Скачать или смотреть Rome Beyond the Ruins (on a skateboard)

In 2004 I took my fourteen-year-old son to Rome. Skateboarding, even more than the trip, is what occupied his mind at the time. So I researched skateboard sites in la Città to encourage his enthusiasm.

Our trip took place in April at Easter. Only a month after a deadly railway bombing in Madrid imposed tight security controls on all travel. A skateboard was not a convenient piece of carry-on luggage.

We saw neighborhoods well beyond the tourist sites because of the skateboard. My son met kids his own age. And I got to follow along, leading to a remarkable bonus adventure for me.

The skateboarders invited us to a makeshift indoor park in an abandoned warehouse. It also happened to be the location for an underground art scene I'd been reading about. Their spots moved around and truly were not on any map so I had no hope of discovering one on my own. Then it happened by chance thanks to a willingness to roam beyond the ruins.

Cheers to you, Skateboarding, for being at the root of a magical trip!