Towards a rightful conclusion
September 24, 2008
The final evaluation process began this morning. While we all knew our days were numbered, it was however sad to hear the phrase “bringing our time together to a rightful conclusion.” After the meeting the remainder of the morning was given over to pondering what had been and it’s significance.
The afternoon was free and people more or less went their own ways, however one or two of us joined for what is nearing a final walk around these magical streets of Rome. Our strategy today was to look for significant movements of people and explore. It proved to be a good move as lots of little streets with artisans, buskers and food outlets were all thriving.
I often find it’s the little things that amuse, today was no exception.
There are lots of police in Rome, all sorts of different varieties too. I really don’t know what they do other than hang around together. Today however went a little way to helping my understanding of how the police operate. More often than not, there will be two traffic points men on duty at a large intersection, generally they work in together. Today though they were working so well together they just stood in the middle of the road, chatted to each other and let the traffic flow in any direction it wanted. The only time they acted was when too many pedestrians were legally crossing the road on the Pedestrian Crossing and were therefore holding up the traffic. Fantastic.
In a different culture it’s sometimes hard to know how far to push things. In hindsight I perhaps should have been a little more adventurous, however I decided not to take a photo of a male on the side of the road, getting dressed up as an old woman. With so many beggars in Rome I’m presuming he was doing it to beg. While there are no doubt many sad stories in Rome, it’s hard to know whether this person was one of them. The fact that he is going to such lengths as dressing up as an old woman to beg may suggest that his is such a story, or it could just be another form of street theatre. What is fairly certain, that with a tax rate nearing 50c in the Euro, and a heavy dose of tourists in the city, these people can make considerable sums of money. Evidently it’s not uncommon for them to earn at least 100 Euro, daily, and tax free. Some, those a little more adventurous, those who perform earn considerably more.
Coming to the end of our time in Europe, for those of us who come from much younger countries, one of our lasting impressions has been how old it is. It’s easy to read dates on pieces of paper, however to experience the reality is just something else. There are many beautiful things in Rome that I could write about, however one not so beautiful, but none the less, long-lasting is “Bernini’s Elephant”. The truth be known we visited the Elephant last week, however it was only today that again presented the opportunity for a photo.
In a city where there are so many uplifting and holy paintings and sculptures, why select Bernini’s Elephant? Well firstly it was certainly something that caught the imagination of the group, but more generally is perhaps a daily, but certainly very graphic reminder to to the priests and brothers living in the Dominician monastery, but really to all of us, that if a different attitude or approach were taken to a situation it may have resulted in a slightly different world view.
To this day when the monks wake and open their curtains, they’re greeted with an image of an elephant’s backside.
Of course there’s a story attached to it and as I understand it goes something like this.
In 1665, a five and a half meter tall obelisk inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics was found in the garden on the Dominican monastery. Pope Alexander VII decided to have the obelisk displayed in front on the monastery and Father Domenico Paglia, who was also an architect, proposed a design involving dogs. The Pope however rejected it and asked Bernini to submit a design.
Bernini chose an elephant as a symbol of strength. But Father Paglia argued against the design, stating that it was common knowledge that “no weight should rest vertically above an empty space, as it would not be steady or long-lasting.” Father Paglia insisted that a cube be inserted under the elephant’s belly. Bernini opposed any modification; but was forced to change his original design. Never quite happy with the final product Bernini had his revenge: he pointed the elephant’s behind towards the monastery and tail is pointing slightly to the left, in salutation.
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