Today Rome celebrated its 2766th birthday. Whew, and I thought I was getting old with 21 around the corner.
Do as the Romans do when it comes to celebrating birthdays, 'cuz the party today rocked. I made plans yesterday to go to the free and reduced fare museums in the morning, but when we set out today, we quickly changed our itinerary. We had to walk by the Circus Maximus to get to the museum, and what we saw there stopped us in our tracks.
Gladiators, Centurions, Barbarians, Oh my!
The costume parade that was set to start around noon was already gathering its forces with hundreds of people dressed in various (Ancient) Roman fashions. My first thought was that I wish I had a toga so I could join in the party. My second was if the nuns would mind if I used my bedsheets for the task. I'm not sure how you got to participate, but I want in next year. The only problem will be deciding who I want to be: the vestal virgin or the barbarian Briton.
After watching the assembly for about an hour we headed to the Campidoglio Museum with its reduced ticket price. The Classical marble and bronze statues were the perfect accompaniment to the party going on outside.
When we finally left the museum, we found that the parade that had started in the Circus Maximus was now making a loop around town and passing right in front of the square we were in. I found myself a good perch and watched the procession of Centurion Legions who marched in sync, Barbarian tribes who jumped out at the crowd unexpectedly, and Olympic gods who sauntered on their way as priestesses tossed petals in their path.
A bite for lunch in the Jewish quarter finished up our wanderings before we headed toward the convent, but the festivities didn't end there. Back in the Circus Maximus various ceremonies and contests (some of which I didn't understand) kept going until around dinnertime.
Unfortunately I missed out on some of the other festivities this weekend, including yesterdays Tango Party for Papa Francesco, and today's flash-mob style pillow fight in Trastevere. I can't always hit them all, but I'll take what I can get.
Buon Natale Roma! Keep on going!
Ciao,
J
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