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••
by
Keith W. Stump
ltalians dream of a coming time of good government to end their "eterna!
crisis". How will Italy's-and the world's- hope for good government be fulfilled?
P
E RHAP S
no city on
earth- with the excep–
tion of
J
erusalem- has
enjoyed a longer, more con–
t inuous importance than
Rome, t he city of Caesars
and Popes.
This "city of the seven hills"
is one huge living museum.
Mementos of Rome's ancient
grandeu r are everywhere.
Rome's more recent past is
-also in ample evidence. A visit
to the square known as
t h e Piazza Venezia
gives one a strong sense
of Rome's modern his–
tory. Dominating tbe
square is the white mar–
ble monument to Victor
Emmanuel I
l.
This
enormous edifice was
built around the turn of
the century to commem–
orate the uni fication of
ltaly and to honor the
nation's first king.
Overlooking the vast
piazza is the celebrated
balcony of the 15th–
century Palazzo Vene–
zia. 1t was from this bal–
cony tbat Fascist leader
Benito Mussolini ad–
d ressed huge crowds
massed in the square
below. And
it
was from
October 1984
t bis balcony that
JI
Duce,
in 1936,
proclaimed the resurrection of the
Roman Empire following Italy's
victory over Ethiopia.
Today's Nostalgic Mood
Many ltalians today seem to be in a
nostalgic mood. The memory of
Rome's- and Italy's- glorious past
remains strong . Nostalgia for
another, more powerful Rome is
much in evidence. As one native
pressed· it to this writer near the
spectacular ruins of the ancient
Roman Forum: "Look what we
had;
now look what we
have!"
Indeed, Italy today is but a faint
shadow of the great empire that
Rome once was. Fears about ltaly's
political and economic future seem
to domínate news stories coming out
of this boot-shaped Mediterranean
country of 58 million people.
Italians are the first to express
dissatisfaction with their country.
Italy, it seems, is perpetually teeter–
ing on the brink. Crisis follows cri–
sis. Italians themselves
speak of " the eterna!
crisis."
But if Italians are
indeed heading toward
collective catastrophe,
you wouldn' t know it
just by looking. The
more ltaly's political
and economic life dete–
r.iorates, the more its
people seem to enjoy
la
do/ce vita-"the
sweet
life. "
ltaly is a country of
paradoxes and contra–
dictions. Most ltalians
see no immediate way
out of "the eterna! cri-
¡
sis." But then, their "'
crises have persisted for
~
more than 2,000 years,
g
and the "Eterna! City"
~
still stands. "We will :;:
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