ITALIAN DIARIES PART I- VENI, VIDI, VICI

“I have travelled a lot...I haven’t saved much...But I know the day I stop travelling I will die,” said Antonio, our 66 year old guide at Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

After cancelling the trip once last year and thinking a lot about what people had said (“It’s a place of thieves” and “You’ll be targeted from the Rome airport itself, make sure you don’t let your bags out of your sight”), mother and daughter decided to fulfil their dream of visiting Italy, the birth place of Renaissance.   It was their first visit to Europe and visiting Rome, Florence and Venice was definitely somewhere at the top of their yet unwritten bucket list...so naturally they were excited!!! They read up all that they could about the places they were to visit and drew up their own itinerary making sure they gave ample time to each place. But books and internet can only give you a rough idea of what you can expect for what they saw was far more magnificent than what either of them could have imagined.

What do you write about a place that has a monument at every corner, the largest open air museum and canals forming the vessels to and from the heart of the city? It’s definitely a mammoth task and so I decided to include some interesting and unique (or as the Florentines like to say “curiosities”) things about Italy which I read in the diary of these two travellers...enjoy!

The Caput Mundi

Rome is a city where every street (‘Via’) or square (‘Piazza’) is like a page torn out of a history book. Monuments seem to sprout out of the ground just like the gladiators came out of the crypts below the arena in front of the wide-eyed crowd. It’s an amalgamation of the ancient and the modern...and you will be left to wonder whether the old gave way to the new or the new bowed out of the way for the old.  For instance, in Piazza Navona you have Bernini’s masterpiece, the Fountain of the Four Rivers along with the Fountain of Neptune and the Fountain of Moro...all three keeping you enthralled and mesmerised. But just as you tear your eyes (and camera) away, and turn your head, you find classy restaurants all along the piazza! Neptune and his two horses, the wild and the calm at Trevi look across the road at the uber chic mannequins of United Colours of Benetton. You come out of the metro station and almost bang into the Colosseum! As our guide at the Borghese Museum remarked, “It takes ages to build subways and metro lines in Rome because they start digging and then hit upon a historically and archeologically important ‘thing’ and have to stop the work, change their route and start digging elsewhere!”

It is a walled city, the Aurelian walls still form an imposing boundary. The people here are helpful and those who are not, it is because they are not fluent with English and not because they are mean. A Buongiorno here and a Grazie there is always helpful! For the freshers, every Pizzeria is not the same!!! Having discovered this the hard way by losing their way at 11.30 in the night, taking the wrong turn on seeing a board glowing green with the words ‘Pizzeria’, the duo specifically asked me to mention this! Also, Google maps are indeed extremely helpful because you do tend to lose your way. You may have lost your way and be running late for your meeting time of the tour and so you will end up crossing the street blindly in a hurry...but do not fear, for the Italians will stop their cars and let you pass...unlike Mr. Statham on his Italian mission! But this should not be an incentive to turn as blind as a bat and as deaf as a post on the roads! Apart from the cherubic babies, you will not find a single plump Italian. Every person walking by you looks like Al Pacino or Monica Bellucci. Anybody obese has to be a tourist!

Rome is a food lover’s delight! There are pizzerias, trattorias, osterias, gelaterias and ristorantes! Sit on the assorted chairs of the trattorias, with colourful tablecloths and lovely flowers in vases on each table in the warm Italian spring sun and listen to the gentle tunes of a nearby musician strumming his guitar and singing a merry melody as you sip your cappuccino or choco latte or take a bite of your pizza, savouring the individual taste of each ingredient or get lost in the taste of a freshly made tiramisu...aah, heaven! There are no regular, medium or large sizes in their pizzas, it is one standard (bigger than our large!) size and it comes as one round dish, no slices cut! But who cares, just dig in!!! It will be like no other pizza that you have ever tasted, their mozzarella being completely different from ours...and in a good way! You can start with the Antipasta, then go onto the first course that includes pasta and spaghetti and if you are still hungry then you can have the main course of fish and meat. And then comes the best part...Dolce! If you have a sweet tooth then you’ve found your tooth fairy!!! From scones, croissants, tarts and pies at breakfast to tiramisu and capresse!!! And how can I forget the gelatos! The softer and creamier your gelato, the better it is. For those of you addicted to the Amazon app...you can always say ‘Aur Dikhao’ for the flavours here! There are the usual ones like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and mango and then there are exotic flavours like extra dark chocolate, tiramisu, mint, mixed fruit, pineapple and hazelnut!

When in Rome, be like the Romans. Fill water from any water fountain that you come across, it’s all potable water!

The Guides are excellent. Our duo in Italy had guides as young as 25 to as old as 66 years old. All of them speak impeccable English, have been students of Art, Architecture, or History. They are extremely pleasant and never hurry at any place but let you take pictures to your heart’s content and are fiercely proud to be either Romans or Florentines or Pisans or Venetians!

The must sees in Rome-

The Colosseum- Yes, we have all seen ‘Gladiator’, again and again and again! But the real structure, like its name is colossal to be ever captured on screen no matter how big it is! You have to see it to believe it. Built by Vespasian in place of Nero’s Domus Aurea, it was built to gain the trust and support of the people again, games organised for them, free for all. And in these fights, among gladiators and between animals and gladiators who was the winner? Well the Emperor of course! But contrary to popular belief, the gladiators were hardly ever killed in the battle...for they were the heroes, people loved them! If this doesn’t make your jaw drop, I do believe that Rome isn’t your cup of tea (or cappuccino)!

The Roman Forum- Don’t miss this, situated next to the Colosseum. Witness the ancient civilisation now in ruins- enter through the arch of Constantine to the ground where Caesar built his basilica and where the senators debated about matters of the state. Pay a visit to Caesar’s tomb next to the temple of Antoninus and Faustina. Cross the temple of Saturn and Concord and come to the home of the vestal virgins. The arch of Septimius Severus bears testimony to Damnation of Memory, the name of one brother erased by the other! Climb up the Palatine Hill and stand where Augustus once built his palace to show that he was a descendant of Romulus, the founder of Rome.

The Basilica of San Giovanni- This is one of the four patriarchal churches of Rome, the other three being St Mary Maggiore, St Peter’s Basilica at Vatican and St. Paul’s Basilica outside the city walls. Each of these churches have the Holy Door through which a Christian must pass once in his life time. The gates are opened once every 25 years. 2015 is a special year when the Pope has announced that the gates will be opened in December this year...so start making your plans! This, however is the Mother of all Churches in the world being the seat of the Bishop of Rome, who also happens to be the Pope himself. Inside the church the Naive has the sculptures of all twelve apostles, above them, scenes from the old and new testament and right on top, frescoes of the Prophets. It holds the relics of the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. The influence of both the Baroque and the Renaissance styles can be seen here. Opposite this church is the Baptistery that houses the Scala Santa, the twenty eight steps climbed by Jesus with the Cross in the palace of Pilates in Jerusalem. People climb up these steps on their knees. For those of you who cannot manage, don’t worry there is a separate set of steps that you can climb to go to Sancta Sanctorum.

The Borghese Gallery- Situated quite inside the Villa Borghese that lies atop the Spanish Steps, this Gallery houses the collections of Scipione Borghese and his successors. It is extremely difficult to put into words the beauty of the paintings or sculptures. While Caravaggio paints a dark background with the Sick Bacchus and his self portrait as the head of Goliath in the hand of Young David, Raphael paints a picture of chastity in the Lady with the Unicorn. I cannot put life into words for I am not Bernini who infuses life into the Carrara marble with David in motion, his face drawn up in concentration as he is throwing the slingshot at the giant Goliath. Or in Rape of Persephone, Pluto’s finger’s pressing into the soft flesh of Persephone as he takes her away to the Underground, the tear trickling down her face. Pluto’s three headed dog stands nearby, its fur a stark contrast to the smooth skin of a woman, yet both built from rock! Or in Apollo and Daphne, watch Daphne transform into a tree in front of your eyes while Apollo watches helplessly. Do not miss the view of St Peter’s Basilica from here!

 

The Pantheon- Truly a Temple built in honour of all the gods, it is now a church. Marvel at the architecture of the largest non reinforced dome in the world as time casts its light and shadow through the oculus. Here lies Raphael Santi, the man who during his short stay of 37 years on this Earth, created eternal masterpieces to become immortal. His brilliance is beautifully described in the epitaph on his tomb, “Here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die.”

Piazza Navona- Bernini’s tribute to the four rivers of the world will leave you mesmerised. There are artists painting, musicians singing for you, gladiators drawing their swords for a picture with you and even sadhus floating in air!

Trevi Fountain- In spite of being under renovation, you cannot help but feel small in front of the majestic sculpture of the God of Sea. Throw a coin and if it goes in at the first try, you will surely come back to Rome...and if it doesn’t, I bet you would still come back to this eternal city!

The Vatican, Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica- The smallest city in the world welcomes you with open arms, quite literally as you enter Bernini’s St Peter’s Square with its 284 columns. You can also enter through the Vatican museum Gates like our Mother-Daughter did, early morning, under the watchful gaze of Michelangelo and Raphael and have breakfast in the Pine Cone Courtyard. Try booking this trip for it is a marvellous experience. I will not attempt describing the museums, the gallery of maps, the gallery of Tapestry, Raphael’s stanza because it is 7km and if you are willing to sit through 7 pages of this blog then let me know, I shall write about them next time. Visit the Sistine Chapel where while your head is raised to look at Michelangelo’s frescoes, your jaw will drop as you see God’s creation of this Earth...you can choose your God or accept Him as Michelangelo, as I did. The Last Judgement is ominous, the wall having been plastered by God in a way that it seems to incline towards you and you feel that even you are being judged to go to heaven or to rot in hell. This is where the conclave is held every time a Pope is elected. St. Peter’s Basilica is as close to Paradise as you can expect to be. Built to fit in two football stadiums, each letter on the wall is seven feet tall. The main altar built by Bernini is as high as a ten storey building. And every painting that you see on the wall...is in fact not a painting at all...it’s a mosaic!!! It is hard to believe that Michelangelo created the Pieta when he was only 24! In fact, even back then he had to inscribe his name on the sculpture so that people would believe that it was his creation. Oh, and there is also a chapel here where you can get married...for only about 50 thousand Euros!!! Climb up some 550 odd steps to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica and  you’ll get a view that will take your breath away. The Castle of Angels is nearby, previously the Mausoleum of Hadrian, then the fortress to protect the Popes and now a national museum.

Rome was not built in a day and nor will you be able to visit it. Do give 4-5 days to be able to see the city properly. You can book all tickets online. Keep a map. The Metro here is excellent and a great way to commute. And for the more adventurous ones...

Let Angels Guide You on Your Lofty Quest...

I’ll be back to take you across the Tuscan countryside and the Grand Canal...Next Sunday, same time, same blog.

Ciao!!!

MS