A character in Tennessee William's play El Camino Real, exclaims, "I used to wonder, now I just wander." Although I think my purposes were different than his, I just wandered today - hoping to hit sites that I hadn't seen before. Thus, I walked south along the Tiber, passing the huge Jewish Synagogue (my hotel is just on the edge of the Jewish quarter) and then down to the Temple of Fortune, and of Heracles, right across the street from Santa Maria in Cosmedian. Now here was a place that kept forgetting to go to on past trips, and now here it was right in front of me.
The floor work is beautiful, and the scale of the building so intimate that it shames the huge baroque churches that crowd this city. The capitals and mosaic and stone work are similar to that at San Clemente. All in all a beautiful experience.
I walk along the Circo Massimo intending to get to the Terme Caracalla, another site that I have ignored in the past. First there is an encounter with a scam artist who is trolling for Euros - from his car! The baths of Caracalla are spectacular. Not many people are there but there are a few and the incessant cries of seagulls.
Which reminds me; sleeping last night was a bit of a trial. The cries of ravens, cats, and seagulls kept me up. I was operating with the "Paris Syndrome" (Arthur will understand). Either keep the window open and be kept up by street noise, or close the window and suffocate.
The baths were built in 212, and were abandoned when the barbarians cut off the water supplies by choking the aqueducts that fed the baths. I got to thinking about how a civilization dies, sometimes by not facing up to the strengths of enemies, but by not recognizing the weaknesses that determine their ultimate strength. Americans need to travel and encounter civilizations that lost their greatness by being oblivious.
From Caracalla I walk over toward the Colosseum, which is crammed with tourists. I have lunch near by (fagiolli con ton no, and spaghetti bolognese) and then make a decision. Do I go to San Giovanni in Laterano, San Clemente, or the Domus Aurea? I do none of these but walk up to the Vittoriano, the wedding-cake-like monstrosity that was built to honor Vittorio Emanuelle, the last King of Italy. To get there I pass by the Forum of Trajan, which is inaccessible do to a party yesterday.
The driver who drove me into the city suggested that I take the elevator to the top of the monument, where for €7, you can see wonderful views of the city. So I take him up on his suggestion, and enjoy the view. I walk next door to Ara Coeli, the church where Pope Leo X is buried. I will encounter him again, later in the day.
It is very hot, especially with all that very white marble reflecting the sun's rays. I have a drink, and then move on to the Capital.
It is beautiful, Michelangelo's square. But they've done something to Marcus Aurelius. They've finished him off with some kind of protective coating, that is soon to appear on a bronze statue near you. It's not very becoming, but the statue itself is really quite wonderful.
The Capitoline Museums beckon, so I pay my Euros and go to see an captivating exhibition called Lux et Arcana, an exhibition of materials from the Vatican archives. There are notes from Marie Antoinette, and Mary Queen of Scots, along with the bull of excommunication for Martin Luther (remember Leo X?), a note from Luther that Galileo was a "fool", and a letter prepared on purple vellum with gold ink. My, my.
The head of Constantine in the courtyard is another thing that I had neglected to see - but there it was along with some other body parts.
I need to go home for a nap, so I walk by the Theatre of Marcellus, which in extraordinary Roman efficiency, is topped by apartments. Along the way I also see the ruins just next to the Theatre, the Porto Ottovio, which is very interesting and the remains of the buildings in between the two sites. It is time for a nap.
After some sleep I wander again, up through Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, and the square in front of the Pantheon, which is magnificent in the late evening. In all of these piazzi young men are selling the latest gadgets to tourists: LED lights that shoot up into the air and slowly float down, laser lights that shoot patterns onto the sidewalk in front of you, Asian umbrellas for the sun, and sunglasses, sunglasses, sunglasses. I walk by the Spanish Steps and go to an old favorite restaurant, Otello alla Concordia. (I don't think that it's my erstwhile alma mater that makes me return), but I do enjoy going there. I started with zucchini e fiori fritti, followed by boccancino la vitella, with assorted vegetables (Arthur will be happy), and ended with a panna cotta with some kind of red fruit sauce. Home, home, home. I'm tired.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment