Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 667 667. The Mouth of Truth and the Wishing Pool
"Although the earliest Roman arena has only four floors, it is definitely one of the magnificent ancient buildings. When it was completed, the entire arena was completely covered with splendid white travertine slabs. The Romans used their best construction techniques -Arches as the main element of its construction, because arches can perfectly and efficiently distribute the weight of heavy buildings.Every floor of the three-story building from the bottom up has huge open arches with statues, and the number of arches is not less than 80 (partially destroyed), the large number of entrances is mainly to consider the safety and efficiency of tens of thousands of spectators entering and leaving the arena at the same time. The fourth floor building, that is, the top floor, does not have any arches, only Corinthian pilasters and small rectangular windows. It is unbelievable that this magnificent building was built in less than ten years. Later, due to earthquakes, fires and the building of the church, most of the fourth floor building was destroyed, leaving only a small half circle People who don’t know the curved exterior wall will think that it was originally designed that way, after all, in the ancient Roman period that emphasized the beauty of symmetry, such a building is indeed very visually impactful and incomplete.” Lao Bai saw the staff waving at him , hastily said, "Let's go inside and see the true content of the arena."

When Dong Qiangqiang walked into the arena with the steps of the crowd, the first impression left on him was not the desolate ruins, but the stench that came to his face. Many people couldn't help covering their mouths and noses.

Lao Bai gathered the crowd together and pointed to different locations of the ruins in the arena: "According to historians' research, all Roman citizens were allowed to enter the arena for free at that time, but seats were divided according to social status, similar to today's theaters. Seat division. The top seats are reserved for common people, but men and women are distinguished. The closer to the arena floor, the higher the social status of the audience. Generally speaking, the front row is usually senators, nobles, priests and emperors. At that time A wide marble terrace (podium) will be set in the lower part of one side of the arena, which is separated from other positions by three walls, which is equivalent to the VIP area in today's terms, where the emperor and distinguished guests watch the game. Except for the seats Different people have different materials for seats. The wealthy and middle class usually use marble seats, while foreigners use wooden seats. The number of seats is about 5. You can get a perfect view. In addition, archaeologists analyze that there should be about 2 standing tickets inside. The two entrances of the gladiators are on both sides of the arena, and one of the doors is called the "Roman Goddess of Death". The door that removed the dead in duels from the arena, the other was the door of victory, through which both the victor and those who were allowed to survive the match left the arena. Barbarism of every kind in the Roman arena enlivened nearly In 400, when the struggle between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires arose, the nobility and the public's interest in gladiators dwindled, and finally in the 6th century AD, the emperor announced the end of gladiator fights and other similar activities. In the long years that followed, Due to the destruction of natural disasters such as lightning, earthquakes, and floods, the Roman Colosseum was gradually damaged. What people can see today is only the skeleton of the ancient Colosseum."

While listening to Lao Bai's explanation, everyone walked slowly on the vicissitudes of the aisle. Although the sun was shining above their heads, they were greeted by a cold and damp wind.

Dong Qiangqiang looked at the dilapidated ruins in the pit and the rickety wooden piles, as if he heard the deafening sounds of fighting, shouting, roaring shells, and the voices of countless innocent souls echoing in his ears through time and space. A fit of nausea.

After leaving the Colosseum, the crowd collectively went to the porch of Santa Maria Church, where a Roman statue was kept, attracting the attention and curiosity of tourists from all over the world.It is the famous Mouth of Truth, an ancient stone mask representing the open-mouthed river god with eyes that see all truth.It is rumored that if someone tells a lie in front of him and puts his hand in his mouth, his hand will be bitten off, so that the liar has nowhere to hide.

According to Lao Bai, this legend should have originated in ancient Rome. At that time, the wife of a nobleman was accused of adultery by her noble husband. The wife denied the accusation, and her husband applied to judge her words through the mouth of truth. authenticity.

Knowing full well that she was lying, the woman employed a very clever strategy.When a crowd of melon eaters gathered in front of the mouth of the truth to watch, the man who was actually her lover secretly kissed her in public.She pretended that she didn't know the other party, and angrily accused the other party of being a lunatic, so that the people who eat melons would beat her lover away.

As she puts her hand in the Mouth of Truth, the woman declares that she has never kissed any man other than her husband and the psycho who just stole her kiss.In this way, she proved she hadn't lied, her hand was preserved, and the betrayed noble husband's honor was preserved.But the Mouth of Truth has since discredited and is said to have ceased to fulfill its function as an impartial judge since then.

Everyone had a great time playing, and Tong Lele encouraged Lao Bai to try it too, but Lao Bai refused with a smile.

The popular area has been the social and political center of the Roman Empire since ancient times, and is dotted with popular attractions.Many attractions are only a few steps away from each other.Monuments tower over the narrow cobblestone streets, museums brim with art, gourmet cuisine awaits to be discovered, and surprises and discoveries hide around every corner.

At the top of the Trevi Fountain (Trevi Fountain) is the majestic Neptune, the god of the sea, standing on a shell chariot. Below him, there is a Triton holding a seahorse on the left and right. The statue is lifelike and the characters are ready to emerge , the details are extremely dynamic against the backdrop of running water.

Like other popular Roman attractions, the Trevi Fountain has its own legend.In ancient times, the soldiers who went to war hoped to return to their hometown alive, so they would throw coins with wishes into the fountain before going out.There is also a miniature fountain on the left side of the wishing pool, which means that couples who drink this fountain together will always be faithful to each other.

The reason why the Trevi Fountain is famous is not because it is the largest baroque fountain in the world, but because of two love movies - "La Dolce Vita" and "Roman Holiday".Especially in "Roman Holiday", the mutual complaints between the goddess Audrey Hepburn and the handsome guy Gregory Peck played an irreplaceable advertising effect on the promotion of the Wishing Fountain. After the release, people flocked to the Wishing Fountain. Even in winter, the off-season of tourism, there are crowds of people around the fountain every day.The wishing pool is full of coins from various countries. It is said that the coins cleaned out of the pool can reach 1000 euros every day.

Lao Bai’s introduction explained why the foreigners by the wishing pool were throwing coins like crazy, and everyone followed suit. Dong Qiangqiang found that Tong Lele also threw three coins into the pool with a serious face, and was about to leave I used to tease her, and out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a few Chinese holding colorful guide flags leading a group of people who also looked like a tourist group swaggering towards the wishing pool from a short distance, yelling and shouting.

Dong Qiangqiang was not surprised to see his colleagues. He had met many colleagues during this trip, but these flag-bearers gave him a bad feeling, especially their eyes, which seemed to be always looking around. Touching something, it looks like a sly eyebrow, giving people the feeling of scheming.

Lao Bai unknowingly leaned behind him: "Pay attention to the group of people who came over, their eyes are wrong." After speaking, he went to warn Tong Lele to be careful.

Dong Qiangqiang nodded, it seemed that his experience in leading a group was going to increase again.

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(End of this chapter)