Roma o Morte! History and encounters in the Eternal City

The warm air touched me the second I left the airplane. It was like stepping into to the sun. I love the wide open spaces surrounding Fiumicino Airport. In the horizon the mountains looked like sleeping elephants underneath a crisp blue sky.

A Welcome Escape After the Court Case

I was fatigued after the court case. Italy was an immediate repair. I could not help but smile broadly as I was feeling bobbly light and infused, as if I had already drunk half a bottle of Prosecco just by entering Italian territory.

I had only been in Denmark a few days.

A Bus Ride with Unexpected Acts of Kindness

On Friday, I took the Flixbus to Rome. In L’Aquila, the bus driver suddenly sprang out of the bus with a banana in hand. “Mangia, mangia!” he said, offering it to a homeless woman. “Mangia solo torte!” — she only eats cake, he explained as he returned to his seat. I was touched by his gesture. Upon arriving in Tiburtina, Rome was quiet, as if still asleep. Luca, an Italian guy I met at a conference in February, suddenly suggested we meet.

I had planned a day of solo sightseeing and was excited to explore Rome on my own.

Luca and the Surprise Upgrade to My Roman Adventure

Luca picked me up in a black Mercedes SL500, I love that model. It rolled up to the curb like a polished black diamond. My tourist day got a surprise massive upgrade, as we drove around with the roof down listening to Bryan Ferry and First Aid Kit, Boys of Summer. Art imitates life. The day in Rome seemed unreal, as a dream. Luca was exquisite in Armani and Aqua di Parma, Arancia di Capri, sun-drenched oranges in a bottle.

Exploring Gianicolo and the Legacy of Garibaldi

Luca took me to Gianicolo, or Janiculum Hill, the eighth hill of Rome, where the constitution of 1849 is inscribed on a wall. This is also where Giuseppe Garibaldi famously repelled an attack by French troops. The Fontana dell’Aqua Paola was breathtaking, and the view was mozzafiato. At the Garibaldi monument, the inscription read: "Roma o Morte!" — Rome or Death! Those words resonated with me. Garibaldi, who led a passionate and complicated life, played a pivotal role in Italy’s unification. "Roma o Morte" was his battle cry.

Reflections on Belief: Garibaldi, Michelangelo, and Synchronicity

For me, Garibaldi's perspective is not outdated. The world still seems divided between two kinds of people: believers and non-believers.

Rome was a dream long before it became a reality. It was believers like Garibaldi who brought it to life.

The Michelangelo Principle: Unlocking Hidden Potential

My boss recently told me, “Stine, you just have to become better than you are.” Just? Often, our abilities exceed our understanding. This idea reminds me of the Michelangelo principle: my boss sees the figure inside the marble and is carving me out.

Villa Borghese: Nature, History, and the Water Clock

The palm trees and tall pines in Villa Borghese softly rustled in symphony with the cicadas. I smiled, thinking that these days, anyone who came up with an idea like the water clock would probably be considered eccentric. But Gioacchino Ersoch did, and the clock stands as a fragile fragment of a fairy tale, surrounded by greenery in the middle of an oval fountain.

Believers and Non-Believers: A Philosophical Reflection

Gioacchino was a believer—he made fantasy a reality. Luca, on the other hand, is a non-believer. His language reveals it: “I find love difficult these days.” We are what we understand. For me, this is like saying you don’t believe in the sun or that nature isn’t magnificent. Love is Roma o Morte. If you aren’t chasing the sublime, you’re chasing the false sublime. I can’t live like that—no virtue, no meaning. My only compromises are work and vacuuming.

Is it possible not to know what we don’t know? How do we figure out our tiny role in the Master Plan? Einstein insisted that reality is an illusion, albeit a persistent one. Jung, a believer in synchronicity, proposed the concept of Unus Mundus—one world, a higher order where meaningful coincidences guide us to our true selves. Synchronicity requires us to see the signs and act accordingly.

I like Jung’s idea of a unified reality. It makes sense that everything is connected. Quantum physics demonstrates that particles can behave differently when observed. I believe that humans, like particles, can also act differently depending on circumstances, which makes reality dynamic.

A Silent Encounter with a Mysterious Stranger

As I walked with the other passengers toward the entrance of Fiumicino Airport, I lifted my small trolley off the ground and started to climb the stairs. Suddenly, someone grabbed my luggage from behind—not aggressively, but as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Bewildered, I turned slightly to the left and saw him—a beautiful man. His eyes met mine with a silent intensity, senza parole. Without a word, he carried my luggage to the top of the stairs and gently placed it at my feet. “Tak!.. Grazie!” I exclaimed, unsure of which language to use since we hadn’t exchanged a single word.

Since moving to Italy, I’ve realized that men dream, too, not just women. My Swedish ex once called to tell me that I often appear in his dreams. In them, we travel through cinematic Italian landscapes—vineyards, castles, and mountains—and I resonate in his soul like the lyrics of “Vivo per lei.” That dream could have been a reality, but he hides his fear behind supposed practicality.

Jung believed that dreams could be synchronicities, omens of the future. His patients dreamt of World War II long before it happened. In my experience, there is a profound cultural difference between Scandinavians and Italians. Scandinavians seem to have a higher frequency of non-believers, who talk about their dreams but fail to act on instinct or synchronicity.

The man who carried my trolley walked silently beside me. There was something unmistakably military about him—his tattoo, his demeanor. Semper fi. He seemed like someone who could protect you, something rare these days. He reminded me of Chris Hemsworth in the film Extraction. He could extract me any day.

I exhaled. The temperature and humidity were high. Hemsworth had been seated directly in front of me on the plane. I felt puzzled, yet curious, wondering what his next move would be.