As they passed through downtown Rome and all the ruins within the city, Sofia thought it might be nice if she went on a day trip to see the sights with her mother. She had never been to so many of the places that defined Rome. She’d never been inside Saint Peter’s Basilica or the Circus Maximus, or even the Roman Colosseum.
“I’ve always wanted to visit the Colosseum,” she announced.
“As soon as I find the time,” said mother.
“I’ve never been inside.”
“Never? That’s impossible. I’m sure we’ve been there…”
Signora Angelino had been inside the Colosseum plenty of times. Sofia, however, had not. Sofia thought about the Colosseum for the next several days while she stayed home alone. Although she could not see it in person, it remained in her thoughts.
She spent many days at the nearby playground, looking up at the Colosseum. It poked its giant head over the buildings of Rome, peering directly down at Sofia as she played. It only made Sofia think about her mother’s unfulfilled promise.
On the following Sunday, when her mother finally took her on a trip, it was to the grocery store. The sight of the Colosseum close-up bothered her even more. The large, arching walls of the circular stadium hugged the roadway as they went into and out of town.
On Monday, Signora Angelino drove under the stone arches of the Aqua Claudia – the Claudian Aquaduct – it also reminded her of the Colosseum.
She did not say a word to her mother as she gazed across the way at the Colosseum looming in the distance.
On Tuesday, it was much the same, only Sofia was riding with her father. As they passed the ruins of the Circus Maximus, she cleared her throat.
“Yes, dear?”
“Mama promised to take me to the Colosseum on our way back from Naples, but she still hasn’t kept her promise.”
“You know she’s very busy with her work.”
“I know, but…”
“I’ll make sure she knows you want to go.”
At dinner that night, Signore Angelino cleared his throat much in the same way as Sofia had earlier that day.
“Attenzione, attenzione la mia famiglia,” he started.
Both Sofia and her mother sat their forks down and listened to father.
“My dear daughter has brought it to my attention that she wants to go to the Colosseum.”
“I told her we would go.”
“But, dear Francesca, I think this is one promise you should not set aside for one moment longer.”
Sofia’s mother checked her calendar.
“I have meetings all day tomorrow.”
“You’ll have to cancel them,” said father, “the three of us are going on a lunch date.”
“It is Friday...” said mother.
“Then it is agreed. We will meet at the Colosseum at twelve on the dot.”
Sofia was relieved as she finished eating her dinner. That night, she made special preparations, choosing her favorite dress and patriotic ribbons in red, white, and green.
When the morning came, both of Sofia’s parents were at work. As 11 o’clock chimed on the old living room clock, she took a shower and carefully got ready. It was a quarter ‘til when she sat down upon the living room couch and stared at the front door.
Fifteen minutes later, the clock chimed. There was no sign of either her mother or her father. She immediately picked up the phone and dialed her father.
“Papa?”
“I’m headed home right now! The traffic is very busy.”
“Where is mama?”
“She said she’d meet us there.”
“Okay,” replied Sofia.
“Get ready, my dear, I’ll see you very soon.”
Sofia said her good-bye and waited patiently. She was already ready, so she returned to the couch and waited.
At 12:20, her father’s car appeared at the house. Sofia ran out to meet him and they proceeded towards the Colosseum.
“Shouldn’t we call mama?” suggested Sofia.
“I tried. Her cellphone went straight to voicemail.”
“Oh.”
Signore Angelino parked his car a short distance from the Colosseum. He took Sofia by the hand as they walked down the hill. The crowd thickened as they neared the old stadium.
“Do you tihnk this is what it was like in the days of the Gladiators?”
“I imagine so.”
“I’m very excited,” said Sofia as she withdrew her hand and rubbed the sweat from her palms onto her dress. As she looked up, she saw her mother sitting on a bench outside the old stadium.
“Mama!” exclaimed Sofia.
Vieni qui! Vieni qui!” called Sofia’s mother – Come here! Come here!
Sofia rushed over and joined her mother on the lawn.
“I didn’t think you’d be here!”
“Of course I’m here. I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
As they walked through the main gate, Sofia looked at the towering outer wall overhead. It was nearly 50 meters high, the same height as a large building. The stairs led to the interior of the Colosseum. Sofia marveled at the enormity of the stadium.
“It must be as big as Stadio Olimpico.”
Sofia was referring to the Olymic Stadium, where the Roman Soccer Club played their games.
“It’s not quite that big,” said her father.
“When it was built in the year 80,” interrupted her mother, “it was the first stadium of its kind. Sports teams did not play in seated stadiums in those days. Even the theatres were built in the shape of a half-circle. The Romans put two theatres together, forming the “Anfiteatro Flavio”, which meant the Flavian Amphitheatre.”
“Why would they put two theatres together?”
“Imagine an army of ships sailing through a lagoon formed righ in the center of the Colosseum.”
“If only that could happen,” said Sofia.
“It did,” said her father. Her mother nodded in agreement.
“Great naval battles performed right here for the Emperors and people of Rome.”
“It seems larger than life.”
“All of the Roman Empire seemed to be larger than life,” said mother, “As the Empire expanded, the Emperors erected monuments and buildings to display the glory of Rome.”
“And their own glory, too,” added father.
“What do you mean?” asked Sofia.
“Think of all the statues and monuments. There’s the Theatre of Pompey. It was built for Pompey, one of Julius Caesar’s contemporaries. Pompey commissioned it for himself. Trajan’s Column and the Forum were built by Trajan to honor himself. Even the Colosseum, which was built by Vespasian, was a monument to Roman glory. He built it right on top of the statue to Nero, Rome’s previous Emperor.”
“And Nero was the one who watched Rome burn,” added mother.
“There is some dispute to that, but the Colosseum was truly a marvel of Roman engineering and ingenuity. It took over 20,000 slaves and 10 years to construct. In fact, it was because of Roman ingenuity that the Colosseum was so great.”
“Your father is talking about concrete,” added mother.
Sofia gave Signora Angelino a puzzled look.
“It was a happy accident,” said her father, “Before that time, buildings were either built with bircks and mortor or stones were simply balanced upon each other, letting their weight keep them stable.
Mortar is a mixture of sand, crushed limestone, and water. When the Romans did not have sand, they substituted crushed stones. The stones helped make the concrete stronger than any building material used before. In fact, it was the magic glue and building block used for the Pantheon. The engineers simply used lighter stones, like pumice, to build the structure of the dome.”
“Aren’t those the same stones that buried Pompeii?”
Her father scratched through the dirt, picking up several small stones.
“Even with this handful of rocks, they are very different. Some are made from limestine, some are sandstone, and some are even pumice.”
“The pumice has holes in it,” said Sofia.
“That’s where the gases were trapped in the molten lava when it cooled. Those empty spaces are what make pumice so light.”
“That’s the true glory of Rome,” said mother, not men clad in armor battling lightly clothed prisoners or men fighting lions. It was the Roman spirit itself. You can see it in every building, old and new.”
Sofia leaned against the concrete wall that made up the balcony rail. After a short while of taking it all in.
“Okay, I’m ready to go,” she stated.
“Already?” asked her father.
Sofia nodded, so they returned home again. As Sofia relaxed in the living room, her father listened to the radio while mother flipped through a few fashion notebooks.
“Wheere are you going next?” Sofia asked her mother.
“I’m taking a trip to Venizia next week.”
Sofia gazed at her mother, unable to speak.
“I suppose you would like to go?”
Sofia nodded excitedly.
“Let me see what I can do,” said mother.
“I can hardly wait!” exclaimed Sofia as she leapt from her spot on the floor and gave her mother a giant hug.
“But I’m not making any promises.”
“I know!” said Sofia.
But Sofia knew when her mother said something like that, it would be a promise she’d keep.
...and Sofia could hardly wait.
.
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