April: Confessions of a Roman Addict

I was standing amongst a crowd of noisy Italians,gathered by the magnificent Colosseo, to witness theannual Via Crucis, Good Friday evening. We weremunching on our baon biscuits -- Tita Bonet, Gina andI -- while waiting for the Pope to make his entrance.There was an inexplicable aura; perhaps due to thefading light, the candles, the torch-cross, thedramatic lighting of the Colosseo's arches, and theanticipation for the Pope. And then at 9pm, heappears, on a hill overlooking the Colloseo, and apowerful hush envelopes the crowd. AMAZING. I cried.
Rome was exactly that -- AMAZING. Even if it was mysecond time, I was falling in love with it again. Fromall its intricacies -- the gesticulating Italianchildren, the names of the streets, the dirty buses --to its grandiosity -- The Trevi Fountain, PiazzaNavona, St. Peter's, all its Baroque Churches -- Romeexudes, breathes and retells a passionate past. To me,Rome celebrates the greatness that is God and the wayMan represents His Greatness in extraordinary art andsculpture. Throughout the trip, I was struck with aweand greatness EVERYWHERE, and felt somehow part of it,as part of mankind and Catholic-kind.

We stayed at an inn run by nuns just a few blocks fromTita Bonet. It was quiet and we felt like we were onretreat. The nuns running it only spoke Italian, andGina and I found ourselves responding en Francais! Onday 1, we did what the romans did: took thethief-and-nun-and-priest filled bus 64 to the Vatican.It was so crowded and we didn't know what to hold ondear to, our bags or the hand rails! The trip wasworth it as it led us to the ever-breathtaking St.Peter's -- the square and the basilica are trulyoverwhelming, it makes one wonder why Bernini did thisat all, what Michelangelo had in his heart when hecarved the Pieta, and who are the nameless men andwomen who carved and chiseled all the saints toperfection. We went to St. Peter's at least 4 timesthroughout the trip -- including Easter Sunday Mass atthe square (where I cried again, upon seeing thePope!)

Florence (Firenze) is another story -- I kept onblinking, staring at the main cathedral, Santa Mariadel Fiore, because the exterior marble work was again,AMAZING. It is so solid, as if it rose whole from theground. Most of the structures had scaffoldings onthem, so it was a challenge to angle the shots for thephotos. Also saw the incredible David, and 2 othermicmics of him, since the original cannot bephotographed. Piece of trivia -- the vest I am wearingin the photo, unknown to me, was bought by my mom inFlorence 29 years ago!
The Etruscans, a mysterious civilization, built theancient port city of Pompeii, destructed in the 79ADeruption of Mt. Vesuvius. I joined the St. Paulsisters to their Easter trip to this city and exploredthe incredibly-preserved ruins. We passed by a "foodcourt" strip, where stalls had counters with holes inthem, which served as stoves. We were also able to seesome corpses, molded by the hot lava. Mosaics andinteresting (read: suggestive) frescoes donned homesand public baths. We also saw the ampitheatre, theForum, the port. We only had a few hours to explore,plus it was a rainy day, so we weren't able to see allof the city's preserved splendor.

Also in Rome, I was able to experience it as a local,thanks to Tita Bonet. That meant taking cappuccino andcornetto on the bar, instead of sitting down;experimenting on bus lines; speaking a little ofItalian (Prego! Allora...); and touring the city onfoot. I also had an SJ day -- heard mass at the Gesu, firstJesuit church, and visited the rooms of St. Ignatius whichhoused the original Spiritual Exercises, among otherrelics, and took a train to La Storta, the place wherehe had a vision of Christ. I had to stop myself frombreaking into "We Stand on a Hill", complete with thefist movements.

Please excuse my abundant use of adjectives in thismemoir, but they really aren't enough to explain,describe and encompass the wonder and aura of Rome.You HAVE to be there to experience it, and you'll runout of superlatives yourselves. Croyez-moi, Believeme! Truly, if you have one city to choose in Europe,choose Rome... (well, add Brussels, so you can visitme!)

View photos at: http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alexieferreria/album?.tok=ph6F..ABnj6vXgJq&.dir=/c665&.src=ph

--- Back to grey dry Brussels...This semester is a light one for me, no classes AT ALL, except for a student conference in Canterbury UK and a student tour of Euro Brussels. So it's the besttime to explore and experience Spring, especiallyafter months of wet, grey, cold weather. But withBrussels, you'll never know, as rain is always aroundthe corner.

Belated Happy Easter!
Ciao!