Roma is a city of conscious symbolism. That is to say, its people actively employ figurative images to express certain things held as valuable and true. This symbolism has its origins in the ancient city, and was consequently developed throughout the course of the middle ages, being greatly enriched by Christian tradition and belief. Today this symbolism can be taken in as a whole, given modern Romans–and all who share in the heritage of the city’s civilization–a deeper knowledge of who they are culturally, religiously, and personally. The first thing to notice in Rome are the ways in which it shows itself a fundamentally Catholic culture. One can look to the little images of the Madonna that are associated with certain neighborhoods as their patroness, can hear the peal of church bells reminding people of time and its important win the Christian life, can see in any piazza the great church doors which separates sacred from profane space, and can see a basically sacramental attitude in Romans’ everyday way of living: la vita di dolci. Life is sweet, and death is good.
Another thing to notice is the great attention to monuments. Romans have a great pride for their city and its history, and choose to commemorate it with marks, with signs that tell what deeds were done in such-and-such a place. The piazzi serve both a practical and symbolic purpose. They provide the space for meeting people, for talking and trading and all the activity of the world outside the home. This fosters a sense, I think, of the value Romans place on community. The elderly and the young alike bump elbows, share caffe and vino, gossip, joke, tell stories, laugh, recall memories, weep. The piazzi are the world writ small.
The arrangement of the buildings in Rome, are such that the narrow streets and alleyways show an organic, natural growth: not some criss-cross artificial American suburb with cookie cutter houses. Yet for the most part this doesn’t seem to slow life down, but neither does it render life frenzied and thoughtless. Having to walk most places ensures some level of a good life which is able to be fully in the present: to experience life with purpose.
There must be forms in life to give it order, concrete expressions of the things we hold as true. This in a way is the very air that Catholics breathe: a sacramental view of the world that sees all things as being redeemed in Christ, man and the cosmos alike. Conscious symbolism is, I believe, something natural to man, and indeed something necessary. Without it, we run the risk of seeing earthly life as the end of all things, because there is nothing to tell us that a reality exists beyond what we encounter everyday of our lives: the wears and tears of all mortal and corruptible things. But if there are signs that can elevate us, that can show us something transcendent, we are given hope to endure in life, and not only that, but to flourish. And for Catholics, the Seven Sacraments are not only signs but realities of what they express: we encounter in them Christ Our Lord. This is the beauty of the Eucharist, of Baptism, of Holy Orders. God uses earthly things to accomplish His salvation: bread and wine, oil and water. In all these things is continued the greatest mystery of all: the Incarnation.
Amore Antiqui Ritus 