Getting Past the Graffiti

About four years ago I came to Italy for the very first time with my high school Latin class. Back then, upon arriving in Rome, my first impression was simply, "There is a lot of graffiti here."

I was absolutely certain my impression of Rome would be different this time. After all, I've spent the past 5 semesters of college in Washington, DC, where my campus Metro station has at least 2-3 layers of graffiti covering every square inch of wall space. So as I gazed at the Eternal City from the window of the airport shuttle last week and once again thought, "Wow, this city has a lot of graffiti," I panicked.

In the first few days we were here, we spent most of the time that we weren't in orientation exploring the city. While everyone else seemed to be romanticizing about this beautiful place with its cobblestone streets and antique charm, I only saw a dirty old city covered in centuries' worth of vandalism. I began to wonder why last year, when I signed up to study abroad, I had wanted so badly to come back to dusty old Rome for four months.

Then, on Monday we had our very first studio class, and my eyes were opened. Finally we weren't just wandering the streets of Rome but actually going into places. I realized that behind those grimy, graffitied doors are some of the most incredible, gorgeous spaces.

Santa Brigida Church in the Piazza Farnese

And walking down the right little cobblestone streets leads to the most breathtaking views.


Roman ruins viewed from the Capitoline Hill

A week later, I have to look hard to see the dust and graffiti that I just couldn't get past in my first couple of days in Rome. Now all I can see is una bella citta, full of countless spaces to wander and explore in the next few months.