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The Long Walk |
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written
by zinnia / 10.24.2005 |
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Part 1: |
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The British military cemetery commemorates its residents as a whole. All who are buried there died during Italy’s liberation in WWII. The deceased are remembered for their involvement in a single event. This cemetery stresses unity; on flat ground, the gravestones are aligned to form perfect rows and columns, with epigraphs that abide to the same layout. The Protestant cemetery presents a stark contrast to the British cemetery. With its graves scattered over a small hill, the dead that dwell in each have no correspondence to their neighbors. Here, each grave is designed to catch the eye of the beholder. Each inscription, carving, or effigy is crafted so that it manifests the owner’s unique quality and sets him/her apart from the rest of the graveyard. Furthermore, a greater variety of plant life also presents itself to the visitors when in the Protestant cemetery. Most noticeable was the height variation that ranged from stumpy shrubs to palm trees.
The Basilica di S. Sabina has a grander and more difficult intention for its viewers when compared to the cemeteries. As one first steps into the church’s rectangular portico, he/she is in midst of gloominess since the glazed windows let through very little light. The first thing one would notice is a statue – a nun gazing down at the baby cradled in her arms – at the end of the hallway; because of the white marble that it’s made from and light that brightens it. High windows on either side of the wall differ from others in that they are more transparent, thus the statue becomes more illuminated. The imagery acts as reassurance of faith for the believers and causes the nonbelievers to second think their judgment. On one side of the church’s entrance is a recessed altar for Saint Domenico. The altar is immersed in a soft glow by sunlight that angles from the window on the opposite wall. As one kneels in front of the altar to pray, the aforementioned vision will give psychological contentment to the person that his/her prayers indeed reach the higher being. The Basilica di S. Sabina, and churches in general, intends not only for “perpetuation [of a person or event] through memory” in the third person, but to make the viewer adopt and truly believe in the faith that these things symbolize.
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Part 3: |
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With so many sites – and famous ones at that – in central Rome, most visitors (and including me until today) are secluded within central Rome’s confines. The market at Testaccio was the first place I’ve been to that was genuinely Roman; without the many tourists and with average Italians not in the tourist business. Even the market itself is presented differently. With its contents hidden inside an inconspicuous warehouse like structure, a casual observer would never have discovered it. Local Italians would be informed of its existence through their social networks, thus finding it with ease. The interior is also unique. Unlike the flea market whose merchandise are more or less categorized and separated by streets, the Testatccio market has everything intertwined to one: clothing, shoes, meat, cheese, etc. Consequently, with the butcher shop adjoining the shoe stand, you smell meat while picking out shoes! The market’s compactness could be explained by countless reasons, possibly out of the need to save space, to minimize walking distance, or to be able to shop for all necessities with one trip. Whatever the reason, it serves the needs of local Italians rather than foreign tourists. The Testaccio market is by far one of few places that I perceive as generic Italiano.
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