Crossing Piazza Cavour

Our hotel in Rome was Hotel Cicerone north and west of the Tiber River by a few blocks.  It was a quiet neighborhood with a plethora of scooters everywhere.  Across the street is Grotto Azzura where the night before we each enjoyed a personal sized pizza and terrible red wine.  Or so we thought.  Our communications with the non English speaking waiter afforded us each with a 16 inch pizza pie rather than the smaller personal pies we tried to communicate about.  We later learned that the Lombardy wine region is the equivalent of Mad Dog 2020.  Travel is an adventure serving fun memories.

Our first morning in Rome was damp and cool.  Yet the sun proved hot, painting the early morning city in warm yellow tones.  A kind of tranquil morning where you desired a sweater but later in the afternoon, you would soon regret that decision.  Wanting to walk to St. Peter’s Square, Karen and I took a left from the hotel on Via Cicerone.   

Via Cicerone dead ends at Piazza Cavour.  Our aim was to cross to the piazza, follow the river to Via della Conciliazione.  This avenue leads to the Egyptian Obelisk in the center of St. Peter’s Square and St. Peter’s Basilica beyond.  A stunning view.  More stunning was the view from on the roof of St. Peter’s Basilica Cupola Tour.  A view of the embracing colonnades, Obelisk and city beyond.  If you look just to the top right you can see the dome of the Pantheon. 

We waited at the corner to cross the street on that busy morning rush hour.  Bus, scooter and automobile traffic never ceased.  We wondered if the traffic would ever halt long enough for us to cross.  Unlike here in the States, there is no “cross walk” nor crosswalk signs, nor crossing buttons to press.  We discussed our options of another route when a group of Nuns approached.  They passed by us stepping off the curb wading into the traffic.  Amazingly, the traffic stopped.  We looked at each other for a brief moment; who would run over a Nun?  We grabbed each other’s hands joining with the Nuns wading across the now stopped traffic flow.  All lanes were at a standstill as we crossed.  The lanes we passed through resumed as if in a seamless parade.

That day we learned from native Roman Italian pedestrians to keep a steady pace when crossing streets.  Simply step off the curb into the street and keep moving.  Traffic will stop.  They’re timing our crossing progression.  It was marvelous to have such power to bring four lanes of traffic to a standstill.  Just don’t try this back at home.