GL 350 Blog #4

GL Blog #4

Prompt: How does the piazza provide a lens towards Italian culture?

            “After dinner everyone in the palazzo would go down to the courtyard to take the air with the neighbors. One of the fascinations of Old Rome is that there are no exclusive neighborhoods. Rich and poor live on top of each other.” This is a quote from Spark in our Smiles book, as he discusses how he cannot bare to leave Rome for too long. In Rome, there are no lawns where families can go out and have dinner outside, play a pick up flag football game with the family, or have the neighbors over for a barbeque. Here in Rome if you want to be with friends and family for a nice day outside, everyone gathers in a public square called a piazza. I think this creates an interesting look at Italian culture, not something you can see in America.

            If you sit in a piazza in Italy you can see many things; the rich, the poor, all different types of dogs being walked through town, children riding their bikes, old couples walking hand in hand, young couples snuggling on steps, people harassing you for money/tours/selfie sticks, runners on their morning jog, tourists rushing to the museum before it closes, and many more every day natural events. These people all know each other, especially noticeable in Venice, and greet each other with respect each morning. I can honestly say that I know about three people on my road at home, and Italians know everyone in their community due to the tight nit areas and the piazza. As Barzini describes in The Italians, life in Italy is a lot like a show. “sometimes bleak and tragic, almost always entertaining, moving, unreservedly picturesque, self-explanatory, animated, and engaging, as all good shows are.” In this piazza show, it really gives a foreigner a look into their close culture, the good and the bad.

            The piazza can sum up the Italian culture if you take a close look at each individual part. There is craziness with people rushing everywhere, but then there is also a sense of calmness when you take a second to look at the families gathering to enjoy the sun and couple drinking a nice cup of cappuccino while watching their three year old son chase the birds. There is craziness here, but there is also beauty. In order to see this you must be able to see the good behind the bad and I can already tell that Italians are good at this, as I am becoming. Barzini quotes, “The first purpose of the show is to make life acceptable. Ugly things must be hidden, unpleasant and tragic facts swept under the carpet whenever possible.” The piazzas do a great job of illustrating this point. You could see a poor 70 year old women holding out her hand for money, but then see a beautiful child ride their training wheel bike near her. It’s not about a perfect life for Italians; it’s about a happy life.

            Our culture is so different compared to the Italians. There is no better culture, but there are major differences. They are defiantly more social that Americans. Just as Barzini says, “In Rome everything is public, there are no secrets, everybody talks, things are at times flamboyantly enacted, yet no one understands nothing. To avoid making mistakes, some people conclude too hurriedly that everything here is only make-believe, nothing is ever what it looks like.” I believe that the piazzas are a huge reason for this publicity, because there is no other place to be public! Nothing is a secret, because it is right in front of you here, everything is out in the open. The culture here allows you to be different each day, and it allows you to put on a show. Change the show sure, but it will be no secret, and surely make-believe. “Culture is the process by which a person becomes all that they were created capable of being.” –Thomas Carlyle