Part of my study abroad trip to London and Rome in September is a series of blog posts about the things we see and do while on the trip. This is the seventh of seven required posts about Rome and is about a fountain in Rome.
It wasn’t the most impressive fountain in Rome, not the most historic, not the most beautiful, nothing about it made it stand out particularly from the rest. It was simple in design, just a small fountain of water pouring into a basin, surrounded by a set of tiered steps for people to sit and gather upon.
It wasn’t its placement in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere that made it stick in my mind. Impressive as the churches artwork was, the facade it presented to the piazza, or how the church was a focal point for the community as they brought their kids there to play with other kids on the cobblestones out front while they went to get coffee at one of the cafes around the square. Or how the square could seem empty until the church bells rang and then suddenly for a few seconds it would be full of people who were heading into service.
What makes the fountain stick in my mind was going there every morning to meet the rest of the study abroad group. Seeing everyone gathered or gathering there, the conversations we had, those moments spent together is what makes the fountain important in my mind and what makes it memorable.
I’ll go back there someday, sit on the fountains steps again, but it won’t be quite the same to be there without the company I had on this trip.
There is a fondness to the everyday; I love your description here. I would round the corner each morning and look forward to seeing who was there, already waiting on the stairs of the fountain. Buongiorno!