This weekend, I went to Sirmione, a small fishing village built on the end of a peninsula that juts out into the middle of Lago di Garda. It's location affords some impressive views of the lake, the Alps and the surrounding foothills and farmland on the shores of the lake. The town itself is riddled with layers of history and of the traces of generations of pleasure-seekers looking for a bit of rest and relaxation.
Frankly, it's remarkably beautiful. Look:
The reason why I say the Romans had it right is because at the very end of the peninsula there are the ruins of the Grotte di Catullo, a kind of Roman bath resort, spa emporium, pleasure island, villa all in one. Why it went into disrepair, we can only guess but the scale of the ruins is a testament to the might of Rome and of course the spectacular excess that comes with the wealth of one of the world's largest historical empires. Now though, where once the elite of Rome wined and dined today remains only olive groves that sway in the breeze and the sound of waves lapping the cliffside.
Walking around, I could only wonder if in a 1000 years, our modern day shopping malls, big box stores, McMansions or cruise ships will be in the same shape and have quite the same power of place as the Grotte di Catullo. What will they be a testament to? Sirmione, for example, is a testament to the fixity and continuity of place: a once Roman resort that today remains a vacation destination and even boasts the Terme di Sirmione spa. Is this vocation informed by geography? by cultural memory? How is it that place and identity can resonate throughout the ages?
I leave you to ponder this with a photo of a Roman pillar. An Italian tour group invaded the church that appears in the photos above right as my friend Diego and I were leaving to continue our exploration of the peninsula. The tour guide explained that the church, like much of the town in it's present form was built with recycled marble and construction materials from the Roman era. Such ingenuity was of course the product of forced necessity, as roads in the medieval era were overrun by bandits that made it near impossible to transport and exchange such materials.
Again, I ask, what if we had to do the same?
2 comments:
The Romans did have it right.... Things were made to last and the evidence is in the pudding... what they made is still with us, around us, under us. Their ingenuity still guides and shapes our urban planning and architectural decisions...
for example:
central heating - Romans
apartment complexes - Romans
Though it does make you wonder if what we have created will still be around to pass the test of time, it seems that our lives seem to transcend the present and are always focused on the future. With our focus elsewhere how can we really be quality oriented, things are not made to last, they are made to be replaced.
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