assignment 6

Regola; one of Rome’s riones.  Situated on near the Ponte Sisto on the Tiber River.   Some of Regola’s famous sites include Piazza Navona, Piazza Farnese, and Campo dei Fiori.  Campo dei Fiori is where many of us call home and where many of our clasess are held since it’s where the UW Rome Center is located.  I remember the first time I saw the Campo, when I first arrived in Rome.  The market was in full swing and people were everywhere!  I loved seeing all the stalls with their bright colored fruits and vendors advertising their merchandise.  I couldn’t believe that I would be living in such a bustling, beautiful area! 

Now that I’ve lived here for a couple of weeks, I’ve gotten used to the daily market, although I still marvel at all the delicious fruits and veggies.  I love walking around the Campo seeing all the different people and I especially love it when musicians come out and fill the square with beautiful music.  Even the noise of the nightlife, which often carries on late into the night, has a feeling of homeliness.  It’s normal to see people walking around and hanging out with Bruno almost every night.  Between the bustling days and chill nights, I feel so lucky to live in such a lively place.

When we tried to find a resident to find out more about our rione, we went into a couple shops, and even a shoe store, but everyone that we asked said they didn’t live in the Campo.  Roberto would have been an ideal candidate to ask our questions to, but he has been absent.  We’ll have to ask him when he gets back.  One person who we did get to talk to was Bill, the chef, who has lived in the Campo for almost 20 years now. For Bill living in Campo dei Fiori is very convenient for him.  With all the fresh fruits, veggies, and meat, he is able to get the best ingredients for his cooking.  During his cooking class, he told us about the residents in Julie and Manka’s apartment had at first found it hard to sleep there with al the noise from the square.  After they had left though, they found it hard to sleep without background noise, so they tied cans to their dog’s tail in order to help them sleep.  Nightlife in the Campo can get pretty wild!  Between the Drunken Ship at the opposite end of the Campo, and a few smaller bars scattered throughout, the evening volume can get noisy.  It seems as soon as 11 pm rolls around, teenagers and young people come and gather by the Bruno statue.  They bring their own drinks and often talk and play around until the wee hours of the morning.  The busiest evenings seem to be Thursday thru Saturday and the noise lasts almost all night.  It can be fun when we are able to join in the fun, but other times it makes it hard for us to fall asleep. 

Campo dei Fiori seems to be quite the tourist attraction.  Tourists come from all over to see the amazing marketplace.  We were able to talk to two girls from Finland.  They thought the market was lively and had a wide variety of foods, from fresh foods to clothing and everything in between.  Although they were only passing though they said they would be interested in coming back to check out the goods. 

Campo dei Fiori is not only an active site for tourists and vendors, but has become my home.  I’ve grown to love the activity of the daytime with the countless vendors and merchants and the nightlife that often has people out till late into the evening.  I can’t wait to explore more of Regola and see what else this majestic Rione has to offer!