Faculty and Founder of the Writers’ Institute André Aciman has a travel piece in Newsweek about walking the streets of Rome.
Rome, they say, is about history. Enter any large doorway and it becomes a portal; rub clay off some stucco wall and you’re suddenly led into another era. In Rome, all roads lead to older Romes: Ancient, Augustan, Medieval, Renaissance, Papal, Baroque, Rococo, Modern, even Woody Allen’s Rome. There is no such thing as a short walk to buy groceries in Rome. You may start in Henry James’s Rome, stumble into Michelangelo’s, only to realize you should walk over to Mussolini’s by way of Fellini’s and Lord Byron’s. The matter is no different underground. Because historic detritus is buried underneath, it took Rome decades to build a subway line. History intrudes everywhere. Read More…
