Today, the Feast of Epiphany, marks the end of the holiday season in Rome. Over the past weeks, we at the eCool compound have alternated between being naughty and nice, but through this long and celebratory season, we’ve done all we can to insure that things go well in the New Year. We’ve honored pagan gods and Christian ones; we’ve worn our red underwear and eaten our lentils; and we’ve admired traditional holiday decorations as well as those a bit more interesting and innovative.
Today, we offer you one final holiday scene. It’s not particularly beautiful (and perhaps it’s a bit confounding), but without a doubt it’s an innovative way of embellishing the city.
Look closely at the photo above and you’ll see that a creche or presepe has been installed in niches in the Aurelian Wall where it runs across the top of the Via Veneto. Built between 271-275 AD by the Emperor Aurelian, these massive walls once enclosed all seven hills of Rome and were intended to protect Rome from invading forces. The entire circuit of walls ran some 12.5 miles around the city - and a very large portion of those walls still stand, marking the limits of Rome’s historic center.
Why embellish these ancient walls with a Christian nativity scene? We’ve no idea. But we like it, like it, yes we do….
And, with this unusual scene, we close our Roman Holidays series (to see other entries, click on the Roman Holidays category in the menu to the left), for after the celebration of the Epiphany, creche scenes come down, holiday decorations are stripped away, and life in Rome resumes its normal pace.
We wish you well in the New Year and hope you’ll enhance 2008 by visiting this site often. We’ll be here, doing everything we can to keep you up to date on all things hip and happening in Rome.
