Quando a Roma
Inspiration for this piece arrives on the eve of our New Zealand national rugby side, the All Blacks, who are due to take on Italy tomorrow morning in a “make it or break it” match at the current Rugby World Cup in France.
It reminds me of a time in the Italian capital, Rome, specifically travelled over from London to see the men in black take on the gli Azzurri at Stadio Olimpico, late November of 2018. A wet afternoon, I recall young fullback Jordie Barrett copped a lot of flack from the punters and media for being too young, inexperienced and not competent at test level. He went on to score four tries that day.
We had a wonderful stay in the city, a whirlwind weekend where time was not really in play. So much, it was a Friday evening touch down, Airbnb drop in the south of the city then straight on the metro for some dinner, closely followed by a near midnight trip to witness the world famous Colosseum.
Holy shit. It is huge. To think something that was built some 1940 odd years ago is beyond me let alone the history of the place. The gladiators, the inaugural games, the battles, I can go on. To witness such a structure just from the outside was magic enough, and I can tell you around midnight is the perfect time. Not a single tourist in sight.
The following day was extremely wet, but well spent knocking between all the ancient artefacts of the Roman Empire. Wet shoes and socks was the least of worries. To see the Campidoglio, Pantheon, Foro Romano and many more historic structures in the flesh was just beyond me. I almost forgot we were there to see a rugby match.
I mean, you are standing in an architectural wonder that was constructed with perfect symmetrical interior in such a time, an undeniable importance to the Italians yet such a space that has a lot of unknown history about it.
I had read a bit about the masterpieces in snippets of S.P.Q.R, and also learnt a lot about the Empires via a few readings - and how they operated, one in a way of Meditations, a stoic philosophy closely translated wording from Marcus Aurelius (121-180).
To wonder where they once were, along with the millions that have set foot since. The city structure is still very much operational amongst the ancient wizardry, the locals are extremely friendly, food is fantastic (vegan carbonara?!) — I felt very much welcome accross the board.
A better elaboration on Rome will come, I will cover our Sunday spent at the Vatican City in a future piece, but for now.. in what would not quite be a sword fight in the Colosseo, but a more evenly balanced rugby match in Lyon - Gioca duro Nuova Zelanda!
SBG
