01 - How to Build an Empire

It was always a great occasion for Sofia Angelino when she visited one of her cousins with her mother. Today, however, it was an even greater occasion when all the cousins came to her house in old Roma – Rome, Italy.

Aunt Frannie, as they called her mother, had five brothers. Each of those brothers had one daughter. In addition to all the daughters, some of the brothers had several sons, too. That meant lots of mouths to feed. Sofia and her mother set up every table they owned in the backyard. They even borrowed tables from the nearby church. All tolled, Sofia expected at least thirty visitors.

In no time at all, they filled Aunt Frannie’s backyard. Aunt Frannie whistled to get everyone’s attention.

“I am glad to see each and every one of you, because today, we celebrate Grandpa Vincenzo’s 75th birthday.”

All of the relatives applauded loudly as ‘Big Vincenzo’ stood up. Sofia clapped and cheered, too.

“Grazie, mia cara famiglia,” he thanked them.

With one long breath, he extinguished all seventy-five candles. Then, he promptly sat down. Everyone cheered loudly. Vincenzo’s children and grandchildren wished him a happy birthday.

“Buon compleanno mio padre,” said Sofia’s mother as she served her father first and her mother second.

“Grazie, mio caro,” they said. – ‘mio caro’ was an old family endearment meaning ‘my dear’. They were words often heard in all the Lombardo gatherings.

Frannie proceeded around the table, serving nephews, nieces, brothers and sisters-in-law. Sofia followed with a large container of Spumoni and a scoop.

The whipped ice cream came in its traditional mix of flavors: cherry, vanilla, and pistachio, just like the red, white and green of the Italian flag. It even had bits of crushed cherries and pistachios, making it both chunky and smooth.

After she served everyone, Sofia served herself and sat right next to Uncle Vinnie, who had just finished.

“Dearest Grandpa, what do you want to do for your birthday?”

Grandpa Vincenzo crinkled his nose and rubbed the coarse black whiskers at the end of his chin.

“Let’s go sightseeing.”

“Awww,” groaned Sofia, “that’s what my mother and I always do.”

Sofia had spent all nine years of her life in Rome. To her, Rome was very ordinary. All of Sofia’s relatives, however, lived in other parts of Italy. Like most Italians, they knew Rome was someplace special.

“Then you will be the perfect tour guide.”

As soon as Sofia and her mother finished, everyone packed into cars like sardines. Then, they headed into downtown Rome.

Traffic filled the streets as the old mixed with the new. Ancient Roman structures over two thousand years old stood right next to modern skyscrapers. As Sofia rode in the back seat of her mother’s car, cousin Gio kept her busy with questions.

“What’s that?”

“The Roman Colosseum, where gladiators fought thousands of years ago.”

Gio craned his neck out the car window to get a better look. As he did, the car passed by ancient ruins.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the Roman Forum, where ancient Romans conducted their daily business.”

Another monument towered overhead. At the top of a tall spire stood a bronze statue of a man holding an infant.

“What’s this?”

“Trajan’s column. It’s a monument to the ancient Roman Emperor Trajan. ”

“Aunt Frannie, I thought you said we were going sightseeing.”

“I want to show you one specific monument.”

Aunt Frannie drove past an ever-increasing number of statues, buildings, and monuments. When they arrived at their destination, Frannie parked her car and everyone got out.

“Here it is, the Pantheon,” replied Aunt Frannie, “your grandfather brought me here when I was just about your age.”

Ever since Francesca was a little girl, she was her daddy’s little girl, especially since Grandpa Lombardo had six children and all but one were boys.

“Your Grandfather was an engineer and this was his favorite place. We would come and eat in the park. Then, he’d tell me about his work. He made buildings as strong as possible using the least amount of material. That’s what all engineers do.”

The building stood at the far end of the plaza. To Gio, it didn’t look like anything special. Three rows of giant columns towered overhead. They supported a simple triangular roof. People walked about lazily and posed for pictures in front of the giant façade.

“It’s just like the others,” said Gio.

“It’s an architectural masterpiece,” countered Aunt Frannie.

She led the nephews and nieces past the fountain, through the crowed, and between the pillars at the entryway.

“According to legend, this is where Rome began. King Amulus had overthrown his own brother and locked him away. Meanwhile, his niece had twins named Romulus and Remus.

Romulus and Remus were the rightful heirs to the throne, but when they were born, Uncle Amulus had a servant take the twins into the wilderness. The servant placed the twins in a basket and set them adrift on the river Tiber. A she-wolf found the twins and cared for them until a sheepherder found them and raised them.

When they were men, Romulus and Remus constantly fought with the personal shepherds of King Amulus. Eventually, the king’s men captured Remus. When Romulus found out, his army of shepherds attacked the king’s men, killing the king in the process.

With Amulus gone, Romulus and Remus’ father became King again. Meanwhile, Romulus and Remus looked for a place to start a new city, but chose two different hills as the place to build. Eagles swooped down from the heavens and chose the spot where Romulus stood. He named his city Roma – after himself.”

Aunt Frannie swooped down with two long arms and clenched Gio by the shoulders. He jumped in shock.

“When Romulus died, an eagle swooped down and took his body to the heavens. They say it was at this very spot.”

Gio smiled enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Sofia frowned.

“What’s wrong, dear?”

“I thought you were going to tell the Grandpa story.”

“I got sidetracked,” said Frannie, “but I can tell that one, too.”

She led everyone inside, just as if she was a tour guide. The rotunda was large and airy. Statues lined the outer wall. The circular dome rose high overhead.

“This is the masterpiece.”

“It is?”

Aunt Frannie nodded. “Do you see any lights?”

Gio shrugged.

“There aren’t any. That opening at the top of the dome is the only source of light.”

“But it’s so bright in here.”

“That’s what engineers do – solve problems. They used the sun to light the dome. This was the largest free standing done in the world for over two thousand years. They built a framework of arches to support the dome while they constructed it. As the dome rose higher, the concrete mix changed. They used volcanic ash instead of limestone. It’s as strong as concrete, yet many times lighter.”

“And that’s the key to good engineering,” stated Gio.

“Exactly!”

Aunt Frannie led her troops out of the Pantheon and into the streets of the city. They walked to the same river where folktales said Romulus and Remus were abandoned.

“Come out with me onto the bridge.”

The bridge was under construction. Orange cones lined the street while scaffolding guarded the sides. Aunt Frannie stopped and placed her back to the River Tiber.

“Imagine all the work it took to create this bridge. Engineers had to construct arches to support this bridge, too. They also had to work underwater – all this while fighting the river’s current. This is one of the problems Julius Caesar and his army solved 2000 years ago.

Back then, the Roman Republic faced threats from all sides. Julius Caesar had just defeated the people of Gaul in the west – what is now called France. However, the Gauls had tribes of allies east of the Rhine. Those tribes felt safe with the Rhine River between them and the Romans.

Julius Caesar marched his legion of 40,000 men up to the banks of the Rhine. Then, they started chopping down trees and building a bridge as the enemies watched from the other side.

Engineers worked for ten days and nights. They constructed towers to hoist large boulders to drop onto large tree trunks. The boulders pounded the trees into the river bottom. After this, they tied crossbeams to the supports and added a roadway. The bridge was longer than three football fields.

When they finished, all 40,000 men marched across the bridge. After that, Julius Caesar ordered his legion back across the river, dissembling the bridge behind them. Rome’s enemies now knew there was no place safe.”

As night closed in, Aunt Frannie gathered up her own personal legion and returned home. Everyone wished Grandpa Vinnie happy birthday one last time before heading separate ways.

“You should come to Milan,” said Grandpa Vinnie.

“I agree,” said Uncle Vinnie, Francesca’s oldest brother.

“Sometime soon,” said Frannie.

“We’ll always welcome you across our bridge,” said Gio.

 “I know, I know.”

Uncle Vinnie, also known as ‘Little Vinnie’, was actually very big, too. He towered over Sofia and her mother. He even bent down on one knee to kiss Sofia on the cheek before taking Grandpa Lombardo (Big Vinnie) home. Now, it was just Sofia and her parents.

“”That was some day,” said Sofia, “I just hope you keep your promise.”

“About what?”

“About going to Milan. You say that every summer,” said Sofia.

“This year, I’ll keep my promise.”

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