It is possible in only three full days of walking, seeing and taking in everything that one's senses can possibly process, to reap the essence of Rome: The Eternal City. We pressed on with much surprising stamina in order to see as much as possible, a challenging task even for a mere hundred square feet of detail in this city! Although I felt as though the ligaments in my arches would snap, and despite my modified ways of standing in order to ease my foot pain (creating new other pains in my legs), I knew in the moment that pain is temporary. Experiences are eternal. I couldn't miss it. Rome was my first taste of Europe, and I cherished it all the while. I knew even before leaving that I would miss it when it was over.
Roma
The U.S. has nothing on Europe when it comes to history. The most wowing aspect of Rome is truly its mixture of ancient and modern, and the art and design that overlaps and still exists throughout all the artistic periods that ever existed in the city. Ancient ruins still crumble around modern buildings. The Circo Massimo (where chariot races took place) is still in use for public functions. The Renaissance and Baroque period architecture, overexcessively detailed and romantic, exists over your head, under your feet, on the bench you're sitting upon or around the faucet where you wash your hands. There is simply too much to look at! Too many details to take in, too much grandeur to fathom, so much height and so much scale and too much "WOW" to allow you time to figure how those measures were planned or even executed. These things were made by humans, really? How were we ever so artistic and hands-on? Will we ever be that way again? Will we ever have a Renaissance ever again? I fell in love once again with Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael and Caravaggio. As a creative person myself, I cannot fathom how these men can be so creative, or how they almost singlehandedly created an entire cityscape and nonetheless an entire era via the thumbprint of their particular artistic styles. They make me ideate. I could hug them.
Il Colosseo (The Colosseum)
Pressing past the masses of subway train crowds, a quick plod up the dank metro staircase took us up to the road surface to directly face the Colosseo. Whoa! I was just in a dark tunnel filled with Europeans who don't use deodorant and now this huge fantastic iconic structure stares me in the face. There's no time to stop and stare yet or I might get hit by a bus. The Colosseo is probably THE quintessential symbol of Rome. I say so firstly because it is a masterpiece of architecture. In it's gladiator games heyday, the Colosseo was a stadium that held 150,000 Romans, mixing the poor and the rich, designed in such a way that the entire stadium could empty out all it's occupants in only 15 minutes. (Dad asks, why can't baseball stadiums be built that way today? I say, beats me... Shoulda took a hint from the Romans). The original arena floor to the Colosseo is no longer intact, so we can now peer down into the basement of the structure to see the ruins of where lions were caged, and where gladiators prepared to fight humans and animals to the death in the arena up above.
Below the arena: Once gladiator ready rooms and cage rooms for animals.I learned that the arena and below areas were somehow plugged up sometimes, and water from the aqueducts could be channeled directly into the arena, filling it up for simulated sea battles with real boats that floated through the center of the stadium. What a sight that would be! Can you believe these Romans? The second reason I say the Colosseo is so symbolic of [ancient] Rome is simply the design time and effort that went into such a structure, purely to create a venue for the entertainment of the high-and-mighties who simply wanted to watch some crooks die fighting, while giving themselves a good name amongst citizens by allowing them to choose if the emperor should let a gladiator live or die. What a society.
Il Fori (The Forum)
The Roman Forum was once the "square" where all the emperors and notable persons had their palaces. It's mostly ruins and crumbled bits of random buildings with interesting etchings all over them. I felt very much like I was walking through an Indiana Jones video game in this area. The image below is a view from the Colosseo looking down at the Arch of Constantine, with the main entrance to the Forum in the far right distance. Check out the two caped gladiators taking a stroll in the lower left.
Ruin details at Il Fori.Borghese Galleria
This art gallery is probably one of the most extravagant you will find in the entire world. If ever there was a space you could step into and feel you've just gone back in time to the Baroque Period, it would be here. There isn't a nook in this building that isn't over-the-top intricately designed with artistic detail... And that's just the building. Borghese's primary intrigue is Bernini's flawless marble sculptures and Caravaggio's fantastic chiaroscuro paintings. The Bernini sculptures that really left an impression on me were these (and I'll include links since the gallery would not allow photography). Pluto and Proserpina - look at the space and the intensity between the figures. In person you can see the indentations in Proserpina's skin where Pluto is grasping her. Can you imagine how Bernini might begin to create a work like this when all he has to start with is a giant block of marble? Apollo and Daphne - this is my favorite. Apollo chases her and as she refuses him she simultaneously transforms herself into a tree. She looks much more treelike from behind. David - about to fling the stone at Goliath. I love the intensity in his facial expression. Pauline Bonaparte - this work is by Antonio Canova depicting Napoleon's sister. Unfortunately this website doesn't show the detail in this sculpture, but I was most impressed by his ability to chisel marble to look like the bed cushion she is laying upon. I wasn't allowed to touch, but I so wanted to ensure that it wasn't actually a real cushion, complete with buttons, wrinkles and the soft indent made by the weight of her body. So awesome. Boy with a Basket of Fruit - this Caravaggio painting I enjoyed so much we bought a poster of it to hang in our kitchen. Bernini was my Man of Interest while I toured this gallery. He created a bust of the Pope and it began to crack through the forehead. Bernini finished it, but fearing the head might crack, he whipped out an entirely new replica of the same bust in only three days. Three days to create a life sized bust of the Pope! I wonder how long it took him to chisel out two head-to-toe standing figures. Oh yeah and that's not to mention the boys milking a goat sculpture Bernini created when he was 11 years old! Gosh! What talent.
Vaticani
Vatican City is a campus-sized city surrounded by huge 50 foot high stone walls. To a tourist, the interior is basically an art museum housing marble sculptures, amazing and intricate Renaissance ceiling paintings, ancient Babylonian and Egyptian art, lavish staircases and displays of historical Catholic artifacts such as bibles, chalices and tabernacles.
Vatican Museum staircase leading to a hall of marble statues.
Ceiling fresco depicting the symbolic power of Christianity overcoming an ancient statue of a Roman god.The piece that spoke most powerfully to me from the Vatican Museum (not yet considering the Sistine Chapel) was Raphael's wall painting, "School of Athens". We ended up buying a poster of this for our hallway at home, but I love the depth in this piece, both artistically and philosophically. Plato (center, in the red robe) converses with Aristotle about his belief on the source of knowledge; he points upward, believing that the source of knowledge comes from the heavens, from a Higher Power. Aristotle, opposing Plato, faces a hand downward implying that the source of knowledge stems from a grounded mindset and earthly observations involving the sciences and mathematics. That's such a beautiful statement, the everlasting Religion versus Science conundrum. The other intrigue in this painting are the other figures that Raphael has incorporated, such as Socrates (at left, in the olive colored robe) in an argument with a Roman soldier. Raphael has also included a discreet self portrait in the lower right (the red cloaked man with the black cap), and even a portrait of his famous competitor, Michelangelo Buonarotti, sitting on the steps in front (purple coat and brown boots), looking as though he's having trouble conceiving an idea. Touche.
Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel)
Photography is not allowed inside the Sistine Chapel. If it was, there's no surprise it wouldn't do it much justice. The chapel is not really that large, probably your average church interior size, altar and seating area considered. It is a bit dark as there is no artificial lighting on the paintings, only window light. There were no pews or seats inside the chapel, just a large space for visitors to stand and move about freely (and blindly, due to such upward attention). The grandeur of the Sistine ceiling is not purely the paintings. We know Michelangelo is one of the greatest artists the world has ever known, but the wonder of it all is staring at the space inside the chapel and trying to figure how he accomplished it. Firstly, I can imagine how difficult it is to paint the human figure on a super large scale; but I cannot imagine how challenging it was to paint it while on his back, facing upside down, lying on scaffolding. Remarkable. The significance of each section of the painting is also what makes the work so epic. The collection of paintings surrounding the most famous (God giving life to Adam) depict other stories in the Bible's Old Testament. The large painting on the wall behind the altar is The Last Judgement, another magnificent painting depicting Jesus banishing the damned to Hell and the righteous up to Heaven. All in all, a spiritual and cleansing experience. Michelangelo has a way of utilizing space, scale and master workmanship to depict the power of God in such a way that can only be felt when you're standing right beneath it. It's something I couldn't quite process when I was there, but only afterwards I find the words to describe.
Staircase leading away from the Sistine Chapel.
St. Peter's Square, dome of St. Peter's Basilica.Appian Way and Catacombs of Callisto
On the third day of touring, thankfully, we had planned a bike tour. We rode up and down the ancient cobblestone path that is known as Appian Way. The structure of the road here is indicative of the first roads the ancient Romans built, bedded with gravel and sand, and topped with large 12-18 inch wide cobbles, sloped on the edges for water run off. The ride was enjoyable on a cool morning. Appian Way is a little further from the city center so I felt it was a little peek into the Italian countryside, which is beautiful and peaceful, lined with lots of cypress trees and old buildings overcome with ivy and vines.
Appian Way lead to the Catacombs of Callisto. This was the only guided group tour we took, and our English speaking guide was actually an Aussie priest, with whom afterwards we had a good chat about cricket, travel, Italy and India. I knew he found it refreshing to chat with us. The catacombs allowed me to satisfy the mini-spelunker in me. They were very cool, dank, creepy and solemn. The catacombs lay to rest various priests, popes and Catholic martyrs and their families. Photography was not allowed, but I snuck a few low shutter speed images of the crypts and graves.
As tested by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, "Bocca della Verita" (Mouth of the Truth), which legendarily will bite off the hands of liars. This was a palm reading novelty outside the cafe where we rented our bicycles. We didn't find time to see the actual one in person.There are numerous Roman Baths in Rome, ruins of places where the rich would take time to relax , get nude and lounge around. When Catholicism struck the land, the public bathing forum became a sinful concept. This particular location converted it's bath reception area into a church - and a supremely awesome one at that. I found the ceiling architecture to be very similar in triangular shapes to that of the Sistine Chapel. Again, the detail and art work is breathtaking.
God's fingers.
Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)
One of the most spectacular Roman fountains occupying space in the center of a piazza, this fountain is truly the fountain of all fountains to hang around. We approached it via a long walk through a series of narrow side streets lined with restaurants, gelaterias and peddlers roasting chestnuts (so wonderfully scented!). When the alleyway opened out into this huge piazza, suddenly we were faced with Fontana di Trevi, with huge white winged horses jumping out from the chiseled waves, and oceanic men blowing conches and restraining their horses. One thing I found unfortunate about Rome is that all the grand sights to see are visually littered by too many tourists. I would have much enjoyed a sitting near this fountain with few people around, to just sit and ponder the design and listen to the water. Instead, we had to wait for a turn to sit at the basin. We had dinner afterwards and returned to the Trevi at night, an equally awesome sight.Pantheon
This building is an awesome feat in ancient Roman architecture. It's construction was instigated by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome. Unfortunately we arrived too late in the evening to see the interior, luckily we had insight about its structure from a movie about ancient Roman architecture we had seen previous to our trip. If you could see a cross section of the building, the entire interior is a perfect sphere. The concrete creating the walls and ceiling gradually gets thinner as it nears the top and is lined with hallowed out square designs to lighten the load of the concrete. At the apex of the ceiling is a circular window open to the air.
Looking out from the entrance of Pantheon.Food
All of our meals we ate on the go, which basically means it was fast food, but it was nothing like fast food in the U.S. What I consumed was not overflavored nor oversugared; it tasted like real ingredients and truly savory tastes. I had pizza twice (10 times less cheese and grease than American pizza, and 10 times more awesome).
Not only am I a bread fiend, but I am also a Nutella fiend, and when you to to Italy and you mix those concepts and it involves Italian breads, I pretty much died. For breakfast at the little bungalow haven we stayed at, they served all kinds of pastries for breakfast. My favorite was a croissant filled with Nutella and sprinkled with powdered sugar on top. They tend to use Nutella in a lot of desserts I discovered. I was ecstatic when I saw a little shop in the city center selling gallon vats of it!
Dessert that accompanied pizza at a nice outdoor sit down restaurant. Real whipped cream aside something like a cupcake, but so much less sickening sweet than the cupcake you might imagine, more like a bittersweet chocolate. Amaretto honey drizzle. Smack! So fabulous. I never want to eat Wal-Mart cake again.
And what is Roma without gelato? I got Cocco (coconut) and Pistacio. Pretty much like gelato is in St. Louis. Way to go, St. Lou! You got an Italian thing right!Getting Around
90% of our travel was via train and subway, which was pretty convenient and got us to and fro very quickly. We had some excellent maps and also the Rick Steve's travel guide, which is pretty much like a step by step walkthrough for anything you'd want to do in Rome. We took the bus once, and took a taxi once (after 9pm when the trains shut down). I knew enough Italian to tell the cab driver where to take us, and how to stop when he couldn't figure out via GPS how to get to the front of our bungalow park. I also knew enough to figure simple directions (it helps that Italians can speak so well with their hands), and also enough to know how much something was when I paid for it, how to order at cafes, and what the polizia were saying when we couldn't enter or sit in a certain area. Aside from those simplicities, I really wish I had the time to study more Italiano prior to traveling so that I could attempt speaking more with the locals. Adopting the language and shouting out every new fun-sounding word you learn is part of the fun. It's one thing to try it out when you're there; it's another thing to have the time to learn it fluently.
La dolce vita. That's the thrill of the season!
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