Hmm. I'm an American who lives in Turin. I've visited both Rome and Paris in the last couple of years. I agree with much of this, but a lot of it smacks of campanilismo. ;)
In general, Italian food is better, but the French are better at baked goods than Italians. The coffee in France is shockingly bad considering the French have reputation for drinking a lot of coffee. The art in Rome may span more time, but after the Roman era, the galleries in Rome tilt heavily toward the religious and just feels heavy and repetitive after a while. Paris became an artistic magnet from 1800-1940 (Modigliani, Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky, et al) and it shows in the galleries. The way that art is presented in Paris is also better - I struggle to think of anything comparable to Musee d'Orsay in Rome. As for architecture, I agree with you as to the importance of many particular works (if I could save one building in the world, it would be the Pantheon). Nevertheless, Paris's smaller time slice makes it more coherent - personally, I find strolling in Paris calming and Rome chaotic.
Thank you for the comment, and I appreciate your thoughts. But I am not sure it is fair to say "It smacks of campanilism" since I provided reasons for everything I said. If I was comparing Japan and China, for example, and concluded one is better than the other, I am sure you would not use that word, whether you agreed with me or not. Just being born in a country does not mean that what I write smacks of campanilism. I also acknowledged that Rome is "more chaotic and less organised". In fact, in my opinion, that might contribute to it being more romantic. I think we agree more than we disagree on, though we may not agree on everything, but all it means is that we have a different opinion. Thank you again for your comment, and I hope you will continue to read me (and possibly disagree) in the future. :)
Hmm. I'm an American who lives in Turin. I've visited both Rome and Paris in the last couple of years. I agree with much of this, but a lot of it smacks of campanilismo. ;)
In general, Italian food is better, but the French are better at baked goods than Italians. The coffee in France is shockingly bad considering the French have reputation for drinking a lot of coffee. The art in Rome may span more time, but after the Roman era, the galleries in Rome tilt heavily toward the religious and just feels heavy and repetitive after a while. Paris became an artistic magnet from 1800-1940 (Modigliani, Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky, et al) and it shows in the galleries. The way that art is presented in Paris is also better - I struggle to think of anything comparable to Musee d'Orsay in Rome. As for architecture, I agree with you as to the importance of many particular works (if I could save one building in the world, it would be the Pantheon). Nevertheless, Paris's smaller time slice makes it more coherent - personally, I find strolling in Paris calming and Rome chaotic.
Thank you for the comment, and I appreciate your thoughts. But I am not sure it is fair to say "It smacks of campanilism" since I provided reasons for everything I said. If I was comparing Japan and China, for example, and concluded one is better than the other, I am sure you would not use that word, whether you agreed with me or not. Just being born in a country does not mean that what I write smacks of campanilism. I also acknowledged that Rome is "more chaotic and less organised". In fact, in my opinion, that might contribute to it being more romantic. I think we agree more than we disagree on, though we may not agree on everything, but all it means is that we have a different opinion. Thank you again for your comment, and I hope you will continue to read me (and possibly disagree) in the future. :)