“Stones, Piled Upon Stones”

The young and the old
Gather
Amidst the warm ruins of Rome
On which the plane trees let fall
With the sound of paper
Their gilded leaves
The young tell the old
Of what they like,
And the old pretend not to hear.

November, by Aldo Palazzeschi

Image Courtesy of travelblog.viator.com

All roads lead to Rome, capital of the only empire to unite the European landmass, the eternal city, and much more.

So much more, that no one can arrive in Rome entirely without expectations. Some, like the English poet Mary Shelley, experienced Rome as a turning point in her life, with the past appearing as a blank, and only in Rome, beginning to live.

Well you Chic Insiders may not want to go quite that far in your Insider appreciation of Rome, but its delights are many, though its inconveniences quite a few…. But for ChI, the delights outweigh the hassles, and they may well do for you, too. And if they don’t, just escape to the countryside and return refreshed to deal with the city’s big, and sometimes challenging, persona!

So, carpe diem (seize the day) as the poet Horace said in his Odes, enjoy the present, and don’t worry too much about the future, because this is one of the greatest cities of civilisation, with its pleasures, its pains, its extraordinary quality of light, its sense of knowing who it is, which can come across as arrogance….you are in ROME!