The history of Rome, according to the British journalist H.V. Morton, is both "exhilarating and oppressive for the traveler." I agree with this quote. I personally feel that Rome is both exhilarating and oppressive at the same time. Rome is exhilarating in that there is so much activity here. There is history all around, but it is combined with cars, fashion, restaurants, etc. that are more modern. It is oppressive in that to me the only things interesting here are the historical aspects and I feel like my brain has reached its limit for absorbing the history.
When I step off the train into termini, I feel a rush at being surrounded by the people rushing and hurrying around, but at the same time feel so insignificant. And then I step out into the city and I feel excited to be amongst these great works of art and architecture from 2000+ years ago. And being a history major, it is exhilarating to actually be seeing the significant works of art and architecture that I studied. I honestly get excited thinking about seeing such historical artifacts.
It is a city of history and it literally is just a huge “open-air” museum. An "open-air" museum is basically a museum where all the artifacts are outside. Everywhere you go in Rome there are historical artifacts and buildings whether they be sculptures, churches, fountains, etc. And these artifacts and building are amazing, but it can be very overwhelming to visitors of the city. And I enjoy being surrounded by the history. However, I also feel oppressed by the history. I guess you could call it information overload in a sense. There is so much all around and it is hard trying to absorb it all. By that I mean that walking down the street one can see ruins all over the place and my mind, at some point, just refuses to function. It is not that I do not like Rome, I just feel like Rome is stifling at times. The history is just overwhelming to me.
While Rome is an amazing city, it is also a city that can be intimidating. In a sense, Rome can just shock people for there are not many places where one can see objects that are 2000+ years old among more contemporary fashions, transportation, etc. And for the world traveler, it can be considered to be exhilarating and/or oppressive.
I completely agree with what you are saying! I feel like my brain is also over loaded but in a good way. I have never truly been interested in history until I came here. Dr. Selby, you, and Megan have really snagged my interest in what has happened before my lifetime. I love what we have been doing so far even though sometimes I might complain about how much walking we are doing or whatever but I have never been so interested in things like this. I also get what you are saying about feeling insignificant; we are these Americans who have no idea what so ever about what we are doing or saying. We could say an Italian word the wrong way and it could mean something very disrespectful. It is scary and it is like we have all started over with our lives if you think about it. I love Rome and what it offers and I am really trying to keep an open mind so that I can learn everything I can!
ReplyDeleteI really do love the open air museum part about Rome as well! It might not always be what is interesting to me but if you think about it, we do not have things like historical cemeteries like they do here or these underground mazes with tombs in them. I know I am going to miss all this walking around and excitement when I get back into the states so from me to you, let’s just over load our brains everyday because you never know when we are going to get another chance and opportunity like this! We have had an amazing adventure so far and it is only going to get better.
I understand that 'information overload' feeling very well. It's as though everything EVERYTHING has a history or a story attached. As though you couldn't go two feet without someone telling you something interesting or important that relates to something. And with that there's just too many sites/places to see. I feel like I have seen nothing(or a very small portion) of the city, but that it holds more history then any single place I have been before.
ReplyDeleteHowever after saying that, I do like it. I like the feeling of all that 'history weight' surrounding me.
I can see how these trips can be exhilarating especially for history majors. I normally notice this while we're out on the site visits, just looking around at everyone's faces. Some people are more excited about certain things than others. Nick, for example, usually gets really excited about catacombs or aqueducts - while I, a Theology major with an art background, get more excited about paintings in ancient churches, or pagan temples converted to Christian chapels. It all depends on the background. I like how you consider that both exhilarating as well as oppressive. I can definitely relate.
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