I realize a manhole cover is not exactly picturesque, but these Roman ones are one of the first things we ever noticed on our first trip to Rome several years ago; I’m still impressed by them. The SPQR is stamped on all of the manhole covers in the city, and it is Latin for “Senatus Populusque Romanus”, translated to “the Senate and the People of Rome”.

SPQR was the motto of the city of Rome when it was still a Republic. It remained so under the rule of the Emperors, but ironically so since democracy was no longer in existence in Empirical Rome. I love this modern link to Rome’s ancient past; it is called “the Eternal City”, after all.

Years ago we met a Sicilian man when we were in Ortygia who envied us for living in Canada. He believed that North America was wonderful because of its modern architecture and big, wide streets. When we told him that we thought Italy was beautiful and wished we could spend more time here, he responded that Italy is weighed down by its considerable history, which prevents it from truly entering the modern age. I recall him complaining that “everything is so old here, nothing is ever new”. This man was himself an architect, and he bemoaned the fact that it was virtually impossible to erect modern buildings like skyscrapers because there were not many Italian cities that could support such structures.

I suppose that with all of its ancient ruins and old buildings, Rome could feel like a dead city, haunted by the detritus and ghosts of the once mighty Empire that in its day, ruled most of the known world and gave us the foundation for much of our modern concepts like tax collection, architecture, and our legal system. But when I walk around this magnificent city, I can’t help but enjoy the beauty of the crumbling facades of buildings that sit among the old columns and remains of ancient Rome.

Rome, however, does do its best to resist living in its past…for while I stand around with my camera photographing decaying buildings and thinking about the emperors, I must dodge numerous speeding vespas and cars, while modern Romans hurry by talking on their cell phones, en route to work via the subway, trams, and buses.