Some say you would need a lifetime to discover Rome. For us, a week was enough. Not because the city itself, but just it was too crowded, too noisy. It was a long school holiday in Italy and Italian tourists had conquered the eternal city – alongside with Americans.
So we spend quite a long time in ticket lines and other queues. I dont know if it was worth it. I personally had a bit hard time in Rome. I just felt sad that the once mighty city had fallen in to hands of modern barbarians. While walking on the Forum Romanum, I had such a deep feeling of lost. In medieval times, it was a meadow of cows. The buildings were not destroyed by the attacking barbarian tribes but the Romans themselves; they used the stone material and pillars for new buildings.
But the worst of them was the church. While building their bunkers of God, the papal institution destroyed and robbed classical treasures ruthlessly. In Vatican museum, there is this one fresco in the ceiling which describes that well: in the front of a crucifix there is a classical statue smashed in to pieces. It seriously feels they had the Bible on the other hand and a sledgehammer on the other. And what they didnt destroy, they stole to their private papal collections.
I think we both had a bit of a “loosing my religion” -feelings in Italy. Sasi, the former Catholic school boy, was really angry time to time, especially to the hundreds of “Madonna e bambini” -paintings. And it is quite hard to understand why church should collect this kind of wealth to itself. Not to mention other stuff; like Savonarola’s stakes of vanity in Firenze, where he burned books and pieces of art if he decided them to be too earthly. Its nonsense to blame Muslims of this kind of actions, Christian church has done it for decades – and still does: Vatican has continously a list of forbidden books.
Aeternitas was and still is my favourite word in Latin – eternity. For me, it symbolizes the classical continuity. In hectic modern Rome, it was hard to find. But finally I managed, and the place was truly perfect: Ara Pacis Augustae, the peace altar of Augustus. This masterpiece of classical sculpture is now located inside of a completely modern building designed by Richard Meier. Italians outraged of the modern white-and-glass building next to Baroque ones. Their loss. Building is stunning, and I think combining Roman era art and modern art is just the right thing to do; Romans did that themselves in their times, with Greek, Etruscan, Phoinician etc. art and techniques.
So in Ara Pacis, no ticket queues, not even line to ladies toilet (!!) – and what a marvellous silence.
Rest in pieces, my beloved Rome. We are now in Nice, France.
Maiku
