Long before I walked into the current city of Rome, I had peered into the ancient city of Rome during the glorious Roman empire. My vehicle of time-travel was the internet..with this futuristic technology that I was then getting acquainted with, I launched into the fascinating past. I was in 9th standard (more or less), it was summer holidays- so there was enough and more time on hand, and the vast internet was at my fingertips to work up this holiday homework assignment on Roman Civilization.
That summer I discovered everything from the political process (and chaos) at Roman senate, to various toga (traditional dress) designs, to details about their sandals. This autumn we visited Rome. And I experienced once more the confluence of the modern with the ancient- the bubbling energy which is very ‘here and now’ and the historical monuments which do not let you forget for a moment the rich history from centuries ago.
Amid all the dabbling and drowning in all the Roman Empire frenzy that summer long ago, I developed a day-dream.. me, in the middle of the Colosseum arena (surprisingly empty of tourists), wearing a long coat and Picasso hat (doesn’t matter that Picasso was Spanish), hair flying in the wind, and pigeons flying all around me. ‘Simple yet elaborate,’ someone had accurately commented. Here below, is something resembling that fantasy.. though the colosseum floor is broken or inaccessible, the weather was too warm for an overcoat, and a lot else that reminded that fantasies are called that for a reason…but oh, this pigeon rallied for my day-dream!
Right across from the Colosseum is the Roman Forum which is a stunning piece of history, even if broken and in ruins.. the sheer scale and stature of what still stands today gives you a flavour of walking amid the Roman cultural and political center.
And here, the St.Peter’s square, a captivating Plaza that pictures unfortunately don’t do justice to..
Next stop, the Vatican City! I don’t know why I imagined it would be a city on an island with people walking around in priestly robes. Goes to show that imagination almost always is more dramatic than reality.
The highlight was the Sistine Chapel, which of course they don’t let you photograph. But as you walk around the Vatican museums, you (or at least I) find yourself looking more at the ceilings than at the paintings and art themselves.. what magnificent ceilings! And walking with your head angled up to look at the ceilings does make you immensely sympathetic to Michelangelo who painted the Sistine chapel like that for years (and not lying down on a scaffolding as is commonly believed)!
The story and layered contexts & meanings behind the Sistine chapel ceiling painted by Michelangelo are indeed dramatic and impressive. What impressed me most of all was the factoid about how the first installment of the paintings were not ‘big enough’ when Michelangelo finally checked them from the ground- and so the next panels are much larger in scale, and you clearly notice the difference in scale between the two halves of the same ceiling. Imperfection amid perfection. How perfect, how apt.
Our last stop was the glorious Trevi fountain. If you have watched ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’, you might have an urge to walk into the fountain in a bright red dress, but here I warn you that given the tremendous crowd, getting a straight picture against this beautiful structure may be as far as your achievements might go. If you even as much as try to stand on the few-inches-high marble boundary, the policeman who thus far seems benignly engrossed in his gelato, will in fact come by and warn you.
That reminds me, don’t miss the gelato 🙂
Awesome!
Thanks Mumma 🙂