Claudia Exercise 4

I think of it as my own spot. Passed my hundreds of tourists a day, designated as an ideal photo opportunity, looked down upon by men selling souvenirs and guidebooks in every language, watched by people from the hill above and the valley below, this spot is in no way private. But it is personal. Perched between the Capitoline Hill and the Forum, the redbrick ledge of the stairway that connects the Renaissance piazza above and the ancient monumental arch below offers me not only a view of the city, of Rome, but an entrance into its past and its present. With the early twentieth-century Vittorio Emanuele monument at my back, at the end point of the ancient via Sacra, I look out over the Roman Forum, the excavated monuments boldly announcing the antiquity of the city and preservation of its memory. Modern culture, present tempo, current situations are so inextricably intertwined with the city’s history, its legends, its archaeology. I, a current student of Roman archaeology, like to think I am a part of this link between the city’s present and its past. On this ledge I continually capture Rome and the city never stops capturing me.

The monuments of the past obviously resonate with my scholarly passions; Rome is almost like a playground for someone interested in Roman archaeology. But it is not only the ancient elements of the city that draw me. From my first visit to Rome, I continue to be fascinated by the interaction between the ancient and modern city. The bus and tram lines follow the ancient gridded Roman streets, the character of the modern hills still carries echoes of their ancient predecessors, present Rome is still guarded and marked by Rome’s ancient series of walls, even current styles of graffiti mirror its ancient precedents. Signs, names and advertisements announce the pervasive lineage of the past: in Piazza Venezia, the modern central square, a large billboard declares Metro C indagine Archeologiche (Metro C investigates thoroughly archaeological remains); on lampposts throughout the city, pictures of the bronze 5th century B.C. she-wolf nursing three male babies are accompanied by the question sei proprio sicuro di sapere tutto su Roma? (are you really sure you know everything about Rome?).

Although the present Rome is welded together with its past, the city does allow the contemporary to be experienced separately, highlighting modern culture against the backdrop of the ancient city. The hospitality, friendliness and warmth of the Romans create an enveloping sense of comfort and ease that form the modern Rome for me. Francesco, the owner of the cheese store in Trastevere, eager to share the tastes of his city, generously offers me tastes of ricotta salata, parmigiano reggiano and marinated artichokes; Daniella, the barista in the local Monteverde coffee shop, enthusiastically refills my café macchiato before it nears its end; Agnese, my favorite member of the Il Gelatone team, makes the medium size into an extra large, overflowing the paper cup with heaps of gelato; Maria, the cook at my study abroad program, puts aside extra lentil soup for me (knowing it to be my favorite) if I am not able to come to lunch that day. I realize that all of my examples of embodiments of Rome have to do with food, but they also reflect the generosity, openness and sincerity that so characterize the Romans. In this way, the city of Rome has become second home to me. The people allow me to feel as if I am a part of their city.

Not only does Rome present an interaction between two temporal extremes, the distant antique past and the modern contemporary culture, but it is also permeated by the intervening centuries, by the culture of churches and palaces. Renaissance and Baroque Rome, incorporating the ancient into their architecture, into their statues, into their painted illustrations, seem to provide a tangible link between the classical past and the present. In America, I do not go to church. I have never gone to church as part of my routine, as part of my religion. In Rome, I enter at least two or three churches a day. I feel comfortable in the churches in Rome; I see them as an intersection between the secular and religious worlds. I visit the churches to admire the decoration, the architecture, the statues, the culture of five hundred years ago preserved in this museum-city of sorts; directly next to me sits the devout worshipper, viewing the church as a modern religious space. This interaction between the secular and the religious, between the world and the spirit is inescapable in the city of Rome.

Rome invites me to walk all over. There are parts of Rome I know better than the city I grew up in. The winding cobblestone streets of Suburra and Trastevere are imprinted on my mind, on my feet. The unairconditioned, crowded buses in the summer heat reinforce my already strong inclination to walk from one far corner of the city to the other. These streets, the modern lying above the ancient, are how I experience the city. They lead me in circles, they reveal hidden secrets, they propel me to an unconsidered destination. I come home from a long day and I run some hot water in the bathtub for my tired feet. My feet instantly turn the water a dark brown. I look at the now black soles of my feet---Rome has rubbed off on me.

Posted at Apr 14/2008 08:03PM:
keffie: How very Witmorian of you, Claudia! Cities are totally about connections--between the past and the present, religious and secular, the space and you! I think you do a great job of drawing on and drawing out the intimate relationships that make a place. I noticed that you didn't use the word 'sacred' even once in this piece. Was that intentional?

Posted at Apr 15/2008 12:20PM:
Heidi: One thing that tends to both me about archaeologically focused trips is the extent to which modern occupations are ignored or imagined away in favor of ancient monuments and topographies. One thing I love about Rome is that it is impossible to separate its ancient and modern spheres, if we can even speak of these things as distinct entities. I too picked up on Keffie's point and was wondering whether this notion of sacred space defines your entire set of relations with the city, rather than particular places there within?

Posted at Apr 15/2008 02:27PM:
Elisa: It is really interesting how churches have a distinctly different affective quality for you in Rome. Are they more secular because they are considered both monuments of architectural history and religious buildings? Or is it just the way you feel in Rome that allows you to interact with these spaces more easily? I also like your description of Rome as a "museum-city" -- a city of exhibitions where everything is on display. The city is therefore a spectacle of spectacles, where we can at once become subject and object of visual consumption.

Posted at Apr 21/2008 10:55PM:
Carissa: Claudia, I found your exercise to be extremely moving, since I could relate to it in so many ways. It was interesting that your perspective of the sacred was very secular, particularly you interaction with churches. Again, it reminded me that the sacral quality of the city does not have to be communal, but it is individualized.