Biography:
Katie Linsky Shaw has worked as a photographer since college. Following graduation, she worked full-time as a reporter and photographer for newspapers and freelanced for a large, daily newspaper in Memphis, TN. After a move to Arkansas, Katie...
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While temperatures in Rome reached an all-time high of 105 degrees, two men cooled off at one of the many drinking fountains scattered throughout Rome. The water is free, safe to drink and in high demand for overheated tourists.
A man looks out through a window of the Porta San Sebastiano, the largest of the gates through the Aurelian Walls in Rome once used to defend the city. Visitors can walk inside the gate and go upstairs for free to look out the windows.
Rome is still one of the more cautious European city when it comes to Covid regulations. The city recently renewed its mask mandate for public transportation.
While mass is underway to the right, two girls spend 20 minutes in the same spot taking photos with their phone, posing, removing the required shawl to cover their legs for a few photos, and examining those photos after each shot.
A scene along the walls of the historic city center in Rome addresses the child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. The work was created by street artist Salvatore Benintende who goes by the artistic name of TVBoy. He is often considered the "Italian Banksy" in reference to the anonymous British graffiti artist who creates similar work.
Rome, you’re a hot, grungy, “in need of a haircut” kind of city, but like a woman who goes after the bad boy, I think I love you. And while a few of your days hit high temps usually reserved for August, registering 105 degrees at one point, you still lured me from the air-conditioned apartment to your cobblestoned alleyways to search for that perfect, Audrey Hepburn, “Roman Holiday” moment. I think I found a few. There were the tired tourists exhausted after a busy day; several pups on the piazza making their nightly stroll; a well-timed entry into St. Peter’s Basilica where I watched a young nun’s face light up as she stepped into the impressive chapel for her first time; and two girls on the other side of St. Peter’s who spent at least 20 minutes trying to perfect what I assumed to be an Instagram pose. This was the Rome I saw. And yes, we had a canceled flight on the way home like the rest of the world and brought back one case of Covid but it was still worth the two days of travel time to see this incredible city. Until we meet again, Rome…