Roman-style Dolce Vita

July 07 2013

by Laurence Ogiela / TETU

when you think of Rome, you immediately think of gladiators in the Colosseum, cassocks in the Vatican and... Prada mules! What better place than the Eternal City to dream in front of the ancient statues of the Roman Empire, to shop for Italian fashion designers, and to indulge in "passegiatta" like the actors in the romantic films of the 1960s?

It must be said that Rome is a real movie set. If Via Veneto and the Trevi Fountain, emblematic of Fellini's Dolce Vita, have become tourist attractions, we still like to imagine ourselves in Anita Ekberg's shoes, yelling "Marcello! The romantic route passes by the unavoidable piazza Navona, piazza dei Fiori, and the popular Trastevere district, on the other side of the Tiber. We rent a Vespa and play a remake ofRoman Holiday as Audrey Hepburn or Gregory Peck, depending on the mood. No way to escape the concert of horns in this city invaded by cars, but the two-wheeler remains the most practical and mythical means of transportation. Even if nowadays vintage Vespa's rub shoulders with Asian scooters, and if classic Fiat Cinquecento's are rare compared to their modern version.

The "Audrey at heart" and the fashion divas will stroll in front of the luxury windows of via dei Condotti and the boutiques of via del Babuino, near the steps of the Spanish Steps. Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo, Dolce & Gabbana... It's time to refurbish your wardrobe at an indecent price.

The followers of the "Gregory Peck attitude" will rather join the passegiatta, the ritual walk where boys more beautiful and more dressed than the others strut at every corner. Winks and smiles... it's up to you to do the rest!

In the historical center, on via dei Fori Imperiali, centuries of history pass before your eyes, with a heap of monuments of all eras. Everywhere you look you see ancient statues of naked men - warriors, ephebes, emperors or gods with provocative attributes. With the imposing Colosseum in your sights. Hmmm... Gladiators and Spartacus: we shudder with excitement to imagine these virile jousts.

It must be said that Rome, fed by the myths of Antiquity, has long conveyed the image of a city conducive to love between boys. But if sex and hemoglobin reigned in the time of the Roman emperors and gladiators, it is a long time since the cassocks, Berlusconi and state homophobia took over. It is true that the Eternal City has churches and domes as far as the eye can see, with the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica dominating all the others - and the whole city. But let's face it, the treasures of the Vatican Museums are worth a visit.

A crypto-gay city
Rome is a paradox: it is both ancient and modern, elitist and popular, pious and decadent. If the Vatican is not very kind to its homosexual flock, that doesn't stop Roman gays from having fun. There is no gay district in Rome, only one street: via di San Giovanni in Laterano, renamed "Gay street" by the LGBT community. Its location, in front of the Colosseum, is unique in the world and all the gays meet there at the Coming Out bar, the only gay bar open all day and night. we opened Coming Out in 2001," explains Annalisa, who owns the bar with two friends. At first, neighbors threw water on customers from the apartments above and we even had an attempted fire. But it has calmed down and even the bars next door are gay-friendly because there are so many people on the street at night.we are trying to negotiate with the authorities to make the street pedestrian on this part, but it is always complicated. Annalisa knows what she is talking about. In addition to Coming Out, she owns a gay souvenir store up the street and is trying to open a cruising bar in the neighborhood with her friend Diego, the former artistic director of the weekly gay party Muccassassina.

Muccassassina, Rome's gay party © Laurence Ogiela

"Gay life is paradoxical in Italy," explains Diego, originally from Naples. in Rome, you do what you want, but you shouldn't brag about it. We're not far from the Vatican, yet there's a lot of flirting in the park of Monte Caprino and at the Circo Massimo next to the Colosseum. In the 1960s and 1970s, Pasolini and his buddies used to flirt in the Colosseum, which was open at night at the time."And Pier Paolo Pasolini knew what he was talking about when he said: "Rome would not be as beautiful without boys. As in all the southern and maritime cities, it is the boys who set the tone," and the handsome, virile and dark guys are legion in Via di San Giovanni in Laterano.

On the other hand, gay parties are not held in the center of Rome, but in outlying areas, fifteen minutes away by cab, in mega clubs as the Italians like them. The oldest party, Muccassassina, has been organized for twenty-two years by the Roman gay association Mario Mieli. It takes place every Friday night at the Qube, a huge disco with four different dance floors and a darkroom. Dripping drag-queens, similar to a Cicciolina on the comeback, animate the evening with a bunch of go-gos who sway to the "sigla", the anthem of the evening. Because each evening has its own hit that all the clubbers know by heart and that we must sing and choreograph at the beginning of the evening. On Saturday evening, it is Pepa, a charming idiot, who animates the evening "Gorgeous I am" at the Alpheus. We meet very beautiful go-gos, often straight, in suggestive overalls.

Main photo © Laurence Ogiela