A Roman Holiday
- Emily Freeman
- Jun 12, 2019
- 3 min read

Rome was an enchanting city. It was a living, breathing fusion between the ancient and the modern. Having grown up in a country that has not even been around for 250 years, it was incredible to be able to witness a city that has been in existence for almost 3,000 years. The very idea of having the Pantheon, an ancient structure that dates back to 2,000 years ago, just down the street from a McDonald’s, is fascinating and unique. It was as if history was threaded into the very living fibers of the city.

I had a beautiful, chance encounter during my time in Rome that perfectly captured this almost nonchalant fusion of the ancient and the modern. We had just gone into a little café to use their restroom and get some sandwiches for lunch. After taking a few minutes to sit on the steps just outside the café to enjoy our food and the beauty of Rome, we continued on our explorative journey of the city. We walked down to the bottom of the steps (which were situated in between two taller buildings), we rounded a corner and were all of a sudden met with a massive and impressive Neoclassical-style palace. Because this sight was so unexpected, yet so very dramatic and awe-inspiring, I was blown away by this little (or rather, monumental) surprise.


We decided to make a detour on our journey to explore this palace. The closer we got, the more it seemed to grow. It was absolutely beautiful in its very classical harmony and order. We went up the palace steps and admired several of the large sculptures of what we assumed to be interactions between individuals from Greek and Roman myth and history. It was a lot of fun trying to discern what was happening in these sculptures. While we were admiring these pieces of art, we were also on our phones trying to figure out what exactly we had stumbled upon. Not one of us had ever seen or heard of this palace before, something we thought a little odd considering its size and grandeur.



After a bit of research, we determined that the palace was in fact the Altare della Patria, or the Il Vittoriano, a monument built to honor Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of the unified Italy. Although it looks like an impressive temple from Roman times, its construction wasn’t actually started until 1885, and wasn’t finished until 1935. Especially after reading up on the history of this palace, we were even more confused by the fact that it seemed to be a hidden gem of the city. It seemed like it would have been a prime “must see” site for tourists and a perfect subject for the countless postcards being sold around the city. And yet, in all of our research and exploration of Rome, none of us had discovered this palace until we stumbled upon it by chance that afternoon. The fact that we had never seen or heard of this palace before is consistent with the nonchalant fusion of ancient and modern. While this palace was impressive and a pretty big deal to us American tourists, it seemed to be kind of “old news” to the locals. It was as if they didn’t bat an eye at its presence.
This whole idea of a city that is fused so seamlessly with its ancient history is so intriguing to me, in part because it is unlike anything I’ve experienced in my own country. It’s also what made Rome so enchanting to me. There was a certain, lovely beauty in the sweet surprise of stumbling upon such a monumental snapshot of Italian history as we explored the charming city of Rome.


As strange as it sounds, the Italian trees in Rome were one of my favorite parts of the trip. I thought they were so unique and mismatched, unlike any collection of trees I'd ever seen. Some of them reminded me of San Diego, others reminded me of Florida, and some reminded me of the African desert. Here's my little tribute to the trees that enchanted me!

And of course, the gelato did NOT disappoint!! It was so tasty :)
-Em
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