Italian Notebook

Via dei Sediari - The Chair Makers' Street

Rome - Although there are not many chair makers left on and around Via dei Sediari which is just behind the senate house, the few botteghe there that practice this old trade still do a brisk business, especially wicker furniture.

Ask this sediaro about his trade however and he will admit that small shops like his are becoming ever more scarce, that the government isn't doing enough for artisans, there is too much bureaucracy even for a small business like his, etc.

All of a sudden he gets a devilish grin on his face, raises his voice three notches, and continues, "No, my TWO CHILDREN will not take over the shop like I did from my father. That would mean work for them, and they are smarter than that . . they are trying to get a job in the public (gov't) sector, do' pi'i sordi e'n fai'n cazzo! Almeno cosí magnano . ."

Um . . let's just say that's a colorful expression in Roman dialect which roughly translates as "where you can earn (but also means "take") money without working. At least this way they'll eat/won't starve (but also "embezzle") . .". I then recognize the two elegant gentlemen who have just walked by . . . two Senators on their way to lunch next door.

--contributed by GB (see bio), owner of Welcome Home, quality expatriate housing in Rome since 1984.

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