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Published: April 20th 2012
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‘But if one is idle, surely it is depressing to live year after year among the ashes of things that once were mighty’. This statement about Rome in Henry James’s novel
Roderick Hudson makes for a persuasive argument, but I would argue that Rome’s lackadaisical atmosphere, which revels in disorganization and lounging in the streets, must be one of the most contented in Europe.
What follows is a list of things that I observed in the city where the Old world meets the New world with charm and artistry; A Roman Holiday:
- As opposed to some of the metropolis capitals of Europe, there is an overriding feeling of space in Rome. The cobbled streets aren’t catered for rushing industry and to stroll around the wide and historic streets is not to be hounded by other human beings, but to pass all other citizens with ease.
- The piazza culture of meeting up in large squares, hanging around, people watching, chatting and drinking is made possible by space. There’s no obvious Friday or Saturday night buzz. Instead, friends meet up to stand outside in groups and laze about. There’s no universal desire to get
intoxicated. Instead these are genuine social gatherings.
- The philosopher Alan Watts described ‘instant coffee as a punishment for people who are in too much of a hurry’. This kind of hurried blasphemy would never happen in a house of Rome. Real pride is taken in producing coffee of all types. Pride is taken in unwritten customs, such as never to drink a cappuccino after 11am. Wine, the drink of leisure, is another cultural tour de force in Italy. Rivalry is strong in Italy. A man from Naples will say that any coffee from north of Naples is inferior. Wine is also tailored to the different cuisines all around Italy. Of course the tourist cafes of Rome will churn out anything at extortionate prices, but the local Roman can get quality but cheap food with ease.
- Walking through Rome takes you past statues of incredible age round almost every corner, almost every street. There are grand churches of old and imperious remains of the prestigious Roman empire. These symbols of the past connect you with human beings over two millennia ago. It makes you think and appreciate almost every step of the way.
- Living alongside the Old world also seems to mean that there is no rush to build a new empire or a new higher civilization. The people of Rome have done all that before. The burden of history must be weighing down upon the shoulders of development. The modern Romans have taken all the best bits of old, the food and the architecture and they’ve left the harder edges of Roman civilization behind. Organization was the only quality of ancient Rome that really should have been kept up. Modern Rome is utterly disorganized, yet what kind of city can be truly laid-back unless it exists as a kind of shambles by its very nature. Disorganization means no planning required, living life as it comes, taking it easy.
- People don’t tend to show themselves off too much either in Rome. Even on nights out women dress relatively conservatively. They prefer jeans, long-skirts and boots to low-cut tops and mini-skirts. The conservative dress is perhaps an indication of people not feeling the need to try too hard and lay it all out. Like anywhere else there are still posers, so while most men wear standard
puffer jackets on cool evenings some walk around in packs wearing tight t-shirts and shades searching for groups of females, which they descend upon unremittingly. A group of four terrified American girls in short skirts came past me and turned away from a crowded street because they had been embarrassed too much already by excessive male attention. Given the local dress, were the Americans asking for it or were the Roman men outrageously rude...?
- Happy groups line the banks of the river Tiber or sit on the bridges. There are hardly any obnoxious drunks and if you wish to leave the lively Campo dei Fiori, where younger revellers tend to take a slightly more British approach to drinking, you can head into bustling but relaxed areas with narrow cobbled streets and plenty of inexpensive bars.
- There are free water fountains all over Rome (probably thanks to the ancient aqueducts). The most basic necessity of life is everywhere and available at all times. Truly a treat for the lazy.
- At one euro for 75 minutes of public transport a whole theme of stress in other European cities is avoided.
Even attitudes to strikes demonstrate the relaxed frame of mind. A transport strike on the Friday that I left Italy, resulted in a large proportion of the public taking a holiday themselves and extending it to the public holiday of the following Wednesday; a fine compromise.
- The ruins of old, the renaissance paintings, the abundance of grand Catholic churches all tend towards artistic inspiration. As in
Roderick Hudson, the old world is a route to creativity. Rowland Mallet exclaims: ‘Saint Peter’s – all this splendour, all Rome – pictures, ruins, statues, beggars, monks. All these things are impregnated with life; they are the results of an old and complex civilization.’
- Roderick Hudson himself, who becomes a lazy pleasure seeker in Rome claims that, ‘If I had not come to Rome I shouldn’t have risen, and if I had not risen I shouldn’t have fallen’. Rome has changed his life. He has ups and downs, but the very experience of Rome in itself is the highest inspiration for him. Rome's fine tradition of art and music has surely something to do with the reveries and dreams induced by its history and architecture.
- The food of Rome hardly needs introduction, but the Mediterranean diet is surely at one with the care-free lifestyle. Food is rarely used out of season, which ensures sustainability and freshness in all diets. They say Italian food relies on the ingredients not so much on the cooking. Thus Romans get the finest food with the minimal effort. The lazy food lover’s dream.
- It was funny to be able to stand side by side with the clergy of St Peter’s cathedral as they puffed on cigarettes outside and I stood side by side with clergymen eating ice cream outside the Pantheon in the midday-sun. Everyone can mix in! The least chilled out people in Rome were the men dressed as ancient Roman Centurions outside the Pantheon. They cussed and touted at unwitting foreigners making ridiculous scenes. Such gimmicks had no real place in front of the exquisite architecture anyway.
- I’m told the villages around Rome are even more laid back with the older folk coming out onto the streets to play board games like chess and meander the days away.
- After all this I
must profess to knowing nothing of the mafia in Rome. I imagine, however, that most fortunate people don’t have to get involved and can be at ease in what I believe to be the most laid back capital in Europe.
Despite being 19
th century literature, which cannot be applied absolutely to today’s Rome, I leave you with the thoughts of Roderick Hudson the inspired sculptor on his life-changing experience in Rome:
‘he declared that Rome made him feel and understand more things than he could express; he was sure that life must have there for all one’s senses an incomparable fineness; that more interesting things must happen to one there than anywhere else.’
Henry James also declares enthusiastically:
‘Rome is Rome still; a place where strange things happen!
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