Yesterday’s walk–new and old bridges

Only 10 days are left to my 30 day visit to Rome.  I have walked miles and miles, meaning hours and hours.  I have seen things I remember from my trips here with Camillo, and have seen even more that I didn’t remember that I’d seen but just know that I have walked that street before.  Yesterday, I walked twice, once in the morning and once at dusk and full dark.

For the morning walk I decided to walk away from the historic center (centro storico – “Chentro storiko”), along the river to area north of the Center.  I have become somewhat saturated with old, old, old buildings and wanted to see more Italians at home in their neighborhoods and less Germans, French and Japanese eating gelato.  Okay, I know, and one Gringa Americana eating gelato also.   Walking basically west of the apartment then cutting over on a main avenue to the River,  following the river north on its curving path, I saw families riding their bikes, skaters, dog walkers (ewww watch were you step) and a few just strolling, ambling like I was.  I make the assumption that these are locals but could be Italians visiting from other cities.  I base my assumption on having heard only Italian spoken.    

Mirella (Camillo’s sister) lives in this northern area so I am pretty familiar.  I knew that very close to her apartment is an ancient Roman bridge – yes you can laugh at me here but you need a destination and an exit plan when taking one of these walks into unknown areas without a map. 

Once close to my destination, I passed 3 bridges, one after the other that I found interesting.  The first, Ponte della Musica, opened in mid of 2011, is a foot bridge linking east and west banks of the Tiber (Tevere).  It is such a surprise I walked all the way across and back, enjoying it every minute.

 

 

 

 

 

Next:  Ponte duca D’Aosta built between 1939 and 1942 – I recognized it right off, it is clearly identifiable as a ‘Mussolini project’.  On either end the two main posts depict WWI scenes; no curves or softness, no romance, reminiscent of Roman construction styles:  part if  ‘the new Rome’ as envisioned by Mussolini.

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and finally:   Ponte Milvio  built originally in 226 BC and torn down and rebuilt in 115 BC. That structure, with several rebuilds and restructurings after the birth of Christ, still stands today.  A place of battles and of love stories; a bridge that connects the generations. 

        

Maybe I am too Romantic but imagine walking (not on the same stone because this base is new by a thousand years or so), but imagine walking the way that people traveling to Rome walked since 100 years before Christ.  A true testament to life continuing even as governments make grave errors and topple, even as wars are fought and battle are won and lost, life goes on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seen from the center of Ponte Milvio – another Mussolini project.  Ponte Flamino or Ponte di Mussolini OR Corso  Francia as it may be called.  Started in 1938 but after Mussolini stopped the construction several times for design changes that himself drew, the war, change in governments and war reconstruction, the bridge was finally finished in 1961.  This bridge is also worth walking across just for its neat structure and works of art. 

Roman Sky

Still thinking Rome as my hometown. 

As I have walked around this week I paid special attention of the monuments and the sky.  On cloudy days the sky washes to white and is not at all interesting.  Of course, rainy days are rainy days and there is not anything you can do about it.  But before the rain and after the rain, ah, now there you can find extra texture for your photos.  I find that I prefer some cloud to all clouds (rainy white gray skies), or no clouds (bright endlessly blue skies).  Big fluffy, soft looking clouds or dark and dramatic clouds, those are my favorites as a backdrop in my photos; and the best layers and layers of different types of clouds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handwriting

I am in Rome for the month of October and have made the assumption of it being My Town for the purposes of the FSO.  This past twelve days I have walked miles and miles, through open ancient cities and through museum after museum, always keeping in mind our topics for this month.  I found one small, very small, sample of handwriting in this city of carved marble, etched travertine and bronze plaques.   On this ancient piece of stone from the 1st century ad, came one …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

miniscule handwritten note left for future visitors.  But really this didn’t meet the intent for this topic…. sadly, this is more graffiti than an interesting handwritten document. 

So back to my archives.  In 2003, when Camillo and I first moved to Brasil my mother, then 79 or so carried on a 3 year correspondence with me, ending in 2006 when she wrote, “I can’t hold the thoughts to write".  She handwrote her letter, and I “word’ typed mine back.  She sent hers on a 10 day journey through the mail…. snail mail … and I sent mine on a 10 minute trip through cyber space.  One day I found a packet of her letters, scanned them into my computer and matched the dates with my letters before and after; thinking one day I could write a story of her words to me, my questions and her answers.  Yes, there are bits and pieces of wisdom, but mainly the letters are just full of news from home, much needed in those first years in Brasil.  After spending a few days reading and re-reading this file of letters, I found one that you could read…. not full of family gossip but a recipe she found in one of her files….  I love the way she pieced it together as she wrote, maybe this recipe was given to her in the same order, maybe from her mother in her early married life, maybe I am just romancing the idea  …. I hope you enjoy as I have reading her letter.  Handwriting the forgotten art. 

 

arrivederci!

… through the open door

This is not my first visit to Rome and, if lucky, it will not be my last.  Camillo and I had our first trip to Italy together around Easter time 1993.  I would have to go through all my photos to count the subsequent trips and the towns visited.  Although he is not my guide this trip, he is still here: a couple days ago I found a small store that was selling fresh cheese, sweet olives and pepperoni that he would have loved, and thought…..  There is now a museum in the Piazza di Popolo of work of Leonardo da Vinci: he loved all things da Vinci..  We talked many times (I talked?) about renting an apartment for a month here but he wanted to wait until we were older and could no longer visit many towns in one trip as was our habit…but he would have enjoyed this neighborhood – the Italian-ness of it.  Yes he is here enjoying my visit. 

With Rosemary I am walking the historic center of Rome once again.  Seeing it with new eyes because I am not just following Camillo about with my camera to my eye, but am needing to really see where we are going and to be sure I can find our way back to the apartment.  Rosemary is never worried  but I worry, of Course. 

Over the years while walking about, I have thought it interesting to see bits and pieces of the life behind the walls.  The old, exterior walls of the buildings have to be maintain in the original style or condition but the interiors can be fixed in any style pleasing to the owner.  Every once in a while you walk by a door propped open and you catch a glimpse of the life going on behind scenes; behind the tourists that crowd the streets.  This walk-about I have pulled out the camera and invaded the internal space whenever I got the chance.  Here are a few; a visitor’s view of life in Rome through the open door.

 

 

Architects of Air – the use of light and color

A few months back a friend ask if I would like to meet her and her boys downtown Houston for the Architects of Air, temporary display.  I had no idea what it was about but I grabbed my camera, plugged in the GPS coordinates and was down at the discovery green, across from the convention center in less than 45 minutes.  I am always up for a new adventure and when I saw my photos I was ecstatic that I’d said yes. 

Sitting out in the middle of the green was a huge, somewhat ugly, unassuming blown-up balloon. 

 

After standing in line to pay, then again waiting our turn to enter as another group left; we entered the greeting area, sat on a bench to remove our shoes, to leave them out on the shelves, and we entered the Air Space.  I don’t think the little boys thought much of ‘THE Space hidden inside but I was enthralled.   They ran around and around glad to have escaped their shoes and their mother. 

I walked from one area, one color to the next, sat on the floor, look at the ceiling, turned in circles and took photos that I had no idea how to insure that they would come out, would convey the joy that being cocooned in this warm light and bright color brought me.  The ultimate high for a photographer. 

       

       

for more information  Architects of Air