Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes

This is the second birthday in a row I have been fortunate enough to spend in Rome. Last year, I was flying from the States to Rome on my birthday, but this year I managed to make it over a day early, to get rid of some of the jet lag and to just crash in Casa Rolex. Dara, who you loyal readers might remember from last year's posts as the head of the tour company and il mio ragazzo, decreed that on my birthday, I would get to dictate what we did all day.

Unsurprisingly, I chose to do my favorite thing: fa una passegiata. That is, I went for a walk. A loooong walk. I live in Trastevere, which feels very central, even though it is on the opposite side of the river. We walked from the apartment to the Pantheon, past the Aventine hill and the Bocca della Verita, which Dara had never visited (shockingly). We each stuck our arms in, and were allowed to take them out again, which is a good sign. From the Pantheon we walked towards the Forum/Colosseum area, through Piazza Venezia. This piazza, frequented by me since 2007, has finally lost its dreary (if familiar) construction barriers, and the center of the square is now a beautiful area of grass and lounging people.

Other changes were in store for me, though, and some of them less welcome. Calling Rome 'The Eternal City' is fitting in a thousand ways, but there are some changes which just don't seem to work here. Take, for example, the horror that greeted me in the Forum. The oldest part of Rome, this little valley represents all that SPQR really means: temples and basilicas and arches from the Republic through the Empire, defying the passage of time and continuing to stand as momuments of the Senate and People of Rome. These ancient ruins are now accompanied by some modern scupture, most of which seems to represent very fat women curled up into balls, scattered thoughout the Forum. I don't know how long they have been there, but I hope they leave soon. It is wrong to put modern things in the Forum, it is like putting a baby bonnet on a wisened old philosopher, or covering your grandmother with glitter.

In slightly better news, the Soprintendenza is using some brand new radar/scanning equipment to survey the area of the Forum and Palatine. While this seems to have resulted in some annoying (and sometimes useless) path blockages, it is exciting to see archaeology in action. It is clearly a result of the weather damage sustained by some of the protective roofs a few months ago, because they have blocked off the whole area in front of the Curia Julia, where the Lapis Niger was found. The site is surrounded by clear glass barriers, though, so we can all see the excavations.

In the end, the changes in the Forum, both the exciting ones and the frightening ones, are not enough to change Rome herself, and I feel fortunate to be able to mark the passage of my own years by the steady continuation of this city.