GL 350 Blog 4

Prompt: How does the piazza provide a lens toward Italian culture?

I think that her win Rome (along with Florence and Venice) the lifestyle is completely different than it is back home. One thing that is very different to me is how Italians here tend to walk almost everywhere, whereas Americans walk very little when the two are compared side by side. The piazzas here in Rome are always full of people meeting up, seeing the sites, and going about their days. It is here where you can see people meeting up for lunch or simply chatting or walking around in groups. I think that the piazzas act as meeting places or just hangout spots for people.

This is interesting because when you think about these places back home, the places that come to mind would be someone's house. People in America (as it was brought up in class the other day) almost always spend their time with family and friends in their own homes. Houses back home tend to be bigger, and can be better used as place for gatherings and meeting places, whereas the homes here are much smaller and most often cannot be used as such. I also think that this has a lot to do with the lifestyles of the two countries. Here in Italy, or more specifically Rome, people are always walking around. Even the second day we were here, Professor Mustafaga pointed out to me that one thing you will notice when you look at the children here is that almost none of them are overweight, while back in America, it is almost the opposite, where the majority of kids will be overweight. People here do not sound their time indoors, they are always active and walking around. I still have yet to see any obese Italians, and I don't think I will.

Another thing you would notice about the piazzas are the shops. The roadside vendors that seem to be everywhere around areas like the Coliseum, and the large churches like San Giovanni. They all will try to give you a "special price", and as if you have been friends your entire life, they will answer the question "How much?" with "50 Euros, but for you, 40." They will do anything to sell what they have in their shops. They also seem like they can never be trusted. I remember the second day we were here in Rome and we were split up into two groups, some of us went to the Spanish Steps, and the others (including myself) went to the Coliseum. While we were there, we noticed a stand selling Rosaries, and Brandi wanted to buy one. After a while of talking to the shop owner, he tried to get Brandi to buy a Rosary for 10 Euros, she said that we would be back tomorrow and she would think about it. He said he would not be there tomorrow, he was going somewhere else. As we were walking away, he stopped her one last time and said, "5 Euros for you!" and she bought it. We went back the next day and sure enough he was indeed there, contrary to what he had told us.

In the book, The Italians, Barzini says, "But he is lying not for himself. He is lying for you.He wants you to feel at peace until Thursday at least, warmed by the hope that your shoes will arrive." (Barzini, pg. 78). This reminds me of the story Professor told us in class about his dry cleaning and how he was told it would be done by a certain day, but hen he went he was met with the phrase "that is not possible". This brings to mind the quote by Barzini which states, "How many impossible things become probable here." (Barzini, pg. 80).When I think of the piazzas, I also tend to think about the people begging for money and I always think to myself if they actually need the money, or of they are just trying to get more. Barzini states, "Is the hungry beggar in the street real or a good imitation?" (Barzini, pg. 88).

I have also noticed that the Piazzas are very common here, they are everywhere and they are where everyone seems to go. In the book, The Smiles of Rome, in the short story "Twin Beds in Rome", John Updike says, "They stood looking at the Palazzo Venezia until they imagined Mussolini frowning from a window, climbed the many steps of Piazza del Campidoglio, and came to the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius on the pedestal by Michelangelo." (Updike, pg. 216). It just seems to me that the Piazzas are the main attractions, and even in smiles, they seem to mention many of them (some of which we have been to). Overall, when I think of the piazzas, I think of life of Italians. To me, the piazzas are where people tend to spend most of their time, whereas in America, people tend to hang out at the homes of friends and family. I also think of the shopkeepers telling their "kind lies" and the beggars (real or not).