In today's Rome, all the strands of old and new come together. You can see it right here on this street corner, surrounded by tourists and yet, nowadays, strangely overlooked. Right up there, you can see Romulus and Remus, the founders of Ancient Rome, and above them, the fasces, the symbols of fascism. And all of this on this majestic thoroughfare leading straight to the magnificent basilica of St Peter's. All of it, modern and ancient, now, together, seem happily, typically, Roman. For three millennia, Rome has been the definition of power and sanctity. Rome, like Christianity's other holy city, Jerusalem, is a place where man meets the divine. Throughout its history, Rome's destiny has been determined inseparably by both the cruel necessities of power and by the passion of faith.


今时今日的罗马，古典和现代融合在一起。你能在这个街角一窥其究竟，这里曾经游客环绕，但现在却遭人冷遇。就在那上面，你能看到古罗马的创建者，罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯，在他们之上，立着束棒，那是法西斯的标志。并且，这条宏伟大道上所有的一切都通向圣彼得大教堂那恢弘的巴西利卡。它的一切，既现代又古典，如今，它们合为一体，是欢欣而典型的罗马风格。三千多年来，罗马已然成为权力和神圣的定义。罗马，如基督教的另一圣城耶路撒冷一样，是朝圣之所。究其历史，残忍的权力和激情的信念密不可分，它们共同书写了罗马之命运。