Rome Improvements

During the month of September, there was (some) good news coming out of Rome, which has been riddled with scandals on the level of Caligula & Co. of late (and - alas - Rome's not the only one capturing headlines when it comes to siphoning monies from the public funds).  In any case, it looks like Rome is trying to clean up its act, so to speak.
It started with the new paint jobs of the white lines (a regular feature since they fade so quickly - talk about siphoning public funds).  This was followed by a few new sorties over the Roman walls by Retake Rome & Fondazione Garibaldi (find them on facebook - their next stop: Ponte Milvio on October 13th).  And, speaking of walls, a few organizations in the fall take University students or other groups around the entire Aurelian walls surrounding the original city limits of Rome.

It's a beautiful way to experience the city.

Next, I heard that the Chamber of Commerce along with RomaCapitale have instituted a toll free number for citizens to indicate disservices in their area.  You can call 800.912.760 and let them know if places are filled with trash, perhaps graffiti and other such complaints.

My wish is that this initiative lasts a bit longer than most of them that come and go with the political winds...

Not to be outdone, the City's Bus Service ATAC decided to bring in their own complaint dept.  This is via email to the President of Security of some sorts [email:  sosatac *AT* fabriziosantori *DOT* com...]  They (or he, rather) want to know if buses don't come by, or pass you right by, if they're dirty, or even receive suggestions on line extensions and improved services]  -- Click here for my cheat sheet on bus travails...Fifty ways to leave your rider...

Again, I hope these complaints actually get a response unlike others I've tried and heard in response, 

"Well, we really can't help you out.  We just take the complaints."

And even the Vatican (besaddled with their very own 'What the Butler Saw' now playing Live! on the Via Crucis) got into the act.  The Vatican Museums have added a few roaming priests to help people out in their moment of rapture while viewing the works, with questions on the clergy, on the artworks, symbolism and more.  

They're the live version of Siri - maybe they can call themselves, Cyrus - after the Great Persian King...

*Most of the entries above contain live links

Italy's Women take the Stage

Attending the WINConference all week long in Rome, of course, gets you thinking about working women.  This year, for the first time ever, the WIN Committee set out to honor the all-to-often 'Invisible women of Italy', those courageous women who, through hard work, strong spirit and a whole lot of talent as well, stick to their goals and break a glass ceiling or two.  Out of the many outstanding nominees, here is our selection of Inspirational Women of Italy:

Emma Marcegaglia – President of Confindustria, Italy’s Business Lobby & sort of industrial Chamber of Commerce – and focal point for businesses throughout the country. Often called the Lady of Steel, as her family’s business is in the metals industry, she is the face of women at the helm, and one who has gained respect by all those around her and shows that women in Italy can break through which is often a steel ceiling.

Paola Muti – Professor, Scientific Director & Researcher at Rome’s esteemed Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena or National Institute of Tumors.

Paola has had a long career in epidemiology as a researcher & professor, and although having worked in the USA, is an example of someone countering the current trend in their field of ‘brain drain’, and who returned to Italy to continue her research & work. Italy boasts many women graduates of universities and many many more researchers, all pioneers in their field, and Paola and her team serves as a beacon of light in a country currently facing cuts in all aspects of research, universities and science.

Lorella Zanardo – For many of us in Italy, perhaps Lorella needs no introduction. But she threw a small pebble into the pond of women’s portrayal in the media, and it became a tsunami. Now dedicated to educating young women & men about the responsibility of the media to portray women appropriately and with dignity, her documentary, Il Corpo delle Donne – The Body of Women - blog & activities surrounding it have gone global. Lorella, for her work, is the body of proof that in an internet and interconnected age, “one small idea is the birthplace of great accomplishments.”

Barbara Giangravè & Rebecca Spitzmiller feted
at the WINConference VIP event

Rebecca Spitzmiller – Lawyer, law professor and nowadays, community organizer and activist in her adopted city of 25 years, Rome. Put simply, she was sick & tired of the graffiti that plagues the most beautiful city on earth. So, she grabbed her son, took some oven cleaner and started scrubbing. Since then, her initiative, Retake Rome has joined forces with the Fondazione Garibaldi to educate kids in civic pride, convincing Rome’s Mayor and the American Ambassadors in Rome to roll up a sleeve and apply some elbow grease. Even more incredibly, many of her biggest advocates and 'inside teammmates' are former 'writers' themselves. Her initiative caught the attention of Anita Garibaldi, the great-grandaughter of Giuseppe Garibaldi - the man who, with his wife Anita fighting by his side, united Italy 150 years ago - So once again a Garibaldi is literally changing the face of Italy.

And, last, but certainly not least,

Barbara Giangravè –Journalist for Siciliaonline, Barbara has chosen to stay and live in Palermo. Barbara was a young girl when the anti-Mafia prosecutors, Giovanni Falcone & Paolo Borsellino were assassinated in Sicily. After spotting a blitz of little posters plastered around town (sorry, Rebecca!) that read, “A people that pays the pizzo – extortion money – is a people without dignity,” Barbara joined this fledgling group, AddioPizzo. Today, Addio Pizzo boasts hundreds of small retailers no longer paying the pizzo, outlets where people can buy pizzo-free products, and now even pizzo-free tourism. And while Barbara is now no longer involved directly, Addio Pizzo has since been recognized by Italy’s President, the law enforcement people, even Bill Clinton for their contribution to their communities...But most of all, it's recognized by the people of Sicily who are taking on the extortionists and no longer letting the criminals take away their dignity.

Retake Rome: Get in the Act!

If you live in Rome or know someone who does, here's an opportunity to act like a local: Participate in an upcoming protest march thru the city streets:


RETAKE ROMA, a movement aimed at increasing civic pride of our public spaces, has launched a Cordata per il decoro or “March for Dignity of Public Spaces” to take place on Saturday June 11. Our aim is to raise awareness of citizens, and all the institutions, associations and committees and those who see us march, to view our streets, our walls and other objects in our urban landscape with new eyes.
While Saturday's demonstration will involve only a small part of the XX Municipality, we believe it will be only the beginning of a cultural movement that will spread through the entire city.
It is essential that citizens begin to understand what it means to give a new face to their streets, involving ourselves directly and actively in the management of the urban décor of our neighborhoods.
Seeing our walls, streets, signposts, garbage bins, rooftops and other urban structures clean, and not blighted with advertisements, signs, stickers, graffiti and other vandalistic, abusive elements is a question of respect and common courtesy to others.
Abusive signage that spoil the streets and sidewalks is also dangerous because it often violates safe driving norms. The decision to remove signs from the spaces in which we live our daily lives is not only a cultural and environmental battle, but one aimed at increasing safety. 


Who’s participating?
GROUPS: RETAKE ROMA, RIPRENDIAMOCI ROMA, IMAGO XX, VIVIVEJO, HERMES 2000, VIVI COLLINA FLEMING, COMITATO CITTADINO PER IL XX MUNICIPIO, LABSUS, LABORATORIO PER LA SUSSIDIARIETA', SCOUT DI ROMA NORD, COMITATO CARTELLOPOLI
SCHOOLS: LICEO CLASSICO TACITO, LICEO SCIENTIFICO LA FARNESINA, LICEO CLASSICO DE SANTIS, AMERICAN OVERSEAS SCHOOL OF ROME, ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL, MARYMOUNT and
SCUOLA MEDIA NITTI
INSTITUTIONS: FACOLTA' DI ARCHITETTURA "LA SAPIENZA" and MUNICIPIO ROMA XX
CARING FOR PUBLIC SPACES IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY!

Check for updates on the event at Retake Cassia: cordata per il decoro

Rome's mini-wikileaks - and all the Censor's men

Julian Assange may be praising the British judicial system, but, I'm sure he's lucky he didn't find himself in Italy.  Rome's judges, clearly on the wrong side of the internet freedom fighters, have, almost overnight (in an unprecedented act of swift decisiveness) closed down Cartellopoli - "Sign City" - a blog that exposed all of the outdoor signs that are springing up like mushrooms all across Rome - illegally.  Thing is, Wikileaks posts ill-gotten information; Cartellopoli posted photos of items already in the public domain - in fact, they're public eyesores.
Citing that the website "instigated vandal acts" - without absolutely the slightest hint of irony - as to which vandal acts they were actually protecting - the website was shut down.  This site, like others such as, Roma Fa Schifo ("Rome Sucks"), is run by democratically-minded people who are sick & tired of seeing the world's most beautiful city reduced to one live message board; with every sort of ad, poster, and of course, huge outdoor sign littering the cityscape.

the cartellopoli website as it now appears

Their activism - to get people to notice the daily disturbances and 'wild west' practices - embarrass the companies and people that are committing these vile acts - and maybe, elicit a response from the authorities.  Little did they know that they would be the ones to receive such a direct response. 
Naturally, these same civic-minded people have been waiting years for a case to be brought against any one of the illegal operations busy polluting the streets of Rome, and of course, engaging in the local pastime, not paying the taxes for posting in the first place.  But their website?  Down for the count.
They now must fight to get the site reinstated.  If, in this giving season, you love Rome, believe that (legally) disseminating information is a form of civic and civil discourse, please contribute something to Cartellopoli - to help pay their legal fees to stop this censorship and block the march of progress by self-serving outlaws.  And in the meantime, it will go a long way to bringing Rome back to its unparalleled beauty.

You can donate thru paypal on the Roma Fa Schifo site:  http://www.romafaschifo.com/

You can read the article (in Italian) about Cartellopoli's censorship here

Wouldn't it be nice to see instead, signs like these around town?

Americans Retake Rome!

With participation from Italians, of course - especially the Fondazione Garibaldi...

I thought I'd apprise you of the Retake Rome initiative -- Saturday's Earth Day event was a smashing success, with participation by all three U.S. Ambassadors (Italy-Holy See-U.N. - who knew?) and even Rome's Mayor came out to lend a hand.

See La Repubblica's terrific slide show here

What's interesting is the enthusiasm to finally do something about the graffiti covering what would otherwise be the most beautiful city (and country) in the world.  Every time I have visitors, that is one of the first remarks.  The movement is gaining such momentum that some of the crowd remarked they wanted to Retake Kenya and Retake Russia, too!

It was a great symbol of solidarity that our Ambassadors dove right in to provide some elbow grease.


and more coverage from the Corriere here



(and who says we don't practice par condicio?)

Garibaldi’s green shirts take on Rome

Yesterday, a small miracle took place.  Like the first time someone has a sighting of the Virgin, or sees a statue cry real tears, it usually starts off small.  Word-of-mouth gives the story momentum, the internet makes it explode – until even the authorities have no choice but to take notice.  And so it was, with the Retake Rome initiative, spear-headed in part by an American lawyer, and long-standing Roman, Rebecca Spitzmiller, and the Fondazione Garibaldi; named appropriately after the man who, town by town, made Italy a whole country.

Like all major paradigm shifts, it all started with a small discovery:  that simple oven cleaner will clean off graffiti.  And an oven-cleaner brigade was born.  Yesterday, the group – filled with green-shirted students from the American & International universities and schools - set out to clean the walls of the otherwise stunning Pincio Park in Rome’s Villa Borghese.   And clean they did.  The miracle had grown until even the City authorities sent out a team - on a Sunday no less - to help out in the endeavor.

It was as if Garibaldi’s own red shirt brigade had made it to the walls of Rome – and in its tenacity, united Italy.  Soon, Italians came to ask questions and join forces.  And, talk of making this first halting step toward civic pride part of the school curricula with cleaning field trips perhaps…the miracle may even grow larger.   

Combined with the recent ad campaigns detailing the fines for littering and graffiti, we may be at a watershed moment in Italian history.

It was the second time I’d ever seen an actual protest turn into taking actual action ; the first being the activism of Aquila’s homeless residents actually scooping out the detritus from the earthquake themselves.  Up ‘til now, most protests consisted of the obligatory sit-ins on railroad tracks until “the authorities” did something about it. 

This, naturally, would transform itself into a few words spoken to the press followed by years of political inertia while whomever had lodged the complaint either lost interest or died waiting for an outcome.  In fact, Italians are not combative.  They will win just by levying a perpetual three-card monty game with you, until you have no choice but to throw in the towel.

Personally, I think the “writers” (I prefer ‘scribblers’ – if you could read something, that might signify actual brain activity) will take all this notoriety as a challenge – and quickly cover up the walls as fast as they were oven-proofed down. 

But, no matter, maybe what started out as grassroots can in fact take root.  And, maybe, Italy will be united for the second time in its history.