Visita al Foro Romano

Emma and Lucas are travelling in Italy by train for their holiday. In Italy, they will often travel by train. Today they left Naples by train early in the morning. They arrive in Rome at the beginning of the afternoon, with sun and a clear sky, after a short trip. They are excited to visit a part of Rome. Today they want to see the Roman Forum. They have read about the Forum in a guidebook. It seems big, old, and beautiful. They decide to book a tour.

Online they choose the first tour they see. It looks fun and it starts at 2:00 p.m., in two hours. They have time. The photos show stones, arches, and blue sky. They are excited and they press “Book now”. They do not read the small grey text. It says “Tour in Italian only”, but they do not see it.

At the meeting point, a guide smiles at them. Other people are already around the guide. He raises a small flag in the air. He says, “Good morning, everyone! Today we visit the Roman Forum.” He speaks only Italian. Emma and Lucas look at each other. Their eyes are big and surprised. Then they laugh quietly. They understand that they have booked a tour in Italian.

The group starts walking between ancient stones. The guide speaks fast but with energy. He points to temples, steps, and broken walls. His hands move like the wings of a bird. They do not understand every word. But his smile and his gestures help them understand a lot of the story.

Emma hears “Caesar” and understands the name. She hears “emperor” and guesses the meaning. She hears “ancient” and thinks “very old”. Lucas repeats the words quietly. A couple from Sardinia smiles and helps. They whisper translations of important sentences in English.

The sun is strong on the ancient stone floors. The guide stops near a broken white column. He says softly, “Two thousand years!” and touches the stone. Emma nods and repeats, “Two thousand years”. She writes a note: “colonna = column”. Then she adds “arco = arch” and “tempio = temple”.

At the end, the group applauds the guide. He says, “Thank you, everyone!” and bows. Emma and Lucas answer, “Thank you very much, it was beautiful.” They have some doubts, but they try. They are proud: they followed the tour to the end. They understood more than they thought.

They go out into a very bright street in Rome. The air smells of coffee and warm bread. Emma shows her notebook with new words. Lucas smiles and says, “We have learned a lot.” They want to speak more Italian at lunch. Maybe they will order an espresso and an ice cream in Italian too.