Heatwave and tourist incivility

The promised heatwave has arrived and delivered. It's the end of June and as hot as at the end of July so nothing Romans can't handle. Well, it would be so if it weren't for the mountains of refuse that clutter the streets.

From denial to acknowledging the obvious, the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, of the M5S party, has ordered a survey of the situation. Why can't she just send out the trucks and get the job done? For months readers of the city paper 'Roma Today' have been sending in photos of overflowing skips alongside pictures of holes in the road and gulls feasting on rats or pigeons.

Unsurprisingly, as the clean up job slowly gets underway emptying the skips has revealed shocking larval life in their depths. Putrefying, decaying mountains of waste cooked at over 30°C have produced the expected. By the time the trucks have cleared one road already the bins are filling up again. Citizens who have stashed their rubbish rather than dump it on the kerbside rush out to get rid of it. The skips'll be overflowing again in no time.

In other countries such as France where such high temperatures are less usual special provisions have been taken to try and assist people through the heatwave and to avoid a repeat of the14,000 or more deaths of the 2003 heatwave. For example, in Paris swimming-pools are  being kept open later and bottles of water given out in the larger cities. In Rome, the price of bottled water goes up on the hottest days, especially in the mini-markets that are scattered all over the city.
 But to be fair, with this early heatwave, the civil protection unit has been giving out bottles of water to tourists outside the main historic sites. Anyone visiting the Imperial Fori in the summer knows how dusty and shade free the archaeological park is. The Palatine hill is cooler with its umbrella pines. 
The Mayor doesn't issue special advice on dealing with the potentially life threatening heat. However, she has issued a series of rules to maintain the decorum of the city and aimed mostly at so-called uncivil tourists. 

1) Taking a dip in the fountains has long been forbidden. Inspired by Anita Ekberg's midnight stroll in the Trevi Fountain in Fellini's La Dolce Vita every year tourists and a few attention seeking minor actresses have tried to mimic the star, and not only in the Trevi Fountain. The Barcaccia at the foot of the Spanish Steps, the various fountains on Piazza Navona as well as the large basins at the base of the Altar to the Nation have all hosted some impromptu bathers, most of whom were then greeted by the municipal police and fined (450 euros). 

2) All over the city there are small drinking fountains with a spout, these are known as nasoni (big noses after their distinctive curved spouts). There are in fact 2,500 of them, 280 of which are situated within the city walls. Romans, tourists and animals can all drink from them though last year due to the low water level of Lake Bracciano which supplies Rome with much of its drinking water a third of them were switched off. Etiquette dictates that to drink you place your hand on the spout so that water gushes up and out through a hole in the top of the spout and makes it easy to drink, or cup your hand below the flow to direct the water into your mouth. Putting ones head below the spout or even worse on the spout is considered rude (and unhygienic) and thanks to the new rules could result in a fine.

3) Wheeled suitcases cannot be dragged down steps such as the Spanish steps lest they damage the expensively refurbished (by Bulgari) monument. The rule also applies to prams. And all historic steps around the city.

4) The Spanish steps are also no longer to be considered a picnic site, no messy dripping ice creams can be eaten while seated on them and enjoying that classic pastime of people watching. Even less tolerated are the wedges of pizza with their staining dollops of tomato and oil. The messy eating rule applies to all historic monuments and sites.

5) On hot days men cannot walk around bare chested, and do not even think of dressing up as a centurion. The centurions that plied their trade (getting photographed by tourists) near the colosseum and the imperial fori have also been outlawed.

6) Other recent bans include no busking on public transport, no organised pub crawls, no public drunkenness, no illegal street trading and ticket touting and for the Romans who hang their clothes outside their windows, no clothes lines hanging between buildings.

And, in a rare moment of logical thinking and organisation, the town hall has said that tourists will be able to pay the fines directly via their bank cards and digital payment systems. They know only too well how difficult it is to get tourists to pay fines once they have returned to their home countries!

But for the majority of people these rules are just common sense. So resist the urge to throw yourselves into the cold waters of the fountains and grab an ice-cream, preferably seated in the 'gelateria' or on its terrace, and relax. No the 'vigili urbani' (street police aka traffic wardens) aren't looking at you. 

20 reasons part II

9) Sundays
Sundays are no traffic days for a number of areas in Rome. The area around the Colosseum, and the Fori Imperiali as well as the Appia Antica are closed to traffic. Not all traffic, mind you, taxis and buses can still whizz past pedestrians and cyclists. Even better, the first Sunday of every month most museums are free. Sundays are the best days to go for long strolls in the parks or among the ancient streets and appreciate the fact that Rome is one of the greenest capital cities in the world.

8) Magic doors, all-knowing drain hole covers and talking statues. There's something spooky in the air. On Piazza Vittorio stands a magic door to a dwelling where the occult arts were practised. No one has deciphered the mysterious inscription around it. It was said that metal could be transformed into gold. As if this isn't enough, Rome also has an ancient drain hole cover that can see right into your soul. It stands in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. It is the Bocca della Verita, the mouth of truth, put your hand in its mouth and if you are honest your hand won't get snapped off but liars, beware! There are also six talking statues in Rome, the most famous being Pasquino. Pasquino is a small damaged statue on Piazza Pasquino onto which political poems, epigrams and comments are tagged. It's a tradition that dates, making Pasquino's old damaged bust arguably one of the most ancient bulletin boards in Europe at the very least. His companions are Marforio, Il Facchino, Il Babuino, Madama Lucrezia and Abate Luigi found throughout the city.

7) Seagulls, starlings, parrots and pigeons
  These birds are all over the city. In the autumn great flocks of starlings swarm over the city in preparation for their migration to warmer climes. Their guano has caused tracts of the Lungotevere (the road that runs alongside the Tiber) to be closed down for a quick clean up. The seagulls though no longer so near to the sea, roost on some of Rome's largest monuments such as the Vittorio Emmanuele monument on Piazza Venezia or they nest on the ruins of Caracalla and punctuate the summer performances with their high pitched cries. They thrive in the city on a diet of waste overflowing from the too infrequently emptied dumpsters, as do the pigeons often sharing the fight for a morsel of discarded pizza with large cawing crows or stealthy rats as smaller birds swoop in and out. In recent years noisy green parrots have colonised the parks. Their large communal nests hang down from the branches of the umbrella pines, impressive efforts of avian engineering. An urban myth would have us believe that these hordes of parrots are the descendants of caged parrots that escaped or were released by their owners. Far more likely is that they are the consequence of global warming. Indeed large swarms of parrots have been sighted now in some of London's great parks.

6) Trattorie and traditional dishes
 Food is readily available, of high quality and reasonably priced throughout the city as long as you avoid the more obvious tourist spots. If it has dishes of plastic food on display or large over bright pictures of the food on offer as well as beckoning waiters it's best avoided. Likewise if food is being served round the clock rather than at more appropriate mealtimes it's not a good eatery.

Just sneaking a few metres off piste can reveal a trattoria of home cooked delights. Does the menu have a few offally surprises typical of la cucina povera Romana alongside pasta classics such as cacio pepe, 'matriciana and carbonara, then you may be onto something good and genuine. Are there elderly people carving off splinters of pecorino from a milky white wheel of cheese while popping fresh fava beans out of their pods? - then you're onto something worthwhile. Attractive as it may seem to dine on a main piazza, you will be paying for the location rather than the food. Think about it.

5) Baroque
The centre of Rome has some incomparable works of Baroque sculpture and architecture. Walk the streets, Via Urbana and Via Sistina are the two most renowned Baroque streets, visit the piazzas, nothing can out do Piazza Navona for Baroque decadence and go into the Museo di Roma behind Piazza Navona. Enjoy the excess along with some cracking good yarns of Baroque artists' rivalries. Whatever you do don't forget to stop by the Fontana di Trevi, Rome's largest Baroque fountain.

4) An incomparable past
Whatever Rome may have become today its busy streets tell tales. Rubbish collection must always have been an issue as ancient plaques affixed to the facades on Via Giulia and via del Governo Vecchio attest. The Tiber once flooded the city in days before the high embankments were created. The Vatican shaped the streets.Via Giulia was created by Pope Giuliano della Rovere to facilitate transit between the Vatican and Rome's port on Lungotevere Ripa.  Mussolini demolished streets for his great pompous avenues and his processions. Baroque, Renaissance and ancient, all styles jostle for attention in the historic centre. But way before all that were the ancient Roman settlements from the little huts on the Palatine, to grand Imperial palaces such as Nero's golden house above the bustling roads and temples of the Roman Fori or the vast bath houses such as Caracalla's. They have all helped to shape the modern city. Indeed one of the oft repeated excuses for not extending Rome's pitifully lacking metropolitan tube lines is the presence underground of priceless relics and statues as well as mosaics which would be irremediably damaged if such work got underway. 

3) The sea and the mountains are but a stones throw away.
If the city gets to be too much, the sea is but a train ride away, albeit at Ostia, a town of little charm, often referred to as Rome-by-the-sea. It is infamous for the murder of the Roman poet, Pasolini, and for the local mafia squabbles which have marred its reputation for years. In recent years it has been tidied up and gentrified but the large bathing establishments remain overpriced and overrated. As for the polluted waters not much can be done as it lies downstream from the mouth of the Tiber at Fiumicino.
However, a little way up the coast is the quiet suburban town of Santa Marinella while down the coast towards Naples are the towns of Anzio and Nettuno, and for a frisson of a Greek style seaside enclave, there's the hilltop town of Sperlonga. 
But if the sea ain't your cuppa, turn your gaze inland towards the Abruzzo, towards the Appenines, mountains that'll thrill any mountain lovers' hearts. A day trip to climb the Gran Sasso is said to be worth it.  Or you can explore some of the attractive towns on the border between the Abruzzo and Lazio such as Subiaco with its stunning monastery.

2) Il gelato
 Cold and silky smoothness issues forth from multi-flavoured metal wells. There are hundreds of gelaterie throughout the city from the more famous such as Giolitti's to more hidden away gems such as Quinto gelateria off Piazza Navona. There are thousands of flavours from traditional favourites such as chocolate or panna to more adventurous or unusual flavours such as zabaione or pomodori (tomatoes). To have panna (freshly whipped cream) on top, or not, now that is the question. However, beware the plastic tubs, the product they contain is commercially produced and of inferior quality. Indeed why do some bars choose to sell them when there are so many good artisanal ice-cream producers throughout the city?

1) The ghetto
There is a quiet dignity among its cobbled streets. It is a wedge of land beside the Tiber running up to the foot of the Campidoglio. Come here for a reminder of a terrible past and resiliance - the buildings and streets bear witness. Come here for the carciofi alla giudea, for the baccala, for the alleyways and sour cherry pies. Come here for the gracious beauty of the Fontana delle Tartarughe… 

20 reasons to live in Rome

Sometimes it's important to remember why I love this city and what I love about it. I need to remind myself. So in no particular order, which means 1 is not the best, nor is 20, the worst:


20) the weather.
   What's not to love about almost year long mild weather? The coldest months are January and February. The hottest months are July and August. Anything in between is pleasant. This doesn't stop Romans from moaning about the lack of seasons, about it being too hot, too wet... Nor does it seem to stop condominium administrators from imposing six months of heating, which really isn't necessary.

19) the open air museum
      Walking the streets there is something to see on every corner. At least,if you live in the historic centre or within the city walls, that is. Away from the centre it's a different story, there are eyesores aplenty. Having said that, even in peripheral areas, there has been an effort to beautify areas with street art projects. Check Out: Big city life Project, on Viale di Tor Marancia. 

18) the colours
     My niece, on a visit from Finland, could but marvel at the colours: siena oranges, ochres, salmons, pinks, cream.... Buildings are rarely dull. Balconies are often covered in plants and colourful flowers. Awnings go from soft browns, to lush greens via oranges and burgundys. Forget the dull greys and browns of Northern cities. Less pleasing, are the colourful, plentiful and messy graffiti which unfortunately can be found everywhere.

17) the quality of the light
This one is difficult to describe. Claude Monet, the French impressionist painter, chose to paint all over Normandy because of the quality of the light. He gave us the lily pads of Giverny, the cathedral of Rouen, the cliffs at Etretat... I wonder what he would have made of Rome? Mind you, come August when the sun is at its zenith, the heat brings an unpleasant shimmer which spoils any picture. And when the scirocco blows or afa looms it's best to stay indoors.

16) the river and its bridges
       A caveat, for rivers and bridges, my award goes to Paris. However Rome comes in a good second. This is thanks to Bernini, and the incomparable 'Bridge of Angels', set in one of the most historically evocative areas of the city. Other bridges are symbols of their time. A stroll along the banks of the Tiber is a walk through history. It's all there from the ancient at Ponte Rotto, near the Tiber island, to the fascist by Mussolini's Olympic stadium. 

 15) Pizza al Taglio
 I thought they could be found all over Italy. I was wrong. It's very much a Roman take on pizza. All over the city there are shops with large trays of freshly made pizza ready to slice per the customers' requests at any time of the day. No one knows which is the best pizza or the best place to get some. But any hunger pang can quickly be calmed with a slice of heaven: from the margherita, the bianca , the rossa to more elaborately topped pizzas, the choice is yours! Try Bonci Pizzarium on Via della Melaria. Or the pizza chain, Alice, now all over the city which boasts a wide selection of toppings including the infamous Nutella pizza.

14) the fabulous mercati rionali
 Each district of Rome (rione) has its own outdoors and nowadays increasingly indoors market. These have stalls heaped with mounds of fresh produce set closely side by side  and stall keepers shouting to attract attention in enclosed halls or in competition with heavily trafficked roads and honking drivers. The most famous outdoor market may be that on Campo dei Fiori, as it's in the centre of the city, but being in tourist land it sells a lot of tourist tat and at a price. A 20-minute tram ride away, round the back of Monteverde, is the large noisy market of San Giovanni di Dio. Both the prices and the atmosphere are more genuine. Other markets of note are the second largest in Rome,of the Tuscolana, on Via Satrico or the ethnic market, known as the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino on Via Alberto Filiberto where you'll find Indian spices, fresh coriander, tofu, rice vinegar and other hard to find food or the distinctly posher and grander Mercato Trionfale near the Vatican. Many areas also have weekend farmers' markets, try the one in Garbatella.

13) Puntarelle and bitter greens
 If you're in Rome in the winter try the puntarelle, they're a type of chicory, usually served in an anchovy and lemon emulsion. Making them is finicky but many grocery stores and supermarkets sell them ready prepared, all they need is their dressing. They are a Roman speciality and difficult to find in other regions of Italy. Other bitter leaves such as chicory, chards and broccoletti are good too. In different seasons it's not unusual to find elderly locals foraging for bitter leaves in the large tracts of wild land which can be found between the various areas of the city.

12) Once-sumptuous parks
Sadly, I have to refer to them as once-sumptuous due to the continuing rot in the city administration that has led to their extensive neglect. Unlike many other capital cities Rome has a lot of large parks: Villa Ada, Villa Borghese and Villa Pamphili are the largest and most well-known. Indeed, Villa Borghese holds the Galleria Borghese, home to works of art by Caravaggio and Bernini, to name but two. It also houses the biopark, a zoo with a difference which takes on animals in need of succour and has a successful breeding programme but suffers from a lack of funding and resources. Each year the city is supposed to give funds to the park but payments are often tardy.

Further away from the centre lies the park of the Caffarella. It is wedged between the Appia Antica and the Appio Latino districts, both well-to-do areas of the city. This abuts onto the

regional Park of the Appia Antica which runs almost all the way almost to the foot of the Castelli Romani. Less prominent is the wild volcanic Tenuta di Tor Marancia which edges the working class district of the same name and extends to the Ardeatina. The park of the Aqueducts down by cinecittà  is worth some time if just to marvel at the sheer feat of ancient Roman engineering, put even more into context when a 30-year-old motorway bridge collapses in the North. Smaller parks as well  such as Villa Sciarra (in Monteverde) or the park of the EUR with its famous laghetto are also popular though maybe more among Romans than among tourists. These days a lot of these parks are neglected and untidy. Villa Sciarra was vandalised with statues thrown into dried up ponds and graffiti scrawled over benches. 

11) Trastevere, Testaccio and Garbatella
  Each area has a distinct atmosphere, almost as if they were separate villages within the larger city. Trastevere, across the Tiber was once a working class neighbourhood. Today it is jam packed full of restaurants and trattorie along its narrow alleyways and characteristic piazzas. Just a hop and a skip across the Tiber is Testaccio with its tight grid of streets ending up at Monte Testaccio and Monte dei Cocci, an ancient Roman rubbish tip. Recent gentrification has seen the market moved to a modern indoor structure and the central piazza restyled. It is increasingly trendy. It also is home to one of the best pizzerie in Rome 'Da Remo', and to one of the best cheese salumerie shops 'Volpetti', on Via Marmorata. And even though the old slaughterhouse closed down many years ago, it is the last remaining bastion of the true cucina povera, the fifth quarter, that is tripe, oxtail, offal. Like Trastevere, it has become in recent years a go to destination for groups of foodies on their food tour of Rome. 

Bypassing the up and coming Ostiense area, about 5 kms south is Garbatella. Still today it retains some of its old charm and true Roman spirit. The old area was made up of council flats, divided into lots. Many of the buildings have their lotto number engraved in stone on their facades while others sport on their paintwork the orange and red colour of Roma FC or the black head of a wolf in allegiance to the club. 

10) the banks of the Tiber
 Impressive in their own right, a walk along the banks of the Tiber, when the water is low, is de rigueur. If the water is high the steep stairs that give access to the banks are bared with unattractive orange and white police hazard tape. The walls tower high above you as you walk all the way from Ponte Marconi, following the cycle lane, to the other side of Rome, at Ponte Milvio. 

The city seems far away as all that reaches the river is the hum of the traffic on the busy Lungotevere roads above.


       (Reasons:  to be continued)