When in Rome

I returned from Rome feeling like a romantic poet having returned from the Grand Tour. Before it was an Amazon show featuring former Top Gear presenters, the "Grand Tour" was where 17th,18th and 19th century elites took trips around the continent to immerse themselves in foreign culture, visit ancient ruins and admire renaissance art. This was largely the purpose of my visit, albeit on a lower budget.

Frankly, 21st century Rome doesn't have a lot going for it. It's a city which seems to take no pride in itself, full of litter and graffiti with a disorganised road system which leads to crossing the street leaving you fearful for your life and with a constant sound of car horns blaring in the background. It's also become such a tourist site and I know that I was part of the problem but a place loses something when it's main purpose for existence is tourism. The artist AJC Hare summed it up well back in 1871:

"Nothing can be more depressing to those who really value Rome than to meet Englishmen hunting in couples through the Vatican galleries, one looking for the number of the statue in the guide-book, the other not finding it; than to hear Americans describe the Forum as the dustiest heap of old ruins they ever looked upon... or, of the Colosseum, that 'it will be a handsome building when it it finished'."

What remains of ancient Rome is incredible. The Forum, the centre of the Roman Empire, has the remains of beautiful building after beautiful building. Nothing was built just for purpose, it was built to look good. I closed my eyes and suddenly nearby tourists speaking in a foreign tongue became romans in togas speaking Latin in my mind. For a moment, I was in a world where before humans had greatly damaged it- wildlife was thriving, the air was clean and the climate was in it's natural state.

The Colosseum though reminded me of how far humanity has come. It's very existence showed the world the power of the Roman Empire- then again it's not that different from a Trump property. It was inaugurated with a hundred days of bloodshed where people had to do their best to avoid being torn to shreds by a range of wild animals from tigers and lions to hippos and elephants. It's difficult to imagine 30,000 people watching this horror show from a modern perspective. 

Renaissance Rome survives more intact, with the city being the centre of catholicism the religion went all out to show its power- be that in the incredible domed roof of the Pantheon or the former Roman mausoleum converted to a papal fort Castel Sant'Angelo, complete with lavish interior. 

Whilst some part of the past are appealing, I'm so grateful not to live in a time when the church dictated every part of your life and meant it's leaders could live in unparalleled luxury. 

Percy Bysshe Shelley supposedly said that "the fountains alone justify a visit to Rome". Though the Trevi fountain is by far the most famous, throughout the city are stunning renaissance fountains. Every time I saw one my breath was taken away by its beauty. 

Rome is a city that houses a clear record of it's incredible past from the power of the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church being displayed through architecture to the stunning artwork of a more enlightened time. As I wandered past incredible fountains I would feel by body struggling to cope with the blistering temperatures of a damaged climate as I dodged African migrants trying to sell parasols. Rome shows you how incredible the ancient world was but it also highlights the problems of the modern world.