GL 350 Blog #2 In what ways have you found Rome to be exhilarating and oppressive?

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” This is a quote by Marcus Aurelius who was a brilliant Emperor and philosopher of Rome. I absolutely love this quote for it instills in the reader that one needs to continue to dream and observe the natural, spectacular beauty of the world. It has been roughly two weeks now since I have first arrived in Rome, and this quote couldn’t become any more applicable to what I have experienced thus far.

            The city of Rome is positively intellectually and emotionally stimulating for my whole person. It is also undeniably exhilarating. Rome exhibits exhilaration with each turn of a corner on a street, for every turn opens up a new place with a new piece of history. Take for example Campo de Fiori. One minute you are walking along a seamlessly mundane street with the typical selling of various accouterments. Then, you stumble upon a small square courtyard packed to the brim with merchants selling their products. Fruits of various colors, spices from around the world, wines and beers, the list goes on. Moreover, the people working in Campo de Fiori seem to relish the moment they are in. They are also mostly pleasantly direct in their inquiries, which is something to appreciate. They seem to simply love what they do. Barzini states in The Italians that, “in this beautiful country one must only make love; other pleasures of the soul are cramped here. Love here is delicious. Anywhere else it is only a bad copy” (Barzini, pg.47).   

            Exhilaration pervades the very air of any soccer game that is held in Italy. The very fervor of how the Italians treat their national sport is unimaginable. They scream, yell curses to each other, shove each other, laugh ecstatically and jump up and down whenever their home team scores. In simple words, it’s crazy. However, even though it can get insane at certain moments, it leaves an electrified tumble of positive emotions stirring inside. While sports are exhilarating to me when I am in the moment and experiencing first hand what the games are like, it can be incontestably oppressive. For instance, the strong and offensive language the Italians use to rival fans is quite scary. If the two groups of fans were not separated, physical altercations would take place, and could quite literally lead to substantial injuries to both sides. There have been numerous occurrences within the past to prove this point. Nonetheless, it is in my eyes quite admirable that they care so much about this sport, for passion leads to excellence.

            A constant thrill rumbles inside me whenever I anticipate or get the chance of meeting a new person in Rome. For they all have different origin stories. Where did they come from? What is their heritage? Even though sometimes communication can become exceptionally challenging it provides a sense of adventure. I met an individual outside of the Coliseum roughly around a week ago who engaged in a cordial conversation with me. His name escapes me at the current moment but we conversed and he eventually sold me a nice bracelet with the word “Roma” imprinted upon it. For such a commonplace occurrence such as this, I still found it exhilarating. What is also intriguing about this little anecdote is the social dynamic atmosphere I noticed surrounding this event. He was essentially a street vendor, which in America is not seen as something impressive or worthy of taking pride in. However, the social system in Italy dictates that he is simply doing what he enjoys doing. Barzini quotes Madame de Stael in The Italians saying, “distinctions in rank have little effect in Italy…people are hardly susceptible to aristocratic prejudices…a man living on an income of fifteen hundred francs speaks to a man who has an income of six million as simply as he would to an equal” (Barzini, pg.49).

            While there are many exhilarating components to Rome, there are also quite a few oppressive factors. Consider the advent of cars. They trudge along like ants to an anthill screaming their horns and punching their gas just so that they can get to their destinations faster. Natalia Ginzburg points out in The Smiles of Rome that Rome is, “stricken by cars as by some malignant disease” (Smiles of Rome, pg.272). Further explanation in the same reading dictates that car travel destroys the human connection with places. I couldn’t agree more. Cars are oppressive and will continue to be as long as they continue puffing their putrid smoke into the glorified city of Rome. In addition, the weather of Rome itself isn’t entirely satisfying. While it is better in places that snow, it still has a sultry southern wind that envelops the sky with dark, cumulus looking clouds. This kind of weather is excellent for mildew growth. It makes people feel faint for they lack exposure to sunlight to produce vitamin D. As a final point, having to watch your back everywhere you go in the city can get quite irritating at times. One can never casually stroll anywhere in Rome for it truly is the city world-renowned as the city of pickpockets. This is especially prevalent on the Metro where everybody is packed incredibly close to each other. However, in the end all of the oppressive factors in Rome do not even come close to outweighing the exhilarating components. Rome is its own animal and will continue to reign as the Eternal city.