My Way Is The Highway

Roman Forum, Roma

(Earlier this day, we were at the Colosseum)

May 25th, 2009

After lunch, we crossed Via di S. Gregorio, past Constantine’s arc and climbed Palentine hill.

This is where it all started.

Romulus and Remus were brought here, as the myth goes, by the wolf to suckle. This is where Remus sat counting the birds. The understanding being, the one to count more birds – between Romulus and Remus – would end up being the emperor.

Once upon a time, only the richest of the rich could afford to own grounds here. The Beverly Hills of ancient times. They bought great acreages, build tremendous palaces surrounded by the most beautiful gardens that looked over the republic. After all the name Palentine comes from the word palace. We walked past Domitian’s Palace, once dazzling in marble, past the stadium that held private games and trained his horses, past the houses of Augustus and his wife Flavia, past Circus Maximus – where 250,000 people could simultaneously watch chariot racing around an oval (and to think America believes Nascar is her invention), past the huts of Romus until we saw the Roman Forum laid out at the foothill.

The forum was the center of political, commercial and judicial life in Ancient Rome. If your imagery of an ancient Roman city is majestic looking men with white beards, wearing white togas walking purposely towards  imposing building, then remember, it is Greece you are thinking of. This place would not be too different. From the house of Vestal Virgins to the Temple of Venus. Mamertine Prison to Basilica of Constantine. Temple of Saturn- just eight surviving beautiful columns, the Rostra – the platform used for oration, everything seems to be here. Across centuries, here, every emperor built and destroyed something.

We watched it all from Palentine Hill.

It looked inviting for a walk. Rhea was tired, and looked a little sun beaten. She has used the water from the bottles to make herself a little clay experiment. She needed a bath.

We did what any Roman would. We headed back for a siesta.

(Read on. Next we visited the Pantheon)

Pantheon, Roma

(Earlier in the day, we visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum)

May 25th, 2009

Late afternoon, washed and deodorized, we took bus #64 to Pantheon. Rome is very well connected by buses. The buses have more space to stand than to seat hinting at relatively short routes. The ticket dispenser was out of order this day and we ended up taking a free ride.

We entered the oldest temple in the world that is still in service.  The best surviving building of antiquity.

One does not need to be religious to feel pious at the Pantheon. Pantheon is unlike any temple I have seen. Emperor Hadrian himself designed the structure to replace an older temple built by Marcus Agrippa. Yet, he selflessly left Agrippa’s name emblazoned on the portico.

The grandiose of the dome hits you once you enter. And it hits you only after you enter.  The cube of the exterior, the approach, the facade does not hint once at such a semi-circular wonder. At 43 meters and change in diameter and height, this dome has inspired every dome that has been built since. Brunelleschi was to come here from Florence 1300 years later to study the design as he undertook the huge task of capping  Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. As did Michelangelo for his St. Peter’s.

In the center of the dome is the Oculus, throwing open the innards of the building to the sky. At no two time in a day does the Pantheon look the same because of the wonderful lightshow the Sun puts up. And when the sun hides behind clouds, and the cloud send down rain, the oculus turns into a water fall, fearlessly bathing the ancient marble tiling. The floor is convex allowing the water to flow to the periphery caught by hidden sieves and lead through well designed drainage to the Tiber. 

We bought ourselves audio tours shelling out E3. The audio tour is nothing but a phone handset with buttons to punch numbers. Each number corresponds to a spot that you should stand to hear the excellent prerecorded commentary. Rhea decided to use the wooden benches to take a nap, within feet of where Raphael lies in his tomb since 1520. Only Raphael could have managed to get himself such a premium piece of real estate.

It is only after seeing his work in Vatican and Uffizi that you start believing he deserves it, yet you never stop being jealous.

(Read on. Next we visited the Piazza Navona)

Piazza Navona, Roma

(Earlier today, we visited the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Pantheon)

May 25th, 2009

Leaving the Piazza de la Rotunda behind, we snaked our way to Piazza Navona.

There is no better place to end a day than this Baroque piece of architectural wonder. Piazza Navona was built using the lines of a Domitian stadium giving it its beautiful oval shape. In the center, is an Egyptian Obelisk supported by a fountain built by Bernini. He designed the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi as an ode to the four great rivers of the world – the Ganges, the Danube, the Nile and the Plate – each represented by a giant. Hordes of artisans showcase their art in the center.

Rhea, fresh from her nap in the Pantheon, ran off to chase pigeons. A proverb in Italy says you don’t get old at a table. We rested our tired feet at “Tre Sincile” that has been around since 1815.

As the sun bathed Borromini’s facade of Sant’Agnese in its golden light, we ordered our selves half a bottle of a Montepulchiano Abruzzo to go with onion Zuppa and Pasta.

Then we called it a day.

(Read on: Tomorrow, we are visiting the Vatican Museum)