On reaching my hotel at around 2.00 p.m., I dumped my bags and rushed to the Cimitero Acattolica (also known as the Protestant Cemetery), as it closes its gates at 4.30 p.m. Visiting the major attractions in Rome usually requires a morning start, so I was keen to tick off an important item on my packed itinerary. For a student of English literature, it would be unthinkable not to have paid homage to two of the greatest romantic poets — John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley — whose final resting place is this serene cemetery, which is also the graveyard of other notable artists, writers and diplomats
Shelley rests almost in the middle of the back row while Keats is in a corner 100m away, under the canopy of trees and surrounded by greenery. Nothing distinguishes their resting places from that of others; so instead of searching hundreds of graves, it is easier to locate them with the help of a map available from a small office inside the cemetery.
Keats, who died of tuberculosis when he was 25, was unsure of his legacy, and had asked for a tombstone with no name. So his epitaph reads: “This Grave contains all that was Mortal of a Young English Poet Who on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone: Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water. 24 February 1821.”
Shelley, who drowned off the coast of Tuscany at the age of 29, was cremated and his ashes were later buried in the cemetery. Inscribed on his grave, alluding to his death in the sea, are the words from Shakespeare’s TheTempest : “Nothing of him that doth fade/But doth suffer a sea-change/ Into something rich and strange.”
Every grain of sand in Rome is soaked in history. The dazzling statues, the astonishing architecture around the famed piazzas, the museums and the numerous churches full of paintings and exquisite sculptures embody the glory of one of the greatest empires the world has ever witnessed. There are few places in Rome that will not take your breath away and everything in this city seems larger than life.
The Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Pantheon… the list of the “must-see” places is too long. Thousands of visitors queue up for hours to enter the Vatican Museum every day. If you do not have the time or patience, it is better to join tour groups that skip the queues although they will exact their price. Each group is headed by a guide, usually hoisting a stick with colourful pieces of cloth tied to the top end. If you are lost in the crowd, look up for the signature of your guide. Also, be ready to walk, walk, walk, for there is so much to see.
The Vatican museum contains monumental works of art — masterpieces of paintings, sculptures, frescoes and tapestries, and classical antiquities. One can marvel at the creations of Raphael, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, among the artists. The last stop of the museum tour is the Sistine Chapel, where one has to observe total silence. Photography is not allowed. Michelangelo’s stunningly beautiful frescoes on the ceiling take your breath away. The German writer and poet Goethe summed up the artistry thus: “Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving.”
The Pantheon, one of the best preserved structures of ancient Rome, boasts the world’s biggest unreinforced concrete dome even today. Natural light enters through an oculus in the middle of the dome. Looking up at the sky through the oculus is a memorable experience. Built more than 2,000 years ago, it houses some magnificent sculptures that speak volumes about the history of the Roman art.
If you want to be a Roman when in Rome, try out the myriad types of pasta. The piazzas are full of neat restaurants beckoning you to try their culinary delights. Try shrimp fettuccini alfredo or lobster ravioli a la vodka, and wash it down with a glass of Chianti or red.
The Colosseum, the largest amphitheatre in the Roman world, is another iconic structure. For centuries, thousands of men and animals met their death in its arena, as it was a staging ground for gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, and executions of criminals. Today it remains partially ruined due to earthquakes and natural decay but the grandeur of the structure is still awe-inspiring. “You take a photo?” asks a sturdy man attired like an ancient Roman soldier — sword, helmet, plumes and all. There are a handful of them around, ready to pose for you for a small fee.
At the San Pietro Church in Vincoli I met Moses, one of Michelangelo’s most stunning creations. The details of the sculpture — the downy hair and the beard, the veins on the hands, the folds of the clothes — all make you feel as if the artist wielded his chisel like a paint brush.
Rome’s piazzas are lively places to hang out. Under the awnings of restaurants, both visitors and locals are busy having their meals and drinks. Groups of people sit around enjoying the summer weather. Painters sell their products, and they will paint your own picture or caricature if you have the time to pose for them.
Before you leave Rome, don’t forget to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain on Piazza di Trevi. Legend has it that if you throw a coin into this fountain, you will return to Rome again, which is what every visitor to the Eternal City wishes for.
