IN ITALY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 46, 6 February 1945, Page 6

IN ITALY

N.Z. NURSE'S IMPRESSIONS

VIVID DESCRIPTION OF ROME

The; following description of Roman life following the fall of that city to the Allied forces last year was written by a nursing sister with the New Zealand forces to a friend in Whakatane. Readers should find her fredh and vivid style full of interest andl conviction.

Rome had fallen. Everyone was on the crest of the wave and though no one had put it into so many words the big question of a Roman holiday was uppermost in our minds. The usual rumours were soon in circulation—"no Kiwis allowed in the city"—"Rome had been declared an open city. The N.Z. Division were taking over the best hotel in Rome for a Club"—the last rumour had more than a smattering ot; truth as was soon proved. The N.Z. Division had taken over the hotel complete with staff and it was to function as a residential Club for both officers and men in a few days.

It was less than a month since the capital of Italy had fallen to the allied forces and here we were ready and waiting for our names to appear on the visiting list. The longed for day arrived and great was the excitement. Eight a.m. we packed into our trucks—seven all told —suitcases luncheon basket extra rations j i •> primus, water cans—rugs and cushions were necessary for our comfort on the long journey. The first two hours travel took us over familiar ground—tree lined roads skirted by fields of waving grape vines swinging from tree to tree making an intricate lacy here and there the golden lustre of ripening wheat or the cropped harvests all ready for the threshers. The scarlet poppies were still in evidence in the field and on the roadway and the contrasting bright blue cornflowers and purple scabia made a never-to-be forgotten scene on which our eyes, feasted for many miles, up highway 6 by no means a perfect 1-oute, but it was the road up which our own particular relative® and friends had advanced, many to return to us as patients after the onslaught at Cassino.

It was about 11 a.m. when we bumped around the corner to be confronted by many chains of rubble piled in incredible heaps—mound upon mound —twisted wire, broken glass—crazy jig-saw walls—'never ■ a roof or a whole wall left, white tape warning the unwary to keep to the narrow tortuous road, everywhere joining shell craters mostly filled with green slimy water. This was Cassino with the monastery hill keeping silent watch over the city and the dead —the monastery now a 'heap of stones and dust was: hardly visible a tape leading up the surface of the incredibly bare mountain face showed us the path our lads had climbed to take their objective. Rrom Cassino onwards we appeared to be in a mountain valley ? bare stony hills reminiscent of Palestine. The road once a first class highway was worn and uneven and did not make for easy riding } but there was so much to see that we made light of the jolts and rattles. Passed through villages, perched on summits, hamlets on the plains everyone scarred by battle—-jerry tanks burnt out on the roadside, abandoned trucks and guns, wrecked planes and even the warning sign "Danger—mines!" In some places the sign read "mines cleared 20ft on sides of road" and beyond that limit no one had dared —to venture might mean sudden death.

We had lunch on the . plains lit the primus and boiled our billy under spreading elms on the roadside. Like the inevitable way, the Italians seem to materialise out of thin air and before we had finished our meal we were surrounded by an admiring bunch of peasants who patiently waited for "the crumbs from the rich man's table." The last 50 miles led us through gently undulating plains boarded by steep craggy mountains. Harvesting was in full swing the wee donkeys labouring under hay-laden carts oxen drawing I;he queer wooden plough women threshing the wheat with loose hinged nail studded sticks—nature holding her sway where only a few weeks before the roar of battle must have resounded far and wide.

At 2.30 p.m. we could see Rome in the distance f a white city on the lower hills. We were on the famous Appian way and halted where many a famous ancient General had gazed before continuing his victorious march on the city. Entering through the northern gate we found ourselves inside the city wall and followed* the well marked streets and • drew up outside the N.Z. Club at 3 p.m; receiving a smart salute from our Kiwi guard who ushered

us into the reception office where we found the Tuis conducting business* quietly and "efficiently all giving us a smiling welcome. The water mains had just been fixed } the power had been turned on that day so we felt that all was well and retired to wash and refresh ourselves before venturing out into the unknown. The Hotel Quirinal is one of Rome's first class hotels and caters for anything up to 600"guests. Bedrooms, each with a private bathroom attached was. a luxury we enjoyed to the full mirrors duchess wardrobes, chairs ? mats and telephone something to be gazed upon and treated with care. As we only had one full day for all our sightseeing we felt time could not be wasted so wandered round the block after 4 p.m.,, buying the odd gift and taking in as much as we could of the whole lay-out. Everyone was very polite and helpful—the women were beautifully dressed—surely no war here. Shops full of lovely wares, wide clean jangling trams, cars rushing by—just a busy commercial city, but perhaps too much khaki.

All ready for our grand tour we collected a guide provided by the Club and at 8.30 a.m. set out in the trucks for the Paretheon some 15 minutes drive. It is considered the most perfect of all classical buildings in Rome. It was used as a pagan temple until 392 A.D. but it was not until 608 that it became a consecrated building dedicated to all the saints. Since 1870 it became the tomb of great men.

Then came the big thrill —The. Vatican City. It is an area of not more than 1 square mile completely surrounded by a brick wall. A neutral state within the Roman city— self-governed, self-supporting, we stepped on to this neutral territory from rather a slummy back street and found ourselves standing on a pavement some 20ft wide which forms a semi-circle around the sides of St: Peter's square ; , St. Peter's Cliurcli and galleries leading off from the base of the semi-circle. Four rows of ancient marble columns support the roof of the pavement, and they are placed that from the centre of the square only the front column shows. People were hurrying to and fro, no one seemed to pay their way, though possibly the guard at the entrance checked all persons.

The original Vatican City was planned by Michael Angelo who was also chief architect for the present St. Peter's Cathedral. It is a magnificent building and from an architect's point of view perfect in every detail. The dome is 400 ft. topped by a ball with an enormous cross. Marble statues 12ft high of St. Peter holding the'keys of Heaven and St. Paul witli attendant saints stand on the front facade below the dome. A small black nail-studded door led to the interior and first impressions were a sense of disappointment at the size. Our guides explained that, the perfect .symmetry and proportions of the interior always gave the false impression of size. The floor was white and black marble, enormous ancient pillars supported the arched roof heavily patterned with priceless mosaic pictures.

Numerous small chapels each dedicated to some particular saint were decorated with rich brocades and mosaics and- priceless, altar silver—marvellous pictures of saints and Biblical scenes hung from Avails and pillars. alabastar and marble statues of the Saints reposed in various niches—the famous bronze statue of St. Peter dug up from ancient days is a wonderful piece of work. People passing pay homage by kissing the foot of the statue which has become worn and shiny. The white, marble high altar which stands immediately under the dome is reserved for the Pope and he takes mass, there about four times a year. We noticed services being conducted but we were able to pass on our way realising that we had never seen anything larger more lofty or more beautiful —a haven and. sanctuary of peace. We were per- I suaded to mount the 400 steps that | led to the top of the dome and from that incredible height we looked over Rome and many strange thoughts filled our minds. We had read and were told that one-third of the wealth" of Italy was housed in the Vatican and though we had seen much of that wealth in St. Peter's, we were hardly prepared for the wonderful museums and art gallaries in the Vatican proper. The Cistine Gliapel 110 longer used for religious ceremonies is now an art gallery dedicated entirely to the works, of Michael Angelo. The frescoes on the walls depict testament stories j the ceiling shows the artists with representations of the creation up to the time of Moses and the front Avail shows the Last Judgment. "The Colours, depth tod expression are very beautiful and the whole chapel intensely interesting. The Igpgj corridorg are lined, with the

masters. Raphaels where his beautiful madonna holds first Gambimi t Fra Angelo ■ Leonard de Vinci have canvas. Old Roman treasures belonging to a forgotten era, priceless groups of the famous Appolo Belvedere, Lascoon and his the enormous marble tarso which Michael Angelo studied for months before painted his pictures. The Chinese Room ? the Egyptian the corridor of maps of all the Italian provinces, tapestries and wonderful jewels all breath-taking in their very loveliness. I wanted to stay and examine everything for hours- but sixty short minutes was all we could spare before tearing ourselves away to lunch at 1.30 p.m. (To be continued)