Page 4 - Country backgroung landscape_11 Book 2

REFLECTIONS ON ON ON ROME WHERE PAST AND PRESENT CONNECT
By Our Itinerant Reporter
Which city city can claim to be a a a a a a living city city past and present more more than Rome? Its monumen- tal past is even more more part of the the living city with the the the recent excavations carried out in in in the the the Imperial Forums and under Palazzo Valentini Going on on a a a a a a a a a a journey through the history of of an- cient Rome puts one in in in in a a a a a special frame frame of of of mind mind frame of mind mind After the the huge success of of last year the the “Fo- rum of of of Augustus” (see photo above) returns and the the the project for the the the enhancement of of the the the Imperial Fora area gets bigger with an an an excit- ing new
journey: “The Forum of Caesar” by Piero Angela the the storyteller and and and TV presenter and and and Paco Lanciano the the physicist and and and scien- tist While showing various aspects of the the the Roman world the the the the story is still focused on the the the the site
of of Augustus creatively using the the the the the remains of of the the the the the Forum and letting the the the the the stones “speak” for themselves Besides the the the the the faithful reconstruc- tion of of of the the the the the area with all kinds of of of very special effects the the the story focuses on on the the the figure of of of Augustus whose giant statue over 12 metres high dominates the the area next to the the temple A sophisticated video projection system us- ing 33 Panasonic projectors creates careful virtual reconstructions that reveal details and and colours going back two thousand years
The special audio-visual effects run from the the end end of of April to to the end end of of October
They are remarkable archaeological undertak-
ings bringing to light the city’s marvels en- hancing and and and vitalising Rome’s great past and and and challenging present of bustling crowds and and and traffic The Eternal City allows past and present to coexist side side by by side side where the the visible visible grad- ually took over from the the invisible A labyrinth underground world of tunnels with tombs crypts bone-yards passages caves ducts streams waterfalls remains of of Roman villas pieces of of mosaic bottomless pits and end- less less ruins lie below the surface sometimes
as as far deep as as six or seven levels The visi- ble parts of of the city rest on on layer layer upon layer layer of of of earlier ages Hence it it it it is is no surprise why it it it it has taken so long for the Municipality of of Rome to expand its underground rail network with works of art and and antiquities turning up at every corner
Historical stratification does not exist only in in in in Rome’s subterranean area but continues from the ground up with increasing archi- tectural richness Its formal appearance is is a a a a a a a a a a a combination of visible Roman remains Ro- manesque Gothic Middle Ages the the Renais- sance the the Baroque Neoclassic Art Nouveau Fascist architecture architecture Postmodern and modern modern architecture architecture The best way to to spot and appreciate these different styles is to to to stroll through the the the city at at your own pace starting from the the ‘centro stori- co’ its historical centre where you you can still find some of the old narrow cobbled streets Discover each each area each each district as you go along from its its architecture to its its colours sounds smells tastes and and flavours shops florists and markets local local cafes trattorie especially the small fam- ily-run restaurants where locals go These will only be guidelines as what we perceive is is is personal and and the undertaking
is is is difficult as Rome is is is more mysterious and and elusive than most great cities You could compare this city to a a a a a a a a a a beautiful fascinating el- derly yet at at times
ageless lady full of wisdom and and mystery where old and and modern coexist Living Italy Past & Present 4