The Four Romes

There are four Romes. I’ll elaborate in a minute.

I started out writing a detailed blow-by-blow account of my first full day in Rome. Sleep overtook me, though, and now I have two full days under my belt.

So instead of describing my activities hour by hour, step by step, church by church, sight by sight, I am just going to share some of what I’ve learned about Rome, and about myself, so far.

If you want details of the things I saw, you can find some of that in my photo albums. Here is the album from yesterday, and here is the album from today.

The Four Romes

These are The Four Romes

1. Ancient Rome
2. Medieval Rome
3. Baroque Rome
4. Modern Rome

I suppose you could quibble with my count. There’s probably also a legendary Rome that predates ancient Rome. And ancient Rome could probably be divided into the kingdom, the republic, and the empire. But I’m sticking with my count. There are four Romes.

Yesterday I spent most of the day in medieval Rome and Baroque Rome. Today I was in ancient Rome all morning.

Ancient Rome

I decided I am not so much a fan of ancient Rome.

It’s not that the ruins of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum aren’t fascinating. I appreciate the history, and I marvel at how much has survived.

But as hard as I try, I don’t find that ancient Rome comes to life among these ruins. I look at the Colosseum and I’m impressed, but I don’t picture gladiators and roaring fans, even if Hollywood has succeeded in bringing it all to life (however inaccurately). I walk through Palatine Hill and can hardly perform a mental reconstruction of the magnificent palace or of the lives of the emperors who lived there.

Walking through the Roman Forum, stepping on the original paving stones, I see the magnificence of the structures that have survived: the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina that later became the Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda, all the columns that are still (or again maybe?) standing. There’s a certain glory I admire, even if much of it is faded, eroded, or crumbled. But it just all feels like relics to me.

Yes, I understand it is relics, by definition. The dictionary defines a relic as “an object surviving from an earlier time, especially one of historical interest.” And yes, there’s no question that ancient Rome is filled with these kinds of relics.

But the dictionary also defines a relic as “a person or thing that has survived from an earlier time but is now outmoded.” Yes, there is historical interest, but for me a lot of it just feels like it’s more-or-less survived. It’s cool, in the 1970s high school sense. That’s not a disparagement. But cool doesn’t penetrate my soul.

To be fair, it may just be the fact that ruins are ruined. Or that whatever art was part of it all is faded so badly as to be unrecognizable. When I see ancient art and it still looks like art, it can succeed in getting my heart racing. I do plan to visit some museums with ancient art, and I’ll report back on how it compares with art from later periods.

Medieval and Baroque Rome

Later periods have also produced relics that have survived and have historical interest. But for me, at least, these relics don’t feel outmoded. They still feel relevant and beautiful, with an aesthetic impact that often stuns me into awe or moves me to tears.

I went into so many churches yesterday and this afternoon after the morning tour of ancient Rome. I was repeatedly weak in the knees gazing at paintings and sculptures and glorious architecture.

I’m not sure I’m describing this very well. And I’m not suggesting that my sensibility is the right one. I wish I found something in ancient Rome that touched me as deeply as this.

Trevi Fountain, tourist trap or not, is a stunning work of art.

Modern Rome

There are some newer buildings here, but for me, modern Rome comes alive most in the food. The pizza. The pasta. The pastries and gelato.

Another aspect of modern Rome is traffic. Sometimes when I want to cross the street, I just have to hope I’ll still be alive when I reach the other side.

And a third aspect of modern Rome is construction. Next year, 2025, is Jubilee Year. Many pilgrims will be coming to Rome, and the city seems to be preparing by renovating a lot of pretty things, especially, it seems, fountains and obelisks, which are walled off and covered in scaffolding.

I’m looking forward to exploring more of all four Romes over the next eight days. I’ll continue to report on my findings.