…and so it begins.
Rome – Caput Mundi, Capital of the World. A feast for the eyes and for the stomach. A shining star in the travel section at your local bookstore, and frequently on educational programming at a public television channel near you. And now it’s the new home for a new group of Cornell in Rome students for the Spring 2010 semester.
I, like many other students, have always wondered what exactly it would be like to live in one of the greatest cities in Western civilization. Some people have told me that it would be a cultural “upgrade.” Others were excited to return to joyful memories of family vacations in the past.
Sadly for me, however, I was not expecting such a glorious welcome. I was initially very fearful of Rome. As a transportation planner, Rome was not only the capital of the ancient world…it was practically the center of my greatest fears. Visitors to Rome have always praised its monuments and fine cuisine, but never the congested capillaries that interconnect the city in a spaghetti-like form of tangle. In fact, on the very first day of class, this stereotypical Roman problem was brought up in discussion by Dr. Cremaschi, a planning lecturer from the University of Rome. When he asked his students about their initial feelings of Rome on the first day of class, he was surprised that nobody talked about Rome’s horrific traffic.
Living alongside the Lungotevere Cenci, one of the main boulevards that straddle along the Tiber River, I frequently observed some of the worst of Rome’s infamous stereotypes about traffic. Morning honks became my alarm clock, mopeds skirted in and out of traffic, and worst of all, nobody seemed interested in following the lane-markings on the pavement. Looking out the window, I just didn’t get it – how could such a dysfunctional city represent one of the greatest successes in Western civilization?
After a couple of weeks, I realized that I had to simply accept the fact that Rome was a city of contradictions, and not attempt to change it, as many aspiring “I can change the world by myself” urban planners have done before. I realized that Rome is a city of beautiful contradictions, not just plain old contradictions, and this has to do with the city’s ever-so-complicated 2500+ year history. Romans defy the rules, not because they are lawless, but because they follow the laws they have made on their own, not those of an elitist state. And what was I doing complaining about Roman traffic indoors from the comfort of my apartment anyway when I could have gone outside to enjoy a delicious slice of pizza? Romans have so many better things to worry about in life – what time they’re catching up with an old friend, what type of pasta they’re cooking for dinner, and whether or not they should still wear their designer coats on a seemingly-warm day.
Rome’s transport ills may not be so sweet, but La Dolce Vita is certainly much sweeter.