As a history student, when you tell people you’re off to visit one of the most ancient cities in Europe, it’s only natural that you’re expected to spend your time walking the ruins rather than enjoying the stereotypical romance of the place.
From the striking arches of the Colosseum, to the tranquil cobblestone-paved route of the Appian Way, one may be inclined to say that this city is more etched in the history books than the movies portray. It is difficult to turn a corner in Rome without stumbling across a 1,100-year-old church, only to back up into a hidden ancient mausoleum.
The challenge I set myself was to visit as many of these historic monuments as I could during my university’s reading week. I wished to add visuals to the columns upon columns of secondary articles one tends to get lost in… but this was hardly an easy task…
Not only was Rome once home to one of the most powerful Mediterranean civilisations in history, it never once stopped making a name for itself, whether that be through its impact on religion, politics or European culture. The journey from Roman Emperors to fascist dictators is one hell of a story that can’t be overlooked when, as tourists, we take in the marvellous landscape of mossy grey ruins mixed in with modern houses and polished marble palaces.
Averaging 5 monuments a day meant taking in more information than is probably healthy for someone technically on holiday. But the feeling of falling asleep in the evening to the deafening sirens and endless chatter of modern city life, dreaming of what used to be in its place a thousand years ago, is something I will never forget.
The sensations you experience on a trip like this, I would argue, go beyond the usual touch, taste, sound, sight and smell. Interaction with so much of the past forms itself into a 6th sense: memory. And the best way to describe how this feels is once you have made your way through a great deal of ancient market places and glimpsed the way the light reflects across what is left of a now derelict structure’s windows, your mind fills in the gaps.
Ghosts of those who once were, bathe in the steamy pools of Caracalla’s baths. Crowds cheering for gladiator blood echo in your ears as the sand on the Colosseum’s floor crunches beneath your shoes. You begin to illustrate the complete picture from piles of fallen bricks and stones lying amongst the overgrown greenery.
You feel a million miles away from where you are, lost in the lives of a thousand years ago.
As I stepped onto the plane to return home, I knew I was leaving with much more than I had arrived with, both figuratively and literally. The Rome I had been exposed to in books, lectures, movies and more was replaced with the reconstructed city of what had been. Staring out of the windows as we took off, the city became a kaleidoscope of time, with each passing cloud acting as a transition in the slideshow of history. For one moment, the city beneath became a barren land dotted with huts as Romulus and Remus would have found it all those years ago.
As beautiful as the modern city of Rome is, I implore you to take a moment on your trip there to see the silhouettes of the ruins and paint your own picture. I wouldn’t be calling it the Eternal City for just any reason.
Written and illustrated by, Erin Crombie
