Fill in the blanks. rome – early 1400s the walls of the were crumbling. the once-magnificent stadium housed scores of . lurked in the ancient baths. on capitoline hill, the old center of roman government, . one humanist lamented that the , once the heart of an empire, had turned into “, here the home of .”

The walls of the Colosseum were crumbling. The once-magnificent stadium housed scores of filthy taverns. Thieves lurked in the ancient baths. On Capitoline Hill, the old center of Roman government, vines grew over the benches of the senators. One humanist lamented that the Roman Forum once the heart of an empire, had turned into “a neglected desert here the home of pigs and wild deer, and there a vegetable garden.”

River valleys were good places for hunting and fishing.