In the evening, my backyard in Rome comes to life.
Our second night in Italy, my roommates and I wandered out of our apartment to slip into the cobblestone labyrinth that is Trastevere to find a spot for dinner. One quaint street blended into the next, seeming to slip into anonymity to our overwhelmed senses. Map in hand, we got lost amongst the maze of outdoor restaurants. Vines climbed the sides of worn-looking buildings washed over in soft pastel hues. We emerged from a long meal to meander into a Piazza that had been empty hours earlier. People spilled over onto the street, chatter ringing throughout summer air. A violin and cello echoed, the sounds fighting to climb higher and higher over one another. Children clustered upon white marble steps that marked the center of the large square. They squealed as they shot blue lasers soaring into the night sky’s dark blanket. Fleeting bursts of color streaked upwards, as swift to fall and vanish as they were to appear. We approached a woman in billowing black pants who grasped four different torches, fire alight from each. She tossed them from hand to hand, appearing like some sort of mysterious sorceress enveloped in a swirling mass of darkness and light. The flickers mesmerized me as they circled and danced. My eyes could not stop following the route of the flames. They demanded my gaze. She was a part of the night. Moments later, the song ended and so did her fire. We wandered onto another winding street. The feeling of magic and mystery passed as my sense of time resumed. This scene lingers with me — a glimmer of mystique. One captivating moment amongst ordinary hustle and bustle. More and more, I find that Rome’s ordinary-looking streets hide such beauty. The whole city whispers of an enticing mix of enduring and ephemeral: its ancient columns remain unmoving, but the dynamic streets with passing crowds also can create moments of permanence. Written 9/13/16
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Carly Stern
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