Rome via Brooklyn

Time to Read: 6-8 minutes

Word Count: 1,335

First I have to explain to you all what a keystone is. We learned in class that in ancient building techniques in order for the arch to stand the keystone had to be put in place, with the placement of this keystone the arch could stand on its own and last thousands of years.

In Italian architecture the keystone is often present even if not structurally needed, it is a nod to the legacy and the history of the Italian people, a representation that this building is sound and will last for generations. It is a nod to their ancient ancestors. The featured image of this blog is a modern day keystone, one that is seen in buildings everywhere across Rome.

Over my first long weekend I chose to keep in mind several things from Culture Smart! Italy and see if I could find them out and about and watch them in practice. I have decided to stay in Rome over this long weekend to see what more of the city I could discover outside of class when I am not as preoccupied with the day to day happenings.

Culture Smart! Chapter 2 details some things that are traditional of the values and attitudes of the Italian people, things like Bella Figura, loudness, or relationships.

For the sake of everyone reading this blogpost who has not read Culture Smart! I will translate some things for you.

Culture Smart! Defines these three qualities or values as follows…

Bella Figura : In Italy first impressions and how you come off to others is critical, part of this process is how you present yourself, not just through your actions but through your clothing. More often than not I find that Italians dress very fashionably even when they are doing just casual things, it is part of keeping up a bella figura or a beautiful figure. Culture Smart! states,”in Italy how you dress and act speaks volumes about you and it is important to dress and act correctly.” (pg. 55) I often find myself feeling out of place due to my clothing but in this heat I can’t focus on my appearance too much, I try to make up for it with my manners.

I would say based on my observations the women of Italy take bella figura slightly more seriously than the men, but don’t get me wrong, there are no shortage of great outfits in menswear.

Loudness : According to Culture Smart!, loudness is merely part of life in Italy. Whether it be overhearing conversations in town squares or in the streets. In my personal experience sitting or standing on the balcony of our apartment I hear people walking down our streets speaking Italian or from their own balconies too. One thing to note, Italian loudness does not translate to American loudness. Hearing loud conversations in Italian while going to the grocery store is okay, hearing loud American tourists speaking in English walking down Italian streets or eating out at restaurants is not okay and will get you many a dirty look. I’m having a hard time getting over my loud Americanness. Another aspect of loudness in Italy is that of the motor vehicles. Culture Smart! refers to this as, “the incessant roar of the cars and the hooting of the mopeds.” (57). And boy are there mopeds.

Relationships: As for relationships and their importance Culture Smart! puts it quite clear, “In Italian business and social life everything depends on relationships and who you know.” (pg. 59). I would say this trip in a way forces this value onto us if it was not present before. I have been leaning and depending on my fellow classmates on this trip for support, company, and good times, I hope I am able to do the same for them.

Whilst I was on line waiting to order at a gelato shop I witnessed the importance of the Italian relationship.

The man ordering a smoothie knew the guy serving gelato from somewhere previous, they had a quick chat and the man serving gelato scoops and smoothies insisted that the man not pay for his smoothie.

The orderer of the smoothie insisted on paying but the man serving gelato pushed harder and they both stopped what they were doing, shook hands and the man walked away with his free smoothie.

I unfortunately did not know the guy, so I had to pay.

It was tasty though!

Now that I have explained these three keystones of the Italian culture I will go through my photo gallery to show these keystones come to life!

An image of the Tiber River and a point where the water dips

Before I saw this point of the Tiber River and snapped a photo of it, I heard it. It was a point in the river in which the water dips and makes a crashing sound, I wasn’t sure if this point in the river was manmade or not but it was beautiful and demanded my attention.

This is not noise made by people but noise made by nature, the Tiber River, something that is often thought to be the blood that brings life to and connects Rome to other places takes part in the loudness too.

She certainly commanded attention from me, and for this view it was well worth it.

Looking around and actively searching for these keystones of culture I found many instances in which they intersected with one another. I found people taking their appearances seriously but also making them work with other aspects of day to day life, riding ones vespa whilst looking fashionable or being fashionable and being on the phone in public.

The weather does not deter ones outfit here the way I would say it does for most people in the states.

You do not sacrifice fashion for the sake of comfortability but rather find ways to make fashion work for you.

For the Italians it does not seem it has to be a choice of one or another, both can coexist and that challenges a mindset I had early on this trip, I didn’t pack particularly fashionable because I thought that meant innate discomfort, I didn’t brainstorm ways to make my clothes work in better ways that flattered me and also created the best impression of myself.

I also began to think of community. While on a walk with Lucy I thought of how she was a part of my community and a pre-existing relationship from back home that translated over to this trip.

I am also building a new community with my roommates, Dakota, Fannie, and Arden. We are creating a very special relationship over our time away and are hopefully embodying that keystone of Italian culture with one another.

We look out for one another and have each others backs, even if it does not serve us directly, and I am happy to be doing something like that the Italian way!

I learned and observed a lot from my long weekend and I hope to see and learn more.

-Paola ❤