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Rome

Page history last edited by Michael 2 years, 5 months ago

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     Capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Population 1.008,083 (as of 1931). The Vatican City has a population of about 1,000. 

 

Climate

 

     The scirocco, a general name for the S.E., S., and S.W. winds, is especially prevalent in the autumn and in March and April. In December, the N. and S. winds contend for mastery, and wet weather alternates with cold.

 

Coinage and Currency Restrictions

 

     From 1927 to 1934, one U.S. dollar was officially worth 19 lire. The value decreased to about 25 lire per U.S. dollar by 1934, and until 1939 varied slightly around 20 lire to the dollar.

     £1 in 1933 is worth roughly 74 lire; by 1935, £1 is worth about 96 lire.

     Th silver five-, ten- and twenty-lire coins are often counterfeited. There are 50, 100, 500 and 1000 lire notes; the 500 and 1000 lire notes, and gold in coin or bullion form, may not be taken out of the country without a permit from the government. There are lots of rules attempting to get gold into the Government's hands -- including iron wedding rings.

     The last gold lire coins were minted before the Great War.

     Prices are usually denoted in this form:   L.100

 

Diplomacy

 

     Embassies of all the major powers are located here; the larger Catholic nations will also have an envoy or ambassador to the Vatican. 

 

  • British Embassy (via XX Settembre). It's in a park of its own. Ambassador:  1921-1933:  Rt Hon. Sir Ronald W. Graham, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., C.B.; 1933-1939:  Rt. Hon. the Earl of Perth, G.C.M.G., C.B. The office of the UK misson to the Vatican is also here; the chargé d'affaires to the Vatican in 1932–1933 is Sir Ivone A. Kirkpatrick, G.C.B., G.C.M.G.

  • American Embassy (Piazza di San Bernardo 16); Consulate (via Nazionale 8). The US Ambassador from May 31, 1933 to at least 1936 is Breckinridge Long, a personal friend of FDR. 

 

Entertainment

 

     Three large cinemas (Supercinema, Corso, Capranica) and many small ones; there are Fascist-produced newsreels and shorts between the main features. Opera, symphonies. Sporting events.

 

Government

 

     The city Governor appointed by the national government; there is no longer a council or any sort of legislative body. Since 1928 the Governor has been Don Francesco Boncompagni, Prince of Piombino. Note that officially, dates are given in the Fascist Era (e.g., 1933 AD = Anno XI). 

 

Policing

 

  • The national police are the PS, or Pubblica Sicurezza. The laws regarding sedition and subversion are entirely arbitrary; as little as the wearing of a red carnation or "injury to the good name or prestige of Italy" can result in an arrest.

  • The secret police agency is OVRA, equivalent to the Gestapo; the leader is Arturo Bocchini. If there's an agent watching your hotel, or reading your mail, or listening to the telephone, they're probably from the OVRA. Given the size of the OVRA, the actual skills and intellect of a typical agent are rather low-grade. Daily reports from each police post and unit are submitted to the headquarters, and many are ready by Bocchini -- he's sort of the J. Edgar Hoover of Fascism. Bocchini in turn has a daily meeting with Mussolini.

  • The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN, better known as the squadristi or Blackshirts, with old Roman-style ranks) are another set of thugs in uniform, with 450,000 members in 1935 (although only 20,000 were in permanent service). The Blackshirts show up for the big political rallies, act as informers and "bulk-up" the OVRA and PS when numbers are needed.

  • Other police agencies

    • the Carabinieri, perceived as being loyal to the Crown rather than to Fascism.

    • the Guardia di Finanza, in charge of customs and taxes 

    • the Polizia Coloniale, which operated from 1936 onwards, with a reputation for being well-trained and effective troops.

  • Communists, liberals, intellectuals, labor leaders, Freemasons, anti-Fascists, anarchists and "socially dangerous persons" are especially the focus of the OVRA and the Blackshirts. A common punishment is exile, usually to the islands of Lampedusa, Lipari or Ustica.

 

Hospitals and Health

 

     Rome's water is very safe, although the flavor of lime may be not to taste. Wine or mineral water are available as common substitutes.

 

Hotels

 

     Living expenses in Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa are the highest in Italy. Note that tipping is illegal in hotels.

 

  • first-class hotels (where you're expected to dress for dinner).

  • At pensions, which are generally kept by ladies, the average daily charge is 30 to 50 lire ($1.50 to $2.50). As, however, luncheon is usually included, the traveler has either to sacrifice that meal or lose some of the best hours for visiting galleries or taking excursions. Inquiry should be made as to the extra charge for light, heating, washing, etc. One in particular:

    • Pension White (via Vittoria Colonna, 11). An English-Italian pension, with lift, bathrooms, central heating, hot and cold running water, smoking room, English library and newspapers, terrace garden. Moderate terms. Typists, translators, writers, journalists and other not-wealthy sorts stay here.

 

Restaurants

 

     Note that tipping is illegal in restaurants.

 

  • Cafes are mostly frequented in the evening. Italians and foreigners who put up in the hôtels garnis often breakfast at a café. Coffee is generally drunk black (caffè or caffè nero; 60 c. or up to 1 1/2 lire per cup); it is often prepared in a machine specially for the customer (espresso) and is then usually very good.

  • The osteríe (wine-shops; known also as bottiglíere) are the paradise of the lower classes. The best wine is available at those attracting the most customers. As a rule, bread and cheese are the only eatables; sandwiches, etc., can be bought from the ham and beef shop (pizzacaròlo, pizzacágnolo).The best wines (nearly all red) are: Chianti (best), Pomíno, Ruffino, Castel di Bròglio, Nipozzanno, Altomena, and Aleático (the last is sweet).

  • restaurants:  Roman cuisine is simple; spaghetti alla carbonara, oxtail or lamb are popular dishes. There are three vegetarian restaurants, with pasta courses, artichokes, minestrone soup, etc.. An interesting but inexpensive restaurant might charge 3 lire per person Some notable restaurants (probably more expensive):

    • Da Alfredo (via della Scrofa, 104 -- invented fettuccine in triple butter sauce)

    • La Campana (Vicolo della Campagna, 18 -- opened in 1518)

    • Checchino (via di Monte Testaccio, 30 -- opened in 1887). 

 

Media and Communications

 

  • Newspapers carry a modest amount of world news, official reports on goings-on within Italy, lots of news about sports of all types, and columns about the activities of the military and Blackshirt organizations. Censorship of newspapers and radio programs is very strict; the only independent newspaper is the Osservatore Romano, hardly a liberal publication.

  • There is only one radio broadcasting system within the country, the E.I.A.R., and a subscription and license are required to own a radio receiver. Again, the Vatican Radio broadcasts are not censored, but are careful to avoid criticism of the Italian government.

  • Literacy stands at 85% for men, 75% for women. 

 

Telephones

 

     On the average, one telephone call in ten is monitored by the police -- and they are always monitored when placed to or from locations where subversives or foreigners are known to be. Of course, not every secret policeman knows English, and recording technology is in its infancy, but there are specifically 150 police linguists on staff at the telephone exchanges in Rome to monitor diplomats' and foreigners' telephone calls, telegrams, and letters.

 

Notable Places outside the walls

 

     Villa Torlonia, Mussolini's home, about two miles outside the city.

     The catacombs, of which some notable examples are:

 

  • San Sebastiano. On the Appian Way; less then 100 m extent, least well preserved, due to lots of tourists over centuries. The entrance is a proper above-ground building, just completed in 1933.

  • Callixtus (via Appia Antica, 110). Many 2nd to 4th Century AD popes were buried here. There are 20 km of arcades and passages. Not far from ...

  • Domitilla. Not usually open to the public, and without any electric lighting; there are 15 kilometers of passages. The oldest and best preserved catacombs, and the only ones still containing bones. The entrance is at an underground church (via delle Sette Chiese, 280).

  • Priscilla. On the via Salaria; less than 200 m extent. They are maintained by Benedictine nuns.

 

Notable Places within the walls

 

     Mussolini's main offices are in the Palazzo Venizia; it's from the balcony of this building that he most often addresses crowds. The headquarters of the Fascist Party (also on Piazza Venezia) can be disturbing. 

 

Transport

 

Air travel

 

     There are two airports near Rome:  Ciampino (opened 1916), and the new (opened 1928), very modern Lictor Airport (the main base of the national airline, Ala Littoria). There's also a seaplane landing area on the Tiber near the coast. Treaties allowing passengers to board foreign airliners for travel to foreign nations are still being negotiated; for now (1933) there aren't any British aircraft passing over Italy -- the big Imperial Airways flying boats land at Brindisi, and the passengers proceed by train.

  • The landing fee at Lictor Airport is 28 lire, the takeoff fee is 28 lire, and the fee to store a plane overnight is ... 28 lire.

  • Scheduled flights depart most weekdays for Barcelona, Bari, Berlin, Brindisi, Cagliari, Genoa, London, Malta, Marseillies, Milan, Munich, Naples, Palermo, Salonica, Syracuse, Tirana, Tripoli, Tunis, and Venice. 

    • Lufthansa flights to London via Venice, Munich, etc. Brussels depart on weekdays at 8 a.m.; the fare all the way to London is 1317 lire ($65.85, or £18 16s 2p).

    • Air France flights to London via Marseilllles, Lyons, Paris etc. depart on weekdays at 7:40 a.m.; the fare to London is 1462 lire ($73.08, or £20 17s 7p).

 

Rail travel

 

     Fast electric trains run up and down the length of the nation; the Termini station (completed 1874) is one of the busiest in Europe. One reason the "trains run on time" was the implementation of longer waits at stations. 2nd and 3rd class trains are usually crowded. There is a short railway spur to Vatican City, used only for private trains.

 

  • The Rome Express departs to the north depart daily at 11 a.m. from Termini station, and arrives from Paris at 5:10 every afternoon. Express and direct trains (not so super-fashionable) depart at 7:45 a.m., 5 p.m., 10 p.m., and 11:35 p.m. They pass through Pisa, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Turin (and some lesser cities, of course). There are lots of crossing routes, alternate ways to reach destinations, etc. -- this is just a rough outline.

  • 1st and 2nd class sleepers headed south to Brindisi (via Naples) depart 15 minutes after midnight; this is the train which connects to flying-boat services to African and the Near East at Brindisi-Maritime station. Rome to Brindisi, in first-class sleepers, costs 252 lire ($12.60 in 1933, or £3 12s).

  • 1st and 2nd class sleepers from Brindisi (via Naples) arrive in Rome at 7:35 a.m. (this would be the train which flying-boat passengers arrive on). 1st class costs 252 lire.

 

Public transit

 

     About 100 kilometers of electric streetcar tracks cover the city, with several hundred trolleys in service. In the very inner city, diesel buses are used instead of streetcars. Fares are about 30 or 40 centesimi per kilometer.

 

Road travel

 

     The new Autostrade have improved travel between major cities; they are divided freeways, and other roads cross over or under. The A1 leads north to Milan; the A2 leads south to Naples; another one connects Rome to the coast. Note that gasoline is expensive in Italy; about 2 lire per liter ($0.40 per gallon) before 1935. By the end of that year the price has increased to 3.7 lire per liter ($1.24 per gallon) for ordinary gas, 4 lire per liter ($1.35 per gallon) for high-grade, ethyl, or aviation fuel. Gasoline hoarding is a crime; it's illegal to pump gas into jerry cans without going through various bureaucratic hoops. Low-cost motorbuses serve many towns. Taxicabs in rome charge an average of 1.60 lire per kilometer (about $0.13 per mile); they're fairly new (laws prohibit old taxis) and quiet (policemen get a bonus for each ticket they give for excessive horn usage). The tiny Fiat 500 "Topolino" is manufactured beginning in 1936, sort of an equivalent to the Volkswagen.

 

Economy

 

     A loaf of white bread costs 1.73 lira. beef is 9 lire per kg, rice is 2.10 lire per kg, olive oil is 7 lire per liter, onions are 0.80 lira per kg, chard is 1.20 lira per kg, grapes 2 lire per kg, sugar is 7 lire per kg.

     A tram ticket costs 0.50 lira; petrol is 2 lire per liter; cinema tickets are 10 lire. A basic men's suit costs 235 kg, regular men's shoes 50 lire.

     Some typical salaries:  laborers up to 300 lire per month; office workers from 300 to 600 lire per month; professionals ear about 1000 lire per month.

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