Eternal Rome

It isn't just the grandeur of Rome's monuments (whether colossal or man-sized), the charm of its cobblestone streets and lamplit piazzas, the high of its spiritual destinations and the therapy of its shopping options — that leave an enduring imprint on the traveler, seasoned or not.

- JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ

The Pantheon, reportedly the best preserved ancient building in Rome.

It's how Rome's monuments have defied time and nature, men's whims and follies. The flavors of the gelato (which now include "Dubai Chocolate") may have changed over time but the form and silhouette of Rome's millennia-old landmarks have endured.

I was in Rome as the brittle structures of the Philippines were being heartbreakingly ravaged by calamities (natural and man-made), as investigations uncovered a seemingly bottomless pit of cobras involved in the construction of lifesaving flood-control structures. Ironically, Roman aqueducts continue to stun for their engineering and endurance.

Indeed, the Eternal City is eternal.

Those thoughts unraveled like a ball of yarn on my mind as my jaw dropped again before the Pantheon (built in 126 AD), the best-preserved ancient building in Rome. Its concrete dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced dome. I stood in wonder again before virtually all sides of the Colosseum (build 80 AD). Though partially ruined by earthquakes and stone-robbers, much of the structure remains intact and iconic — inside and out. Near the Colosseum is the Trajan's Column (113 AD), which also remains almost completely intact. And the list goes on and on.