A Hotel in Rome Romulus & Remus |
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~2004~ Rome - May 2004 Naples - May 2004 Pompeii - May 2004 Capri - May 2004 Florence - May 2004 Singapore - August 2004 Makkah - September 2004 Madinah - September 2004 Dubai - September 2004 My Overseas Travel My Local Travel My Reflection |
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| ROME |
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| Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the �Eternal City� of Rome (Roma) was once the administrative centre of the mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today, it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices but is superseded by Milan, in the industrial north, for business and finance. |
| The romantic Piazza Navona with Bernini�s Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza di Spagna and the sweeping Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain immortalised by Fellini�s La Dolce Vita (1959), all lie within walking distance of each other. Modern life continues amid this theatre of breathtaking monuments, as thousands of years of history are animated by more recent innovations � sophisticated boutiques, rowdy pizzerias and a merry-go-round of cars, buses and mopeds. Across the river, to the west, lies the Vatican State � home to the Pope and spiritual centre of the Roman Catholic Church. South of the Vatican, one finds the bohemian quarter of Trastevere, packed with trattorie and small wine bars. Further south still is the Testaccio district, renowned for nightclubs and live music. |
| Ruins dating from Rome�s glory days lie within an area known as Roma Antica (Ancient Rome) and include the monumental Colosseum and the Foro Romano (Roman Forum) � a crumbling legacy of pagan temples, broken marble and triumphal arches. Buildings from the Renaissance period are concentrated within the centro storico (historic centre), situated between Via del Corso and the Tevere (River Tiber). Here, a labyrinth of narrow, winding, cobbled side streets opens out onto magnificent piazzas presided over by Baroque churches, regal palaces and exquisite fountains. |
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| OF GROWING OLD IN ROME Of this I am only an observer, for I am young, and have not seen the evil that was done under the sun in Rome. I see two old men in the park, still wearing clothes they had worn in better days, they are old and tattered now, but their spirit is young. I sit and listen to them at times, though I pretend not to, under the heat of the midday sun, but they stay under the shade of the sycamore trees, as if they had seen too much sun, and what goes on under its glory. At a glance they look the same, each with the same poor English, each with the same German accent, each with the same winkles on their brow, but they are from different worlds, two totally different worlds, one was born into persecution, the other was one of the persecutors, yet they talk as if they have been friends all their life. (Author unknown) |