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
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.



Pääsivu Takaisin Last modified: Fri Feb 25 11:15:46 EET 2000