Impressions of My Roman Holiday

Nilofer Qazi

Rumour has it - March 27^th 2012

The pleasure of being able to get out of your home and just walk! Yes walk down a clean footpath, perhaps a little dog poe to remind you ARE in Europe, but the pleasure and freedom! Walking through the beautiful Villa Borghese now a park towards the Spanish Steps well what can I say!  Yes that was my first pleasure. The Italians love their coffee, at every corner store, petrol pump, one can savor a café a delicious cappuccino (only before noon), a macchiato, an espresso every concoction of pure coffee.

Italy is an open museum, a cliché said and heard by many, but how does one describe a city which lives with remnants of civilizations gone by. The Romans live alongside the Coliseum, the Forum, and hundreds of Piazzas which have witnessed the Etruscans’ civilizations, the Roman, the city states, and now modern unified Italy- uninterrupted. Every piazza has its very own church which is more wonderful than the next. My sister loves the Bernini piazza Nevona with its three fountains. The sculptures seem so real as if they will jump any moment and smile at you! Sea urchins, gods, goddesses, angels and demons the imaginations of the artists were incredible.

 I walked into countless churches and was amazed to see the number of ‘foreign’ masses and ‘priests’. I stumbled into a ‘Polish’ , and ’Pilipino’ gathering; but then again Rome Is the citadel of Peter and all the Catholics of the world I imagine have a presence here.

 The Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s famed fresco on the ceiling of ‘Adam’s creation’ and the ‘Day of Judgment ‘on the wall are stunning; but I was surprised to learn that Botticelli, Perugino, Raphael, Ghirlandaio and Pinturicchio also contributed significantly to the frescos in the chapel. But there are no doubts which are Michelangelo’s work. Walking through the Vatican museum was also interesting; packed with sculptures, frescos and artwork. How closely linked art was with the church, so many of the artists were patronized by the church (cardinals and Popes); nevertheless what was more incredible was the number of naked sculptures of men in these hallowed rooms. One has always associated the church, especially the Catholic Church, with prudish ethics; the art work certainly does not reflect this. The appreciation of the human form, especially the male form is very evident-perhaps captured most renowned in the statute of David in Florence.

 An open mass by Pope Benedict XVI was memorable. Italy is a secular state, nevertheless the papacy and the Church are regarded with deep reverence and respect, the mass on a cold Wednesday morning saw the beautiful St Peter’s Square full; tourists, curious bystanders and thousands of worshipers. The benediction was carried out in Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and English- all European languages. One wondered given the heart of Catholicism is in the middle east how far the religion had come.

I had looked forward to Florence, but was much more impressed with the Fortress city of Siena, also in the province of Tuscany. Sienna’s narrow cobbled lanes, inside the fortress somehow transported you back into time, the homes lined along the walls of the fortress seemed untouched by time; I discovered many of the incredible desserts I had enjoyed, were from here. The Ceramic of Sienna with the sunflowers, the bright red orange yellow and blue motifs are breathtaking. I love pottery and Italy is a heaven for hand crafted works of art. What is heartwarming is the pottery ‘industry’ has remained a small enterprise run by households- the world and the Italians pay premium prices which allow the small scale handicraft to thrive.

Some say cuisine defines culture, Italian cuisine I realized prefer simplicity. I discovered cacao e pepe, spaghetti pasta with fresh black pepper with the Roman Pecorini cheese. Devine. Artichokes, or Carchoffi  in Italian, was another delightful discovery;  in the Roman style it is only steamed and doused in olive oil while the “Jewish’ style is fried.  For those of us who are chocoholics well Italians love there chocolates so much that each bakery, each restaurant has its own brand! I’ve never seen so many varieties in any other nation.  The wonderful ‘hot chocolate’ is literally melted dark chocolate- move over Belgian or Dutch hot chocolate once you’ve had an Italian ‘coco’ there is no alternative!

I enjoyed my Italian holiday, loved the food, and enjoyed the beauty of the country. A Nation which has preserved its heritage alongside modernity has a lot to teach some of us; the Hadrian’s temple pre Christian temple  is now the Italian stock exchange.  As I left this beautiful country I heard the heart wrenching news of Fakhara Yunus’s suicide. What can we learn from Italy and the Italian state; a secular state which not only respects the pomp and ceremony of one billion Catholics, without impinging on any other individual rights but further gives refuge to those running from persecution.