The Roman Forum, Part I
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. You see, when trying to capture the story of the first 500 or so years of one of the world's great civilizations, you find there are way too many stories to tell. There was so much that I had to cut this episode in two!
Yes, here comes Rome, both the vibrant, chaotic, eye-catching capital of Italy, and the civilization that made that capital possible.
This episode looks at the rise of Rome and the first Punic War with Carthage, that other great Mediterranean Empire. We'll take side trips to Sicily as well as Tunisia to talk about cannoli and harissa. Worth it.
In fact, I get so caught up talking about Rome vs Carthage that I don't even get to the Roman Forum itself. That's OK - there's always next week, when Part II will take us to the Eternal City for a sunset look at the ruins.