When I arrived in Rome I was terrified. I was terrified before I even got on the plane! However, my fears began to subside as my taxi passed the Colosseum and I made my way to Compo de Fiori. I knew very little about Italy before I left the states – which I feel was a main factor in why I experienced so much fear in coming here. I knew the food would be excellent, I knew to say ciao and I hoped the people were friendly.
Honestly, when I was in the taxi coming from the airport I was no impressed with what I saw. However, after learning about Italy I realize that I felt this way because of the socially constructed ideals of what Italy is supposed to be like. The media shows Italy as a flawless land with rolling hills covered with vineyards, beautiful plantation homes and gorgeous little farms. In fact, that is Tuscany, not Rome. I was not prepared to see factories and industry; yet, after living here I find what I see on the outskirts of Rome to be beautiful. This image that I had when I arrived in Rome is a stereotype developed by Hollywood that I have been fed through movies and television my entire life. This stereotype, unlike many others, is not offensive or painful, but proves to show that stereotypes are taught to you in ways you don't even notice.
When I arrived in the Compo I was taken aback by the view of the dome from the forth floor window outside the Rome Center office. I thought, “wow. I am really in Italy!” The next day class started, I made friends and we began taking random excursions around the city each day after class. The first thing that truly stopped me in my tracks was Palazzo Venezia. To me, this is the Gates of Rome. This gigantic, breathtaking, white building is my point of reference and (other than narrow cobblestone streets with cars trying to squeeze down them) one of the first things I see in my mind when I think of Rome.
The Napoli skyline was different than that of Rome. When we arrived on the train one of the first things I noticed were the high rises in the city. In Rome the skyline is riddles with the tops of churches and tan-colored marble. In Napoli, it all just seemed a bit “darker.” There was great beauty in Napoli, just a different type of beauty than what is seen in Rome.
Before I left the states, people would ask me about my program – where we were going to travel, what we would study and so on. Every time I told someone I was going to Napoli their reaction was the same: 'oh no! Don't go there! People are rude and mean and you'll definitely get robbed.' When I asked Italians about Napoli I received the same reaction.
In class Alex told us about the trash problem, which made me think it was going to be extremely gross. In fact, I did not think the trash was that bad. I am sure we didn't see the worst of it but away from the amount of trash near the Roma camp, in the streets it was not nearly as horrendous as I had imagined. However, in class Alex told us about why the trash problem is so bad. He said that “the problem was so severe because they have nowhere to take all of it.” If I did not know this was the cause of the problem, I may have gone to Napoli and thought “ugh, southern Italians are so dirty, they must enjoy living in garbage.” This is how stereotypes get started. This experience has reinforced to me the importance of learning about a person or a place before meeting them or traveling there so that any stereotypes that can be made or that have been established do not continue to grow. Ignorance leads to the spread and development of stereotypes.
One of the first things I noticed about Napoli was the difference in people. Living in Rome, I feel, is not quite 'real life.' Many of the people we see in the Compo and around the city's center do not live in this part of town and are most likely here shopping or working during the day. In Naples, things were very different, especially in the part of town where Alex took us. You could tell that people were living their daily lives and not just dressed up to go on a fancy shopping trip. The way people dressed and acted, to me, seemed more realistic in a way. I really enjoyed this. I thought Napoli was extremely beautiful, especially on the water.
Our tour guide, Alex, was from Napoli and very proud of his heritage. He had not been in Napoli all his life but identified with the city and its culture more than anywhere he had lived before. He was proud of where he lived and shared an attitude similar to that of Gianmarco – both individuals are able to look past the stereotypes, know good parts of town from bad, and enjoy Napoli for its culture and beauty.
Every city comes with its stereotypes, Napoli just seems to have some that instill strong fear into tourists. In my opinion, Napoli is just as dangerous as Rome, New York, Seattle, or any large city. Yet, since Americans are often targets for robbery, many of the negative stereotypes about the city are reinforced by what happens to them or their friends while visiting Southern Italy.
One of the first articles we read this quarter was about the North and South divide in Italy. I began asking Italians who I met at bars and restaurants about these stereotypes of the South and everything they said went right along with the article. They would say that Southern Italians are dirty, rude, speak a weird dialect, they steal, and are just unacceptable people. I am not sure how such stereotypes originated. Possibly from industrial growth and strong influence of Milan and other large cities in the North.
This experience has taught me to keep a very open mind about traveling to new places and meeting the local people who live there. There are stereotypes about nearly every place in the world but the important thing is to become knowledgeable about what is fact and what is false about a place before going so you do not hurt yourself or anyone else. It is very important to have such knowledge in order to not carry on the spread of negative stereotypes. I wish I could explain why certain stereotypes exist but I cannot. The stereotypes of Napoli and Neapolitans I believe are from very long ago when the North and South divide began. Long before any of us were even born. Now all we can do is work towards spreading truth about the region.
I am thankful that I was not affected by everything I head about Napoli before traveling there. Despite any bad that happened in Napoli, my time there was very good and I truly enjoyed being there. I feel very lucky that I got the opportunity to travel to Southern Italy.
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