بلدية روما تقضى على معلم شاعري بالمدينة
It began with a scene in a book. A young
couple came here to the ancient Ponte Milvio bridge. They put a bicycle
lock round a lamp post, and then tossed the key down into the Tiber.
They were meant to have locked themselves together in everlasting love.
And the idea caught on. Rome's romantics started copying the gesture.
And now I'm looking at thousands and thousands of little padlocks strung
along the chains on the wall of the bridge. Each a symbol of eternal
love, here in Rome – the eternal city. Eternal love that is, until the
city council shows up. It says the locks have to go. And as I watch,
they're being taken away by men in overalls armed with bolt-cutters.
The council says that rust from the padlocks
threatens the fabric of the old bridge. The author of the book that
sparked the locking tradition here says the council's making a big
mistake. He says these symbols of love ought to be valued and respected,
and left in place.
Of course we'll never know how well the locks
worked, how many of the couples stayed together and how many ended up
hiring divorce lawyers. But a lot people like the idea of making the
romantic gesture on the bridge. From now on though, young lovers on the
Tiber will have to think of some other way to lock-in the magic of the
moment.
tossed
ألقى
everlasting
دائم - أبدي
romantics
الشاعريون - الرومانسيون
gesture
لفتة - علامة
padlocks
أقفال
eternal
أبدي
rust
صدأ
fabric
نسيج - خامة
sparked
أطلق شرارة
respected
يُحترم
