About My Neighborhood: Manzoni

At first glance, maybe even a third glance, Manzoni does not look like much. It certainly does not look like the kind of neighborhood hiding residences comparable to palaces, at least by Roman standards. My family's "apartment" could easily be an expensive, Maryland townhouse. My new home has two large levels with wooden floors, the bathroom I share with my host sisters even has black marble! When I walked through the neighborhood for the first time, on my way to meet my new family, I thought I'd be living in a tiny, rundown apartment.

There is trash on the street instead of inside the street dumpsters, there are life-size posters promoting anti-xxx lining the walls of most buildings, there's a large abandoned warehouse with broken windows, and of course, the frequent theme that has characterized Rome-- grafitti. So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into this palace. However, now that I've been here for a while and have gotten a better look at the neighborhood, it's actually not too bad. I do not feel unsafe walking around alone, especially when the sun is setting and there is a certain calmness.

In a way, this part of the city is not unlike New York; it is a Romanized NY if you will. There is the frequent smell of ciggaretts, trash, and fresh gasoline. Especially on weekday mornings when Manzoni is buzzing with pedestrians, mainly punk-rock high schoolers fresh off the metro. They kind of linger and hang out on the block next to the metro, smoking and chatting for a bit before finishing their walk to school.

Despite these imperfections, if you look closely, the Manzoni area does have a certain beauty about it. The people seem approachable, unlike people in other areas, there are grand, rustic buildings sprinkled throughout the quarters, and Rome's infamous Colloseum is within walking distance. The Colloseum is one of my favorite buildings in the city and I am glad it is one of the few buildings that has evaded all the grafitti. Manzoni may not be the quaint, stereotypical Italian town, but Manzoni does have a certain charm. It is beautiful in it's imperfections, and by now I have grown up enough to know that nothing is ever what it seems at first glance.