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Monday, March 2, 2009
How was Rome? Ah, who am I to say, to describe the city is on par with pretending to be the first person to ever visit the city. But because it is what I pretend to do, I will give it a shot anyways.As I have said before it, and borrowed from those who have come before me, it is an odd sensation to walk by a park bench, a drinking fountain, which is older than the country that I hearken from. Rome was, in a word, and overused word like ever other in the English language, beautiful. It may sound odd, but when we were at the Coliseum, looking at the structure that has been the object of the affection of casers, emperors, poets, writers, dictators, fascists, Nazis, tourists, and lovers, I could hear the voices that had come before me. It begs the question of what Rome, and other ancient cities like it, stand for, what does it represent? It may sound like an odd question but hear me out. On an aesthetic level, the ruins of Rome and the Pantheon are a thing of great beauty. The undeniable weight of history lies within and without all of these monuments, a history that I believe or at least I would hope we all realize the importance of. For poets, ruins like the Coliseum stand for a golden age past, as a muse for workings of their language. The same could go for artists. Hitler visited the Coliseum during world war II and as the story goes, was enthralled with the idea of permanence, obsessed with the nature and technique that emperors of the past had continued their legacy through architecture and the way in which Rome reflected that staying power and radiated that legacy for all the world to see. Which proves my point and furthers my question, what is to be done with such a history? Many have argued that Rome and much of ancient Italy is nothing more than “a beautiful corpse.” It is a country possessing great beauty as many know, but is a beauty in many ways that has ceased to fulfill any useful purpose? Philosophers have argued that beauty must have a function and when you see how so many of these ancient churches and sites have been turned into what amounts to a museum or a tourist trap, I am curious as to what role appropriation has to do with these sites. That is not to say that all of Rome is like that. The civic center of Rome was designed very much with the people in mind my Michelangelo. Even the statues on the ramparts are there to give the viewers a sense of perspective as to where they are, and the Cathedral in the middle of my current town is the life blood of the city. Masses are still held and the streets in front of the church steps are filled daily with friends, and soccer players, families, and restaurants. I suppose I am just rambling, but these are issues which I have never really come across back in the States. Back home when we need space for a new whatever, we just level the old one and figure it out from there. Here, people have to be much more mindful. I’m making no value judgments on that, don’t get me wrong, these are just some thoughts, maybe more on this later… ---- Its pouring rain today, freezing rain. It is becoming even to this city, but not so much for the monastery in which i live. Gives me some time to get some writing done though. Hope you all are well... Yossarian [
7:33 AM ] |