Rome: The Eternal City

Two thousand years ago, it was called The Eternal City by a poet, and the description stuck. Mythology has it that the first king was Romulus from where the city got its name. Romulus and Remus were supposedly twins suckled by a she-wolf, who went on to found the city in 753 BCE.

Mythology usually has less than a grain of truth - the city may owe its name to the archaic name of the Tiber river (“Rumon”) on whose banks it was built.

Modern day Rome has a population of 2.86 million, around a third of Hyderabad (7.75 million). Its economy largely runs on services, hi-tech companies, and tourism. A bustling city, the fourth largest in Europe, the third - most visited, a city that surrounds the world's tiniest country, the Vatican!

You can see the dome of St. Peter's basilica in the far away distance inside Vatican City.

I arrived at Rome Termini by train, to the strong stench of dog urine, and the sights of overflowing garbage all around. Rome, while beautiful, isn't clean by the standards of countries like Russia, America or China. Those are large countries, but even small countries like Vietnam or Singapore are legendary for their cleanliness!

The garbage was however, not as ancient as Rome itself, the Capital of the World till the fall of the Roman Empire after the rise of Christianity in 476 CE. All roads (known to Western Civilization) did indeed lead to the centre, Rome! But then, so little was known of China, India, South Asia, or the rest of the world to a nascent West back then.

While dwindling, Rome’s influence continued however, right past the barbarian invasions of Attila, and the Muslim conquests till the 8th Century CE.

Roma Tempus, the hostel where I was staying, was filled with appreciative comments from guests the world over. I found it tastefully decorated, with a very vibrant hostess named Roberta, who was the centre of several praises that I read.

I found the poster of Audrey Hepburn from The Roman Holiday (also starring Gregory Peck), very romantic for a youth hostel. The film is from 1953, so perhaps there is some hope for today's millennials after all!

Everything Romantic, whether it be a film, story, sculpture, architecture, leads back to Rome. The word “romance” itself traces back its etymology to the Roman style.

Vatican City has as high a wall as China's Forbidden City (at least from memory)! The long line of people on the left are tourists are waiting to enter the Vatican, the seat of power of the world's largest religion, Catholicism (1.28 billion of the 2.8 billion Christians).

A visit to Vatican City is a must, if only to see the opulence and indulgences of the Pope and the Cardinals that led to a schism in Christianity and Martin Luther's reformation and the Protestant movement. Martin Luther was hailed as "a demon in the appearance of a man" by Catholics in the 16th century CE.

Statue of Apoxymenos from 50 AD.

Athletes used to anoint themselves with sand and oil just before a competition and rub themselves off with a 'stirgil' (a spoon-like instrument). This athlete is featured rubbing himself with a stirgil.

The practice of anointing with aromatic oil was common for kings during coronation, athletes, and generally, even messiahs! So you have Kristos - the anointed one - in the Greek Bible. Christ (from Kristos), isn't a second name at all, it just means someone was oily.

The papal library set up by Clement XIII (late 18th century) CE.

The Popes certainly had an eye for beauties as you can see from these statues.

And unlike the prudishness of today's lay population,the popes were in general, gender neutral, when it came to sculpture and the human form. One still doesn't understand why there are no female bishops or cardinals (dogma), but clearly, the popes were beyond original sin, temptation and all that!

The Vatican City has some of the best art works, both commissioned by rich cardinals and popes, as well as bequeathed on to them by patrons, or looted from other places during Christian conquests.

When you see the vast hall with the gold gilded roof and paintings, you finally start to get a glimpse of how exactly Luther would have felt, and why the people rebelled against the largest religion in the world. Surely, no God could have wanted such luxury for the Pope? And surely, the pope couldn't be a divine figure while selling letters of indulgence to rich sinners and spending the money to make such halls?

Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel weren't painted lying upside down. He designed his own scaffolding to hold him standing upright, with his head tilted upwards uncomfortably. He even wrote a sonnet humorously and did a sketch of himself.

"My beard turns up to heaven; my nape falls in,
Fixed on my spine: my breast-bone visibly
Grows like a harp: a rich embroidery
Bedews my face from brush-drops thick and thin."

But the painting detailing Creation of Adam, of a bolt of lightning passing between Man and God is quintessential Michelangelo (center of photograph).

The Sistine Chapel, 41 meters wide,14 meters long, took four years for him to complete painting in 1512 CE, and is one of the cornerstone works of the Renaissance.

St. Peter's Basilica seen from the Vatican City.

The Vatican Museums

An unusual view of St. Peter's Basilica. In the far off distance, those tiny dots are people lined up to enter the Basilica. I took this photograph since I was more interested in the arc of umbrellas leaning up to the Basilica. The waiting periods can be very high - typically an hour - to enter it.

The largest church in Catholic Christendom, it is a place of pilgrimage for all Catholics. I sacrificed my place for an ardent catholic, since they would be better benefitted by waiting in the incessant downpour for divinity to touch them inside the basilica.

174 "Spanish Steps" in Rome from the Spanish Embassy leading to the Church Trinita dei Monti. The location is called Spanish Steps!

Trevi Fountain

This baroque fountain built in 1629 CE featured in several movies: Roman Holiday, Three Coins in a fountain, etc. It was built on one of the aqueducts on the river Tiber that served ancient Rome.

Statue of Marco Minghetti, the 5th Prime Minister of Italy and also a famous finance minister in 1860.

Piazza Navono - that started out as a race track in 80 CE.

The Four Rivers fountain.

Fountains serve multiple purposes. They are sources of drinking water for the residents, and also erected as monuments to wealthy patrons.

This fountain was built during the famine of 1646-48 at public expense by Pope Innocent X, who should have been named guilty.

Detail of the Four Rivers fountain

Rome is dotted with piazzas and fountains all over. The four rivers are shown as Gods. The mighty Danube represents Europe, the Ganges represents Asia, Nile represents Africa, and Rio de la plata representing America.

A view of Rome. I liked the woman with the golden blonde hair absorbedly looking out, enough to keep her in the picture. She adds the human dimension to the landscape, and asymmetry to the composition.

Tre Scalini on Piazza Navona serves one of the best Tartufo (dark chocolate dessert filled with vanilla and chocolate gelato with a cherry and hazelnut center)

I spent some time looking at their other desserts while I swallowed my saliva.

Tre Scalini, the restaurant and cafeteria on Piazza Navona, from outside.

Another fountain in Piazza Navona

The Egyptian obelisk was erected in 80 CE. The obelisk was from the Temple of Isis in Rome. When Rome fell, the obelisk too fell. It was re-erected in the 1500's again, with a cross at the top. Even obelisks can convert to Christianity.

The Pantheon is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods by Marcus Agrippa. IT was rebuilt by Hadrian on a circular foundation, beyond the pillars and triangular top. The dome barely seen from outside is actually the central piece of architecture, and served as a model for domes in churches.

The temple to all the gods (Pan = all, Theos = gods). A visit to all the gods was essential to determine the day to marry your daughter off, or consult the innards of a sacrificial animal to figure out the best time to plant your crop.

Noblemen's houses often had guard lookouts to protect them.

On my way to the Colosseum.

I went searching all over for this place, "La Pizza" which was rated highest by several people in the quality of Pizza. I reached it to find not Italian Pizza, but "Florida" pizza. But the quality of the pizza was definitely the best, at a very cheap price too.

Pizzas in the La Pizza place with a very vibrant girl smiling away!

The Colosseum is a massive amphitheatre that could seat between 50,000 to 80,000 spectators. It was used for reenactments of battles, classical dramas, and gladiator games. It was used to hold together Rome as a republic and empire, by impressing and entertaining the population.

“When the colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world,” was what a poet prophesied. The Colosseum did fall, but Rome fell before that, and the world goes on.

Largo de torre Argentina,the place where Julius Caesar was killed. This are has the remains of four roman temples, an opera house, and supposedly a feline stray cat shelter, that I couldn't find.

The arch of Titus, built in 70 CE, to commemorate his victories, including that at Jerusalem.

Bridge over calm waters on a sunny day in Rome

Castel Sant'Angelo

A secret passage from the Pope's chambers out from Castel Sant'Angelo. This passage was actually used when the castle was attacked.

The Roman Forum was the market place where everyone met, and also housed the Roman Senate.

The Roman Senate (Latin senex = “old man”) survived from mythological times, supposedly established by Romulus himself, right till the fall of Rome. It was supposed to elect the king, and function as his advisory council, and had executive power.

Julius Caesar, however, established himself as Dictator for life in 44 BCE, turning Rome from Republic to Empire and the senate lost most of its power.

Humanity often regresses, and dictators and authoritarian figure are highly popular, as was Caesar or Hitler, Putin or Trump. As a primate species, we are highly enamoured of strongmen, and iron women, who concentrate power and direct our destinies, and make us powerful as a parliament of chimpanzees

A portion of the circular Temple of Vesta, where Vestal Virgins, the priestesses of Vesta, were supposed to pray for the well-being of Rome.

San Lorenzo at the Roman Forum

This knight's armor was kept in a pose that reminded me eerily of Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker!

At some point in the future, AI's are going to look back at this armor as their primitive ancestor.

The other obvious striking similarity is to Darth Vader, the dark father in Star Wars.