Photography and Text by Carolyn Wong
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Centuries of history, some lost some found are engraved into these marble walls. Welcome to the city of Rome.
According to legend, the children of Mars, Romulus and Remus, were left to die on the Tiber river. However, a she-wolf found the twins and saved them. A shepherd and his wife found the children, and as they were nurtured and grew older, they proved to be natural leaders.
The brothers gained a large following and decided to found their own city. But as they disagreed on which location to settle on, Romulus killed Remus and chose Palentine Hill. He named the city Roma. And Roma grew. It grew into the center of a highly sophisticated empire, ruled by some of the greatest. Hadrian, Trajan, Augustus, Caesar. The city was filled with grandeur, from the Forums to the Pantheon.
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And today it remains. The walls still visible, the gates still erect. Marble statues collected from ancient years still remain on display. The unnamed bust of a young male, the goddess Venus. In a place with so much history, you can only imagine what may have been, but you can also see how it has transformed.
Despite the years that have passed from the Roman Empire’s old age of glory, the city itself has become something more. Rome is a hub of culture, history and food. You can see the old and the new and experience a place unlike any other. Rome is a place of beauty. It is a place of bustling. And above all, it is a place of living.
Photography and Text by Carolyn Wong, Copyright 2016.
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About The Author: Carolyn Wong is a sophomore majoring in International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2018. To read more articles by Carolyn Wong, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/carolyn-wong-to-the-boy-who-hurt-me/