Feelings for Today: I realize that there have always been times of conflict, internationally, nationally, locally, and in our personal lives. Peace is an ideal that can be achieved through hope, effort, and listening. If what you are doing isn’t harmful then why can’t people leave you alone. Of course, having a good left hook is important, in reaction, if the opponent ignores good decorum and your personal space. Such is peace.
Full Day’s Events: As we lounged in bed we heard the mob. It came in waves of clapping or encouragement or both. We could tell, after opening our windows, they were numerous and we would have to stealth our way through them. When we approached their orderly lining of the streets we were compelled to join them for a short while. The Rome Marathon was happening.
We knew this would occur long before today. The runners had a route that took them past the city’s important monuments on cobblestone streets. After seeing the diverse athletic levels of the middle pace participants, we searched for a Carabinieri (national police) officiated crossing. That’s because we were heading to a recommended place on the list of that American from yesterday: Brucio la Romana. It was down a short alley that if you blinked you’d miss it. I guess it goes to show that there can be good things down alleys!
Divided into bianca and rosso (white or red) to divide up what has tomatoes and what does not. After the Americas started to be deprived of their resources and tomatoes came to Europe the plant was thought to be only useful for decoration. The red colour was believed to indicate it was poisonous until they tried it…200 years later. We ordered the Parmigiana bianca (eggplant, partially dried cherry tomatoes, fior di latte, basil, and Parmigiano Reggiano on an eggplant sauce) and a Capricciosa (fior di latte cheese, mushrooms, Taggiasca olives, raw ham, grilled artichokes, low temperature egg yolk all on Migliarese tomato sauce). Yum. Double yum.
Now was the time for some peace. By that I mean historical peace at the Ara Pacis. The Altar of Augustinian Peace. After Augustus Caesar, Julius’s adopted son, returned after three years keeping the Roman peace North of the Alps. Before this he took out everyone else vying for the job of top dog, after the Ides of March incident with his adopted dad, so the Senate in 13 BCE agreed that an altar to Pax the goddess of peace would be built. It was placed in a newly urbanized area and finished in four years. After the Empire fell most of it became buried or parts looted. Through archeological detective work the separate parts were found and then an influential figure wanted it in a grand museum…Benito Mussolini! In recent decades a new museum was built around the structure.
My wife and I had seen this beast of marble sculpture in numerous history documentaries so we thought we knew what to expect. I could imagine it, when first opened to the “public”, the open terrain around it with green grass and smooth paths. Its weight spoke to me about the safety and security peace can bring, especially in these current times. The delicate artistry on the structure was impressive, but what I liked most was the inside which was more stark. It encouraged you to think as you looked.
Next door was the Mausoleum of Augustus, but it was closed for a long-term archeological spa treatment. We did get some pictures though from the Ara Pacis. With our destination the Piazza del Populo, with another Egyptian obelisk, we transitioned from urban terrain to the curated and uncurated nature of the Borghese Gardens.
We didn’t go to the “created in 1605 as a pleasure garden by Cardinal Scipione Borguese who was nephew to the pope and sponsored Bernini” area of the park but stayed in the South West area. The park was lovely and we discovered a little hillside that was a make-out area for lovers of all ages, including a variety of birds. There were even parakeets flying around singing their songs of “look at me” and “I am the best bird for you”. It was an enjoyable time walking hand in hand with my wife.
On the way home, and to get groceries, we encountered some interesting sights. There was a grand house where the sculptor had fun with imposing images of wide-open mouths. I also had an encounter with an angular plastic brute dressed as a Roman soldier where, fortunately, there was glass between us. Lastly there was a suspicious templar eying passers , but I do not know his objective or purpose. Will have to keep an eye on that one.
We prepared a meal in our kitchen of red rice and fried vegetables (zucchini, garlic, chard, tomatoes, and yellow pepper) with Sicilian tangerine for dessert. 7.7 km and 22 flights of stairs walked.
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