Aug. 20, 2004 Day Four Photo Gallery

ROME - Italian Fact of the Day: The Circus Maximus, constructed in approximately 329 B.C., was the center of ancient Rome's sporting culture with its famous chariot races. In the year 80 A.D., the Coliseum became the center of Rome's entertainment and sport by providing gladiator battles. A hint for those those looking to pass the analogy section of the Maryland Basketball/Ancient Rome SAT: Circus Maximus is to the Roman Coliseum as Cole Field House is to Comcast Center. There will be a brief quiz following today's Letteri. Buona sera (good evening!) from Rome, on the Terps' last night in the capitol of Italia. A brief journal entry tonight, as there is packing to be done and preparations to be made as the Terps and their travel party will depart for Florence (Firenze) in the morning. Fresh off their win in the village of Veroli, it was back to sightseeing for the Terrapins on Friday. The Terps and their fans toured sections on ancient imperial Rome, stopping by such famous areas as the Forum, the Pantheon, the Circus Maximus and the Coliseum. It was intensely warm in Rome on Friday afternoon, and the Maryland team began the sightseeing by cruising around the city in style during the mid-afternoon on their tour bus. The Terps' knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guide, Magdelena, pointed out several highlights in different parts of the city from the comforts of tour bus No. 1. The Terps rode by nearly every piazza (square), famous church, fountain, state building and ruin on Friday, before making an unforgettable stop at the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Coliseum. By the way, Magdelena the tour guide does an absolutely phenomenal, extremely passionate, completely thorough job, describing nearly everything the city has to offer and leaving no stone unturned (sometimes literally). Truly the tours have been tremendous history lessons for the Terps. In many of the photos you'll find the team travel party wearing earpieces - that's Magdelena on the other end, keeping everyone up to speed. The Terps first toured the area surrounding the Coliseum, checking out Palatine Hill - the legendary birthplace of the city as originated by the twins, Romulus and Remus. From there the Terrapins saw the Circus Maximus, home of the famous Roman chariot races, and then the Forum, the former center of ancient Rome. Then it was time to check out the Coliseum, which was an absolutely amazing sight, inside and out. The former home of the Roman gladiators was first opened cerca 80 A.D., and believe it or not, held approximately 60,000 Romans! Many of the Terps took advantage of the tremendous photo-ops (some striking Gladiator poses). After an afternoon of sightseeing, the Terps took advantage of some down time before heading to a team dinner. From there some of the Terps headed out to explore Rome on their final night in the city. A few "Euro hook shots" were rumored to have splashed into the famous Trevi Fountain (traditionally if you toss a coin into the fountain, it is guaranteed that you will return to Rome someday). Later in the evening some Terps put in a light workout by scaling the Spanish Steps in the Piazza Espagna. That's all for now, be sure to check in with the Terps on Saturday after their travel day and first night in Firenze. A domani! Ciao!