Return of Traffic Cops to Landmark Piazza Brings
Unlikely Joy in Rome
While motorists in Rome are known for their chaotic
driving, the return of police officers directing traffic at the intersection
was greeted by many as a sign of normality at a difficult time.
By
Elisabetta Povoledo
March 20,
2021
ROME — If,
as it’s said, all roads lead to Rome, then they intersect at Piazza Venezia,
the downtown hub of the Italian capital, watched over by a traffic officer on a
pedestal who choreographs streamlined
circulation out of automotive chaos.
For many
Romans and tourists alike, those traffic controllers are as much a symbol of
the Eternal City as the Colosseum or the Pantheon.
That may
explain why the return this week of the pedestal (plus its traffic cop) after a
yearlong hiatus while the piazza was being paved, set off a media frenzy — even
if there was little traffic to direct given the widespread lockdown that began
this week to contain an upsurge of coronavirus cases.
“In this
difficult period, I think that it was seen as a sign of something returning to
normal,” said Fabio Grillo, 53, who, with 16 years under his belt, is the
senior member of the team of four or five municipal police officers who direct
traffic from the Piazza Venezia pedestal.
In rain or
sleet, or sweltering through Rome’s sultry summers, officers have directed
traffic from the Piazza Venezia pedestal near the mouth of the Via del Corso,
one of Rome’s main streets, for as long as anyone can remember. And the
gestures they make with their white-gloved hands is something that all Italian
motorists dutifully memorize for their driver’s tests. (Important note: Two
hands straight out with palms facing motorists is equivalent to a red light).
“It’s been
compared to conducting an orchestra,” said Mr. Grillo.
Apart from
regular traffic, Piazza Venezia is also a crossroads that leads to City Hall,
the Parliament, Italy’s presidential palace and a national monument where
visiting heads of state routinely pay homage — which all contributes to the
chaos at the hub.
“This
piazza is the aortic epicenter of the country,” said Angelo Gallicchio, 62, who
has managed a newspaper kiosk in the square since 1979. “Every person of note
who comes to Rome has to pass through Piazza Venezia — you can’t avoid it.”
For many
years, Roman the traffic police were instructed by Mario Buffone, whose three
decades on the pedestal — making him one of the city’s most recognizable
figures — was immortalized in a book. He retired in 2007. “He was an icon for
us,” said Mr. Grillo.
Giuseppe
Battisti, 47, an officer who has been on the pedestal for 12 years, said that
all that’s required to do the job well is passion and “a little elegance.”
Though the traffic signals are enshrined in the driver’s code of conduct,
“every agent personalizes it,” he said.
Pierluigi
Marchionne’s elegance on the pedestal (his gestures earned him a “He’s
bellissimo! It’s marvelous!” from a passer-by on Thursday) — is likely what
grabbed Woody Allen’s eye when he was scouting locations for his 2012 movie “To
Rome With Love.” After seeing Mr. Marchionne in action, he was so taken with
the traffic officer that he rewrote the beginning of his script so that he
could cast him in the movie, Mr. Marchionne said.
It’s
notable that Romans in particular should feel so friendly toward someone paid to punish traffic infractions,
which are notoriously frequent in the Italian capital.
Until the
1970s, every Jan. 6, the feast day of Epiphany, Italians would express their
gratitude to the officers by covering traffic pedestals with gifts. The loot
was then given to charity, Mr. Grillo said.
That
unlikely affection may have had much to do with Alberto Sordi, an actor who
frequently played traffic officers in movies, most notably in the 1960 classic
“Il Vigile.”
Sordi, who
died in 2003, was also named an honorary Roman traffic officer. Last year, the
uniform and props from these films went on display in a museum opened in the
actor’s home in Rome, now shut because of the pandemic.
“Because of
Sordi, traffic cops became more simpatico,” as well as a symbol of Rome, said
Mr. Grillo, who can recite scenes from Sordi movies word for word.
That
affection has not been without some criticism, however. The image of the
municipal police, of which the traffic officers are a part, has been tarnished
in recent years by investigations into possible wrongdoing — like closing an
eye to illegal construction and taking kickbacks.
A history
of municipal police forces in Italy posted on the website of one national
association traces their origins to the guardians of a Roman temple in the 5th
century B.C. An educational film from the early 1950s from Italy’s national
archive, Istituto Luce, however, instead traces the corps’ history to the first
century B.C., during the reign of the Emperor Augustus (there’s a nice touch of
a chariot segueing into a convertible).
Today,
Piazza Venezia has the only traffic pedestal left in the city. “It is part of
the architecture of the piazza,” said Mr. Gallicchio, the kiosk owner.
At first,
the pedestals were made of wood, and traffic officers would carry them into
crossings.
At one
point, a fixed, cement pedestal was installed in the piazza, lit up by a
spotlight on a nearby building at night when no officer was on duty, Mr.
Gallicchio said.
The
spotlight didn’t help as “motorists kept smashing into it,” Mr. Grillo said. So
in 2006 it was replaced with a mechanical pedestal that rises from the paving
stones to welcome officers arriving for work.
Now, with
the work done on the piazza this year, the officers say they are keen to get
back to a job they love and hopefully, become a focus of tourists’ cameras
again after the pandemic passes.
“Maybe we
weren’t as famous as the Fountain of Trevi, but we were a tourist attraction.”
Mr. Battisti said with a smile. “I bet there are even photos of us in North
Korea.”
Elisabetta
Povoledo has been writing about Italy for nearly three decades, and has been
working for The Times and its affiliates since 1992. @EPovoledo • Facebook
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