Jan 13, 2010

My Roman Holiday!


October 2007 and December 2008

Reporter: Which of the cities visited did Your Highness enjoy the most?

Princess Ann: Each, in its own way, was unforgettable. It would be difficult to - Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.

~ From the movie Roman Holiday

For those who know me well, will not find it surprising that Rome is the first entry in this blog! If I were asked to describe my sentiments for Rome, I would just use one phrase; "I love Rome"! Its the only city after Mumbai , that I have a great attachment to, so much so that the thought of settling in Rome has crossed my mind several times!

My first visit to Rome happened quite serendipitously. I was on a three week business trip to Europe, with the few weekends in between to spare for personal travel and leisure. While most of my German colleagues suggested Berlin, the cloudy and wet weather in October was not particularly attractive for me to spend my precious weekend there. Thus with the logic that if we go down south the weather will co-operate, we zeroed in on Rome. The flight to Rome from Frankfurt was about 2.5 hours traversing over the beautiful Alps, a breathtaking view to die for!

Having selected a low cost airline from Frankfurt, I landed in an obscure airport in Rome and it took about an hour of bus ride to reach the main city. The bus ride from the airport to the city center was like a travel through history. Amidst the huge city ,one could see pieces of history scattered all around! Wherever I looked, I saw beautiful grand buildings, old monuments, falling towers, all nested beautifully in the hustle and bustle of the city. The city instantly reminded me of Bombay, albeit minus all the exotic architectural beauty. The people, public transportation, noise, pollution and all things that I had grown up with welcomed me and I knew instantly I was home!

My hotel was a stone throw distance from the Roma Termini (Rome's main train station), which worked out really well, making my forays into the city extremely convenient. Soon after checking in to the hotel and after a quick refreshment, I went out to explore the city with nothing but a metro map in hand. The best part about exploring any European city is the extensive network of public transportation that these cities boast and Roma (as the Romans would say! ) was no different. A short train ride from the termini took me to one of the most prominent landmarks of Roma, the Colosseum; a humongous amphitheater in the middle of the city. The Amphitheater Flavium, a.k.a. Colosseum. was built by the Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian between 71-72 and 80 AD as a gift to the Roman citizens. Today, the Colosseum is partly intact and mainly in ruins, but nevertheless its still a magnificent structure. It was also recently named one of the seven wonders of the world. The vastness of this structure struck me when I stood inside the Colosseum and got a 360 degree view of it. I later read and found out that it was designed to seat 50,000 spectators! After spending half a day in the Colosseum, I wandered out into the ruins of the Roman forums.

The Roman Forums are located outside the Colosseum, between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill. During the glorious era of Roman civilization, this was the center of all their political and social activities, but today much of it is destroyed and one can only see the fallen pillars and broken stones. I did later find a book called "Roma Reconstructed" which showed how these buildings originally looked and trust me it takes no architectural expertise to appreciate the beauty and grandness of these structures!

Rome has been made immortal by several movies, but nothing comes close to capturing the charms of this city as the movie Roman Holiday. The particular scene where Audrey Hepburn is sitting on the Spanish steps in Piazza di Spagna, in her new short haircut and new found freedom, licking an ice cream was truly captivating! To relive that scene in real life, I made my way to the steps only to find it ten times more crowded than in the movie and sadly no sign of Audrey! Nevertheless, I climbed these magnificent set of steps (called Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti in Italian) to the church on top. The view of the city from the top was breathtaking. It was not until recently that I learnt that the Spanish steps is the longest and widest staircase in Europe. The Piazza di Spagna at the base of the stairs has the famous Fontana della Barcaccia ("Fountain of the Old Boat"). Wandering away from the Piazza di Spagna, I stumbled upon yet another famous piazza called the Piazza Navona. This piazza houses three fountains, the most famous of which is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi ("Fountain of the Four Rivers") sculpted by Bernini and also the church of Sant'Agnese. Piazza Navona is the quintessential picture of Europe as depicted in movies; huge stone courtyard adorned with fountains and churches, open air cafes, musicians playing and a conglomeration of tourist and locals enjoying their day!

Couple blocks from the Piazza Navona, is the most famous fountain of Rome called Fontana di Trevi, another of Bernini’s masterpiece. Legend holds that if you throw and coin in the fountain you are bound to return to Rome someday. Unaware of this legend, I did throw my coin like any enthusiastic tourist, would do, only to realize that your wish does come true! I did return to Rome within an year again without really planing for it! This time around it was more as tourist guide for Mayur, but an amazing experience nonetheless!

The next stop on my list was the Pantheon, a temple dedicated to all ancient Roman gods. Pantheon is invariable tColosseumhe most influential Roman architecture and as I traveled more in the western world I was surprised to see how many ancient monuments were influenced by the Pantheon. I took a great liking for the Pantheon and the plaza surrounding it. It was here, in one of the cafes ,that I tasted the best Tiramisu (a very famous Italian dessert) ever. I ended up coming back to this cafe several times during my visit to gorge on this delectable desserts of all times!

A trip to Rome is not really completely if you don’t see the Vatican City. One glimpse of the Vatican city and you will know where the all world’s riches went to! The tourist guide in the Colosseum had told us that when the Vatican was build, all the marbles were taken from other famous buildings in Rome like the Colosseum and the Pantheon and I had no reasons to doubt him after I finished touring the Vatican. As I stepped into St. Peter's Basilica, I was spellbound at the enormity and grandeur of this church; the high ceilings, humongous corridors, the magnificent dome, all adorned with some of the best paintings and sculptures available in the modern world! The basilica houses some of the best works of Michelangelo and Bernini notable amongst which are Michelangelo's Pieta and also his dome redesign along with Bernini's Truth and Cathedra Petri ("throne of St. Peter"). I spent hours in the basilica, left agape by the richness of art and architecture in there. Though I have seen some of the most beautiful churches in the world, I must say that St. Peter's Basilica is truly the mother of all churches; no pun intended!

Rome was not built in a day and and so even after two trips to Rome, I can say I have not explored it all. There is so much more to see, so many new things to try, that I am left with a desire for a third trip! For me, Rome is the most beautiful of all places I have seen so far, a place that has left many lasting impressions in my heart. Its one city that I can go back to anytime and am sure I will enjoy it as much as I did the first two times ,or maybe even more. But till then arrivederci bella città! (goodbye beautiful city!)

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