Niente (nothing). Certainly not busy. Not too warm either. Already so much less of a zoo in the summertime than the beach at the sea… now in winter time even less so. Not fancy… I mean, broccolo romanesco and cheap wine? Even the restaurant patrons are relatively quiet rather than hollering across the table at each other!
People watching? Not enough of those, so nope, not really. Some geese.
Sailing? Nuh-uh, no wind on sunny winter days.
Shop at the local product street stalls? Yeah, come April maybe.
So why go to one of the lakes north of Rome in the winter time?
Maybe because with so much that is busy, overwhelming, exciting, so much of a zoo, so much “Rome” in a word, the possibility to enjoy a day where everything including the light is muted and toned down is paradoxically one of the nicest and most extravagant luxuries that you can give yourself.
You’ll even find people like this chap who come out to eat at the lake alone. Let me repeat myself, “eat alone.” IN ITALY!?! (Solitude in Italy is pretty much considered a pathology, on par with psychological disorders or degenerative diseases.) But no questioning stares or heartfelt concern towards him at this time of year. There is a tacit understanding among winter-going lake folk that for just these few hours everyone here is doing one of the most important and constructive things possible: niente.
– Contributed by GB (see bio), Editor, Italian Notebook.
