More Thoughts on Italia

At the moment, my mind is wrapped around whether or not we will go to Turkey. In about an hour, we're due to find out. But I must write more about my experiences in Italy, before I forget the details.

First of all, Italy felt like the beginning of an entirely different trip. Perhaps the weather had a strong influence, or maybe it was my monster of a cold that affected my state of mind, but Italy was completely separate from the Europe we've encountered this past month. Of course, anyone can guess that would be the case. And honestly, I felt much more at home. The Mediterranean lifestyle is one very familiar to me, and although Italy is not Greece, Naples and the Amalfi coast felt like a next door neighbor. Much more recognizable to me than say, the countries of Scandinavia. The spirit of the people and the liveliness of the city was refreshing and vitalizing. Naples itself was a city with a distinct personality, one very different from those we’ve already visited. If I could compare it to one, it would be St. Petersburg. But that really is more a result of the same high levels of crime. Crime was a big issue for us SASers and many were victims of pickpockets. I took the fewest amount of pictures in Naples because we were advised to not show our cameras. It was quite a disappointment not to photograph the streets! It is true that they weren’t well maintained and dirty, but they were intriguing nonetheless. Neapolitans seemed proud of their city, despite its numerous problems. It was an extremely busy place, and walking around felt like a whirlwind. I’ve already mentioned the traffic but let me just reiterate how much it affected our stay. Between the crime rates and the traffic, my sightseeing in Naples was quite limited. Not to mention the incessant attention from males…that is a whole other story. But despite all of this, I wanted to know Naples, to see as much as possible. I only wish I could have met more locals to show me around. But on my own, and even with SASers, I felt restricted. It was not like Russia where we felt unwelcome…quite the contrary, the Italians embraced our presence. But there were too many distractions that prevented us from truly enjoying the city. Without a doubt, it is a place I would love to return to, to see all the things I couldn’t. So, my lasting impressions of Naples, many of which I already wrote about include:
1. The intensity of the traffic
2. Crime
3. Vespas:
What an interesting change it was to go from countries where the bike is ubiquitous to an area where the vespa dominated the scene. I don’t think I saw one person riding a bike during my stay in Italy, and honestly, I would be terrified to in Napoli. But I would see as many as three people on one vespa! Even children sitting in front of their parents!
4. Trash:
Yes, there is still trash everywhere in Naples. Rubbish all over the streets. Some places seemed better than others, but for the most part, the city was pretty dirty.
5. Gender relations:
On the streets of Naples, I had the most interesting experiences as a female than in any other port we’ve visited. It was here that I received more attention from men than I probably have in my life. Never before had I felt so watched as if I were an old relic on display in a museum. Men of all ages would stop and spend two minutes of their life watching me pass. One would think there are more important things to do than watch females cross streets, but in Italy, this appeared to be a common pastime for males. And yet, only part of the time I felt violated, in a sense. Even that is much too strong a word. The majority of the time I would even smile back at the men and say “ciao” in return. It was the first time ever that I actually waved to a car that beeped at me. In the States, I am always slightly annoyed at car honks or even prolonged stares but here, I did not feel uncomfortable. In the other countries, I had similar feelings of resentment (like, why are you looking at me? Stop!). But in Italy, I only had a few moments with these reactions. But why? What was it that made me react differently here in Italy, with the absolute most attention than in other places? Could it have been because it was so ubiquitous that I had gotten used to it? Perhaps. Maybe more so, it was due to the lively, easy going, generally upbeat atmosphere that exists in southern Italy. I never felt threatened in any case, but maybe it was because as an outsider, I felt a little safer…which shouldn’t make any sense but I almost had a protective shield around me…knowing that I would never see these men again and that I wouldn’t pass their way twice. There was also a much greater familiarity with the female body. All throughout my travels in Italy, not simply in Naples, there was a preoccupation with the erotic, even in the small towns. Pictures of bare breasted women would be on the walls of a shop selling gelato. There were porn movies adjacent to stalls selling newspapers. As a woman, I did not feel any sense of shame or embarrassment…it was quite the contrary…because this seemed more like an appreciation of the female body, maybe even a celebration. And it was a rejuvenating change. Because I did not feel that behind all the attention I received, there were crude, vulgar thoughts running around in the minds of the men, which was relieving.

However, this was not the case all of the time, and it must be noted. On the last day, I walked alone in the morning throughout Naples to do some last minute sightseeing, and I was wearing a rather short dress that seemed to attract a lot of attention. Honestly, I felt like a prostitute. It was early morning, and there were not many women around, which made it all the more worse. Almost every person I passed was an older male who would stop what they were doing to watch me walk past them. Being alone, I never talked to any men except when I was purchasing something and made it a point to wear my sunglasses…I don’t know, there’s something about keeping my eyes hidden that always makes me feel better. In that morning, there is no question I felt extremely uncomfortable. There was even a moment where an Italian woman walking towards me said something to me, that appeared to be negative and directed towards my choice of dress…so I leave Italy with two completely different experiences.