Writing on trains without permission

Writing on buildings or trains without permission is illegal. That's vandalism. 

Unfortunately, penal law doesn't prescribe the vandals' punishment as it should.

I would like to force the vandals to pay for all repair and cleaning. 

Have a lovely weekend 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃 ☀

Pigeons on Rome's cobblestones

Last week some pigeons were enjoying their bath on Rome's cobblestones after the rain.

Have a nice new week.

Rome's Christmas decoration

 

Rome's Christmas 20-metre tree was unveiled on the 2nd of December this year. I saw it yesterday. Many locals and tourists were walking and shopping close to the Spanish steps, named after the Spanish Embassy located there. That place is famous for the monumental staircase and its elegant baroque architecture.

People were also enjoying Christmas decoretion.

                 

There were a lot of Christmas decoretions hanging on the front doors of older Rome's residential buildings.

I noticed that some holiday decorations had nothing to do with Christmas, such as the Wolksvagen Bettle, produced by the German company Wolksvagen from 1938 to 2003, 

... and the polar bear. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature reports that the global population of polar bears is 22,000 to 31,000.

Have a nice weekend 🌲

Advertising at a highway service area

Yesterday I saw this advertising while I was driving across the highway service area located close to Rome. It shows a girls asking motorists to drive slowly and to respect speed limits, as her father is just working on the highway.  Working on or near highways is dangerous due to exposure to moving cars and trucks. 

Hane a nice weekend ☀️

Fully moon July 2024

On Sunday, 21st July, the full moon reached peak illumination. In many traditions fully moon simbolizes growth and strenght. Unfortunately I don't know what it means for zodiac. A nice post about this topic was published by our blogging friend Anna from Poland.

On the same week, the British rockband Coldplay were in Rome at the Olympic Stadium. I bought the tickets last year in September!!

The band said that all physical records for their 2024 album were manufactured from recycled plastic bottles.  

Have a nice new week! It's the last week of July.

Old Rome-Fiumicino railway

 

The origin of the Rome-Fiumicino railway line dates back to 1875. Located close to Rome, Fiumicino is home of the largest airport in Italy ✈ In addition, it has a large fishing center🦐🐟

A railway engine and a baggage wagon are still positioned on old tracks in a street in the center of Fiumicino.

The tracks of that railway line no longer exist, as the last train to Rome left the night of January 30th, 2000.  🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃

Have a nice weekend!☀️

I've become Grandpa!

I'm happy to announce this week I became Grandfather for the first time! On 25th October, at 3 pm, Rachele came into the world to my Daughter-in-law, Enrica, and my son, Fabrizio. 

Baby Rachele was born in Rome, Gemelli hospital.

Have a nice weekend!

Steve Hackett at Ostia

On the 8th of July the British guitarist and songwriter, Steve Hacket made a brilliant performance at the old Roman theatre of Ostia, which is located close to Rome.

I have made myself the gift of listening  Steve Hackett's superb sounding band. They played the most epic songs sung by Peter Gabriel. He also performed some songs from his solo albums, such as Spectral Morning and Voyage of the Acolyte.

Steve hackett gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis since 1971 to 1977. It seems he still is a guitar genius.

I enjoyed both the progressive rock concert and the beautiful archaelogical site surrounding the old Roman theatre, which was built at the end of the 1st century BC.

Sorry to see that some dumb people stole old bricks from the wall of the old Roman theatre (picture below).

Nice weekend to all the blogging community!

Rome in late June

 

In my previous post I mentioned the problem of  illegal immigration, human traffickers and migrants smugglers. That's why I took the picture of six-meters-long sculpture dedicated to the world's migrants and refugees. The sculptor, the Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmaltz, said: "migration is something that humanity has always had". In January our blogging friend, Veronica , already shared a picture of such sculpture after she had gone to Italy. 

While I was walking past one of the Vatican State's gateway I saw the Swiss guard uniform. 

That typical orange,  blue and red uniform has been worn since 1506,  when the first Swiss guards come to Rome. Swiss soldiers are responsible for the safety of the pope. 

Vatican Street view

 

Vatican square and its basilica are both named after Saint Peter. The square houses more than 300,000 people, and it is probably one of the world's most breath-taking squares.

I walked as for as the river Tiber, which flows through the city of Rome and enters the Mediterranean Sea.

There are many buildings in Rome that remind us Italian rationalism, which is an architectural style inspired by structure and simmetry of the old Roman architecture.

This architectural style is also called Fascist-style. It became popular in the early 20th century.

 

Last week I saw a little kid with their parents while they were listening a rock concert in Rome. Sorry to see there isn't any specific age restriction set by the venue or event organizer.

One good thing is that the kid was wearing headphones to protect his/her hears.

The Italian singer and song-writer Vasco Rossi, who is unknown to American audiences, performed in front of 120,000 paying spectators at the Rome Olympic Stadium.

Have a nice weekend!

Italian Republic Day

Yesterday I went to Rome for job, once again on a sunny morning. During a coffee break I enjoyed a beautiful corner of the town. 

I don't know what exactly means the English word "impolite". Maybe it is a synonym of "uncivilized" ... I was sorry to see some impolite people leaving scooters on the sidewalk.

A woman with her baby stroller and a couple of tourists from Scotland could't walk through these scooters. So I had no choice but to collect the scooters and take them on the right side of the street.

 

I didn't take the picture below in North Africa or Central America. I took it yesterday, after I had finished work. I was walking in a neighborhood close to one of Rome's railway station (Roma Ostiense, that's ist name). This photo shows a market that is completely illegal. People who come from North Africa run that market. 

A question comes to mind: why Italian governments continue to tolerate illegal immigration in my country?  This is senseless, as  those people need our help on their country, directly. 

Most illegal immigrants are working (illegally) in the countryside. They are hired to harvest tomatoes and watermelons. But the main problem is that we, Europeans, haven't the right to steal human resources from Nigeria, Cameroun, Senegal, etc. ... we have to help them by creating jobs in their countries.

 

We get a day off on June 2nd, as Italian Republic Day is public holiday in Italy. This day commemorates 1946 referendum, when Italians decided the form of their government after World War II.

Break from blogging

Hello bloggers, have a nice and sunny Sunday!  ☀️

There is a relationship between the two above pictures, which I took last week in Rome. The second one shows many  tourists who have been gathering Vatican Square since late March. It's easy to see how they enjoy that Rome's landmark. 🇮🇪

In addition, I noticed that some tourists also enjoy Italian milk and coffee with custard on top (1st picture ☕). It's great to see foreign people who enjoy both Italian monuments and Italy's typical food. Some tourists who came form North Europe are still wearing short sleeved clothes, although the weather isn't as temperate as it should in late April. 

A blogger friend from Malaysia, Veronica, two months ago published some posts about Rome after the had gone to Italy on holiday. She enjoyed both Rome's landmarks and Italy's typical food. 🍷

I am taking a break from blogging, as next week I will go to Ireland for six days. Many bloggers and friends of our blogging community would never disappear without a word 😊 ... I will get back blogging next month.

Regards,

G

Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland)

 

A dear friend of mine, Luigi (that's his name), has just sent me this picture, which he made with his drone. The aerial image shows the "Altare della Patria" (Altar of the Fatherland) and its majesty. It's one of the main Rome's landmarks.  

This large national monument, which was built about 100 years ago to honour the first  king of a unified Italy,  can be reached easily in few minutes on foot or using public transport.

The picture above also shows another important Rome's monument, the Coliseum, with its yellow lights.  

Nice Sunday to all the blogging community!

Flames close to Rome

 

There is bad news in Rome and its surrondings from an environmental point of view. Last week, more than 90 firefighters were on the waste management centre located close to Rome, as flames engulfed the site. The picture above shows the fire in the waste storage facility. It wasn't easy to extinguish. There is evidence that the fire in the Rome's municipal waste produced high levels of emissions of environmetally significant chemical species, such as dioxins.

Blunting the edge of fiscal paradises

Two weeks ago leaders of world's 20 richest countries gathered for summit in Rome with the aim of adopting corporate tax rules. The agreement is aimed at "blunting the edge of fiscal paradises". As it is known, multinational companies make money in one country and move their profits to another.

In this contexts, about 14 countries representing more than 90% of global economic output endorsed the agreement which aims to raise more revenue for most governments and offer stability to international businesses. Consequently, profits of big companies will face tax at least 15% under pact approved at the 2021 Rome's G20 summit.  In addition to this, companies have to be taxed in territories where they sell their products and services, rather than where they are headquartered. But four countries (Pakistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Kenia) rejected the deal, as they said it will not be sustainable. 

I hope the agreement will be useful to end decades of competition between countries to attract foreign investments.

The 1st picture above shows the neighborhood of Rome where the G20 summit was held in late October. The tall white building in the picture, which was designed in 1938, is an example of the Italian Rationalism (someone would like to call it as fascist architecture). The style resembles that of the ancient Rome. This neighborhood is a business district, nowadays. And the building is known in everyday speech as "Swiss cheese" or "Square Colosseum".