“Neither of us forgets: lunch, walk, vigils. I’m lucky. Walking around Rome with him is itself a vigil. Everywhere you turn you stumble on memories—your own, someone else’s, the city’s.”

In Part 1, Rome is an important setting because it transcends the individual experience and brings people together across space and time. Rome is the setting for Samuel and Elio’s vigils, important traditions of spending time together. Samuel and Elio share a close relationship, which can be rare between fathers and sons. What’s more, Rome is a shared and an individual experience. Elio shares with his fathers the scenes of his past loves, sharing his memories and bringing his father into that part of Elio’s life. Rome is therefore a symbol of memory and connection.

“It’s just that the magic of someone new never lasts long enough. We only want those we can’t have. It’s those we lost or who never knew we existed who leave their mark. The others barely echo.”

In this quote, Samuel captures the fleeting nature of love. Paradoxically, the more you get to know somebody, the less likely the initial passions of love will persevere. Love becomes a fantasy because it is easier to project love onto “those we lost or who never knew we existed” because love represents a potential, not a sustainable reality. This quote also foreshadows the destruction of Samuel and Miranda’s relationship. After all, what would make the magic of their initial connection different than other times they’ve both fallen deeply in love?