%cgHow To Cross The Streets In Rome and other Rome, Italy Local Custom Tips

I know what you're thinking when you read the title of this tip. You've crossed thousands of streets all over the world; you've survived much chaotic, big city traffic, so you don't need a lesson on crossing the streets anywhere. Nevertheless, you do, my friend, because crossing the streets in Rome is an art. Unless you were born with Michelangelo's talent, you do need to learn how to hold a brush.

Roman drivers were born differently. They've never learned to yield to anyone, whether it's another car, motorcycle, bus, or helpless pedestrian. It's easy if you cross the streets at a stop light, but if you need to be on the other side and there isn't a legal crosswalk nearby, you'll find yourself desperately craving a helping hand.

So here is your helping hand.

Check traffic on the left to see if there's enough space to step down from the curb. Once you step down, never, ever, under any circumstance, make eye contact with the drivers, nor change the speed and rhythm of your stride. Walk steadily, do not zigzag, do not run, do not stop to retrieve anything, do not point, do not look around, and do not turn your head to talk to your companions.

At the dividing line, check the traffic on the right from the corner of your eye. Again, do not make eye contact. Looking at the approaching drivers in the eye is a signal that you have seen them, you have recognized their approach, and you will take the responsibility of avoiding being hit.

Your speed and rhythm have to stay the same so the drivers can gauge how much space they would need to swerve around you without slowing down. Their responsibility is not hitting you. Your responsibility is not making their job difficult by changing the rules mid-game. Once you step foot onto the path of the oncoming traffic, you're entering in a contract that involves trust and harmony from both parties. If you do not breach the agreed upon rules, they will not have any reason to falter and hit you.

Now that you know the principle, why not start to practice? Happy crossing!

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Local Customs: The Roman Satire: Part I

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Updated by Ciambella

on Aug 5, 2005

The base of Abate Luigi

Between the XV and the XIX century, popes were both spiritual and civil leaders in Rome, as reflected in the motto "In Nome del Papa Re" (In the name of the Pope King). This absolute power did not go over well with the citizens, especially when some of the leaders were not exactly role model type.

Pasquino, Marforio, Madama Lucrezia, Facchino, Babbuino, and Abate Luigi, the six so-called "talking statues," appeared at the right moment in history to be used as the voice with which the Romans vented their thoughts and feeling about the arrogance and corruption of the ruling classes -- the papacy, the nobility and all authority in general.

During the nights, anonymous writers attached contemptuous compositions, pithy epigrams, and derisive poems to the statues. In the mornings, the messages would be read, applauded, discussed, seen and heard all the way to the Pope's chamber before they were removed. Many times the statues would comment on each other's messages, holding "conversations" over periods of days. The citizens even gave the statues the official name "Congress of the Witty" (Congresso degli Arguti) to make the deliverance of their opinions more important.

Although much less frequently, the talking statues still carry on their jobs nowadays, speaking out against corrupt government and abhorrent international events.

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Local Customs: The Roman Satire: Part II

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Updated by Ciambella

on Aug 5, 2005

Pasquino

These are some famous words from the talking statues (translated by Nathalie):

On Niccolò V Albergati:

Da quando è Niccolò papa e assassino,
Abbonda a Roma il sangue e scarso è il vino.

(Since Niccolò becomes a pope and a murderer,
Blood is abundant and wine is rarer.)

On Alessandro VI Borgia:

Qui giace Alessandro sesto
È sepolto con lui
Quanto venerò: il lusso, la discordia, l’inganno
La violenza, il delitto.

(Here lies Alessandro the sixth
And buried with him in such esteem
The wealth, discord, violence, crime, and deceit.)

On Leone X De’ Medici:

Gli ultimi istanti per Leon venuti
Egli non poté avere i sacramenti
Perdio, li avea venduti!

(Leon was dying, but where was the sacrament?
Alas, he has sold it long ago moment!)

On Clemente VII de' Medici:

Ecco quello che toglie i peccati del mondo.

(Here lies one who removes all the sins of the world.)

On Paolo III Farnese:

In questa tomba giace
Un avvoltoio cupido e rapace
Ei fu Paolo Farnese
Che mai nulla donò, che tutto prese
Fate per lui orazione
Poveretto, morì d'indigestione.

(In this tomb lie a vulture and a crook
His name was Paolo Farnese
Who never gave anything but always took
Let's stand and give him an oration
For the poor thing had died of indigestion.)

On Urbano VIII Barberini who used the bronze tiles of the Pantheon for the Canopy of St Peter's:

Quello che non hanno fatto i barbari, hanno fatto i Barberini.

(What the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did.)

Also on Urbano VIII Barberini who raised tax on bread to build Fontana dei Fiumi:

Noi volemo altro che guglie e fontane
Pane volemo: pane, pane, pane.

(We need other than fountains and spires heads
Bread is what we want -- bread, bread, bread.)

On Mussolini's fake palazzi on Roman streets to impress Hitler:

Povera Roma mia de travertino!
T'hanno vestita tutta de cartone
Pè fatte rimirà da 'n'imbianchino.

(Cardboards and façades lined Roman streets
When a failed housepainter and a fascist dictator meet.)

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Local Customs: The Movers, Shakers, and Shapers

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Updated by Ciambella

on Aug 9, 2005

A Papal coat of arm

by Ciambella , 4 more photos

Whether they were loved or hated, they had left their indelible marks in the Eternal City, had done many good things to create, add, and preserve the glory and the myth called Rome. Their symbols are attached to the architectural and religious artworks that pack every corner, street, and neighborhood.

Here is a short list of the best names without whom Rome would be a different city today:

Colonna: At the end of the Schism, Pope Martino V restored not only the city as the permanent seat of the papacy but also many of the long-neglected buildings and monuments.

Della Rovere: To assert Rome as Caput Mund (head of the world), Pope Sisto IV rebuilt Santa Maria del Popolo, constructed Santa Maria della Pace, commissioned Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Perugino to work on Cappella Sistina. Pope Giulio II used Bramante's design and Raffaello's work in Basilica di San Pietro, collected antique for the Vatican, and built Via Giulia.

Borgia: Pope Alessandro VI used gold from Peru on the ceiling of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Medici: Pope Leone X commissioned Raffaello and Romano to work on Loggia di Vaticano. Pope Leone XI acquired Villa Medici.

Farnese: Pope Paolo III built Palazzo Farnese, gave the world Michelangelo's Last Judgement, and put the artist to work in Basilica di San Pietro.

Borghese: Pope Pio V built Palazzo Borghese, Villa Borghese, and Fontana Paolina.

Barberini: Pope Urbano VIII ordered Bernini and Borromini to work together on Palazzo Barberini. He gave Bernini his first job in designing Baldacchino di San Pietro, then Fontana del Tritone and Fontana delle Api.

Pamphilj: Pope Innocenzo X transformed Sant' Agnese in Agone, constructed Fontana dei Fiumi, Palazzo Propagazione della Fede, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, and rebuilt San Giovanni in Laterano.

Chigi: Pope Alessandro VII used Raffaello's works in Villa Farnesina and commissioned Bernini to build San Pietro's colonnades.

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How To: How To Drink Water From A Fountain

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Updated by Ciambella

on Aug 5, 2005

A nasone

Drinking fountains are everywhere in Rome; there seems to be one at every block. The regular stand-alone fountain is called nasone (big nose), with fresh water flowing continuously into a bowl or an underground cistern.

The faucet of every nasone is built with a small hole on the top. To drink water from this kind of fountain, you need to block the stream by putting a finger over the end of the pipe, thus forcing a jet of water to gush upwards from the small hole. This design makes drinking from a public fountain easy and hygienic, since a person's lips would never touch the faucet and no act of back bending is required.

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Local Customs: The Question On Everyone's Mind

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Updated by Ciambella

on Aug 5, 2005

Fountain

by Ciambella , 1 more photos

Almost all tourists in Rome ask themselves or the locals the same question: "It's such a waste with water constantly run to the ground from the drinking fountain. Why no one thinks of shutting it off?"

The answer is like this:

Yes, someone did think of shutting it off. The Comune di Roma thought about it during the '80s. They installed several devices on the fountains, a turn knob for some, a lever tap or a push button for others. These devices dramatically reduced the consumption of water, but since the water was no longer running, it was no longer fresh, and even became very warm in the summer because the cast iron pipe heated up under the sun.

The result of this act upset the residents considerably, and being Romans, they did not handle the feeling very well. Either because the devices were of cheap quality thus did not last long, or because they received a helping hand from the vandalism, only a few years after the installation, the water ran freely again.

Because they were also Romans, the Comune understood what they needed to do in the face of the people's discontent: they ignored the destructive act, did not replace the broken devices, and did not continue with the project on the fountains that have not been fitted.

And they all live happily ever after.

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Local Customs: From The Milk Of The She-Wolf

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on Feb 4, 2006

She-wolf and the twins, seen in

Campidoglio

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