A Week In Rome
Arriving at Termini station via bus from the airport, I could tell Rome would be a city of contrasts - surprising ancient beauty mixed in with modern work day chaos, with a side serving of grit.
Within minutes of arriving, I quickly discovered that navigating Rome is more than just crossing streets and strolling down sidewalks. Daring moped drivers charge every intersection - whether it's their turn to go or not. Speeding Smart Cars - the popular pint-sized, two-seat commuter cars - seem to aim for toes at side-street crosswalks. And Italians aren't shy with their umbrellas which are a popular feature of even the gentlest sprinkle in Rome. I was poked in the neck and jabbed in the head more than once.
I quickly adapted to these challenges with the help of my trusty sidekick Ted (A.K.A my husband), who learned a little too quickly how to roll up newspapers handed to us by street vendors and whack wayward vehicles. Happily for me, he did not whack anyone carrying an umbrella.
commuter cars - seem to aim for toes at side-street crosswalks
Rome does have a pleasantly affordable Metro system, but we walked everywhere anyway, snacking on gelato and panini every step of the way.
Within a few days we hit all the main sites: the Forum, Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum. Nothing can compare to these really but there are smaller snippets of ancient Rome hiding around every corner. These are intimate, quiet and somehow closer to the ancient Romans than the larger tourist spots.
My favorite is Area Sacra. It's smaller than a city block and is thought to be here (or very near here) where Julius Caesar was assassinated. This isn't however just a site of historical significance – it's also covered with cats! The Torre Argentina cat sanctuary is located here, calling attention to the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of stray cats in Rome, frequently at ruins. Several hundred live here and I enjoyed seeing how many I could see in the grass while also trying to take in the levity of Caesar's death on that very spot.
We ventured out of central Rome to the ancient Appian Way, now called via Appia Antica. A bus tour is probably better for seeing this site properly or perhaps a Sunday visit when the traffic is shut down. The road is a busy commuter route with a very small sidewalk so to visit the Appian Way is to dance with death itself, as cars zoom by. We pushed on for a mile or two and visited the San Callisto Catacombe. Winding through dirt tunnels filled with now empty loculi (tombs) was completely worth the walk out there.
Ostia Antica - an abandoned port city just an hour out of Rome
We also chose to visit another site just outside of town, in lieu of going to Pompeii - which was farther away than we thought. This was Ostia Antica - an abandoned port city just an hour out of Rome by train and Metro. I had heard Ostia was better than Pompeii - fewer tourists, quieter and often better preserved. Without being able to make a fair comparison I can say Ostia Antica is absolutely pristine and beautiful. Mosaics still line the floors and the buildings and remain so well preserved that they barely look over fifty years old, much less 2,000.
The city had its own amphitheatre as well as several temples, still standing from the ancient times. Long, wispy grass bends in the wind and when you stand still, your can hear it and nothing else. No honking horns and no city noise. Just you and the crumbles of ancient buildings, that rise out of an abandoned and tranquil site where Ivy climbs up marble columns and winds between the cracks in the once-perfect stone roads.
Bring your Claritin!
Periodically I would close my eyes, breathe in deeply and savor the feeling that I was standing in the footsteps of ancient Romans as I listened to the unique silence at Ostia Antica. And then I would hear it. The faintest sound, getting louder and louder. Almost like…a goose honking in the distance? No. No not a goose. Ted! Poor old Ted had allergies the entire time due to the timely presence of weed whackers maintaining the grounds and his wicked hay fever. Bring your Claritin!
Despite the hoards of other tourists venturing to almost every site we visited and the sounds of a modern city all around, somehow the voices of spectators, warriors, politicians and the average citizens, who worked, lived in and visited these places more than 2,000 years ago, can still be heard above the modern day crowds.
Rome is beautiful and amazing, but beyond anything, there's really nothing like being a part of a city that has such history and presence - for a day, for a week or for however long you can afford to stay.
- Kristin Buzzelli
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