Italy

Sleeping in Rome

In 2003 on my arrival in Rome, I went around the city looking for a place to crash. There were unfortunately no vacancies during that December since it was just a few days before Christmas. Quite often the cheapest lodgings are around train stations, and I finally found a bed in a dormitory just by the Termini station.

After a whole day of walking, I returned to the hostel. I was spoilt for choice between two dormitories; each one with 10 beds and both were empty. I settled in one bed and fell asleep, exhausted. Then someone switched the light on, and I turned to two women speaking a strange language. One of them approached me and asked if I want to sleep with them, while the other started to undress. I choked, and then politely declined, on the grounds that I just wanted to sleep peacefully. They opened the door and then exited the room. During the night, I heard creaking beds in the next dormitory, which was supposed to be empty.

The next day, the manager served me breakfast as if nothing had happened, gave me recommendations and wished me a good day.

Many times

Moments

Did you know...

- The name "Italy" comes from the Greek "italos" meaning calf.

- Two of the smallest countries in Europe, San Marino and the Vatican City are locked inside Italy.

- The Republic of Venice was founded in 697 and was dissolved by Napoleon in 1797, exactly 1100 years later. This makes it the longest republic in human history, but also the shape of the longest ever existed uninterrupted government.

- Modern Italy was unified in 1863.

- A new law condemns anyone who kills a cat to a fine of € 10,000 and up to three years in prison.

- The Italians invented the viola da gamba, violin, cello and piano, and were the greatest exponents of Baroque music (Vivaldi, Corelli, Monteverdi, Albinoni ...).

- Each average Italian consumes 25kg of pasta each year. However pasta consumption is considerably higher in the center and the south than in the north, where the risotto and polenta predominate.

- The tiramisu was only invented in the 1970s. The name literally means "pull me up" (metaphorically, "give me the power"), because of its two ingredients: coffee and cocoa.