Pellegrinaggio

There's so much to say about Roma! First of all, I must note my appreciation for the perspective I've obtained here in being able to compare cities, as a resident of one.

Firenze is full of life! There's a continuous flow of people, the Italians, the tourists, tutti. Buses pass carrying the people of the well-settled town to and fro. After only a few weeks, I've become well acquainted with the narrow roads of cara Firenze. My understanding of this place of residence, however, has been deepened by my meeting with Roma.

La capitale hit me like a ton of tufo (Roman rock). It gave me a sensation that no novice American city could ever give.

Amongst the modern businesses, designer fashion, bus stops, and gelaterie stand the remaining structures of the great empire. Millions of people go about their routines, generation after generation, era after era. And still, these structures stand, witnesses to passing centuries. It's incredible. The size and stature of these fantastic artifacts support the reality of their antiquity.

As I stood in front of these Roman spectacles, I felt this deep desire to obtain any scrap of empathetic connection with those that walked the streets during the time of the great empire. The Romans, and those who dared to enter Rome's well protected walls, utilized these grand structures. Now there's certainly tremendous pride in the Roman successes, but I wonder if the common folk of the empire recognized the astonishing feat of such development. I try to picture the every day routine that accompanied these constructions.

To describe these structures as full of life seems almost insufficient. But I dare not call them gods.
 
Now there are obviously thousands of pages of history passed in the ignorantly general statements I've given. Nonetheless, this idea of creating for gods and later for the Almighty God, leads me to the heart of this architectural commentary. La Basilica di San Pietro.

One of the best parts about this place of devotion is that it exists in the presence of the surrounding modern vita Romana.

Mario, Anna, Francesco (my wonderful cugini) and I stepped up out of the metro station and began our journey to the holy place. We passed shops and people, more shops and more people until the columns were in sight. Madonna! Molte farfalle in my stomach.

Grazie to the wise planning of the Calabreses, we stood in line for only a short while. Then we were there, at the welcoming doors. I stepped in with my head tilted, as to not miss an inch. Immediately to my right was the warm embrace of Our Blessed Mother holding our Savior. La Pietà.

Eventually we made our way to the catacombs below, and there I saw the lovely image of Our beautiful Lady of Guadalupe - my first meeting with her in Italy. La Madonna is everywhere, but Our Lady of Guadalupe is not common to Italia. To see her there was so special, a moment of excitement and great peace.