TRAVEL: Time travel in Central Italy

TRAVEL

Words & Photos: Andrew de Villiers

Time travel IN CENTRAL ITALY

TIME TRAVEL EXISTS! AND, SURPRISINGLY, IT’S REALLY SIMPLE TO DO: WALK DOWN A STREET IN POMPEII OR OLD ROME. PERFECTLY PRESERVED POMPEII Pompeii is a small town at the foothills of the great volcano Vesuvius, 9 km south east of Naples. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., killing thousands of people and smothering everything in thick ash. This phenomenon preserved an entire neighbourhood in the state it was over 1,900 years ago.

St Peter looking down on tourists outside his Basilica.

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A gull on a ruin in Rome.

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Time travel IN CENTRAL ITALY

Haunting remains of a resident of Pompeii who perished in the disaster.

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WALKING DOWN ONE OF POMPEII’S DESERTED, DUSTY COBBLED STREETS IS EERIE AND MARVELLOUS AT THE SAME TIME. KITCHENS STAND EMPTY, PEACH TREES BEAR FRUIT THAT NO ONE WILL EAT AND TEMPLES ARE SILENT. You can imagine naughty children running down the stone roads, shop keepers making sales in the marketplace and friends laughing at a joke behind an old wooden door. It’s as though someone hit pause on this old city and now it’s frozen in time.

This ancient scene became devastatingly real when we saw skeletons that look like disturbing paper mache statues. There are even remains of a dog that now stand entombed by the volcanic ash.

Pompeii gives you a glimpse into a life that once was. It takes some time to register that you’re in an open air museum, as well as a grave site.

ROMANTIC, REVITALISING ROME With our minds still lingering on what our eyes had just seen, we left Pompeii and headed northwards to Italy’s other ancient city: Rome. Where Pompeii is frozen in time, Rome is alive, crazy, chaotic, energetic and pulsing. It’s ancient and modern at the same time and holds this balance beautifully.

Here we stayed at Alice’s Apartment on Via Nationale; a wonderfully clean, modern and ideally located base for exploring ancient Rome.

We arrived at the Trevi Fountains only to find it was not much of a fountain at the time, but rather a maintenance site full of forlorn tourists. A number of the ancient attractions were under reconstruction and maintenance and we realised that even marble statues need a good old scrub down every now and then. Not ready to let anything deter our exciting ancient treasure hunt, we headed to the Spanish Steps.

Unfortunately, this too would be an anticlimax. The Steps were, well, steps. I’m not sure what I was expecting to be honest, but it just seemed bland when compared to the rest of Rome and its glorious buildings, sculptures and monuments. Also, the place was overrun with tourists and pesky salespeople trying to con everyone into buy a rose or some cheap product. We decided that we’d not let the anticlimactic fountain (or lack thereof) and steps (which is exactly what they were) get to us and we ambled on through the streets.

We found a drinking hole and enjoyed some late night vino and rested our legs. As we sat and looked around, it became very clear that there is no other city like Rome. It buzzes and throbs (like our tired legs) both day and night and is saturated in myths. You forget your legs are aching from the kilometres you’ve covered because your brain is distracted by your eyes.

Everything is striking and competing for your awe and attention.

The next day we walked down the road to the Coliseum. The structure is grand and magnificent; even by today’s standards. Here we were able to use our Roma Passes, which were a huge help. These passes not only give you unlimited public transport but also allow you free access into the first museum of your choice. We chose the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, which act as one free pass. The Pass enabled us to jump the queue and get in early before the thronging masses came. This was well worth it and we soaked in the stadium’s splendour without too many distractions.

After the Coliseum, we ambled up to the Palatine Hill; the former home of the Caesars and Emperors that straddles the Coliseum, Circus Maximus and Roman Forum, and (as the legend goes) where Romulus started Rome. The Hill is beautiful and old, with aqueducts and ancient villas standing between olive trees and lush gardens. It’s a lovely walk with nooks and crannies that delight both historians and the layman alike.

After a quick shower to revive our weary bodies, we walked down to see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps before the sun went down. Walking the streets of Rome on a warm summer evening is dreamlike and romantic. Old buildings hug narrow roads, while quaint shops and charming restaurants invite you to come in.

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FROM THERE WE TOOK ANOTHER SHORT MEANDERING WALK DOWN TO THE ROMAN FORUM, THE HUB OF THE OLD WORLD. It contained the temple

of Vestal Virgins (seventh century BC), the ancient palace (the Regia built in the eight century BC) and was where the Senate and Republican government started.

Grand triumphal arches, which the Arc de Triomphe replicated, stand at either end of the long, history-rich road. The whole scene, with Palatine Hill and Coliseum in the background, is unreal.

The next day we headed to Rome’s other famous neighbourhood, which is not so much a neighbourhood as it is a country: The Vatican. We entered the Vatican through the massive plaza, with a huge obelisk from Egypt in the centre and lined with angels and apostles that peer down from tall pillars and greet you as you arrive. Then, in the background, your eyes are immediately drawn to the Vatican’s most dominant spectacle; St Peter’s Basilica.

The Basilica is awesome. Everything is over the top and extravagant. Inside, your eyes are drawn upwards to fresco-adorned domes, while each gap along the wall is filled with a painting, sculpture (one of which is Michelangelo’s Pieta) or a pope’s crypt.

The richness, extravagance and history of the place is mind boggling.

We decided to abuse our legs some more and walked up the 500-plus steps to the top of St Peter’s Basilica dome. At the top, our legs hated us but our eyes rejoiced. The vistas from the dome were superb with the lazy Tiber River flowing down to the coast and all of Rome lying sprawled beyond.

After St Peter’s, we headed to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Both places are ‘musts’ and sensory overloads. Our minds started to shut down with the sheer volume of history and beauty. There were literally halls full of stunning marble statues, Egyptian mummies from before Christ and maps of the old world (even one showing all the rivers of southern Africa dated before Jan van Riebeeck’s time). With blown minds, happy eyes and leaden legs we headed back to the apartment.

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View of the Vatican, with Rome in the background, from the roof of St Peter’s Basilica.

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ROME AND POMPEII ARE SPECTACULAR AND SOBERING AT THE SAME TIME. THEIR PRESERVED STATUES, STORIES AND STREETS ARE STUNNING GLOBAL TREASURES, REMINDING US THAT OUR STAY HERE IS FLEETING AND THAT WORLD POWERS EBB AND FLOW. MAKE SURE ONE OF YOUR ROADS LEAD TO ROME, AT LEAST ONCE.

View of Rome from the Roman Forum, with the famous Vittoriano in the background.

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Time travel IN CENTRAL ITALY

TRAVEL TIPS Where to stay: • Alice’s Apartment on Via Nationale (www.airbnb.com) • Other accommodation options range from backpackers to 5-star hotels. It’s recommended that you try finding a place close to ancient Rome.

What to do: • See the Coliseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

• Go to the Vatican and see St Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum.

• Visit one of the many piazzas around the city.

• Have a gelato and get a little lost in Rome.

• Start at the eastern entrance at Pompeii and make your way west.

Getting around: • Public transport (both trains and buses) are excellent options to get to the cities. In Rome, use the bus system with your Roma Pass.

Best time to go: • Visit Rome and Pompeii in June or early July, before the real tourist masses descend on the cities. •

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