Survival of the Fittest

In Kindergarten, we are taught at a young age to look both ways before we cross the street...and to cross only when the traffic lights indicate as such.

Obviously, my kindergarten teacher had never been to Rome.

It's not that the cars whiz by at particularly fast speeds (after all, in Italy, they still measure speed in kilometers per hour), or that the traffic lights do not indicate when pedestrians should walk. It's just that in Rome, crossing a street is a competition between man and car...a survival of the fittest.

The streets are crowded with both locals and tourists: the Italians love to walk, and the tourists fear driving too much to rent cars. The traffic lights play as much a role in regulating drivers as the Queen of England plays in that country's tax system. If the street is clear, you can walk - actually, you should walk, as your chances for crossing the street may be quite limited. But if the traffic light says it's okay to cross the street, pedestrian beware.

People are like Cattle in Italy

Well, only when they're moving in large herds, anyway.

Case in point: During a failed attempt to visit the Holy Door (Porta Santa) at the Vatican (the lines were too long), we encountered a mass of thousands of people visiting St. Peter's Square all at once. Unfortunately, the masses decided to exit the square at once, opting to cross major streets leading to the metro station.

Roman drivers were forced to give up the right of way, which to them is an unalienable right, and watch as the herd of people blocked the roads.

While the Roman drivers undoubtedly would rather have driven than being driven crazy, there was a strangely beautiful moment in all of this pazzo (that's "madness" in Italian): drivers began honking their horns at the pedestrians as the frustration dominoed back. The drivers created, in their own way, a sort of harmony of horns. Some horns were more high pitched, others had a little more bass. And the more people who crossed the street, horns from further back in the line of cars sounded, almost in rhythm and tune.

But despite the surprising beauty of the harmonic honking, I'd say the pedestrians won this round of man versus car.

Pedestrian Enters the Taxi

If I've worried you about walking in the Eternal City, know that somehow the drivers and pedestrians coexist peacefully (usually).

But if you're still a little worried about walking the Eternal City, rest assured -- Rome boasts subway and bus systems, as well as a lot of taxis. But getting a taxi in Rome may be a bit difficult for American tourists at first.

In most American cities, taxicabs stop only when potential customers raise their hands, motioning to them from sidewalks. But in Italy, hailing a cab will not attract anyone, save the street vendors who would likely try to sell you "genuine" Gucci watches - made in Switzerland.

So how does an American pedestrian, weary from a day of walking Rome's cobblestone roads and marble steps, hail a cab?

Every few blocks, usually near hot tourist spots or shopping epicenters, one can spot a line of taxis, waiting for passengers. While it would seem any taxi would do, keep in mind that the Italian taxi drivers depend on the queue system, and, therefore, only the first taxi in line will accept passengers.

Me, the Soloist

It was a long battle, walking up narrow Italian streets that seemingly wind in circles, barely escaping collisions with cars whose drivers insisted on the right of way...but despite the fear of Roman drivers that gripped me the first day I entered the city of Caesar, by the end of the week, I was almost a local. I knew to cross when the street was clear, and take my chances when the traffic light said I could walk.

Having returned safely to the United States, I can assure you that a pedestrian can survive in Rome, a city where street battles are between man - or woman - and car.