La Bella Figura

"[authentic] Rome", an article by Mimi Murphy discusses several aspects of Rome, including sights and shops, on the basis of Rome's innate habit to look good. Murphy brings us directly into this idea with a strong lead; "For Romans, la bella figure - looking good - is primal". The use of the word "primal" supports the notion that this habit or desire is almost animalistic it's such a natural part of their world. Murphy continues, "Where else does one dress to the nines to pick up the kids at nursery school"? Murphy is again accenting the point that it doesn't matter where they are or what they are doing, the Romans are looking good. She goes on to relate this to the city's rich artistic history, citing it as one of the reasons for this subconscious desire to always look good; "When one has the architecture, the art, the music, the cuisine, the wine, and the climate that Rome has...well, a Roman has a responsibility to make the right impression".

She goes on to describe the sights partly through the recounting of her time spent with art historian and court, Stefano Aluffi-Pentini. Stefano takes her around pointing out various places and favorite spots of his own, near his neighborhood by the Colosseum. Here, Murphy combines personal quotes and analogy with interesting facts about the history and architecture. Referencing the S.S. Quattro Coronati he tells us, "Its 12-century church shows how Romans recycled: Columns and pavement marble were stripped from old buildings", proving Romans aren't simply fashionable but savvy as well. Stefano comments on the splendor of the Pantheon saying that it's architecture has even influenced Americans (what a thought!) and that this is a place that represents the original Rome, as it used to be; "...where you see the Roman world in full color".

Murphy then talks about the food, providing an interesting contrast to the richness of the previous two sections we are told that Roman food is based on ingredients that were once trademarks of the poor, including things like the leftover parts of an animal, "feet, tail, head and innards". Contrary to the style and architecture of Rome when it comes to the food we are told its not about the decor or ambience, it's strictly about the food.

Murphy kind of ends the article in a travel guide style, not really giving the piece a conclusion or tying back to the introduction but merely ending on the final topic, nightlife. While the piece was useful to a degree and interesting for most of it, I felt that the ending lacked the strength and hook that the beginning possessed.