In the heart of Italy

Our life is nothing but a chain of moments. Vivid, captivating, inspiring… In our memory we collect the most precious of them, these tiny pieces of our spiritual treasure that define who we are.
In 2013 I replenished my collection of memories. That year I graduated from high school and my parents presented me a tour of Italy. Joyful and excited I read a phrase-book and watched “Il bisbetico domato” with subtitles. In the dreams I saw myself strolling picturesque streets in summer dresses short enough to make temperamental Italians shout “ragazza bella”. How could I imagine that instead of pleasant walks I would have to run after the tour guide? If I had known, I would have packed my sneakers along with dresses.
Rome met my mum and me with crowds of tourists and intolerable heat. In Piazza del Popolo all the tourists were given headphones and a guide started her ramble. She threw the facts at a dashing pace not giving anyone a second to make a good picture, buy a bottle of water or simply admire the view. Our trip of a lifetime was slowly but surely turning into a nightmare.
“Tomorrow we won’t join the group”, I told mum after the excursion, “We will follow our own route”. Hopefully, mum was too tired to argue.
The next day at 7 o’clock precisely we were in the centre of Rome. Finally we could do everything at our own pace enjoying every corner of this Eternal city. Walking through the labyrinth of cozy streets, gazing at the shop-windows of expensive boutiques we inhaled alluring smells of coffee and pasta, admired bright colors of fresh fruits and enjoyed life itself flowing so fast in this ageless city. We were walking along Via di S. Vincenzo when we heard a sound of roaring water. We turned to the left and stopped in amazement. It was in front of us in its entire splendor. Fontana di Trevi. It was so breathtakingly beautiful and so enormously huge that I could not imagine how people were able to create something of that kind. It was quintessence of culture, history and human mind.
Having bought some delicious strawberry gelato in the nearby cafe we sat down on the bench. We felt like those thirsty Roman soldiers in 19 BC to whom a young girl showed a source of pure water that later became the fountain. The only difference was that we had been spiritually, emotionally thirsty and Rome slaked our thirst. We sat there not noticing how something important in us was changing.
Our life is nothing but a chain of moments. Rome is a link in my chain.