Italy

One of my favorite days in Italy was our visit to Palatine hill. Wikipedia says that this is the centermost of the seven hills of Rome, and in mythology, is the location where the brothers Romulus and Remus were found as babies by a she-wolf, and where Romulus would later go on to found his city.

When seeing it, however, all I knew was that it was one of the oldest parts of the city. It caught my eye immediately as we rode a bus into the city centre – brown crumbling ruins rising up above the city, many of which are almost two millennia old.

We first visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. These are truly impressive monuments (see the pic of the Colosseum below). But a visit here on a hot July day is not for the faint-hearted. There is an endless swell of people, thousands of them, combined with armies of salespeople hawking everything from handbags to postcards. Immediately beside the Colosseum, I noticed a walkway going up. It seemed practically deserted, and as we approached and made our way through the entrance gate, it was like being in another world.

The crowds of people disappeared, and we walked slowly upwards between the same piles of crumbling brown rocks I’d glimpsed from the bus. The buildings were decrepit and disfigured by age, but seemed oddly powerful and meaningful – I couldn’t explain why. It occurred to me that Roman emperors, senators, and other citizens would have walked these same paths. Everything around us was simply ancient, and as the noise and commotion vanished below, along with any trace of modernity, I felt that commonly described sensation of ‘stepping back in time’.

At the top of the hill is a garden with rows of trees, flowering bushes, and the pulse of chirping insects. The feeling of calm and stillness here was palpable, particularly compared to the touristic frenzy down below. Jasmin and I sat down and did a short practice in the garden before exploring the hill more thoroughly, including the ruins of many imperial palaces.

Most of the ruins are plain brown brick now, not too impressive really, since most of the original marble covering was stripped in later periods for use elsewhere. But here and there a chunk of white marble appears on the ground, or a gracefully sculpted column that conveys to the imagination what the place must once have looked like.

I also found that by exploring the different sites I could experience a connection with the people that had built and lived in them. (This was something I also noticed when looking at artifacts in the British museum.) It was amazing to feel somehow related to people who had lived and died thousands of years back, whose world was shaped so differently from mine, but who were still so fundamentally similar. As we explored, I found that the more I tried to place myself in the moment – to take everything in and to be sensitive to my environment – the more insights I got about the place. Much more satisfying then a textbook J.   

The experience gave me a sense of the power and might of this ancient civilization, showing me its majesty – but also its impermanence. At least physically speaking, even Rome becomes a pile of brown bricks 2000 years on.

That night we heard a wonderful piano recital outside of the ancient Teatro di Marcello, a old Roman theatre. 

The other main focus of our trip to Italy was art. We saw famous works by Raphael and Michelangelo (including his Sistine Chapel frescoes) at the Vatican museum. The frescoes on the ceiling are a bit hard on the neck to look at, so I focused on Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” which covers an entire wall of the chapel. This incredible painting alone is well worth the trip – each figure, whether damned or saved, offers a kind of insight into their condition. (The little picture below doesn’t really do it justice.)

In Florence, at the Uffizi gallery, the highlight for both Jasmin and I were the famous works by Botticelli, including his “Primavera” and “The Birth of Venus”. These paintings have such an otherworldly perfection, full of beauty and grace, that it really does the soul some good to look at them. I found I gained most by concentrating on the paintings, simply trying to perceive them without the mind.  In some cases I could go deeper and deeper into the works, perceiving them in a whole new light.

And finally Venice – a city built in the water. How cool! This was Jasmin’s favorite part of the trip. We heard an authentic Venetian performance of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. 

A picture of the Colosseum in Rome by 'Diliff' that came out better then any of mine. (Distributed under this licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/)

Some ruins on Palatine Hill. Not much to look at now, but it used to be much nicer -- spot the fragment of the marble column near the centre of the image.

Another piece of marble decoration lying around.

What's left of one of the imperial palaces, still an impressive sight.

Walking up to the garden on top of the Palatine Hill.

Waiting for the concert to begin.

My wife Jasmin and I in front of the Teatro di Marcello, an ancient Roman theatre where the piano recital was held (it took place just near the middle by the distant crowd of people).

A public domain image of Botticelli's Primavera.

A public domain image of Michelangelo's Last Judgement. Try to find a more detailed image if you can - it's worthwhile.

Strolling around Venice.