There’s Something About Italy
By Barbara Petty
December 2005

For many of us, the lure of traveling to far-away places becomes a life-long dream. For others, it is only a casual afterthought. For those that travel frequently, you understand that every place has its own special vibe – a certain attitude about life, a way of moving through the day, a particular look and feel that is unique to that area.

Italy has a very special charm that only those that visit truly understand. Throughout the entire country (well, the areas that we visited anyway) there is a similarity among the people – a friendly nature, a welcoming smile, and an eagerness to please. Whether in the downtown frenzy of Florence (Firenze) or in a quiet country village like Figline Valdarno, Italians are universally charming.

If you are an art lover or an historian, what better place than Italy to explore the wonderful artifacts of a civilization so much older than our own? As I am an art major and my husband Greg is a history major, we decided to start our European vacation in Rome. Our 23-year old son Aaron was with us, and he surprised us over and over by his eagerness and enjoyment of the historical sites and museums.

We arrived in Rome mid-afternoon, so by the time we were settled in, cleaned up and ready to go out again, we had time for one major site. Therefore we headed to the Colosseum, probably the most visited site in Rome next to the Vatican. Its true name is the Flavian Amphitheatre, but was commonly known as the Colosseum both for its proportions and its vicinity to the Colossus of Nero, now gone. It was built between 72 and 80 A.D. and as most of us know from Hollywood movies, it was primarily used for cultivating and nurturing the war-like spirit that had made Romans the conquerors of the world. The remains of the building show the wall with-in a wall construction on the outer perimeter, an amazing feat of construction for a civilization 2,000 years ago. The interior shows the extreme slanting of the seating area, the only possible way to seat nearly 80,000 spectators. The floor is now gone, exposing the maze of hallways and holding pens from which wild animals were released into the arena.

One of the best little touristy things we bought was a book that featured illustrated overlays of all of the Roman archaeological sites showing before and after images. A well-spent 10 euros.

From there we walked down the Via del Fori Imperial towards the Victor Emanuel Monument, a 200 foot high by 500 foot wide structure that was erected to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Italy’s unification. We did not go inside but rather gaped at the enormity of the building and had to stand a block away to get the complete building in one camera shot. As the sun was setting, we strolled around the Piazza Venezia and window-shopped. This is definitely the high-rent district, but for shoppers with an inexhaustible supply of funds, this is the ultimate shopping mecca. For dinner that evening, we found a small little pizza shop. We enjoyed our first authentic Italian pizza with cold beer, chatting with two Americans!

Day number two, we started in front of the Colosseum, but headed northwest to the Forum. The oldest site - and most spectacular in size - the Forum was the center of civic and economic life in Republican times. Construction started in 500 B.C. buildings and monuments added or renovated for nearly 1,000 years. We did our own self-guided tour using Rick Steve’s Roman Forum Walk outline in his Italy 2004 travel book. Imagine walking on the same ground that was traversed by Julius Caesar, and looking at the actual spot where he was burned. The House of the Vestal Virgins reminded me of the song by Procol Harum (Whiter Shade of Pale). As the name implies, these virgins came from noble families and took a vow of chastity at the age of 10. If she served her 30-year term faithfully, she was given a generous dowry, honored with a statue, and allowed to marry. (You don’t want to know what happened to those women that didn’t make it!) The vestal pool area is still clearly identifiable. Further down is the Senate House -- you can almost hear the lively debates going on!

Leaving the Forum our destination was the Pantheon. We headed northwest meandering through a maze of streets of which none of them lined up like a normal grid system. (If you think walking is tough, you should try driving, but more on that later!)

The Pantheon, known for its single majestic space centered on a curved line, was built by Agrippa, and remade by Hadrian in 118 A.D. (The original statues of Gods that once stood in the large niches are now primarily funeral monuments, most notably the tomb of Raphael.) The dome, 142 feet high and wide was the biggest in Europe until the Renaissance. The construction of the dome is a marvel – the cement actually gets thinner and lighter with height. Because the Pantheon became a church around 60 A.D., the barbarians left it alone, and therefore it is one of the best-preserved interiors in Rome.

Our third and last day, we left ancient Rome and moved up to the 15th century to the creation of The Vatican State, the spiritual center of the Christian religion. The Basilica of St. Peter sits atop the same site as an earlier Church of St. Peter, and basically follows the same floor plan of a rectangle cut transversally by a transept. Where the arms crossed the famous dome was constructed. The building plans were altered in 1547 by Michelangelo, then in 1606, and finally in 1657 by Bernini, whom we recognize today as the genius that created the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square and St. Peter’s Chair, that sits directly over St. Peters’ tomb. Inside the richest and most impressive church on earth, you can find Michelangelo’s La Pieta, Raffaello’s The Alter of the Transfiguration, and Bernini’s Tomb of Alexander VII just to name a few of the priceless art works.

We were so excited and fortunate to be in the Church when none other than Pope Benedict walked directly in front of us, not more than 10 feet away. Although surrounded by personal assistants and guards, we were thrilled none-the-less.

And honestly, I don’t know if they have a height restriction for nuns at the Vatican, but I swear I did not see one Sister over five feet.  I affectionately knick-named them the Order of the Short Sisters.

Although we did not climb the 300 stairs to view the Dome, Michelangelo’s last work, it is apparently pretty spectacular. The dome is the largest in the world, and offers the best view of the City.

Although the Sistine Chapel is next to St. Peter’s Basilica, you have to go back outside St. Peter’s Square, and walk three blocks around to the other side where you enter through the Vatican Museum. This traffic pattern was no doubt created to control the massive amount of people that wait in line for hours to see the Sistine Chapel. Now, we were told to go to the Vatican early to avoid the crowds, but we were not specifically told to go to the Sistine Chapel first. And thus, we found ourselves standing in the very same line we had tried to avoid.  None-the-less, fellow travelers, it was worth the wait. The Vatican museum itself house four miles of ancient statues, Christian frescos, and modern paintings, culminating in The Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Do not rush through The Raphael Rooms, as he was one of the preeminent artists of the High Renaissance, having been influenced by Leonardo and Michelangelo.

At long last (literally) we entered the Sistine Chapel. Guards continually hush the crowd into a silent reverie. It’s too bad that they don’t have cots for reclining because you can get a neck cramp starring at the ceiling. And there it is – The Creation of Adam – we are actually seeing it in person! Once the shock and awe of it wears off, you can admire the rest of the panels. Michelangelo did not paint the entire ceiling, but the main 40 center panels. If you look at them in order, The Old Testament is actually illustrated for you  - from the Separation of Light and Darkness, through The Flood, to Isaiah and all of the Prophets. The largest panel, The Last Judgment was painted later, and is leap from the Old Testament to the End of Days as foretold in the New Testament. To really appreciate the detail of the ceiling) I recommend you get the Sistine Chapel book sold in the museum. The complexity and detail of each story was completely lost to me until I had some reference material. Do spend some time admiring the lower panels, many of which are painted by Sandro Botticelli, another master of the High Renaissance.

After leaving the Chapel, we felt like we were on sensory overload and decided we needed no more stimulation that day. We headed back to our hotel for a little R&R. Our hotel was the Rome Cavalieri Hilton, a deluxe five-star resort situated in a private 15-acre park that overlooks the city. Only by the grace of Hilton frequent user points were we able to spend three nights in the embrace of luxury. From our 7th story room we saw the dome of the Vatican to our right, the Colosseum in the distance, and the observatory to our left. The hotel itself featured indoor-outdoor pools, complete fitness facility, sauna and hot tubs, and personal trainers and masseuses if you so desire.

Our final night in Rome, we did as the Romans do, and headed for the Spanish Steps. Located at the Piazza di Spagna, the Spanish Steps are named for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, and are over 300 years old. Romans and tourists alike bring food and wine and just hang out. At the bottom of the Steps is the Sinking Boat Fountain, not nearly as famous as the Trevi Fountain, just a few blocks to the south. The Trevi is the famous fountain that was the backdrop for the movie “Three Coins in the Fountain” and to this day, people toss a coin backwards over their shoulder into the water making a secret wish. A little bit of trivia, all of the fountains in Rome are powered by their aqueducts, another statement to the sophistication of the Roman civilization that brought running water into the center of the city.

Some things that we discovered in Rome that they don’t tell you in the tourist books. First, do your leg lunges, because you are going to need strong legs as you stand over the commodes. Many of the public facilities do not have seats at all! And be prepared to figure out the flushing mechanism. Second, the Roman traffic patterns are insane – there are no discernable lanes! It’s basically a free-for-all. I have no idea how the drivers don’t end up in accidents constantly, but they must have some type of telepathic thing going on. The incredible number of mopeds and motorcycles, the “mode de transportation” for the fearless further complicates the mystique of Roman drivers. They reminded me of knats, circling around and forever buzzing. Third, be careful of what they serve you in restaurants. The bread that is normally complimentary in our country costs you. So when your waiter brings you a basket of bread, unless you want to pay for it, refuse it. Even those lovely cordials that were brought to our table (unsolicited, mind you) ended up on our bill.

And finally, enjoy the people! Italians are so friendly and charming, eager to strike up conversations with us. Even with our limited Italian and their limited English, conversations were always lively and entertaining.

The following morning we said Ciao, Roma as we headed northwest towards Tuscany in our rented car. For more European adventures stay tuned for part two next month.