EyeItalia

Roma e Parigi: two fascinating European capitals, long linked to each other by historical ties. For Europeans a well-loved holiday is a visit to one of Europe’s capitals (after the latest EU expansion on January 1, 2008 there are 27 of them), which are particularly popular as destinations for a post-Christmas through New Year’s trip. Rome and Paris offer special flair and receive a lion’s share of the visitors. Italians love Paris!

The relationship between Rome and Paris has ancient origins: in classical Roman times France was a province in the Roman Empire. Paris was then known as Lugdunum. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had Italian origins, declared Rome the second capital of the French Empire in 1805 and spent time there. The Pope was living in Paris during this period in the castle of Fontainebleau, perhaps not fully of his own free will. Testimony to the connection between the Bonaparte family and Rome is the marriage of Napoleon’s own sister Paulina into the Borghese family, perhaps Rome’s most important aristocratic clan which produced popes and cardinals. Today we can still admire Paulina’s beauty, which stood model to one of the worlds most famous statues: Paulina Borghese as Venere Vincitrice (Venus Victorious), completed in 1808 by the neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova. A major Canova exhibition, where this stunning sculpture may be admired, is currently at the Galleria Borghese Museum in Rome through February 3, 2008 (www.galleriaborghese.it). The International Herald Tribune recently published a fascinating piece about the statue and the exhibit (12/7/07).

Until the very end of the Napoleonic era, Napoleon III defended and protected Rome. This is why Rome was annexed to Italy only in 1870, a full nine years after the unification of Italy, as by then France could no longer protect her due to the Franco-Prussian war. Decades passed and Italy and France found themselves enemies in World War II.

After the turmoil of the war and its long aftermath, Paris and Rome wanted to seal a symbolic and exclusive pact of long lasting friendship and in 1956 the two capitals became sister cities. This pact of friendship gave birth to an abundance of cultural, economical and political exchange programs that have thrived over the past five decades. In 2006 the 50th anniversary of this twin city pact was celebrated; the last get-together of the cities’ two mayors, Bertrand Delanoe and Walter Veltroni, was in December 2007. On this occasion both mayors expressed their pleasure over the success of the huge cultural event both cities hosted in September of last year which was called La Notte Bianca or NuitBlanche, which drew 2.5 million visitors in Rome alone (www.lanottebianca.it). A special night indeed: all museums remained open, dozens and dozens of cultural events filled the night, public transport never stopped and closing hour was 8 a.m. the next morning. It would be interesting to find out how many espresso cups were emptied that night! The year 2009 will host the Festival Interdisciplinare Roma Parigi/ Paris Rome, with a highlight exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the “Futurismo” movement, which first became known in 1909 through Le Figaro.

If your dilemma of planning this summer’s holiday is which of these two fascinating cities to choose – Rome or Paris – visit them both!