L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano R ome: caput mundi, the Eternal City, the cradle of Western culture as we know it (without forgetting Athens, of course!). A city made of history and art, spirituality and, well… controversy. Those among you who follow the Italian news are aware of the fact our capital has been having it rough recently: a wobbly trans- port system, severe inefficiencies when it comes to the garbage col- lection and disposal system, all topped by what many perceive to be too inexperienced a council to regulate the city. Summer, unlike sleep, does not bring advice, but more issues to solve. In the case of Rome, these issues have a name: tourists. Tourism is, and always will be, one of the capital's largest sources of income: visiting Rome is almost a rite of passage, an epiphany for each individual, when the greatness of Humankind, in the shape of art, architecture and the ancient ves- tiges of the Roman civilization, becomes tangible, visible, truly "real." And this is without taking into consideration the spiritual relevance of the city. Yet, as it happened in other popular Italian destinations — namely Florence and Venice — the high numbers of people crowding its streets can become a serious problem, especially when they do not behave prop- erly. Lonely Planet has recently published an article making the point of current and new regula- tions on the dos and don'ts of holidaying in Rome. Interesting- ly enough, and in spite of the increasingly high numbers of tourists who've been flooding the city in the past decades, city legislations on tourism date back to 1946: basically, they are as old as the Italian Republic. Rome City Council has recently updated them, with the aim of limiting problems for resi- dents — and for the city's many monuments — while keeping the value of visitors' experiences high. Indeed, most of these new rules are more than simple to fol- low for your average, well behaved tourist: for instance, it is now forbidden to jump into any of the many water fountains pop- ulating Roman squares. A lot of people does it, but let's just say properly mannered individuals know it's not appropriate. Simi- larly, penalties have been put into place for men walking around town shirtless: again, if your parents brought you up properly, you should know that no shirt is ok only by the sea. Another bad behavior tackled by the new regulations is that of those ubiquitous "love pad- locks," so popular among teens and locked in places like bridges as a symbol of a couple's undy- ing love. It may be romantic, but defacing a monument is just not right, not even in name of the most passionate of romances. Following the examples of Florence and Venice, which prohibited consuming food in the streets of specific historical areas, having a snack in proximi- ty of some of the capital's most famous monuments may also be forbidden, all in name of order and cleanliness: now, if only people could respect common, basic rules of civilization and stop littering like mad, we could keep enjoying our gelato and pizza slices walking around without a thought… Drinking from Rome's nasoni, the city's popular public fountains, will also have new rules: drinking directly from their faucets is no longer allowed. In other words you cannot touch the fountain with your lips, you'll have to use your cupped hands to drink or carry with you one of those col- lapsable plastic cups that were so popular when we were children. Busking around town, includ- ing metro stations, will also be forbidden under new regulations and this may be the one thing vis- itors and Romans alike will miss: street performers are part of the allure and beauty of places such as London, Paris and Dublin and one could argue that limitations on artistic performance should not be placed. Rome City Coun- cil, though, certainly had its own good reasons to take the decision. Don't think, however, that Rome's own new behavioral code only hits the tourists: Romans have to check their manners, too. For instance, they are no longer allowed to hang their laundry to dry between buildings nor can they take prams up and down historical staircases, such as the Spanish Steps. We are now at the end of June and, while all of the above regu- lations have been made public, it's still unclear when and how they will be formally imple- mented. The point remains the same: are they the right thing to do? All in all, probably yes. In a world where respect for culture, artistic beauty andspirituality has been getting dangerously low, some stricter rules have become necessary. Ideally, however, everyone should realize that walking around a city shirtless, or entering a church in a bikini — people living by the sea in Italy can confirm that this, indeed, happens — are unaccept- able behaviors, just like littering around or sitting on people' doorstep to eat is. Romans, and polite visitors of the Eternal City, are probably welcoming these new rules with a sight of relief, yet it's difficult not to consider their presence as a little defeat for Humankind: if we no longer realize what's unaccept- able and disrespectful, then how can we expect to pass on our immense cultural, spiritual and artistic patrimony to the next generations? Welcome, then, are "no-padlock" and "wear-your- shirt-while-in-Rome" rules, if they can help people understand how to behave and respect her- itage and beauty. SIMONE SCHIAVINATO Piazza di Spagna, in Rome. Tourists' habits around the area may have to change when new regulations are implemented © Wessel Cirkel | Dreamstime.com LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS Va c a n z e R o m a n e ? Ye s, b u t t h e r e a r e r ules to follow

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