Roma, Amor
Rome is literally the most romantic city in the world. Romanticism 101, etymology, music, and philosophy
When it comes to ranking cities—which is mostly absurd (apples, oranges, context, lived experience)—yet also an irresistible conversation, things can get heated.
Before you prep your case for Paris or NYC, hear me out. Then, please do share your thoughts in the comments!
What is romance, anyway?
According to the Valentine’s Day industrial complex, it’s chocolate-dipped strawberries and Champagne, lingerie and roses, tables for two, and even 2-1 travel vouchers.
Pop culture has defined romantic gestures throughout the ages.
The ever-evolving list includes lengthy sonnets, love songs, love letters, lascivious artwork, mixtapes, tattoos, engraved charms, giant gemstones, and lately—from what I’m hearing—special-guest appearances in the bedroom.
Are we re-entering an orgiastic era or simply pulling back the curtain? Empires rise and fall. Orgies are forever.
So is Rome.
The Eternal City
Most of the city was spared bombardment during both World Wars, leaving centuries upon centuries safely stacked up.
Modern Rome coexists with three thousand years of its own history, itself entangled with myth and legend. You can still wander the Palatine hilltop where brothers Romulus and Remus were raised by a wolf before founding the city.
In the ultimate display of sibling rivalry, Romulus got to name it. This glorious albeit bloodlusty past is a point of pride, especially during football (soccer) season.
Emperors are gone, but evidence endures. Even the surrounding sprawl includes still-intact aqueducts and remnants of ancient bridges. The past persists in stone. Rome never dies.
A sense of immortality courses hot through Roman veins. It infects those of us who come to visit and never leave, energized and enraptured by the possibility of escaping time.
Rome is story we tell ourselves forever.
Romance comes from Rome. Literally.
It’s all in the name. Roman is the root of romanticism. Literally (etymologically).
Romanice loqui translates as “to speak in Roman,” a term for the Latin vernacular that spread throughout the empire, as opposed to formal original Latin.
From here, we get Romance Languages, also known as Neo (new)-Latin languages: Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Romanian.
New Language. New World.
Sometime during the 18th century, the roman root infused many languages as the word for ‘novel’, ie, a work of popular fiction, an invented story in book from. For example: Italian Romanzo and French roman.
We still use the German bildungsroman (building, education + novel) for coming-of age tales like A Catcher in the Rye, The Kite Runner, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The concept of newness (roman, neo) is at the heart of our English word for novel, as a noun and as an adjective. Novel and novelty. A novel is something new, something imagined. Still with me?
Romanticism 101
In Western Culture studies, the so-called Romantic Era emerges in the late-1700s, peaks in the mid-1800s, and cools off by the early 20th century.
Romanticism as a philosophy appeared as reaction to the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, which were seen as promoting materialism, and rejecting or exploiting the natural world.
Tenants of literary romanticism include: self-reflection, passion, intuition, magic and mystery, imagination, and respect for nature, especially in the depth of night where anything is possible. Romanticism is possibility.
Love Songs
Romanticism asserts that beauty, art, and music have the power to evoke powerful emotions.
Musical romanticism played on the same themes and evolved to provoke and evoke emotion. New musical structures like the nocturne, the rhapsody, and the Arabesque emerged.
For the audible learners out there, click to listen!
Nocturne: evocative of nighttime or taking inspiration from the magic and mystery of night. Nocturne in D Major; Georges Bizet.
Rhapsody: From Greek ραψώός, rapsòdos: ‘a reciter of poetry’, rhapsodies are episodic with variations, contrast, and colorful improvisation. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation no. 18 Andante Cantabile; Serghei Rachmaninoff
Arabesque: inspired by linear yet ornamental Arabic architecture, compositions with variations on a theme and shifting harmonies all while maintaining a sense of containment. Imagine an ornate Turkish carpet, dynamism within a set space. Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18; Robert Schumann.
Quintessentially romantic ballet, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, fuses multiple elements of romanticism including magic, darkness, and fantasy.
Isn’t it Romantic?
Romanticism is about nature and beauty stirring the soul. It’s about losing oneself to fantasy and feelings. It’s about dreams coming true. Romanticism feels like falling in love.
I diagnosed myself with chronic romanticism after studying it in college. Much like Diana Ross’ Love Hangover, it’s not something I want to get over.
Rome, Italy isn’t so much the cure as it is the perfect support group.
The city exists in a half-dream state—too beautiful to be real in daylight, yet somehow, still stunning lit-up at night.
Nature reigns here. Dandelions push past the space between cobblestones. Rambling greenery coats entire walls. Bougainvillea burst forth untamed and technicolor.
Time Standing Still
If it feels like everyone is always on vacation or spending the afternoon at lunch or having aperitivos outside, there’s a reason.
A city this old moves into modernity at the pace of molasses. It’s not built for it.
Living here means waiting a lot—for buses, for bureaucracy, for people to email you back, for construction to finish. The only hurry is on the highway.
Rome has evolved to embrace the waiting.
There’s always a bar/café nearby. This one was particularly delightful while facing a line 35-people deep at the local health care office.
Rome lives relentlessly al fresco. In a city this gorgeous, green and sunny, who wouldn’t? Coffee, aperitivo, and yes… lunch happen outdoors.
This creates a lovely illusion that life is all about sitting at cafés. It’s a flipping of the script that says, as long as I can’t move forward, may as well enjoy the stillness.
Check out my essential travel checklist, Romantic Rome.