L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano K i n g s o f t h e internet, rulers of our homes, cats have also a n o t h e r important role in Italy: they are emperors of the Città Eterna. If you visited Rome, you know felines are revered a n d r e s p e c t e d a r o u n d i t s streets and that they have a penchant for settling in the city's most iconic archaeolo- gical locations, including the Imperial Forum and the Colosseum. H o w e v e r , t h e m o s t famous of all Roman feline colonies is the one at Torre Argentina, where kitties of all ages, colors and tempera- ment live quietly and happily among the ruins of ancient Roman temples and homes. Let's be honest: is there a more apt location for a cat to live in than a place where, once upon a time, emperors used to hang? No, there isn't, really. T h e c o l o n y o f T o r r e Argentina is famous becau- se of its organization and its size, so much so that it beca- me popular even among tou- r i s t s , w h o a r e o f t e n s e e n admiring the ruins from the street, eager to spot one of the many furries living there. And they do love showing themselves to us: elegant, indolent, always beautiful, always haughty. Here at Torre Argentina, m a n y R o m a n g a t t a r e (that's the Italian for cat lady, ye all) take care of a sanctuary that about 250 cats call home. With love, kindness and respect, they e n s u r e t h e i r f o u r - l e g g e d friends are healthy, warm, fed and free from disease, supported in their endeavor by good natured vets and generous donors. But how did Torre Argen- t i n a b e c o m e h o m e t o t h e most famous cat colony of I t a l y ? W e l l , b e c a u s e c a t s chose it, of course. But cats never pick a place — or a person, for that matter — randomly. Just like cemete- ries (another notorious locus adored by felines: have you ever heard of the colony at the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris?), archaeological sites are loved by cats: they are q u i e t , s p a c i o u s a n d o f f e r plenty of nooks and crannies where to find repair and pro- tection. Alas, they are also a place where it's easy to aban- don unwanted kitties and t h a t ' s c e r t a i n l y h o w t h e Torre Argentina colony ini- tially grew. But there is more to this location than that. There is more that brought cats there. If we want to trace back the origins of the colony, we need to step back in time, all t h e w a y t o 1 9 2 6 , w h e n urban redevelopment began in the area of Via San Nicola de' Cesarini, with the aim of improving viability in the city. Plans to gentrify the area and bring it up to a k i n g d o m ' s c a p i t a l ' s s t a n - dards had been presented almost 20 years earlier, in 1909, but no one could ima- gine a real treasure was hid- den underneath the surface. As it still happens in Rome to this day, an archeological surprise awaited workers b u s y w i t h d i g g i n g a n d razing: temples. Yes, ancient 4th century BC Roman tem- ples — four of them, a disco- very so important that, after some diatribes between the Belle Arti and locals, and subsequent excavations, the Foro Argentina was inaugu- rated, on the 21st of April 1929, the 2682nd anniver- sary of the foundation of Rome. The Forum of Torre A r g e n t i n a u s e d t o b e a place of cult, a place of the gods: no wonder cats chose it for themselves, right? But t h e r e i s m o r e . F u r t h e r archeological investigations demonstrated that part of the remains located on the w e s t e r n s i d e o f t h e s i t e belonged to the Curia Pom- peia, the Curia of Pompey, the place where Julius Cae- sar was murdered. A n d s o , w e d i s c o v e r e d that Torre Argentina is not only a place where worship t o o k p l a c e , b u t a l s o o n e where men of great political power and civic value would gather: what perfect location for cats, animals used to be worshiped like gods in anti- quity and that, today, boss us around like the gorgeous, smart rulers they are. T h e g a t t a r e o f T o r r e Argentina tell us that their cats love resting among the ruins of the four temples, as you would expect, of course. There is one they love in par- ticular, the temple dedicated to Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, the goddess of every- d a y ' s f o r t u n e . J u s t l i k e saying: "do like us, take deli- ght in everyday's small trea- sures. You may just appre- ciate life more." If you want to know more about the Colonia Felina di Torre Argentina, its history, its cats and how to adopt one o f t h e m ( y e s , t h e y h a v e distance adoptions, too!), check out their website at: https://www.gattidiroma.net T i voglio bene (tee voh-llioh bai-nai) is the sweetest of I t a l i a n e x p r e s - sions. Unlike its more theatrical sister, ti amo, "ti voglio bene" tends to be more subtle but also more authentic. When you say " ti voglio bene," you're usually honest and really feel what you say, while "ti amo"… well, we all know "ti amo" can be mislea- ding sometimes. The thing is, "ti voglio bene" is a difficult concept to explain and, thus, to transla- te in English. It's commonly rendered with "I love you," which is also used to transla- te "ti amo," but the two don't mean quite the same in Ita- lian. In fact, in languages like English, French, Spanish and Arabic, the expression "ti voglio bene" doesn't really exist. So, let's try to explain. In Italian, "ti amo" is used (or it traditionally was: more o f i t b e l o w ) t o e x p r e s s romantic love: you say "ti amo" to your lover, to the person who gives you butter- flies. "Ti voglio bene" refers to an equally deep feeling, b u t t h a t d o e s n ' t h a v e a romantic connotation: think of your parents, your grand- p a r e n t s , y o u r p e t s , y o u r f r i e n d s . S o m e t i m e s , " t i voglio bene" is a first step towards "ti amo," when you say it to someone you've been seeing: it shows you're com- mitted, but not to the level of declaring your love fully. A strange phenomenon has been happening, though: Italians — the younger gene- rations especially — now use "ti amo" also when we would u s u a l l y p r e f e r " t i v o g l i o bene," in what is likely to be a loan translation of the Engli- sh "I love you." So, while a bunch of years ago you would h a v e s a i d t i v o g l i o b e n e , m a m m a , t o d a y y o u c a n easily hear ti amo, mamma. Both of them translate with "I love you mom" in English, but to Italian ears — at least to slightly older ones! — the s e c o n d s o u n d s e x t r e m e l y awkward. - S e i l a m i a m i g l i o r e amica, chiaro che ti voglio bene! - You're my best friend, of course I love you! - V o g l i o b e n e a i m i e i nonni come se fossero i miei genitori - I love my grandpa- r e n t s a s i f t h e y w e r e m y parents - Dico al mio gatto che gli voglio bene tutti i giorni! - I say "I love you" to my cat every day! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Expression of the day: ti voglio bene. Because "I love you" doesn't mean the same in all languages Why is Rome the city of cats? Cats are the real kings of the Eternal City (Photo: Shutterstock_616580993)

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