Fleeting Rome

Only a renaissance man could have described this glorious city in its heyday. And only Carlo Levi, writer, painter, politician and one of the last century's most celebrated talents, could depict Rome at the height of its optimism and vitality after World War II. In Fleeting Rome, the era of post war 'La Dolce Vita' is brought magnificently to life in the daily bustle of Rome's street traders, housewives and students at work and play, the colourful festivities of Ferragosto and San Giovanni, the little theatre of Pulcinella al Pincio; all vibrant sights and sounds of this ancient, yet vital city.

Carlo Levi (1902-1972), writer, painter and politician, was one of the great Italian talents of the twentieth century. He was interned in the South of Italy as an anti-fascist during the Second World war, where he wrote his masterpiece, Cristo si é Fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli). The work was subsequently turned into a film and became recognized as one of the great works of twentieth-century literature. Subsequent works have included a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including L'Orologio (1950), Le parole sono pietre (1955), Le mille patrie, Lo specchio and Scritti di critica d'arte. From 1963 to 1972 he was Senator of the Republic.

Preface vii Introduction: Eternal and Fleeting xiii Translator's Note xxxv I The People of Rome 1 II The Solitude of Rome 25 III The Two-Cent Coin 31 IV Sunday Stroll 37 V The Helicopter 43 VI Apparitions in Rome 51 VII The Duty of the Comet 57 VIII Elegy to the Mid-August Holidays 65 IX Hyperbolic Tourism 71 X Killing Time 77 XI Points of View 83 XII The Power of the Poor 89 XIII Brigands and Peasants 95 XIV Plants and Seeds 103 XV The Steps of Rome 111 XVI The Empty Cities 119 XVII Girls and Trees 125 XVIII A Dawn in Rome 131 XIX Summer Journey 137 XX The New Moon 143 XXI San Lorenzo and San Paolo 149 XXII A Child in Flight 155 XXIII After the Party 163 XXIV Substance and Chance 171 XXV Clothes Moths 179 XXVI Japanese Toys 187 XXVII Football and Men of Letters 193 XXVIII The Drainage Ditch and the Measles 199 XXIX A Boy Steals a Car Radio in the Piazza Navona 205 XXX The Labyrinth 213 XXXI City of Brothers 219 XXXII Summer Dissolves in Mists 227 XXXIII Fleeting Rome 233 Notes to the Text 237 Basic Chronology of Carlo Levi's Life 259 Index 275