There are many traits of humanity that, try as we might, we cannot escape. The need to be remembered is one of them. All through the course of history, people have wanted to leave their mark on the world; something to help pave memory lane for those who will follow them.
Simpler folk do it by having children to carry the family name. They raise them to be responsible citizens. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But be it either fame or infamy, at least they live on. Others choose a more visible and often audacious way to say “Kilroy was here”.
Ancient Rome is a good example.
Rome is known as the Eternal City. According to historians, Romans believed then, and to a degree now as well, that no matter what happens to the rest of the world, Rome will shoulder on. Considering the invaders they have successfully turned back over the years and their ability to conquer and grow a vast empire that lasted some fifteen hundred years…give or take a century…can you blame them for feeling that way? Give them credit. So far they’ve been correct.
Virgil wrote of Rome as “an empire without end” in his epic poem “The Aeneid” which was composed between 29 B.C. and 19 B.C. Then in the first century, the poet Tibullus made the first known use of the phrase “Eternal City”. It would be sometime, however, before it would find its way to tee shirts and fridge magnets. That’s a shame considering the Roman’s penchant for commerce.
Rome’s emperors also promoted the idea by constructing monuments and temples. Although they were in many instances more interested in assuring their own immortality in the history papyrus rather than that of Rome. Constantine’s Arch, the Pantheon, and the Castel Sant’ Angelo are all excellent examples.
Since it is likely that many who have seen these don’t know who was responsible for bringing them about, I’m not sure their builders can fully claim immortality. But they certainly helped local tourism and I think that counts for something.
It seems some current day Romans are still interested in leaving their mark in a very physical way. Although instead of marble and brick, they prefer the affordability and portability of spray paint.
When we toured Rome, my wife and I were surprised to see so much graffiti. Fortunately it wasn’t on the ancient buildings and monuments, but on anything that looked to be younger than one hundred years. Not being able to read Italian, we had no idea of what the taggers were trying to say. Given some of the graffiti I’ve seen in the United States, that is probably a good thing.
It is nice to see that the monuments have not fallen to the taggers. However the same can’t be said for looters, especially when it comes to the world famous Coliseum. In steady use for nearly five hundred years, it survived the fall of Rome, but didn’t fare as well during reconstruction. Some two hundred years after the Roman Empire struck an ice burg, Romans returned to the Coliseum. They weren’t there for sports, but for building materials.
Nearly all the marble was stripped out to build new homes. It seems the Romans were in to recycling before it became a thing. Who knew?
Give our proclivity for retiring stadiums these days, it could happen here. Certainly would make for some interesting decorating trends. Who wouldn’t want a dining room with stadium seating? It would come in handy during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Talk about leaving a mark and you can’t leave out the Vatican. Vatican City stands as the world’s smallest sovereign state. And it is populated by stunning architecture that has withstood many tests of time.
The aforementioned Castile Sant’ Angelo, the Vatican, and Saint Peter’s Basilica are all incredible on many levels…artistically, historically, and spiritually and those just scratch the surface. The Sistine Chapel takes things a bit further by defying accurate description, at least by this feeble mind. Its beauty and intricate detail border on sensory overload. Still, modernity is leaving its mark on Vatican City as well.
We bought our tickets and headed for the stairs that would take us to the top of the dome of Saint Peter’s. Everything I had read and heard about it promised a breathtaking experience. The hype was right. Climbing 551 steps to a height of 450 feet was breathtaking and the view wasn’t bad either.
It was what I didn’t expect to see that sticks with me. It seems there are some tourists who are bent on leaving their mark so we all know they were there. It wasn’t spray paint, but stickers. We saw hundreds of them proclaiming many different messages in many different languages. They were stuck about head high to the covered part of the dome walk around. I just can’t understand the mentality that thinks putting a sticker on Saint Peter’s is a great way to score points with the Pope. Although I can’t guarantee that the Pope has been up there to see them, I’m certain God has.
I was shaking my head in a combination of disbelief and disgust when I saw it. “It” being the sticker that proclaimed:
“No Life. No Radio.”
Oh well, at least they posted the truth.
