We enter Rome after conquering other parts of Italy. Boy, do these people look good! A certain significant other of mine can’t stop looking at the Giorgio’s and Giuseppe’s until I remind her that the Maria’s and Julia’s that are attached to them look way better. I just don’t have the hair to be a good-looking Italian. (And, let’s not even start with the body image stuff already for God’s sake!) It’s that combed back look, not to mention the Ferrari sunglasses and designer clothes. Boy, do these people look good! I won’t get into an abridged twenty-page sidebar describing the women that have passed before my Roaming Roman Eyes! Luckily, I don’t have to pay roaming charges! (God, what a great line! Sometimes I even amaze myself)
I like Romans and I like Rome, or Roma, as it is called. I didn’t really tune into Florence very well and was glad to move on, (although I was flattered that they had buses with my last name as a destination on the electronic banner on the front of the bus, or was it some deep physic message calling me home), but Rome is home, sistas and bros, and it is very cool indeed! We are staying in a nice apartment (which is a relief after the shoebox saga) very close to the Vatican. The streets are beautifully tree lined and they remind me of Philadelphia’s Parkway, if it was also lined with well-done five story old stucco apartment buildings. It seems like a very well off area, but this City seems impressive no matter where you are. You just have to learn how and where to cross the streets as soon as you get here; it’s not New York traffic insanity, but there are swarms of scooters flying by at high speeds.
Aliyah is settled into the residence apartment that Temple U has provided for her, and has been getting to know some of her fellow students. Needless to say, it is easy to spot the Temple kids walking the streets in this area. It will take them a while to drop the reverse baseball hat look, complete with Phillies’ shirts and cut offs, and don the Armani look, but I am confident that they will morph into something more sophisticated as the weeks go on. They also have to learn how to handle their wine, which will be offered from morning till night without question. Of course, Aliyah’s crowd of dancers is very cool already, and at this point in time, Aliyah is not only Italian by birth, but she may have trouble finding her way back to the New World six weeks from now.
The sightseeing is already in full swing along with setting Aliyah up in her apartment for the summer session. She has some strong fellow dancers with her from Temple, one of whom has a boyfriend who is a tour guide, so she is getting some great commentary about all of the sights when she goes out with the girls. She has also fallen in love with an excellent dance school nearby which offers dance classes of all kinds, and at all ability levels.
We are not as privy to such astute historical insight as Aliyah, so we do the tourist thing and throw euros at it to see where it gets us. Today we bought the Vatican, as if they need another dime from anyone, ever! For whatever reason, I have come to the ultimate cathedral and it exhausted me! It was more than the weight of the place that crushed me. The magnificence of Italian religious art began in the small but intense churches in Arezzo. We then proceeded to Sicily, where the art was slightly less intense, but still magnificent. Then, we traveled to the grandeur of Florence, and the enormity of the great Duomo, once a world center, and all of the other magnificent churches, monasteries and museums. Even Sienna, Voterra, and San Giminigana had greater churches than anything I have ever seen in America. And, now to the source and mother load of all things church, Rome, where even a seemingly rough hole in the wall may lead to the most magnificent church you have ever seen. I haven’t been educated and inundated with historical facts about art history since my ex wife (I wanted to say Exlax) walked out thirty-three years ago, but I can tell you that these artists had some serious moments interpreting and tweaking the same stories over and over again; and then adding their subtle personal touches somewhere in the story. You can only process so much of this stuff, and after awhile it all blends into one.
But, today we went to the Sistine Chapel, The Vatican Museum, and St. Peter’s Basilica. I don’t know where to begin or end: Yes, it’s the light emanating from Michelangelo’s paintings, and the look on the faces, and the contour of the bodies, (especially the men) and the masterful representations of great inspirational Christian religious sagas, and the wonder of the glory of God in form and detail. I cracked up when the docent explained the resistance and defiance that Michelangelo had for the Pope who forced him to take on this after school art project, and how he put this Pope’s image at the bottom of the deepest hell in his Judgment Day masterpiece… And, St. Peter’s, the center of it all, elaborate beyond description with the scale of everything absolutely astounding. Yes, they definitely succeeded in separating themselves from Judaism, and it is apparent to me why the representation of forms is not allowed in any way in Islam. I just wonder what sweet, loving Jesus, may the blessings of God be upon him, would think about all of this. Would he take each and every piece of the Vatican and auction it off to the highest bidders, and then use all of the billions and billions to feed, house, and clothe the desperate souls on Earth?
Well, I will leave you with that thought today without going any further on this public forum. Speaking of forums, tomorrow we visit the Forum and finally, finally, I get to enter the Coliseum. (Here comes that Wide World of Sports Anthem again). I am also going to see if I can get a ticket to see Usain Bolt from Jamaica run the 100 meters in the Olympic Stadium on Thursday night. Europeans pack the stadiums for track and field, so it may be too costly, but I’m giving it a shot. Ciao for Chow. Alberto
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