All roads lead to Rome
This is a story of my travel to Rome to commemorate the 400th
anniversary of Giordano Bruno's execution. It was also a splendid
opportunity to see the wonders of the capital of the ancient
empire.
Tor Myrvalds, who lives near Rome, and others from the World Pantheist
Movement (WPM) had arranged the First International Forum of the
organization. For pantheists, Bruno is not just a martyr of the free
though, but also an influential figure in the history of pantheism.
Note that not all the pictures are necessarily in exact chronological
order. Most pictures were taken with video camera, so the quality is
horrible.
In the morning of February 16th, a cloudy and chilly wednesday, I
wished farewell to my beloved companion, and threw a reasonable pile
of food to his lair, hoping it to last for five long days.
My mother offered to take me to the bus station. The bus trip to
Helsinki-Vantaa airport took about two and a half hours. The plane
left at about four in the afternoon.
Piazza de Navona
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I arrived at Rome at about seven in the afternoon. I was supposed to
meet the WPM people in Antico Caffe della Pace at nine, so I had only
about two hours time to get there. Finding your way in a strange city
in a foreign country is always difficult, and remembering the troubles
in Miami last year, I was somewhat worried about the tight
schedule. Just like I learned about buses in Miami, I learned
something about Roman taxis: you should not take one that does not
look like a taxi, or otherwise you may have to pay double price or
even more. It always seems to be so difficult to get somewhere in a
strange city, with no expectations about the transportation system.
Last modified: Fri Feb 25 11:15:46 EET 2000