Saturday, November 5, 2011

Camminando | As a Tourist in the City Where I Was Born: Finding the Angels


Every time I go back to Rome, at my very first day of arrival I do my ritual  pilgrimage to the places of my childhood. Not that glamorous back then, but recently became extremely popular thanks to Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.
Castel Sant'Angelo is my very first visit, while I still experience jet lag from the six hour time zone difference. The initial structure, almost 2000 years old, was built as a mausoleum, called Mole Adriana, for the emperor Adrian, then was transformed by the popes into a castle, becoming a fortress and refuge during invasions and also a prison and execution place. A fortified corridor connected the castle with the Saint Peter's basilica.
This year I am specifically focusing on the many angel statues guarding, Ponte dell'Angelo, the pedestrian bridge connecting Castel Sant'Angelo with the Rione Ponte across the river Tevere.


A magical sunset blesses my visit: the warmest sunlight bathes the building, emerging from the lead color sky.


Roma, you are such a stage set! Isn't life a play?

Excerpts from the conceptual multimedia project
“Axes Mundi: Perceptions and Understanding of Places as Intersections of Space, Time and Culture"