Viaje a Roma

The history of Rome is a topic that I could not even begin to do justice in this short space, but in the interest of an introduction, here are the brief, brief highlights. Romulus became the first king of Rome on 21 April 753 B.C., combining Etruscan, Latin & Sabine settlements. The Roman Republic was founded a few centuries later, in 509 B.C., & remained the major power of the Western world until internal rivalries led to civil war. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavian prevailed as successor & created political stability & artistic achievement, but later rulers left the city in shambles after the Great Fire of A.D. 64. By A.D. 100, Rome had bounded back with a population of 1.5 million & its undisputed claim on Caput Mundi. In 330, Constantine moved his power base to Byzantium, & Rome slid into another decline. In 455, the city was sacked by Vandals, & in 476, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was deposed.

Meanwhile, Christianity had been seeping into pagan Roman culture. The underground efforts of apostles Peter & Paul had been spreading the Word since the first century A.D., & Constantine granted the religion offical recognition. In 774, Rome's place as center of the Christian world was secured when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.

In the Middle Ages, Rome was again a shambles. In fact, Pope Clement V abandoned the city in 1309 due to fighting, but Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377. Renaissance Rome, however, brought the leading artists of the 15th & 16th centuries to work on the Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica. In the early 16th century, Rome was again attacked, this time by Spain's King Carlos V, leaving Rome in need of rebuilding. The 17th century Baroque masters Bernini & Borromini responded to the challenge with churches, fountains & mansions. Rome was again affected by Mussolini in the 20th century, but like many European cities, tourism has done its part to bolster the economy.

This weekend found a classmate & me in Rome. We left early Friday morning, fell asleep somewhere over Spain & awoke somewhere over Italy. Europe is amazing for one's ability to do this. My classmate Linh & I met up with my friend Shaina, Carlow's Roman representative this semester, in the train station. We set off for la Città Vaticano, the world's smallest sovereign state. We bought gelato, the first of many gastronomic delights, & braved the line for la Basilica di San Pietro. The first basilica was built by Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor, on the spot where St. Peter is said to have been martyred & buried. This basilica, which was consecrated in A.D. 326, fell into disrepair in the millenium that followed. In 1506, serious work began on a new basilica, designed by Bramante as a Greek cross. Construction took 150 years & saw many contributers, but Michelangelo is responsible for the design of the famous dome. At 187 m long, the Basilica is the second-biggest in the world. Lucky for Linh & me, Shaina had already visited the Basilica with her art class, so we had a personal tour guide.

After the Basilica, we visited the Musei Vaticani, again with our personal guide. We loitered behind other tour groups for a while, taking in what information we could, but after a while, we all admitted that we just wanted to rush to the end of the museum -- to the Capella Sistina. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed in the Sistine Chapel (there were guards alternatively yelling "QUIET!" and "NO FOTO!" to remind us of that), but the frescos were beautiful.

When we left the Sistine Chapel, the sun was already setting. Shaina took us to a restaurant she knew for pizza, the second great food success. Then we visited the Fontana di Trevi by night. The fountain was built in 1723 & named for the "tre vie" (3 roads) that converge at the fountain. The sculpture is of Neptune's chariot being led by a wild & a docile horse, to represent the various moods of the sea. We all threw a coin over our shoulders into the fountain for luck. Shaina walked us back to our hostel, & we called it a night.

Day 1 photos here.

On Saturday, after another hostel "continental breakfast" of stale bread & Coco Crispies, Linh & I headed to the Colosseo. Even after several months in Europe, I was amazed by the number of gypsies surrounding the Colosseum. (At least in Sevilla, the Spanish word for "gypsy" refers to a con artist or a vendor selling merchandise from a dropcloth, a cardboard box table or any other dubious setup. Linh & I were pestered to buy sunglasses, knock-off purses, souvenirs, T-shirts & scarves. We were also approached by "English-speaking" tour guides claiming to have group reservations that would let us skip the lines for an extra 8 Euro.

Linh & I refused all offers & stood our turn in line, which wasn't too bad of a wait. The Colosseum was immense & impressive, but the flocks of tourists were a bit distracting. Here's what I learned from eavesdropping on other people's tours: the Colosseum was inaugurated in A.D. 80 with a great slaughter of animals. Gladiators fought against exotic beasts, including rhinoceri, hippopotamuses, panthers, leopards, bears & ostriches imported from elsewhere in the Roman empire. It is also rumored that the building could be flooded to hold mock sea battles. When the Romn empire fell, the Colosseum was abandoned & fell victim to exotic plants carried to Rome by the imported beasts. In the Middle Ages, the building became a fortress & gained its reputatio nas the symbol of Rome: "while the Colosseum stands, Rome shall stand, butwhen the Colosseum falls, Rome shall fall -- and when rome falls, the world will end." The building has also been used as a quarry for later builders & has been affected by earthquakes, pollution the vibration of the Metro.

Next, Linh & I visited the Palatine & the Roman Forum, both included in the ticket for the Colosseum. It took us a while to find the entrance to the Palatine, but finally, we were surrounded by ancient Roman ruins. The Palatine is where Romulus killed his brother Remus & founded Rome. It was also an aristocratic neighborhood in its time; now it's a popular spot for tourists to bring a picnic lunch. The Roman Forum, originally an Etruscan burial ground, was first developed in the 7th century B.C. It fell into decline after the 4th century B.C. & was known in the middle ages as the campo vaccino, or "cow field." During the Renaissance, the Forum provided inspiration for artists & architects. What hadn't been plundered in the Middle Ages was systematically excavated in the 18th & 19th centuries.

On our way to Piazza Navona, we stopped at a cafe for lunch, where I had lasagne & tiramisu (successes 3 & 4). We found the Piazza & passed some time window shopping in all the souvenir stores & eating more gelato. When it got dark, we decided to walk back toward the hostel, but we misread the map & ended up at the river. Since we could see the dome, we took advantage of our mistake & walked back to the Vatican to see the Basilica by night. It was beautiful & far less crowded than it had been in the day. We took the Metro to the Colosseum to see that lit up as well. The Metro in Rome brings to mind a place where criminals die in action-adventure movies, but we survived the experience & exited the subway directly in front of the Colosseum. Then we found a restaurant for dinner (ravioli with chili powder, success #6) & had some red table wine. This time, we succeeded in finding our hostel & we turned in for the night.

Day 2 photos here.

This morning, we woke up early, ate breakfast & caught a train to the airport. Unfortunately, Vueling only offers 1 flight from Rome to Sevilla daily, so we couldn't spend Sunday in the Eternal City. But it was an amazing trip. The food was delicious, undoubtedly the best I've had in Europe. Even though my relatives aren't from anywhere near Rome, I felt like I got to know my heritage a bit better. I also gained a huge appreciation for what Spanish I know. When we were in Lagos, we stayed with our group, but in Italy, Linh & I depended on other people's knowledge of English. I couldn't ask "How much does this cost?" or "Can we have the check?" or "Where can I find...?" In that respect, I'm thankful to be back in Sevilla. But I know that there's much more to Rome that I haven't seen, & I might just have to go back someday to experience the rest of it.

Nos vemos, Le <3.