The Echo of the Gods
It tells of having seen sail, in the waters of the sea it overlooks,
Ulysses. Yes, the famous Ulysses himself, the one who was shipwrecked in many lands.
Colonna also recalls having had the good fortune to meet one of the
best-known heroes of all Greek mythology: the mighty Achilles.
She even remembers women dressed in black flocking to her to
mourn the hero’s death
“You know,” says Colonna, “there was a time when they spoke of me
even famous thinkers of ancient times. Cicero, for example, and Livy.
So also Hannibal came to this land, eager to conquer villages and
precious goods. I can say that I am an ageless column, an artefact that holds
curious secrets. There are no hearts and eyes that have not loved and remembered me.
I am the symbol of loneliness that resists the passage of time and
events. I am the echo of the gods.
I am the voice of history spanning centuries and seas.
I am the intact memory of what has been, is and will be.
I am the safe haven of those who welcomed me into memory, leaving me
straight and lonely on a shaggy promontory”.
Text. Anastasia Mercadante
