Wasn't Built in a Day

In between protests and day trips for my novel, I had been seeing the sights of Rome and further exploring the places I mentioned in my last Rome post that I wasn’t able to go into. Now I started writing this post on my last day in Italy altogether, so this will be a collection of the rest of my experience here ranging from the Pantheon to eating in Trastevere. So, let’s dive in!

To begin, I’ll discuss the Pantheon! I honestly wasn’t sure what to think about the Pantheon going in and I frankly knew nothing about the Pantheon. Really all I knew is that it was a place that existed, and it was deemed a must-see. What really piqued my interest was when I spoke with Catholics and others following the Christian Faith regarding the Pantheon. A lot of people who are of the Christian Faith were shocked that it was a church and that to enter you must cover up your shoulders and knees. I believe this is because it wasn’t originally seen as a church in history, but I could be remembering this piece of information wrong. I think because the concept of covering up in a church in Italy paired with my lack of knowledge of the Pantheon, I didn’t exactly question it, but I am left with some curiosity. Regardless of what the Pantheon represents today and how that came to be throughout history, I still cannot deny that this place was incredible. Both the outside and inside of this building in a way felt like a time capsule, and I think it’s the perfect representation of what I (and perhaps others) picture when we think of Ancient Rome and Greece (and I bring up both just because their history is so closely tied with on another).

Now, The Coliseum. The very same place where Hillary Duff made an entire generation of children (myself included) look at it and say, ‘This is what dreams are made of’. I cannot stress enough the absolute marvel of this place. I got the full experience tickets, which not only included going on the floor level of the Coliseum and going underground (which I didn’t get to do, RIP) but also included admission to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill; so, I had a lot of ground to cover. Being so close to the maze-like underground of the Coliseum was incredible and I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like when the Coliseum was being used as a form of entertainment. I was also shocked to learn that there was a time when people lived in the Coliseum, with shops and restaurants. Thinking on it now, I suppose it makes sense, but it makes the history of this place that much richer. Also reading about how the poor had to climb at the very top at the most inconvenient place to view events and battles felt reminiscent of being at the San Carlo Theatre in Napoli and learning about the poor being squished into the higher boxes which are known as Pigeon Cages. I wonder if there was a similar title for the lower class going to the Coliseum. But learning about one of the influential and recognizable spots in Italy, or in the world, and being able to be inside it in such close detail; yeah, Hillary Duff was right. This is truly what dreams are made of.

Now when you get tickets for the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill alongside your tickets to the Coliseum, you’re obviously going to go to both on the same day. I had 48 hours to go but I still was going crazy since I was already in the area, and I had the time. So, I went to the Roman Forum first mainly because if I went to Palatine Hill first, I would be out of commission pretty much immediately. So, while nothing funny happened on the way to the Forum, I had a great time exploring these ruins and really soaking in how cool this place was. I visited the temple of Julius Caesar which was frankly much smaller than I expected it to be initially. I had expected the final resting place of such an influential figure to be far more crowded and more of a grand spectacle. Maybe there’s a part of history I’m missing here. Regardless of the size, it was still cool to see people still honoring and providing offerings to Caesar in the form of coins and flowers. I even tossed a coin his way. Another notable landmark I visited before Palatine Hill was The Temple of Virgins. It’s not unheard of for women to swear an oath of virginity in the name of a Goddess although I did not even begin to picture what these temples even looked like. The gardens with them were beautiful and (I know I saw this phrase a lot, call this a self-call out) I can’t even begin to imagine what this place looked like in its full glory. This may be the writer in me, but I’m shocked no one has written about this in the literary world. Or maybe someone has, and I haven’t found it. Either way, stories from the Virgin Temples? Please.

By the time I started climbing Palatine Hill, I was starting to get hangry. It was five in the afternoon, had nothing to eat and just a whole bunch of water. But I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying the sights of Palatine. The gardens and hills were incredible. The Rose Garden as a concept didn’t feel real, almost like something that felt only present in fantasy books and nowhere in the real world. While there weren’t any flowers in bloom, it was still a sight to behold. It felt ripped from the pages of a fantasy story where people from noble families walked and plotted the downfall of their rival families. The home of Augustus and Livia was grandiose in every sense of the word and was an absolute joy to walk through. From my past excursions to ruins like Pompeii and Herculaneum, I tried to identify rooms and what their purpose was with… minimal success. I had no one to tell me I was wrong, so I just made educated guesses. While I was leaving, I did come across where Palatine Hill was holding the International Literary Festival (which my professor lovingly told me about). I think it’s incredibly cool that such a huge event is being held in such an equally huge space. I didn’t even think that it would be possible to host events in a heavily historical event but after hearing about events hosted in Pompeii and now here, I can’t be too shocked. Guess Lizzie McGuire singing at a Music Award in the Coliseum isn’t too absurd of a concept now (I am 10000% joking, and this will be my last Lizzie McGuire Movie reference for this post).

Now, Trastevere. A friend of my mom's who lives in Austria mentioned to me that this was the neighborhood to visit for some of the best food in Roma. This late-night neighborhood has garnered the reputation of some amazing food, great nightlife, and of course, its scenery. During my time in Roma, I went to Trastevere twice and both times I loved the food I got. The first night I visited a restaurant (I, unfortunately, don't remember the name) and had amazing seafood pasta and shared some Supplì and Fried Zucchini Flowers with my roommate and mother. I did try some of her mom's carbonara and it more than made up for a rough run-in that I had with some carbonara earlier in Roma. (Long story short, I had some Carbonara in a small restaurant and bar by the Pantheon and something about the bacon made me NAUSEOUS and it really bummed me out) I knew beforehand that the Fried Zucchini Flower was amazing and I was the one that recommended that we try it. Now the Supplì became the culinary darling for me. Not just for my time in Roma, but along with the Bufala Mozzarella, Supplì is high up there in my ranking of favorite foods from Italy. So much so that my second time in Trastevere was solely dedicated to finding a place that specialized in Supplì (because I tried to get Supplì after the Vatican and I witnessed the restaurant I chose to throw the Supplì I ordered in the Microwave. It was a very sad and cold dinner.). Luckily I found exactly that and it was a perfect dinner for my last night. The common thing with both places that I visited in Trastevere was how the staff talked with their customers. Our first waitress on the first night in Trastevere was incredibly sweet and I got to learn so much about her life (her desire to go to Mexico that was similar to my desire to go to Italy, the joys and frustrations in dealing with a divorce, connections with her children, etc.). It was really intimate moment to have especially for a restaurant experience mainly because I would never be able to have such beautiful conversations with restaurant staff while they're working. I think eating out in Italy has been some of my favorite experiences, not only for the food but for the conversations and the connection that is advertised to you when going out to eat in the United States. Even with the place I got Supplì on my last night, where I ordered my food and was on my way, there was a warmth to the staff that wouldn't even be able to find in the States.

So while I hit some major landmarks in Rome during my time, and definitely missed some, I can't wait to return to these places and also explore and eat more. Also as a special note, people who think they can do everything in Rome in one day are absolutely crazy. If Rome wasn't built in a way then you can't expect to see all of it in a day either. :)