Everyday Yogini

I am not sure I can say enough about the tour Erick and I went on yesterday to the Jewish Ghetto. For over 300 years, the Jewish population of Rome was confined to a four block radius of the city- a part of the city ravaged by the floods of the Tevere, often. Our tour guide, Ron Doliner, a Jewish man living in Rome, hailing from Brooklyn, NY, was amazing! And I mean, AMAZING!

The stories that he told about the years of the Ghetto were just riveting. The most spectacular thing about the tour was that, this area is now such a vibrant, alive community! It was palpable as we meandered through the streets- children ran through the piazzas and the adults mingled and talked with animated happiness. The food smells wafting through the narrow streets were incredible and in all honesty I cannot wait to go back to that quartiere of the city and wander around on my own. I just loved it!

It would be impossible for me to tell you even a fraction of what Roy told us on that four hour tour. One of my favorite stories, though, I will recount here. A special fountain was built for the Jewish population- a gorgeous fountain that was completed by Bernini (the turtle fountain- a whole story unto itself). Right before the Nazi’s came rolling into the city, the Jewish population of the area snuck out in the middle of the night and dismantled the fountain, hiding pieces of it in different attics and basements around the neighborhood, knowing that the Nazi’s would claim it for themselves. After the Allied forces arrived, the same people snuck out (again in the middle of the night) to put it back together!

Every story was like this. A story of unbelievable tenacity, strength, and faith (with some chutzpa thrown in for good measure)! Roy Doliner, our guide, is on the verge of releasing a book called The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican that you can pre-order now. If his writing is anything like his spoken presentation, it will be a good read!

This outing was the first that Erick and I have had alone together, that wasn’t work related, since we left Colorado a year ago. It was really great to enjoy such a delightful day out with him! I *puffy heart* my husband!! If you would like to see a few photos from the ghetto, you can see them here.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 3:54 am and is filed under Everyday Life: Italy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.