Here Comes the Bride by von.otter
?A husband and wife ought to continue united so long as they love each other. Any law which should bind them to cohabitation for one moment after the decay of their affection would be a most intolerable tyranny, and the most unworthy of toleration.?? Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Shelley saw the world through a poet?s eyes that included love and marriage. His views were radical for the early 19th century, but they gained popularity in 20th. Shelley is buried in Rome, in Cimitero acattolico, the Non-Catholic Cemetery, also known as the Protestant Cemetery (see von.otter?s Rome Travelogues #3 ?The Protestant Cemetery: So Sweet a Place? for a photo of Shelley?s grave)
It is said to be good luck to see a bride on her wedding day.
When in Rome in the spring it seems that every day is a day for a wedding, and with so may churches every area of the Eternal City plays host to a ceremony on any one day of the week.
We saw brides at the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo on the Caelian Hill (photo #1); at Santa Maria in Dominica (photos #2 & #3), also on the Caelian Hill; and at Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (photo #4).
My favorite bride photo is that of the woman ascending la Cordonata of the Campidoglio (photo #5). It appears as if the 1877 bronze of the Mediaeval Roman politician Cola di Rienzo (1313-1354) is either blessing or warning the woman on the brink of her marriage ceremony at Santa Maria in Aracoeli. This spot, between the steps leading to Santa Maria in Aracoeli and the Campidoglio?s Cordonata, is where Rienzo was hanged.