Rome (cont:) Customs.
In Rome there are different customs & habits.
One has to walk on certain parts of the street. If you are going up the street you have to go one side & if you are going down, you have to go the other side. The policemen are very strict about this.
Nearly all the men you see are dressed either as a soldier or a monk or a churchman. All the officers have to wear their uniform & it looks very smart & nice _ with hundreds of different uniforms. The women go about with their bundles on their heads. Men come up to you trying to sell postcards or mosaic. Taxi drivers & carriage drivers crie [sic] out to you & ask you if you want a drive, Guides come up to you & try and press you to let them show you around. Sometimes these guides & men who want to sell things follow you round for a long time trying to persuade you.
I noticed that all the official people like policemen, soldiers, sailors & guides in the museums are very young, lots of them, even, boys. But they are all very nice & obliging.
In Rome no one is allowed to sound the horns of their cars. There are lots of horses & carts. The horses down in the south of Italy are all very thin & look very miserable. They are not treated very well. In every shop nearby one sees a photo of Mussolini. Every one seems to worship him almost.
At 12 o.clock in the morning, there is a siren & guns go off to signal the hour. All work stops and museums etc; close until 2.
Peggy1936 