Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
of the true Romans. what makes Rome special is not Chinatown, but the altar
where Caesar was cremated (in the Roman forum). our Rome is something of
value that must never be taken for granted.” in this way, romanità may be un-
derstood as a positive force. if it acts as a bulwark against the outside world, it is
doing so to protect valued traditions. if it stems the influence of foreign peoples,
it does so to prohibit cultural degeneration.
fabrizio, a lifelong ss lazio fan, lives in monteverde. he sells small ma-
chinery to farmers just outside Rome. his job therefore takes him in the oppo-
site direction to the many commuters who come into Rome's center for work.
“i wouldn't have it any other way. i can't stand to be around the tourists and
immigrants who take our city to be a big playground or some kind of joke,” he
told me. he and his friends became politicized during the late 1990s renaissance
of ss lazio, which won the italian championship and uefa Cup between 1999
and 2000.2 to their chagrin, though, they noticed that the team that represented
them and their city was bereft of Romans. “in the past,” he said, “both lazio and
Roma had local players on their teams. it was normal that [the fans] might even
know some of them. Now, though, just like in the city—even in our neighbor-
hood—we know fewer and fewer people. we see fewer faces that have shared our
history and our passion for the city.”
fabrizio was a rarity in that he acknowledged the heterogeneous nature of
ancient Rome. in fact, no other Roman with whom i conversed about Rome and
romanità would admit to such a thing. “Rome,” he said, “has always been an im-
migrant destination, even for the ancients. so it is hard to know what is ours and
what is just a facade created by foreigners. The historic center [of Rome] is largely
of the latter variety for us. we [residents of monteverde] want to walk our streets
and hear our language.” i asked him about the monetary influence of tourism in
Rome, and the way the city caters to tourism. “when drunken poles swim in the
Tre v i [fountain], Roma stab and rape, or american students destroy trastevere,
we can do nothing and thus the Romans are enslaved by them.”
fabrizio's parents were part of a generation that saw Rome flourish as a tour-
ist destination and that likewise flourished itself. however, his parents, like some
ultras' parents i encountered, became disillusioned with the changes tourism
had brought. especially given monteverde's proximity to trastevere, his par-
ents often lamented that small restaurants and Roman butchers had closed their
shops to make way for “indians selling postcards and gaudy t-shirts.” Their des-
peration fed fabrizio's early passion for football, which he, like many others, saw
as a way to connect with something Roman that was not tainted by the changes
affecting the city. i asked if he thought Roman culture was not strong enough
to withstand a few immigrants and a lot of tourists. “fair enough,” he said, “i
should have more faith in my culture. it is just that we have seen so much of it
change. Romans used to be proud but happy, even my parents were like that until
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