dome is supported by large curved beams but, like the dome in Florence, the secret is that it’s a double dome, one on top of the other with a space in between. It was an ingenious solution because the lower part is what holds everything up; the upper part has only the job of protecting the rest of the structure. Michelangelo died before the dome was finished however, and the work was brought to a conclusion by Giacomo Della Porta, who raised it even further making the dome more slender and solid —and even finished the job in only two years instead of the ten years that had been expected. The end result is a structure weighing 14,000 tons, with the cross a good 130 meters above the ground.

Michelangelo, besides designing the “cupolone”, as the Romans affectionately call the enormous dome, also has the merit of setting the simple and majestic style of the exterior of the Basilica, that was actually completed by Carlo Maderno.

In 1626, when the new basilica was finally finished and consecrated, pilgrims from all over Italy and Europe were at last able to admire the immense beauty of this holy place. The Basilica is so gigantic that its true proportions are easily missed at first glance: for example, the statues of Jesus, John the Baptist and the apostles towering at the summit of the facade may appear small but they’re actually giants 6 meters tall!

Today, the view of Saint Peter’s doesn’t leave much to the imagination but it’s still an incredible sight that leaves visitors and pilgrims alike lost in a profound sense of admiration.

"St Peter's has made me realize that Art, like Nature, can abolish all standards of measurement."(J. W. etGohe)

The Pantheon in Rome is the Roman monument with the greatest number of records: the best preserved, with the biggest brick dome in the history of architecture and is considered the forerunner of all modern places of worship. It is the most copied and imitated of all ancient works.

Michelangelo felt it was the work of angels, not men.

Where it stands was not chosen by chance, but is a legendary place in the city's history. According to Roman legend, it is the place where the founder of Rome, Romulus, at his death was seized by an eagle and taken off into the skies with the Gods.

But what was it for and what does the name mean?

The name comes from two Greek words pan, "everything" and teon "divine". Originally, the Pantheon was a small temple dedicated to all Roman gods. Built between 27 and 25 B.C. by the consul Agrippa, Prefect of the Emperor Augustus, the present building is the result of subsequent, heavy restructuring.

Domitian, in 80 A.D., rebuilt it after a fire; thirty years later it was hit by lightening and caught fire again. It was then rebuilt in its present shape by the Emperor Hadrian under his reign, Romereached its maximum splendour, and the present structure is probably the fruit of his eclectic genius and exotic tastes.

In fact, the Pantheon combines a clearly Roman, cylindrical structure with the splendid outer colonnade of Greek inspiration. Although the new structure was very different to the original, Hadrian wanted a Latin inscription on the façade, that translated means "It was built by Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time".

Professors found a petroglyph of a total solar eclipse in New Mexico.

The petroglyph shows a circle with loops around the edges, which may represent the Sun's corona during an eclipse.

There are so many photographs of eclipses, and while they’re all amazing to see, this one might be the most special.

Emeritus J. McKim “Kim” Malville,” professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, said there may be a very old symbol of a total solar eclipse in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.

The petroglyph, a picture carved into a rock known as Piedra del Sol in the canyon, shows a circle with looping lines coming off of it, similar to the sun’s corona. The petroglyph was first discovered during a CU Boulder school trip and is believed to have been a representation of the July 11, 1097 total solar eclipse.

“To me it looks like a circular feature with curved tangles and structures,” Malville said in a press release. “If one looks at a drawing by a German astronomer of the 1860 total solar eclipse during high solar activity, rays and loops similar to those depicted in the Chaco petroglyph are visible.”

Malville worked with José Vaquero, a professor at the University of Extremadura in Cáceres, Spain, to study the petroglyph in relation to the 1097 eclipse using three different sources. The first was using ancient tree rings that were dated back to thousands of years ago. The rings also have traces of isotope carbon-14, which can be correlated back to solar activity at the time. Less carbon-14 means more sunspots, and sunspots are evidence of high solar activity.

The second method the pair used was naked-eye observations of sunspots, and the third method was studying data from northern Europeans about “auroral nights,” or the northern nights, which is another sign of high solar activity. Their findings about the petroglyph were published in the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology in 2014.

Piedra del Sol also has a spiral petroglyph that Malville said marks sunrises about 15 days before June solstice as well as a hollowed-out bowl on the east side where Chacoans left offerings. There are two other astronomical art pieces on rocks Chaco Canyon: what is believed to be the A.D. 1054 supernova and a comet, possibly Halley’s Comet.

The Flavius amphitheatre is the biggest and most imposing in the Roman world, but is also the most famous monument in Rome and is known as the "Colosseum" or "Coliseum". Started by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavia family, it was opened by his son Titus in 80 A.D.

The highly ostentatious opening ceremony, lasted one hundred days during which people saw great fights, shows and hunts involving the killing of thousands of animals (5000 according to the historian Suetonius). For the opening, the arena space was filled with water for one of the most fantastic events held in Roman times, naumachias – real sea battles reproducing great battles of the past.

But why does the whole world call it the Colosseum?

This name appeared for the first time in a famous prophecy of the medieval monk Venerable Beda: “Rome will exist as long as the Colosseum does; when the Colosseum falls so will Rome; when Rome falls so will the world”. Perhaps he got the name from the enormous statue of the Emperor Nero, “the Colossus” 35 meters high, which stood right next to the amphitheatre and has now been completely destroyed.

The Colosseum is one of the most imposing ancient structures. Imagine it all white, completely covered in splendid travertine stone slabs. It is elliptic in shape in order to hold more spectators. It had four floors; the first three had eighty arches each; the arches on the second and third floors were decorated with huge statues.

What we see nowadays is just the skeleton of what was the greatest arena in the ancient world. Three-fifths of the outer surrounding brick wall are missing. In the Middle Ages, when no longer in use, the Colosseum was transformed into an enormous marble, lead and iron quarry used by Popes to build Barberini Palace, Piazza Venezia and even St. Peter's.

The holes still seen in many columns are just the holes made to extract the lead and iron used by the Romans for the nails inside the marble blocks.

The amphitheatre could hold up to seventy thousand spectators. The tiers of seats were inclined in such a way as to enable people to get a perfect view from wherever they sat.

Entry was free for all Roman citizens, but places were divided according to social status, similar to seating divisions in today’s theatres; the seats at the top were for the common people, but with distinct sections for men and women, the nearer you got to the arena the higher your social status; in the front row were senators, vestals, priests and - naturally - the emperor.

Like modern sports stadiums, the Colosseum gave spectators efficient protection from the sun thanks to its ingenious roof covering, the “Velarium”. The Velarium was an enormous linen tarpaulin hung by a system of ropes, winches and wooden poles that girded the top of the outer wall. It took one hundred sailors from the Imperial fleet to move it. They moved in perfect synchrony to the beating of a drum.

On entering, we see the arena straight ahead of us. The stage for shows, whose floor was once made from a mixture of brick and wood, has now disappeared altogether. In its place you can see the cellars which housed equipment used to prepare and carry out the games.

The two underground floors housed the lifts and hoists with their counter weights, of which we can still see the rails today; they were the special effects of the time, used to hoist up animals and gladiators who burst into the arena through trapdoors, suddenly appearing in a burst of white dust giving the audience great surprise effects.

A complex system of hinges and lifts also allowed them to hoist up set-designed backdrops, used for the hunting events.

The shows taking place in the Colosseum were both of a symbolic and solid nature and created a link between citizens and their leader through common participation at important public eventswith the not unimportant function of giving the people some fun to distract them from political problems.

So, what exactly happened inside the Colosseum?

Lots of different shows were put on in the amphitheatre, at different times, following a specific time schedule: in the morning the "Venationes" - fights between exotic animals, or between men and animals.

At times, as a form of public execution, people were left to the mercy of ferocious beasts. The "Silvae" must have been quite spectacular; special scenery was reconstructed in the arena by painters and set-designers, with trees and bushes, so that it looked like a forest full of animals, which in this case did not necessarily have to be killed.

But also less cruel and definitely more unique events took place like the famous exhibition of an elephant who knew how to write words in the sand with its trunk. It is not true that the Colosseum was used to kill Christians as a kind of spectacle.

The event the audience enjoyed most was definitely the gladiators. Towards midday there was a break during which they removed the bodies and spread more sand on the arena floor.

A deafening noise arose from the audience; to the blaring of trumpets and the beating of drums, the gladiators triumphantly paraded into the packed arena.

They came from an underground passageway linked directly to the Gladiators’ barracks, the Ludus Magnus and were welcomed by fans like real heroes, a bit like today’s sports champions. After a brief walk around the arena, the gladiators paid homage to the Emperor’s stage saluting with the famous words "Ave Cesare morituri te salutant" (Hail Caesar, those who are about to die salute you).

The winners received golden palm leaves and large amounts of money. After each battle, servants dressed like Charon, the Ferryman of the Underworld, made sure that the wounded were really dead and where necessary finished them off. The gladiator’s blood was much in demand; people thought it had healing powers and could heal you from epilepsy and give you greater sexual vigour.
Roman spectators loved cruel shows, those that we consider violent to say the least. Their passion for these events can be compared to what some people nowadays feel for the so-called “splatter” cinema. With one basic difference: the crudeness of reality. Just think that during mass battles and in the hunts, the smell of blood and burnt flesh and that of wild animals became unbearable and the effort to mask it with incense and perfumes had no effect whatsoever.

After the VI century, with the Empire's decline, the Colosseum fell into disuse and its walls housed confraternities, hospitals, hermits and even a cemetery. From the Middle Ages onwards, the Colosseum has been one of Rome's and the world's greatest marvels, attracting hoards of visitors.

Threatened with demolition by Sixtus V for town-planning reasons, it was declared a sacred monument dedicated to the Passion of Christ by Benedict XIV, placing a cross on a pedestal, as a symbol of the sufferings of all Christian martyrs. This cross is still the starting point for the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. Since then, it has become an object of worship for Christians and was protected from further destruction and ruin; in fact, Popes after that restored and consolidated it.

For a tourist today, seeing the Colosseum means, as Charles Dickens wrote, "seeing the ghost of old Rome floating over the places its people walk in".