Roman Holiday

Devika Rajan unearths the many similarities between the legendary Rome and 'amchi' Mumbai, as she travels back in time right through the city's veins, experiencing first hand the multitudinous monuments during her whirlwind three-day jaunt…

Aerial View of St. Peters Square, Vatican City      All pics: Jimit Shah

This was my first 'foreign' trip - and I was understandably excited. I had not even been to Kathmandu, and here I was on a tour across four European countries. We were a group of eight friends, of which four were veteran travelers. We reached Rome in the evening, by flight from Barcelona, and quickly made our way to the station, from where we were to catch a train going south of Rome to Vieste.

Our first and fleeting glimpse of Rome - the antipasto (starters) before the main meal - was uninspiring; we saw a bustling city, not all that clean, a crowded railway station, and shop windows with the usual souvenirs of the Colosseum, or a David or an occasional Leaning Tower. One thing that struck me about this hurried collage of images is it felt bit like home. If one didn't look at the faces around, but focused merely on the sounds, it could easily be a railway platform in Mumbai.

Three days later we were heading back for Rome from Vieste, after having spent a whole day at a railway station on account of a strike by workers - a further taste of home sweet home. So they had strikes too! Just before we reached Rome, the ticket checker hauled us up for not having mechanically punched our tickets on the platform before boarding the train. We would have been fined, but for the fact that the gentleman decided that we were tourists and not conversant with the rules. He let us off on a promise that it would not happen again, and then generously welcomed us to his city.

Quattri Fiumi Fountain, Piazza Navona	Aerial View of Ponte Sant' Angelo

Getting off the train we decided to have dinner at the station restaurant itself, where we served ourselves from the various counters, and were billed according to the size of our servings. The food here was delicious, and reasonably priced, and I felt if this was an indication of what was to follow. "Restaurants should be good in Rome," I thought but as it turned out, the best food that we ate in Rome was in the station restaurant. There were some eating joints in the city where we were shortchanged. At the hotel we were confronted with what is common with older hotels in Rome. The rooms we got were not uniform in size or facilities. Bathrooms were also more Indian than in other European cities, with a shower and taps and floor drains. One could actually have a bath in true Indian style provided one carried along a `lota' (mug)!

Fontana di Trevi	St. Peters Church, Vatican City

Rome, as legend goes, was the city founded on the banks of the Tiber by Romulus. The founding of the city is dated at around 750 B.C. Romulus and Remus, twin brothers, were ordered to be put to death by their uncle. The children were floated down the Tiber in a basket and on reaching land were discovered and suckled by a wolf. They were looked after by a shepherd. They decided to build a city on the banks of the Tiber, but disagreed on the exact spot where it had to be built. They fought bitterly over this, and Remus was killed. Rome (Roma in local parlance) - the city built on Palatine Hill by Romulus - became the cradle of an ancient civilisation.

History says that the area around Rome had been settled for thousands of years by several tribes. The Etruscan civilization was the principal one to develop here, and was overthrown by the Romans in the third century B.C. The Roman Empire expanded over the centuries, and the names of her emperors are celebrated in history and literature -Julius Caesar, Augustus Octavian and Constantine who ruled from Constantinople (modern Istanbul). The Middle Ages and the Renaissance period gave a cultural rebirth to the city. Then came the Hapsburgs… an invasion by Napoleon … Garibaldi and the unification of Italy, followed by Fascism and Mussolini. In the second half of the twentieth century, Italy played a significant role in the founding of the European Economic Community. Today she is a democracy, and has a center- right coalition government headed by Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi

Wedding ceremony outside the Colosseum	Trattoria "Melo" at Piazza Venezia

Piazza del Campidoglio or the Capitoline Hill	Street-side Café

Our Roman exploration started off the next morning with the local train to the Colosseum. The train was crowded, and we were all packed into the aisle like the proverbial sardines. On alighting, one of us felt that her video-camera case seemed lighter. We checked to find it empty. We realized that it had been stolen by a group of persons on the train, who we had mistaken as commuters in a hurry. They had adroitly zipped up the case after having removed the camera. In hindsight I feel we should have lodged a police complaint. We did not; we shook off the feeling of loss by philosophically accepting this as an addition to the overall cost of the trip, and decided to get on with our sight-seeing despite strikes and thefts, only making a resolve to be really careful. 'Careful' meant not leaving any valuables even in the lockers provided to us in our hotel rooms, and carrying our passports and cash on our person, inaccessible to anyone, under layers of clothing. Anyway, there was no recurrence of such incidents on our trip.

We walked towards the arch of Constantine, and then on to the Colosseum, a grand structure in several tiers, that bespoke of gladiators and lions and bloodthirsty audiences and evoked memories of movies like Benhur, Spartacus and more recently, The Gladiator. We walked through the various levels and gaped at the vastness of the stadium (capacity to seat 50,000) from the top. From the Colosseum it was just a short walk to the Forum, the marketplace, where one could visualise the mighty Caesar addressing his people, being felled by the blows of conspirators and the demagogue Mark Anthony whipping up passions. All around the area were pavement sellers of curios and souvenirs. We saw handsome, strapping men dressed in gladiator costumes, hanging around the place; one could be photographed with them - at a cost. Not advisable though, as they can get argumentative about the price once the snaps are clicked. One of us was, however, rewarded by an unexpected souvenir. He clicked a snap of a 'gladiator' taking a break, leaning against a parked bike with his helmet resting on the seat, and having a relaxing smoke. But be careful about clicking: if you are caught doing it without permission, you have trouble on your hands. Many of the sights worth seeing are around this area, and can be accessed on foot.

The other important place to visit in Rome is the Vatican City - the country within a city. After lunch, we took a local bus to the Vatican and our first stop was St. Peter's Cathedral with its large dome, and ornate interior- simply magnificent. Michelangelo's 'Pieta', behind bulletproof glass, made me catch my breath. Apart from having caught the right facial expressions in stone, he has sculpted the most magnificent looking Christ that I have ever seen, and such a beautiful Mary! To me, this sculpture is surpassed only by his 'David' in Florence. We also witnessed a prayer service at St. Peter's - in Latin - and most of those who attended were in rich red robes - perhaps a group of cardinals. The visit to the Museum, which included the famed Sistine Chapel was done by us the next morning. I am short of words to describe the paintings there. What a genius Michelangelo was! All those scenes from the Bible - Creation, the fall of man, Noah - up above on the ceiling, by the end of the visit my neck hurt from looking up.

Spending hours viewing the priceless artifacts in the museum made us really hungry and we stopped at a small Trattoria for lunch. A typical Italian meal starts with the antipasto (starters), which could be bruschetta -garlic bread with toppings - or fried vegetables, a pasta (primo piatto or the first platter), and then meat or fish (the secondo piatto). The meal is accompanied by wine and is rounded off with a coffee. Vegetarian food is easily available, as vegetables and salad are an intrinsic part of the Italian diet. Vegetarians should try the pasta e fagioli which is a thick soup made of beans and pasta, and the pasta al pestio-a pasta with basil, Parmesan cheese, pine-nuts and olive oil. They can also try Risotto, but check that it is not served with a meat sauce. There are other popular vegetarian dishes too. Ask for them. The adventurous may try typical Italian dishes like veal entrails or tripe. Deep fried cod is also a favourite, but take care, fresh fish is not always available. Prices are put outside most smaller eating places, which can be checked beforehand; check also if any extras not listed on the menu have to be paid for, and after the meal, verify the bill.

Post lunch we made a beeline for the open air markets of the Campo dei Fiori. With its colour and noise it is a great place for just looking around. The up-market shopping area in Rome is in the Via Condotti opposite the Spanish steps, and the streets parallel and cutting across Via Condotti. Less expensive areas are Via del Corso and Via Cola di Rienzo. If you are interested in antiques, the best place to try is Via del Babulino (expensive) and Via dei Coronari (on the cheaper side).

Inside the Colosseum	Along The River Tiber

Vittorio Emanuele II, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier	Roman Forum

Apart from being a treasure trove of religious and historical sights and monuments, Rome is a bustling commercial city. The business district in Rome is around the Centro Storico (historic center). Six kilometers south of the historic center is the EUR area, where trade fairs and conventions are held. The headquarters of the FAO, the WFP (the World Food Programme), the IFAD (UN International Fund for Agricultural Development) and the ICCROM (the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation of Cultural Property) are located in Rome.

Rome, typically seemed to me to have much in common with Athens - with layers of history, starting from pre- historic times, jostling with the chaos and confusions and developments of a twenty first century city. Some of its citizens also have a sharpness and crookery, more common in India, when dealing with tourists. This is something we have to accept philosophically as a bye-product of poverty and unemployment, something that will eventually disappear with development. We left Rome for Florence after a stay of three days, but re-transited on our way back, realising that all roads here did indeed lead to Rome.