Capital Roma - Historic Heartfailure
- Tobias Heller
- 3. Okt. 2016
- 9 Min. Lesezeit
Finally, Rome! Yet I have only seen it in movies, heard of stories and by that I can only imagine that it is a great place to visit. Statues, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and many other Buildings and historic Temples would be waiting there, and I am eager to explore this city. Rome, the capital of Italy, inhabits over 4,3 million people in the metropole and is one of the most visited cities allover in Europe.
Organisation
What to see in Rome - A rainy Start
I arrive in Rome by bus once more heavily loaded, and here I decide tostay at a camping site situated a bit far outside the center. During traveling in Florence, someone recommended it to me, as the prices for the hostels in the center are more expensive, but the camping is unbeatably cheap with only 5 euro per night. My standards for sleeping are not highly set, so a dormitory tent would be fine enough for me. The only disadvantage of the outbound location is that I would need to go the distance to the center every day by the tramway line, but the costs for a single journey ticket in Rome are low, so overall I would save lots of money, disregarding the approximately 45 Minutes I need to go in and out.
Unfortunately when I wake up in the dormitory tent on the quite immense camping ground, I hear the rain hammering loudly and heavily against the thin tent walls with an occasional roar of thunder. Not the best to start, so I decide to wait for the rain to subside, at least to some extent hopefully. And indeed it does later on, I put my bag to the reception for storage and make my way into the center.
City Center
Piazzas & Fountains - Overabundant
When I get out of the cramped metro line, I immediately encounter the first large open square, Piazza del Popolo, with an obelisk stabbing the blueness of the meanwhile nearly clear blue sky with it's spiked peak, while the streets are still partially wet. From here stairs lead upwards along statues nestled into a recess that is cut into the walls, offering a view over the Piazza, and further on leading into Villa Borghese, a large park with greenery, lakes, statues, high growing trees and the National Gallery of Modern Art nestled on the edge of the south-east park extents.
As I move on I encounter the loaded so called Spanish Steps, apparently a must-see in Rome as here it seems sheerly impossible to find a single stair without at least one foot placed on it. The steps are climbing an abrupt slope upwards establishing a connection between the Piazza di Spagna at the bottom with the Trinita dei Monti, a church sitting on the top. I look around here, but quickly try to escape the place due to my aversion of overly crowded and noisy places.
There are many Piazzas, more or less large squares to be seen in Rome, each of them housing statues, fountains or similarly impressing objects. What amazes me about this city is the fact that a disoriented stroll in any direction could lead you to anywhere interestingly loaded with great details and impressions. One of my favorite fountains albeit, the Fontana dei Fiumi, is placed in the Piazza Navona. The fountain, so it says, displays four rivers standing for four continents, Nile, Danube, Ganges and Rio de la Plata, each of them represented by a god sitting playfully on rocks that rise miraculously out of the water basin, their faces facing all four cardinal directions. In the middle another Egyptian obelisk juts out highly. I could stare hours at the scene in front of me, new details showing up the longer I keep observing and circling around the fountain, listening to the gurgling and babbling splash of the water. Especially at night the illuminated water basin with the sculptures features piercing out strongly by the spotlights, this fountain captivates me the most.
The indisputable largest baroque fountain in Rome and additionally one of the most renowned in the whole world is the Fontana Di Trevi, which isn't far off from the Pantheon and you won't be able to miss it once you are in the tiny square, because it is immensly packed with tourists no matter which time of the day, be it morning, midday, afternoon, it wouldn't even surprise me deeply if people would decide to camp in front of it during night time. Admittedly it is quite an impressive fountain, largely outstretched, extremely dynamic and in constant movement. The basin in the front with the rippling, curling surface seems to be maintained on a regular basis as it is deep blue and somehow due to weird and untraceable reasons urges me instantly to jump into it.
City Center
Pantheon - A heavy Temple
I step accidentally across the Pantheon, somehow first not recognizing it, but once i observe it closer I am aware I stand in front of one of the most famous and best preserved temples in Rome. The building appears to be so heavy, grey and hidden in murky shadows, I instantly have to imagine the earth beneath cracking open by it's massive weight, being swallowed up by the darkness underneath. With those weird thoughts I pass the portico, with an array of high granite columns and enter into the circular building, my eyes needing time to adjust. The walls appear way higher then I expected from the outside due to the evidently clumsy appearance. The famous coffered ceiling, with the oculus on top is the main source of light, that appears to bundle the rays of light together to illuminate the concrete rotunda. The widely open main entrance portal eats up people leaving the temple, as they are swallowed by the blinding bright sunlight, whereas others appear out of nowhere replacing the vanishers. A weird kind of mass-processing.
Sightseeing
The antique Center - Altare della Patria
On another day, gravely overcast by dark clouds in the morning but brightening up during daytime I explore the southern part, which offers other treasures to be seen. From afar I spot the Altare della Patrica, also known as Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, a huge, daunting, impressive building, whose intimidating appearance is only fortified by the mixture of dark clouds and the sun glooming strongly behind the brighter parts, forcing her way through to send arrows of light down onto earth. Giant impressive statues are overlooking the monument's visitors, sitting enthroned high above. This monument is indeed built to show grandeur and superiority, as deep respect for this place arises in me. I carefully climb up the stairs, passing the eternal fire that has been placed here and is supposed to burn - guess what? - eternally. I wander what would happen if I came upstairs with a bucket of water, but push the thought away chuckling.
Sightseeing & Architecture
Colosseum & Foro Romano - Skipping the main sights can be so badass
I walk down to the Colosseum to have a look at the medieval amphitheater from he outside, the largest one that has ever been built. I didn't buy any entry tickets, and without online booking it appears to be a futile undertaking to queue here. Luckily I don't mind that at all, the Colosseum might be an interesting place to see from the inside, but I cannot imagine it to be enjoyable with this massive amount of tourists climbing around in there, spoiling the original atmosphere. I am blessed with a fairly good sense of imagination, anyways it is highly unlikely that the place would recite the ongoing bloody gladiatorial battles, executions and animal hunts whilst inappropriately dressed teenage girls are annoyingly tottering over the ancient stones in the wrong shoes or with the clicking and beeping of phones and various technical devices ringing in your ears. At least the numerous persons armed with selfie sticks could be regarded as soldiers carrying their blood stained swords - including the danger of losing an eye if you come into close vicinity. Therefore I skip it without regret, already satisfied with marveling it's greatness externally and in safety.
Next to the Colosseum is the Foro Romano, a rectangular plaza with an assortment of several preserved leftovers and architectural fragments of previously undoubtedly magnificent buildings and temples. Here again a long line awaits in front of the entrance, which I skip once more. A walking path leads all around the whole outstretches of the forum, offering more than just a brief glimpse inside. Actually the whole Forum can be overviewed while going around it, and for me leaving out the necessity to go below. What really astonishes me is the fact that all this space is consumed by antique temples and serves only for preserving the old collection of stones in various forms, which is a fact i didn't expect in this dimension. To look over the Forum Romano once more gives me the feeling of being small and unimportant facing these vast space with people making their way through like tiny ants in a maze.
Churches & Architecture
How to pass time in Rome - Visit Churches
If your plan was to see all the churches in Rome, I guess you'd need a whole week only to do that, without having seen any other things. I can only give a little impression - no picture can copy the feeling of being in those high built stunning buildings with endless details that live in harmony with each other. During my stay I went to loads of them, and it deems to be impossible to make an assortment of either the best churches or simply to remind myself of the names of the ones I have been inside. Anyways, I recommend while walking around the city to go inside, they all have a unique beauty which shows in different aspects. Be it the brilliant yellowish light seeping in through the dome shaped circle above the alter, touching everything into a glow of gold. Be it shown in the marvelously detailed paintings that decorate the ceiling, giving the impression of the church reaching endlessly high up into the sky with no actual ceiling above. Or be it in the form of the candle light but yet dark archways and the muffled sound of footsteps echoing from the stone walls.
Quarters
Trevastere & Isola Tiberna - Hello from the other Side
Deep in the South you will find a quarter called Trastevere across the other side of the river Tiber, connected by two bridges with a little Island in the middle, Isola Tiberna. The flanks of the bridge are occupied by artists and musicians, selling either their handcraft souvenirs or trying to earn money by the might of their voice. Flocks of tourists can be found as well, as the area dotted with relatively cheap but anyways delicious restaurants and tiny cafes, which welcome you to sit down amidst the small streets in order to take a rest, relax and have a drink. Here it is where I meet Anne, a girl I got to know on the Bus to Bologna. She is actually living in the Netherlands and presently taking her time off for traveling Italy.
I wait at the bridge for half an hour, but unfortunately she does not show up, and as I am about to leave a strong male voice shouts out my name. Who the hell knows me here? A guy is running towards me, my face brightening up, as he is accompanied by Anne, gaping for air as they were on the run to catch me right in time because of an incident that led to her delay. They both got to know each other in a Hostel, he is going back to the US today, leaving by airplane later at night, and Anne will also make her way up to the north again this day. I enjoy the brief possibility to have dinner together in one of the cheaper restaurants with them after spending the whole day all by myself in the city center. In fact I enjoy spending time on my own sometimes, anyways I sometimes get the feeling of being driven nuts, as I start mumbling under my breath to myself. Am I a weirdo? I guess sort of, but a happy one.
Parks
Villa Borghese - A Park
In Rome you will find several parks and green spaces as well, once you are done with putting all the touristic stuff of your list, visiting crowded and packed piazzas and temples, you might want to escape for a brief time into one of those welcoming green sprawling lovable green spots. The biggest one you may find is the one next to Piazza del Popolo, Villa Borghese, covering a large area. Nevertheless, to get a clear mind and enjoy my own personal space I prefer the small parks in the south, with palms, bushes and hedges nicely arranged, and amidst all that - who would have guessed that - further fountains and statues.
Epilogue
Is there something I forgot?
Yes, indeed there is. Whole books could be filled with stories about Rome, and also my personal story contains so many more things, though some of them may be better hidden from public. I have seen so many things, some of which I am not sure where to put them exactly, but for which I am grateful to have the pictures to go through, reliving all those things and experiences.
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