Coming into Rome by train, I observed it as a modern city. There were intersections and stoplights, crosswalks, cars and taxis, apartment buildings, restaurants and stores. It was only when we got into a taxi to head to our apartment that history began to reveal itself. Woven in with modern buildings are pieces of the past: unapologetically massive cathedrals, cracked and crumbling arches, columns sprouting out of the ground like trees. How had it all not turned to dust? I whipped my head back and forth in the taxi trying to see everything on either side of the street. I was in awe passing one marvel after another on the ten-minute ride and we hadn’t even seen the Colosseum yet.
When I finally did lay eyes on the Colosseum, I couldn’t help but imagine what happened there so many centuries ago. So much death and destruction had occurred within these walls and somehow the structure itself is still standing. And each building, each column, each piece of rubble is so intricate—nothing built today could ever compare to the beauty and elegance of these creations. I’m continually humbled by the detail put into every aspect of every structure.
Rome is a city of the past and present, just like many other cities I’ve seen so far in Italy. I have such an appreciation for Italy’s ability to preserve the past. Cities like Florence that aren’t necessarily very modern could be re-designed, but life functions here just as well as it does in any other city. The historic structures of these cities were not ready for the modern world: the streets were not built for cars, the buildings were not designed for Wi-Fi. Yet, both the past and present are coexisting here.
But the world is still changing in unprecedented ways. Our extreme use of the Earth’s natural resources, the pollution we release and the land we damage impacts us all. Considering all the other naturally and historically beautiful things we’ve destroyed in the past, I wonder what will still be standing in the next 50, 100, or 200 years. Our way of life now is so high-tech, complex and dependent on the destruction of the planet. How many more species will have to go extinct, how many more trees will have to fall, and how many more treasures will we have to lose before something changes? And what if things don’t change? After looking at buildings like the Pantheon and visiting cities like Venice, I believe there is so much we could still lose. Life is so much more advanced today, but it was so much more beautiful back then.
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