Anyone else here in love with Italian design? So tell me: how, just HOW can they create so many beautiful things? How is it possible to set someone’s heart aflutter by the sight of a car? Or a moped? And I don’t even mention Italian fashion designers, all those names like Salvatore Ferragamo or Gucci that make every girl droop. But a car, like this boring four-wheel creation that men turn their heads to (if it’s not Ferrari. But… Italian names again)? I have always been a lover of small cars: Volkswagen Beetle, old and new, Ford Ka. In prehistoric times (before Instagram and blogs) I was taking photos of old Beetles around Oslo (and putting them on my Facebook). But this one has stolen my heart – and never gave it back. Fiat 500. Please, say it right: Fiat Cinquecento. Roll the name on your tongue and feel its Italian taste.
Then there is Vespa. The most humble of all things – a moped. How can you design a moped that will make everyone wanna take a photo of it? What is the secret ingredient? And when you come to Rome, this city of narrow streets and deficit for parking place, you get into Vespa and Fiat 500 paradise. The small cars are extremely popular in Rome, so I have met them all, often on one and the same corner – Mini and Fiat side by side. And, of course, there are plenty of bikes, mopeds, and Vespas seem to be parked consciously – so they match with the background. It brought me back to the theory which Elisabeth Gilbert put in her famous “Eat. Pray. Love” about why Italians are so good at cooking, fashion and music. Her point is that since the political life of Italy is so messy, and Italians feel like they have little control over it (hello, mafia), they turn their efforts to the places and people where they can influence. They cannot claim a lot from corrupt politicians – but then they can claim everything from their cooks, tailors and conductors. And so they do. Thus excellence is created.
What do you think about this theory? Does it make sense? I, however, will not put down any theories right now. I just want to share my affection for all the beautiful things that move around this city of passion, Rome. Join me, if the sight of a Vespa makes your heart buzz like a bee 🙂
By the way, I have discovered – by chance – that my blog can be viewed through Bloglovin’. So now you can Follow my blog with Bloglovin
What is your favorite car/moving thing? Which color (and is it important)?I would love to drive a new Fiat 500, white one with the dark red roof. A little cabrio preferably. And a pink Vespa (pink or orange, I still have to decide :))
And may you walk (or roll) in beauty!
Me Exploring 
LOVE this post!! I’ll drive the old yellow Fiat 500, please.
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The old yellow Fiat is taken, ladies and gentlemen! 🙂
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I love your enthusiasm and the light in your photos that can exist only in Rome. And the fact that one Citroen has sneaked in there among the Italians. 😀 I agree to the stylishness of everything Italian, I suggest you not to say the M word to laud or too often, as for the cars and scooters themselves – I might like to see them parked like this but when you’re driving among them on Roman roads, that’s when you know what it means to be Roman or at least drive like a Roman. This deserves a post of its own. What is amazing is that it might look like crazy driving, but actually it’s the most time and energy-efficient way. Just forget about the lines, the signs and the rules. And let all scooters and motorcycles go first when the green light hits.
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Why? Is there some Italian conspiracy against Citroen? I think, I have seen every kind of little car in Rome, no matter the country of origin :))
Oh yes, driving is the totally different subject. Mine is the post of still life, with only one buzzing 🙂 Maybe, you can write about the Roman way of driving, cuz you must be an expert (at least at saying the M word :))). I have heard tales about their driving, but experienced only a taxi drive (like a crazy, having a minor discussion with the neighbor car on the crossroads, which ended in some good Italian swearing :)). The rest was only bus and metro. I believe, it can be efficient, but god, i would never want to drive a scooter in Rome :)))
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I’ve heard say that if you can drive around Rome, you could drive an airplane too. As for the conspiracy – in my household there is a HUGE conspiracy against French cars which I love so much. 😀 Amore says that the only difference between Peugeot and Ferrari is in the details. 😀 😀
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*too loud
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I have the green Fiat you pictured and Hubby’s got a black Vespa. Italian design rules!!!
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I like your all-family approach to the Italian vehicles 🙂 Green Fiat sounds like summer!
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We used to live in the South East of France. That might explain a lot!!! When we bought the green Fiat, the seller turned to me saying “I guess that will be Madame’s car” as if a small flashy car was necessarily a girl thing!!? But no mister! It has been the family car for 13 years. It took us skiing/camping/surfing (with all gear!) without problem!!
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Hm, I see in the comments being sceptical to French cars – but French don’t care?))
Haha, that is a great story! A girl thing turning in a all-family all-roader. It did a great job, this tiny one 🙂
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Those fiats are so cute and adorable!!! When I was in Venice the first time, alone on a winter day senza turisti, I remember looking at these wooden poles that boats were tied onto with ropes. There was a bit of a flood, and the poles were really just sticks and the boats so flimsily tied. And I thought, wow, in Italy, beauty is more important than practicality. In Finland, it’s the opposite. (Has to be, due to harsh weather conditions) — Nice post, Marina!
(I’m on bloglovin too but rarely get any traffic from there, does it work for you?)
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Yes, right? It seems like for Italians esthetics is above everything. Definitely above funcionality, I can see it in the high heels of ladies walking in the park, haha. Nordic countries are way more simple, practical, like old trustworthy and boring Lutherans (which they are in their nature :))) I don’t know if I would fit in such a mentality, but I appreciate their search for beauty and creation of it.
I have no idea about Bloglovin’, it is that I checked my statistics and thought a link to Bloglovin’. So I went there and discovered my blog there. Wow. But no, no much traffic there. But it is good to know, bc I didn’t do anything to put it there :))
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That’s weird!!! Did someone else put it there for you then? I’ve understood that once it’s put there, you can’t take it off, because it’s an RSS feed. But when I put my blog there, it asked me to claim it, I wonder if someone has claimed your blog??! 🧐🤨 Anyway, you can also link it in your wp-admin.
Well, I barely have any followers there and never visit bloglovin…
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Strange, isn’t it? I thought that too, that I had to do it intentionally. But after I’ve found the link on my statistics I went and saw it there, with a proposal to claim it. So I did it, but “claiming” is getting a link that I posted in this post “follow my blog with Bloglovin'”. It didn’t give me any other keys to ownership. I have only one follower there, so far it is not important. But when it becomes important, it would be good to be prepared.
How did you claim your blog?
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It was such a long time ago, maybe I remember wrong. For the link, I just added it to an old post, published it, then deleted it and re-published 🙂 And then I think I linked it in my wp-admin. Or maybe that was just for Twitter, hmm…… Anyway, weird that your blog still showed up! I mean, Bloglovin can’t be showing all the blogs on the planet can it? I’m interested in internet marketing, so that’s why I’m interested in this 😉 Anyway, good for you, now you’re there too! 😀
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Now there is something new to wonder about, especially for your interest in internet marketing 😉 I was surprised at it too, wouldn’t think that bloglovin’ just shows every blog in the world. After I “claimed” it through the link, I remembered that I have an account there, which I created once and forgot. So I claimed the blog also there, and then there are options like widgets and buttons they can give me for my blog. But I will wait with that.
Suddenly I got interested in internet marketing too. Such an exciting stuff right now 🙂
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🙂 I loved building my blog. Ok, it’s not self-hosted and I don’t need code, but even just building and designing it from the ready-made pieces I had to choose from was so much fun. (Nowadays I wouldn’t have time for it, I’m happy I’ve already done all I need to keep me going!)
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I just checked and I probably remember wrong about linking it in WP admin. 🙂
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Those pictures are so cute!
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Thank you!
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I ADORE that Fiat, too. I think Gilbert’s theory is an oversimplification. Every culture seems to have certain areas in which it excels. The English are highly verbal, for example. Think Shakespeare and every astounding English actor in our lifetime. But you probably can’t come up with an opera as amazingly melodic and beautiful as La Boheme. This is also an oversimplification that can be easily argued! 😉
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I guess, as a writer she has the right to oversimplify (I would ask more of a scientist) :)) Maybe, the theory is all wrong, but I like its implications: if you are caught up in a situation where you cannot change a lot, start looking for what you can change.
I appreciate your input. It made me also wonder at where the Nordic countries excel it. They seem to value equality so much that the word “excellence” is almost a bad word here 🙂 Can they possibly excel at equality?:))
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