Day 62: Old Places, Modern Times

Day 62: Old Places, Modern Times

Sometimes I find it hard to fathom just how nonchalant Romans are about their streets lined with aqueducts and ruins. With 4 lanes of honking and gridlock traffic whizzing under ancient arches, only someone on a bicycle armed with an easel can afford the luxury to stop and paint.Considered a back way or cut through, this alley created by 2 parallel aqueducts is a semi-escape from the honking traffic just around the corner.Every time I pass under these arches and into this street I’m transported to another time.Aqueduct Alley, Via del Mandrione8×6″Oil on Panel© Kelly Medford, 2012There are houses and gardens tucked under the arches of these aqueducts for miles. The people who live here mostly took refuge in these places during the 1930s when Mussolini was beautifying the center of Rome. Knocking down makeshift homes and neighborhoods that were cluttered along the Roman Forum and blocking a clear way to St. Peter’s, thousands of people found themselves suddenly homeless. Seen as the only option, they moved out-of-town and built shelter in the arches of the aqueducts.Decades later beginning in the late 1960s, the city came to clean up once again leaving people the option to build more solid housing and providing them with electricity and running water. As a result there are homes scattered in tucked away places, like hidden secret gardens with a Roman aqueduct as a backyard.I’ve always wanted to paint here but wasn’t sure that I could handle it technically. There are so many rocks and shadows and just the overwhelming height and power of these walls is daunting. It was on my mental list to paint here so I just went for it and am happy with the result. No one needs to paint every rock, just the light, the space, the sky and the shadows.The little arch at the end of the road represents for me the portal into this other world tucked away from the noise that is modern-day Rome.You can see today’s painting or buy it here from my website for $120.Thank you for your interest and for following the 120 Day Project!