Rome | 羅馬

This August, Steve and I went to Italy for vacation. We were originally hoping to visit our friend in Istanbul whom we haven’t seen in years. Although it did not end up working out, we were still fortunate enough to have an opportunity to experience the Mediterranean and explore a new country. 

Before this trip, Italy was never high on my wish list for some reason. Even though I have many friends who have visited Italy, and they all said great things about it, I am somehow never as interested in Italy compared to places such as Istanbul, Patagonia, Montenegro, and Peru. I don’t remember exactly how we decided on Italy after we found out Istanbul wouldn’t work (it was most likely Steve’s idea), but as I started to do research on Italy to plan for the trip, I realized Italy has way more to offer than I thought. It was difficult to even decide on which cities or areas to visit — Rome is a must, but Italy has many more world-class cities, including Venice, Florence, Milan, Turin, Naples, Pisa, and areas such as Tuscany, Sicily, and the Dolomites. By the end, Steve solved the dilemma by pointing at Sardegna (back then, neither of us knew its name) on the map and asked, “This looks like a big island. What is on there?” That was how we decided to go to Sardegna, and the trip was planned around it. 

Rome was our first stop in Italy. Before this trip, I already knew Rome has tons of history and culture to offer. It is the capital of the Roman Empire, a major center of the Renaissance (i.e. the birth of modern Western culture), and the heart of the Papal States. I thought I knew quite a bit about Rome and its history already, but when I finally visited, I was humbled by how much I did not know. It was incredibly hot in Rome when we visited, so we went out in the mornings and evenings, and hid in our hotel in the hottest part of the day. I spent all that time in the hotel looking up the history of Italy, Rome, the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, and everything I saw earlier in the day on Google and Wikipedia. Even still, I felt like I was only scratching the surface of Rome’s plethora of culture and history. 

The hotel we stayed at was within walking distance of the Colosseum and close to the heart of the Roman Empire. I enjoyed walking by the Colosseum almost every day, and I was so fascinated and humbled by how it weaved art and engineering together so perfectly. The Colosseum underground tour was one of my favorite tours on this trip. It was shady, not crowded, and we got to see how the Colosseum actually worked — the tunnels, chambers, sophisticated elevator systems, animal cages, the gladiators’ entrances …etc. We also saw bones of the wild beasts that the Romans brought into the arena — bears, lions, wolves, ostriches, just to name a few. It was a bit scary and brutal, but this tour really brought the Colosseum to life for me. Instead of just seeing the ruins that stood for thousands of years, I saw a grand working machine.

We also went to the Vatican, a country enclaved within Rome with unparalleled collections of artistic and religious treasures. I was extremely impressed with everything I saw — the collections in the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. The Sistine Chapel was much smaller than I expected. I thought it would be as big as St. Peter’s Basilica, perhaps because of its fame and how it is the venue of the papal conclave. Despite its smaller-than-expected size, the frescoes were extremely impressive. The colors were still vibrant and well-preserved, even though they were painted almost 500 years ago. I have seen pictures of The Last Judgment, The Creation of Adam, the ceiling, and other frescoes before, and it felt surreal to see the original work. I also saw the ROC Embassy in the Vatican — this was the very first time that I saw a formal embassy of my country overseas (not just a “Economic and Cultural Office”), and it was a special moment.

Finally, we got a taste of the locals’ lives by going on a food tour in Trastevere, a neighborhood in Rome with Medieval architecture, vibrant nightlife, and a mix of working-class families, students, artists, and expats. We tasted a variety of Italian culinary delights while walking around the neighborhood, from sit-down restaurants to street food, and got useful tips on what to eat for the rest of our trip. (For example, we went for fresh buffalo mozzarella whenever we had a chance because it is delicious and you can’t really get it outside of certain regions in Italy.) The lively vibes and street food in Trastevere reminded me of Taiwan — I think my dad would really enjoy a food tour like this, and I hope I can take him here one day.

After visiting Rome, I can finally see why it is called “The Eternal City.” Although the Roman Empire’s glory is in the past and modern Italy is not really thriving, Rome still has a lasting influence on Western culture and even the rest of the world. We only got to see a subset of what Rome has to offer, but I absolutely love its rich history, delicious cuisine, and just the right amount of chaos (which reminded me a little bit of Taiwan). My time in Rome was a powerful and inspiring journey — I left with a profound sense of awe and a deeper understanding of its incredible history. 

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今年八月，我和 Steve 去了義大利度假。我們原本計劃八月去伊斯坦堡探望一位多年未見的朋友，雖然因為種種原因最終未能成行，但幸運的是，我們依然體驗了地中海風情、探索了一個未曾造訪過的國家。

雖然義大利是觀光大國，但是此行之前，我對義大利卻沒有特殊的嚮往。我有很多朋友去過義大利，也都對義大利讚不絕口，但不知為何，相比伊斯坦堡、巴塔哥尼亞、蒙特內哥羅和秘魯等地，我對義大利的興趣相對不大。在伊斯坦堡的計劃泡湯之後，我不大記得我們是怎麼決定改道去義大利的（多半是Steve的主意），但當我開始認真研究這個國家之後，我發現義大利的魅力遠超我的想像。我們甚至很難決定要去哪些地方 ——羅馬必去，但義大利還有很多世界級的城市，包括威尼斯、佛羅倫斯、米蘭、都靈、那不勒斯、比薩，以及托斯卡尼、西西里島和多洛米蒂山脈等地區。最後，Steve 看著地圖，指著地中海中的撒丁島（當時我們都不知道它的名字）問道：「這個島看起來好大，上面有什麼？」於是一錘定音，我們決定探索撒丁島，並以此為根據，計劃了剩餘的行程。

我們在義大利的第一站是永恆之城羅馬。此行之前，我早已深深憧憬羅馬豐富的歷史文化。它是輝煌的古羅馬帝國的首都、文藝復興（也就是現代西方文化的搖籃）的重鎮，也是曾經的教宗國的核心。我自以為對羅馬及其歷史已有相當的了解，但當我最終親臨羅馬時，我才發現自己對羅馬的了解只是冰山一角。八月下旬的羅馬火傘高張、暑氣蒸人，所以我們通常在早晚出門，然後在一天中最燠熱難當的時候躲在飯店裡，花好幾個小時上網搜尋義大利、羅馬、古羅馬帝國、文藝復興以及我們當天看到的所有歷史資料。即便如此，我仍然覺得意猶未盡，對羅馬博大精深的文化和歷史也只是初窺門徑。

我們下榻的飯店靠近古羅馬帝國的中心地帶，步行即可到達大名鼎鼎的羅馬競技場。我們幾乎每天都在競技場場附近散步——它是古羅馬帝國的榮光、古代藝術與工程的集大成之作，讓我既著迷又敬畏。競技場的地下導覽是我最喜歡的行程之一。相比於競技場上的流金鑠石、人山人海，地底下陰涼舒適，人潮也相對較少，我們得以一窺競技場當年的實際運作方式——甬道、石室、領先時代的電梯系統、禁錮野獸的籠子、角鬥士的入口……等等。我們還看到了羅馬人帶進競技場的野獸的骸骨，包括熊、獅子、狼、鴕鳥等等，很難想像兩千多年前的角鬥士們需要多大的勇氣，才能以血肉之軀直面這些猛獸。雖然古老的石塊背後藏著的是血腥與殘酷，但這趟導覽讓我感受到了競技場的生命——我看見的不只是矗立千年的宏偉廢墟和帝國沒落的滄桑，還有一台精密運轉的人類智慧結晶。

我們也去了梵蒂岡，一個位於羅馬城內、擁有無與倫比的藝術和宗教寶藏的國家。梵蒂岡博物館、西斯汀禮拜堂和聖彼得大教堂的收藏都令我留下了深刻的印象。西斯汀禮拜堂比我預想的要小許多，或許是因為它的盛名，又或許是因為它是教宗選舉秘密會議的地點，我總以為它會和聖彼得大教堂一樣大。雖然西斯汀禮拜堂的規模比預期的要小，但它的穹頂畫和壁畫令人嘆為觀止。儘管這些壁畫創作於近500年前，但它們依然色彩鮮豔、保存完好。我以前在書上和網路上都看過《最後的審判》、《創世紀》和其他壁畫的照片，而親眼目睹原作令我大為震撼，感覺很不真實。我也看到了駐梵蒂岡的中華民國大使館，那對我來說是一個特別的時刻，因為這是我第一次在海外看到我國正式的大使館（不僅僅是「經濟文化辦事處」）。

最後，我們參加了羅馬外台伯河區的美食導覽，體驗了當地人的生活。外台伯河是羅馬的一個街區，擁有古色古香的中世紀建築、五光十色的夜生活，以及包含工人、學生、藝術家和外國僑民的多元社群。我們在外台伯河區漫步，品嚐了從堂食餐廳到街頭小吃的各式意大利美食，也得到了對於接下來旅程非常實用的美食建議。 （比方說，我們有機會就會吃新鮮的水牛莫札瑞拉奶酪，因為它不但非常香醇美味，而且只能在義大利的某些地區買到。）外台伯河區的熱鬧氛圍和街頭小吃讓我想起了台灣——我想爸爸一定會喜歡這樣的美食導覽，希望有一天我能帶他來體驗。

造訪羅馬後，我終於明白了它為何被稱為「永恆之城」。儘管古羅馬帝國的輝煌早以湮沒在歷史的洪流中，現代的義大利也並非真正的頂尖強國，但羅馬仍對西方文化乃至全世界都有著深遠的影響。我們這次只見到了一小部分的羅馬，但我已經愛上了它豐富的歷史、各色的美食，以及恰到好處的喧囂（因為這讓我想起了台灣）。我在羅馬的時光是一段底蘊深厚又色彩鮮活的旅程——我對它光輝燦爛的歷史有了更深刻的理解，也帶著一顆敬畏之心踏上接下來的行程。