Campo dé Fiori

Campo dé Fiori

At the start of 1970, I moved to live near Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Campo de Fiori, and Trastevere. These enchanting places brought their unique counterculture to the city of Rome. There was Via del Governo Vecchio with "la Casa della Donna" and the lively debates going on down in the big courtyard. Largo Argentina where the radicals broadcast discussions about "the divorce law" on their radio. Via dei Giubbonari with the famous branch of the Pci, Enrico Berlinguer, and Botteghe Oscure. Alternative bookstores were popping up everywhere.

People gathered in the squares. The Sunday meet-up at Porta Portese. Talks at the Accademia dei Lincei. Moravia, Pasolini, Dario Bellezza. Cineclubs at Pudovkin. Experimental theatre in damp basements, featuring Ionesco, Beckett, and Grotowski. "Paese Sera" came out twice a day. L’Espresso with critiques by Ripellino. Live music at Folkstudio from artists like Stefano Rosso, Venditti, and De Gregori. And plenty of "Osterie" that doubled as literary cafés. It was such a magical time, it seeped into my skin and my veins.