Thursday, November 11, 2010

Piazzas Help Understand the Italian Culture

While studying the piazza’s in Rome, I am being lead to a better understanding towards the Italian culture. There are many different piazzas all throughout the city of Rome.  A piazza is defined to be similar as a town square.  It is a place to relax with your friends or just get a bite to eat or drink.  Piazzas always seem to be exciting with people surrounding.   So far throughout our studies, we have been given the opportunity to visit the Piazza del Popolo and the piazza in Navona.   While visiting these Piazzas, I have decided that these places allow Rome to seem more calm and relaxing.  The city always seems to be very busy and the help one to relax and enjoy the city a little more.
In the city of Rome, people are always rushed and it is always crowded.  Everyone needs a special time to just sit down and enjoy one another’s company;  a piazza is a great place to do so.  When observing these piazza’s, I have noticed that most of the people are either eating, enjoying the fresh air or just sharing a drink while enjoying the presence of each other.
My favorite piazza that we have visited so far is one of the most famous, the Piazza in Navona.  This piazza is in the historic of Rome, which is very close to the Pantheon.   It is full of outdoor cafes, restaurants, night clubs, and painters everywhere.  When looking outside of this piazza it seems to be a fairytale.  It is so beautiful with many people.  This is a very lively and busy scenery with many people.   The main attraction of this square is the three fountains.  These fountains are very beautiful and have significant meaning.  It is very easy to see how the culture is different from any other by spending time at this piazza.
While just sitting or walking around the piazza, you are able to learn so much about the culture and the people of Rome.  The people in the city seem to be much different because of the setting.  It is very different from being at the train station when everyone is being rushed, running into each other and gypsies everywhere.  While at the piazza’s, people seem to be very comfortable to worries in the world.  It is a great time to see the city not only as very busy, but being relaxed and enjoying a beautiful night.
Overall, I have learned a lot while visiting these piazzas and see that they lead me towards a better understand of the Italian culture.  Before visiting, I felt that I had the wrong impression on the City of Rome.  I saw that Rome was too busy and I never felt very comfortable just walking around the city.  I always tried to be very observant and cautious because anything wrong could happen.  The piazza’s make me feel a little more safe people it is just a place to relax and chat with friends.  It is very similar to going to a park back at home and just being with people I care about.  It is nice to take a break from your busy day and go out and enjoy yourself.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Brooke!
    I do agree with you when you said that "Rome was too busy" and that you never felt real comfortable because I definitely felt the same way. To be honest, it was a little scary the first week for me because I felt that I was going to get lost from the group. The other night that we were in the Piazza Navona for our free weekend, I loved it there too! I felt like we were part of a family because it was "the place to be". For once on this trip, I felt like we kinda "fit in" because we were with people that were around the same age; except for the old creeps of course! And yes, I also feel like we learn a lot about the Italian culture through the piazzas because so many different people come there to relax and enjoy the time they have to chill out. Good blog!

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  2. I really liked your part about better understanding the culture through Piazza Navona I felt when I was there that it was less tourists and more actual Italians. I think the people at the train station really give off a bad impression of how Rome is but at the piazzas you can really see how it is.

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