(5) The Colosseum and Goethe Andersen, Symbols of Ancient Rome: The Romanticism that Fascinated Men of Letters
The Colosseum, the symbol of ancient Rome, is introduced here.
The Colosseum is a standard sightseeing spot in Rome, but it is still an interesting place to visit. Not only the overwhelming visual effect of its gigantic appearance, but also the historical background is very interesting.
Although today the Colosseum has been excavated and preserved to look the way it does today, the Colosseum was actually an idyllic place with lush vegetation until the late 19th century.
However, in 1870, the Sardinian government unified Rome and the city was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. Since then, the city has undergone rapid development.
Masumi Ishinabe explains such a pre-development idyllic Rome as follows.
On September 20, 1870, Rome was occupied by the armies of the Kingdom of Italy, and Pope Pius IX personally confined himself to the Vatican Palace as a "prisoner of the Vatican. From that time on, Rome ceased to be the "Papal City" and became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. At that time, i.e., 120 years ago, the population of Rome was only a little over 200,000. A French writer named Cherubrier described what Rome was like at that time as follows.
Almost all of Rome is little more than a gigantic village, lavishly and arbitrarily sprinkled with gorgeous works of art, magnificent buildings, and the most beautiful palazzos and basilicas on earth. The countryside encroaches on the Eternal City from every direction. It surmounts the defenseless ancient walls, invades the squares, spreads out into the streets, rises up the seven hills, sits there triumphantly, and surrounds it with forests and gardens. Leafy bushes mingle with mansions, fields with statues, green cupolas with cathedral cupolas.
A map of the time shows that the city of Rome was about one-third of the area within the walls of Emperor Aurelian's city, and that the city was surrounded by the villas of the nobility and the countryside. Furthermore, the photographs of the time confirm that Cherublier's description is not an exaggeration. For example, cows lounged in the Campo Vaccino, or "cow field," in Roman Forum and Piazza Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth), and goats played in Piazza del Popolo and around Trajan's monumental column. The numerous villas that surrounded the city were surrounded by beautiful gardens and countryside, and many ruins and cathedrals were located in the middle of fields.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanAs Long as St. Peter's Stands: My Guide to Rome.P9-10
The atmosphere of "good old Rome" displayed in Café Greco is exactly what the scene was really like. This is the kind of Rome that Goethe, Stendhal, Andersen, and others saw, and I am sure that this is the kind of Rome that Dostoevsky saw when he visited in 1863.
Masumi Ishinabe further describes the "good old Rome" that has been lost due to development since the 1870s as follows.
Of course, even at that time, there were people who harshly criticized such hasty urban development. For example, Gregorovius, a famous author of medieval Roman history, used the term "vandal," and Hermann Grimm, in his book "The Destruction of Kuchma," concluded that "Rome, the eternal city, was destroyed by the Italians in the 1880s. Another Roman-born Englishman, Augustus Hale, wrote in 1892 as follows.
The twenty-two year reign of the Sardinian government destroyed Rome more than all the Gothic and Vandal invasions had done. ...... former charm of the city was lost forever. The city's landscape has been completely transformed, and the picturesque views of a bygone era must now be sought in the dingy corners of the city, which have escaped the clutches of the destroyers. The Colosseum (......) has also been transformed into a malarial nest by aimless excavations. Not only were its artifacts taken from it, but even its magnificent vegetation. In pulling out the roots of the shrubs, more stones were taken away than would naturally fall down in five centuries.
I do not think the present Colosseum, which has been excavated and is full of holes, is beautiful either. The flora of the Colosseum was once so rich that a botanist named Richard Deakin wrote a "Flora of the Colosseum" (1855), in which he counted as many as 420 species of plants. Stendhal wrote to his sister in 1811, "The most moving thing about my trip to Italy was the birdsong I heard in the Colosseum," which only deepened my impression of the Colosseum.
The praise of European writers and artists for Rome before its unification was overwhelming. It is almost tempting to say that the 18th century and especially the 19th century was the century in which Europe as a whole was fascinated by Rome. The tributes are too numerous to enumerate. Rome is a very pleasant dream. Everything amuses me. Even the stones seem to speak. There is no end to what I see" (Montesquieu). After my stay in Rome, everything I feel has undergone a profound change" (Renan). There is nothing more beautiful than Rome. The more you know about it, the more you love it. Everything is beautiful here" (Bizet). Rome has something that is not easy to explain. It is the kind of thing that makes one love it just as much as one loves a person" (Madame Klavan). And Stendhal wrote
There is nothing on earth to compare. The soul is cradled, elevated, and immersed in a quiet sense of well-being. But to reach this height of feeling, I was convinced that one must have loved and known Rome long before. A young man who has not yet known suffering cannot understand it.
There are countless items that convey the charms of Rome in the 18th and 19th centuries. These include maps and paintings, especially prints depicting Roman landscapes; literary works such as poems, novels, and travelogues by Chelubrier and the writers listed above; guidebooks; and photographs. It is incomparably enjoyable to spend time with these witnesses of the Rome of the past. In the evening, cardinals in scarlet vestments stroll with their attendants, and pilgrims and nuns sing hymns. It is fascinating, to say the least, to imagine the carriages coming and going along the Via del Corso, the birds singing in the ancient ruins, and the carnival revelers making merry.
Yoshikawa Kobunkan, Masumi Ishinabe, "As Long as San Pietro Stands, My Guide to Rome.P12-14
Rome with its lush vegetation. I cannot help but envy the words of the great men who extolled such a romantic sight. There was a landscape there that we will never be able to see again.
In particular, Stendhal's."There is nothing on earth to compare. The soul is cradled, elevated, and immersed in a quiet sense of well-being. But to reach this height of feeling, I was convinced that one must have loved and known Rome long before. A young man who has not yet known suffering cannot understand it."The words "I am very happy to be here," are even inspiring.
Goethe also wrote about his impressions of the Colosseum. Let us continue with Masumi Ishinabe's commentary, which includes this passage.
Let me give you one example that further evokes this idyllic Rome of days gone by. It was the full-moon walk in Rome that was so popular among travelers of this era.
Walking in Rome at full moon was so popular among travelers that the Pope even made arrangements for visitors to see the Colosseum, which was particularly popular at the time. Many travelers wrote about the charms of Rome under the full moon. For example, Byron described the moonlit Colosseum in Childe Harald (CXXVI I I and below), Shelley praised the Pantheon under a full moon, and Stendhal was also enchanted by the Colosseum under a full moon. Goethe also often enjoyed night walks, and wrote the following about Rome under a full moon.
The beauty of wandering around Rome under the light of the full moon is not something that can be imagined without seeing it. All individual appearances are swallowed up by the mass of light and darkness, and only the largest and most general shapes are visible to our eyes. For three days now, we have been enjoying the most beautiful and clear nights to our hearts' content. The best view is of the Coliseum. You should see the Pantheon, the Capitol, the vestibule of the Pietro, and other boulevards and squares illuminated in this way. The sun and the moon, like the human spirit, act differently in the presence of this majestic and refined place. (Sagara translation)
Rome at full moon, it seems, is a symbol of a lost romantic or idyllic Rome. How the ancient ruins and the city of Rome, glistening in the moonlight, must have stirred the soul of the traveler! The evocative power of the following words of Gregorovius may have been almost insanity-inducing. This great historian, who knew the history of medieval Rome better than anyone else, wrote: "The history of Rome was the history of the world, and the history of the world was the history of the world.
We need to flounder through Rome in the moonlight. Then the dead will be awakened, the kings and emperors, heroes and doctors, popes and regents, and cardinals and nobles of the Middle Ages. They will rise from their graves, prowl all the ruins, and begin to set it in order again.
They saw a pre-unification Rome, and I am stirred with nostalgia for it.
Yoshikawa Kobunkan, Masumi Ishinabe, "As Long as San Pietro Stands, My Guide to Rome.P15-16
Just as Goethe here beautifully depicted the Colosseum at night, in fact, the Danish fairy tale writer Andersen also included Rome by night in his novel.
His debut novelThe Improvising Poet.In the following section, he describes such a beautiful Rome at night in a poetic way. Andersen, like Goethe, may have visited Rome and the Colosseum at night.
Now then, I shall be on my way to the Colosseum.
Enter the Colosseum through the entrance gate. Walking along the perimeter of the first floor, I headed for the arena. I felt the enormity of each pillar. It is hard to believe that this was built about 2,000 years ago. I was overwhelmed by the high level of technology of ancient Rome.
Finally, we are in a position to see the Colosseum arena.
Oh..! This is..!
It is incredibly huge! I was first struck by the enormity of it.
I then proceeded to the basement area, which at the time was a holding area for gladiators and animals.
It is amazing that people used to board the arena from this underground area using elevators. It is no different from today's entertainment. Moreover, at one time, this arena was filled with water and pseudo naval battles were held. The arena was even designed to prevent water leakage even though there was so much equipment and space below. The passion of the ancient Romans for the Colosseum is immeasurable.
Looking up from the basement, one can clearly see how high in the sky the Colosseum rises. The auditorium was built at a frighteningly steep angle and could accommodate about 50,000 people. 50,000 people......almost the same as the Tokyo Dome! Almost the same as the Tokyo Dome! That's how big the crowd was, and how enthusiastic they were. That was 2000 years ago. It is unimaginable.
Looking at the Colosseum in this way, I can't help but think of Goethe.
Goethe.Travels in Italy.He had the following impressions when he saw the amphitheater for the first time in
The amphitheater is the first of the important monuments of antiquity that I have seen, and it is indeed well preserved! When I went inside, and even more so when I walked around the upper rim, I had the strange feeling that I was looking at something great and yet actually seeing nothing. In fact, it was not an empty place to look at, but a place full of people, as it had been in recent years when events were held for Joseph II and Pius VI. Even the emperor, who was accustomed to seeing crowds in front of him, was taken aback by this. However, it was only in the earliest times that this theater was fully effective. The people were more like the people then than they are now. Originally, amphitheaters like this were designed to make the people feel good about themselves and to amuse themselves at the sight of them.
When something worth seeing happens on the flat ground and everyone gathers around, those in the very back try in every possible way to get higher than those in the front rows. They ride on perches, roll barrels, drive horse-drawn wagons, erect planks here and there, and take over nearby hills, which quickly become a crater.
When the spectacle is often held in the same place, a simple gallery is set up for those who can afford to pay, and the rest of the crowd comes up with whatever means they want. It is the architect's mission here to satisfy this general demand. The architects artificially create such a crater-style structure. He does so in as simple a manner as possible, so that the people themselves become the ornament. When the people looked at themselves assembled in this way, they could not help but marvel at themselves. For they were accustomed to seeing themselves moving about, going to and fro, in disorder, without order or special discipline, and yet they saw this multitude of animals, each with a different mind, wandering from place to place, united into one noble body, defined into one unity, united and solidified into one group, and they saw the people of the world as a whole, as one body, united and solidified into a group. And(not) evenLiving in the spirit of(not) evenThe simple shape of the oval is extremely pleasing to everyone's eyes. The simple shape of the oval is extremely pleasing to everyone's eyes, and each individual head serves as a measure of how tremendously large the whole is. Now when we see the theater empty, we have no idea whether it is large or small, because there is no scale. (At Verona, September 16, 1786)
Ushio Press, Goethe's Complete Works 11, Newly Revised and Popularized Edition, translated by Hisao Takagi, p. 31-32.
This is what Goethe thought of the first time he saw an ancient Roman amphitheater in Italy. The first amphitheater Goethe, who came from Germany, saw was not the Colosseum in Rome, but the one in Verona. But what was Goethe's observation?
Goethe does more than simply record what he sees.
Imagine the enthusiasm of the people who once lived in the ruins of the amphitheater, and even look at this theater through the eyes of its designer.
Goethe's breadth of vision and sensitivity can be felt in this passage.
Rather than simply touring the sights, Goethe actively contemplated them.
This process of contemplation is the real appeal of "Travels in Italy. Many Europeans admired Goethe's travel style and traveled to Italy with this book in their hands. Of course, I was one of them.
In fact, this is how I came to the Colosseum. And as you can see in this picture, I could even see the audience seats.
But I cannot contemplate like Goethe...! I may be overwhelmed by these ancient Roman ruins, but I could not see the people who lived there as Goethe did...! Here I became convinced of something that I had been feeling faintly. I have no archaeological sense.
When I look at ruins and abandoned buildings, I do not see the people who lived there as Goethe did.
Goethe had a great sense not only for literature, but also for archaeology. This is why he is called the all-powerful poet.
When I see a place that has been the setting of a novel or a play, I can think, "Oh, this is where 00 was doing that. However, my imagination does not work well with archaeological sites.
People are not cut out for this. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have Goethe's archaeological sense.
As I gazed at the Colosseum, I could not help but be overwhelmed by Goethe's giant-like figure. The Colosseum reminded me of Goethe's greatness. Goethe, Goethe, Goethe! You are still a formidable superhuman! I have no choice but to bow down to you.
be unbroken
*The list of articles in the "Rome Travel Journal" can be found atCategory page hereindicates direction or goal (e.g. "to")
*Please visit this category page for recommended books to learn about Rome and Italy.
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, the Vatican, and Roman Catholicism."
The Italian Renaissance and the Revolution in Knowledge."
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