When in Rome do as the Romans do

（本專欄刊登在每週六工商時報"世界公民weekly"，每次介紹一個有趣的城市，讓你以英文暢遊全世界）

文/Wendy周
22歲那年，帶著對時尚的狂熱與對世界的好奇，一個城市接著一個城市旅行，也開始了我的碩士生涯，舊金山、紐約、伊斯坦堡、羅馬、巴黎……destination在台北，希望和讀者分享我的世界地圖，每一個文化驚奇和語言衝擊！

在這裡，我看到文明的起源，歷史的遺跡，藝術的張力。沒有羅馬，今日的西方世界會呈現另一種面貌。

“When in Rome do as the Romans do.” Keeping that quote in mind, I started my exploration of Rome. Observation is one of the best parts about traveling. You observe, you learn, and then you understand about a new culture. I sat on the famous Spanish Steps, sipping the cappuccino I just got from the café, trying to get a closer look at this passionate yet mysterious culture. 

I think it goes without saying that no other city comes close. One visit and you’ll be hooked to this city. Rome has a glorious monumentality that it wears without reverence. Its architectural heirlooms are buzzed around by car and Vespa as if they were no more than traffic islands.

羅馬，是西方世界文明的代表，構成了一部撼動人心的西洋史。羅馬的輝煌，牽動的是世界的文明，我走進一幕幕歷史的重現，似乎還感受到競技場Colosseum裡的慘忍廝殺 ，曾經多少勇士在此奉上自己脆弱的生命？踏入聖彼得堡教堂，剎那間的一股涼意似乎在宣示它的神聖；牆上的馬賽克畫，彷彿訴說著它的過去，我看著一幅幅感動世人的作品，讀著他們的故事，開始理解藝術的震撼力以及對人類文化的影響。看著米開朗基羅Michelangelo《創世紀圖》(The Creation of Adam)對萬物創世的澎湃，在Sistine Chapel的天花板上提醒著世人對於生命的神聖，又走到祭壇中抬頭看到《最後審判圖》(The Last Judgment)，我感受到痛苦掙扎。經過那麼多世紀，所有的事蹟已成永恆，所有的故事將會訴說給我們的下一代、下下一代，我看到羅馬如何用它的曾經說服全世界它存在的偉大，我看到永恆不朽。

In Rome, I dream. I dream about the old Roman Empire days. About the glory, about the creations, about the mysteries within this great start of western civilization. It may no longer be the capital of the world, but Rome is an epic, bubbling-over metropolis harboring lost empires. I find it quite difficult to be uninspired while I was walking around the city. The city itself is inspirational enough with its vast collection of art, culture, cuisine, and people. I walked, I saw, I understood the magnificence of this Capital of the World.

Come close: 在這裡是接近的意思，no other city come close的意思可譯為世界上沒有一個城市跟羅馬相似的了。
Example: The pizza I had anywhere in the world doesn’t even come close to the ones I had in Rome. 

Heirloom: 代代相傳的物品，也可解釋為傳家寶，但在這篇文章中用在此處是因為在羅馬，許多建築物和藝術品都是以前輝煌羅馬帝國年代留下來的，所以可用這個字來表示這些偉大的遺跡。
Example: My great grandmother’s diamond ring is one of our families’ heirlooms.

Fun Fact:
條條大路通羅馬 All Roads lead to Rome
It is often said that "all roads lead to Rome," and in fact, they once did. The road system of the Ancient Romans was one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of its time, with over 50,000 miles of paved road radiating from their center at the miliarius aurem in the Forum in the city of Rome. Although the Roman road system was originally built to facilitate the movement of troops throughout the empire, it was also used for other purposes by civilians then and now.

* Definition: Different paths can take one to the same goal.

這句話出自羅馬典故。在羅馬帝國時期，為了加強其統治，修建了以羅馬為中心，通向四面八方的大道，這些大道促進了帝國内部和對外的貿易與文化交流。公元八世纪開始，羅馬成為西歐天主教的中心，各地教徒前往朝聖者絡繹不絕，加上古羅馬统治者為了調兵的方便，建立了大道。

Dolce Vita 
Something I find very interesting while staying in my very first European city is that they live at a much slower pace in general. Every question was answered by a hand gesture telling me to wait. Locals gave me an explanation I couldn’t argue with, which was “dolce vita.” Life’s beautiful! It seems like I wasn’t enjoying my life enough. They like to seize the moment and enjoy life at its fullest. With their great food, great wine, great arts, what’s not to love about life? 

羅馬式人生
初到我第一個歐洲城市時，對於他們的生活步調還真有點不習慣，所有的事情似乎都不是什麼緊急的事，好好享受人生才是生命中最重要的事。店家早上要到十點半才開門，晚上也是最晚開到七點半就關門，因為夜晚是他們跟家人、朋友好好團聚的時光，吃飯不是為了填飽肚子，而是真正享受眼前的美食美酒，在這樣的藝術之城，沉醉在所有美好事物中，誰還記得外面的世界？

*現在就加入世界公民weekly俱樂部，閱讀一整年工商時報精彩內容！