After enjoying Florence, we were on to Rome. Again, the architecture, art, and urban life did not disappoint, nor did the food. Highlights included touristy stops at the Coloseum, Palantine, Forum, Pantheon and the Vatican Museums – as well as wandering and dining the twisting streets of Trastevere.
Conversations and critique regarding empire, power, politics, and religion intertwined with our site seeing. The Colossuem, impressive as an architectural wonder turned my stomach as I read about the spectacle of the games, the exploitation and death of slaves, political prisoners, and countless thousands of wild animals. The decay of the Forum and the overlapping of history, technology, and the politics of “civilization” – dating from before the Roman Empire to long after I will be capable of wandering the ruins – raised questions of our own empire here at home – and what will become of all that has been created in the name of democracy, government, civility, and “progress”. The perceived grandeur of what was Rome, and the reality of what is Rome (in all its historic and modern beauty) tugged at my thoughts. What are we doing? Where are we going? Is our fate (the royal “our” – that of the “enlightened” and “civilized” world of the global economy and “western” ideals) to be the same as Rome, Ancient Greece, and countless other city states and empires we have created? Are we doomed to collapse, decay, and destrcution – either from within or from without?
Pantheon
Vatican Museums
Bikes were scant compared to Florence. Rome seemed ruled by the Smart car, scooter, and private auto. The streets a bit meaner, the traffic a bit faster, and walking combined with the bus, metro, or light rail seemed a bit more sane way of getting about.
Smart Car
Italian Postal Scooter
Traffic signal for cyclists