AN ARTICLE FROM SS

My first glimpse of

"The Grandeur That Was Rome"

"On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece
And the grandeur that was Rome."…..

Edgar Allan Poe

It was New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 1978 and a Sunday to boot. In most countries (New Zealand especially), nothing moves on a Sunday: it’s the day for resting man’s temporal body and for purifying his soul. Since it was also the first day of the year, the sluggishness of the Italian humanity at the seaport where we were on that day was almost palpable presumably because they have done so much revelry the night before.

Our Liberian ship, the M/V "Coyoles" was berthed at a Naples pier discharging its cargo of bananas which we loaded in Somalia three weeks ago. With nothing much to do, we formed a group and contracted a coaster van taxi driver whose reflexes were still intact (we had a smooth ride all the way) for not partaking in last night’s wild celebration, to drive us the two-hour distance Naples-Rome and back

Our group consisted of 2/O Nepomuceno, yours truly (SS), Elect. Labit, Fitter Tolentino, Motorman Terry, Motorman Mendoza, Wiper J. Cruz and Messman E. Cruz.

For first time tourists coming to Rome only for a day, they easily get overwhelmed by the many things they want to see. Because of our religious moorings, we opted to see first the seat of our faith: St. Peter’s Square on the west side of the Tiber river.

We arrived St. Peter’s Square at around 10AM and found it almost deserted. On entering St. Peter’s Basilica, we genuflected on nearing the Baldachin on the left side, rode the elevator to get to the roof top, then to the Cupola. From the Cupola, we feasted our eyes on the breathtaking view of St. Peter’s Square, all the way along Via di Conciliazone to the heart of Rome on the other side of the Tiber River.

After spending some time at the Cupola, we retraced our steps, went down to a subterranean cavern beneath the Baldachin where the Popesare being buried and ended our St. Peter’s Square tour just like any visit to a tourist’s spot: making the last stop by the souvenir shop.

The seven hills on which ancient Rome was founded and still stands today are, not necessarily according to their importance: Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline. Capitoline, Palatine, Caelian and Aventine. On a map, the first three fall on a straight northwest-southeast line, the second three on a lower parallel line and the last lying southwest of the second parallel line.

By design, St. Peter’s Square opens its ‘arms’ eastward almost facing squarely Quirinal Hill. (AJ readers belonging to the same age bracket as I do perhaps still remember the movie "Seven Hills of Rome" starred in by the "Great Caruso" Mario Lanza which romanticized the seven earth mounds)

From St. Peter’s Square, we visited next the "most famous and well-known monument of Roman antiquity" --- the Roman Colosseum. Construction of this enormous Flavian Amphitheatre was begun in 72 A.D. on a valley hemmed in by the Palatine, Caelian and Esquiline Hills. Standing close to the Roman Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine in honor of the Roman Emperor who legalized Christianity. After the Colosseum, we proceeded to the Capitoline Hill, climbed up to the Campidoglio and took a peep at the Ruins of the Roman Forum on the eastern side.

Soon it was beginning to dark and we were about to head back to Naples when someone from our group reminded we missed seeing one important site --- the Fountain of Trevi, or more popularly known as "The Wishing Well". (Again, co-‘age bracketeers’ may still recall the 1950s movie Three Coins in the Fountain and the Frank Sinatra song with the same title. Accordingly, "this fountain was usually deserted before the movie made it famous.")

At mid-evening, we were back to our "floating cell" (ship) comparing notes on what our Rome visit has done to our minds and spirits. For me, I was drawn into a continuum that joins man’s three epochs of his life: the classical past, the free-wheeling present and the disturbing afterlife. Why disturbing? Nobody ever gets sure if he has complied with all the commandments while on earth in order to assure himself of a slot in heaven when he dies. If by chance he does enter heaven, that’s an even greater ‘grandeur’ than that which Poe has spoken of.

 (At the Cupola)

A group picture taken at the Cupola. This place could be reached only by scaling 330 steps from the Basilica’s roof top. Two one-way passages spiral at opposite sides of the dome --- one for going up and another for going down. These passages converge at the Cupola where, near the point of convergence, one has to walk slantingly close to the walls to be able to advance.

 

(Interior of the Roman Colosseum)

The interior of the Roman Coliseum as it looks in this Jan. 1, 1978 picture. On the extreme right center could be seen a cross put there to serve as a reminder that, according to tradition, the blood of early Christians was spilt in its arena.

 

 (The Roman Coliseum as background)

A group picture with the Flavian Amphitheatre, popularly known as the Roman Colosseum, in the background.

MORE PHOTOS TO COME....

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