It’s is a perfectly gray and rainy day to tour one of the most sinister and inhospitable historical sites in all of Rome: Mamertine Prison. Early in the morning, hardly a soul is visiting the Forum.

But what is the season? If it’s winter, why are so many of Norma’s Sicambri warriors bare-chested. How hearty are they? For scenes three and four, a huge and heavy hut with a ceiling opening for smoke ...

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