One of the first things that made me and my friends fall in love with Rome is how beautiful a walk down the street is. Everyday on my walk to school, I look up and notice dozens of details on buildings and monuments I hadn’t noticed the day before. It’s like a period-drama dream distilled into a 30-minute walking radius.
A lot of the architecture in my neighborhood, Prati, and throughout Rome, naturally takes after the Baroque style of the 1600s as its birthplace. They’re defined by their plaster or stucco painted facades; unique window frames for each floor; and lots of decorative stencils, statues, and patterns to fill any empty space.
After reading up in Temple’s library and discussing with my professors here, I realized the intense joy and whimsy I felt just by walking around are the remnants of Baroque philosophies, the tangible way Romans perceived the world around them. For example, the Baroque movement was all about exhibiting worship and wealth in the most exciting way possible. One noble family used to own an entire apartment and wanted to use it to show off all the intricate sculptural and decorative work money could buy. It’s sort of similar to the houses at Halloween or Christmas back in America who go all out: reject practicality, embrace the chance to entertain.
To look at life as if it’s, literally, all for show means you also have to accommodate for an audience. Many of the apartments here have balconies, and tall, open windows, as if to encourage people to observe each other even behind closed doors. Anytime and anywhere is a spectacle to behold – this is what makes Baroque architecture so visually appealing, and a part of what makes my friends and I filled with whimsy.
Architecture starts making a lot more sense when considering how its time period viewed the world and the functions it serves. The modern architecture of America looks very different from Rome’s because, naturally, it reflects our more modern needs. We prioritize individuality and convenience with (mostly) affordable, easily manufactured apartments. Cars, rather than footsteps and chariots, shaped our cities’ layouts so we’re not regularly interacting with the art, history, and curiosities all around us.
This means it can be harder to see whimsy wherever we go back home. But hey… America makes up for it with its drive-thru Jack-in-the-Boxes. Seriously! I feel the same level of magic when I’m in the car at the drive-thru with my girls than when I’m walking in Rome. America’s setup lends itself more to a magic that we have to discover at the bottom of a bag of curly fries rather than walking about. Now, after living in Rome, my friends and I agree we do need to walk around our hometowns more to try to find beautiful details that the Baroque inspired us with.
How does the architecture around you affect you, and how might it be removing or adding whimsy to your life? If you’re missing some whimsy, decide your favorite parts of your drive home, find the most beautiful collection of colors, skip through the streets, wear something silly. But if you want to see whimsy wherever you look, the only place to be in Rome as it is, literally, where whimsy was born.
If you have a strong desire for travel like me, check out the Temple Rome program page on the study abroad website to learn how you can get started in your study abroad journey.