Guiseppe!!!!

So some of you may know that I helped with the opening of a new office in Trastevere back in December. It's our Customer Service/New Product Development office which I manage with a couple other great guys. But this has nothing to do with the story, other than setting the location.

It's in Via dei Riari, just down the street from the Regina Coeli dal Gianicolo Prison. You're probably not thinking sprawling lawns and wildflowers, but it's just that. It's right next to the botanical gardens, and it's fantastic. The prison sets at the foot of a large hill (the Gianicolo) which is one of the seven great hills of Rome and furnishes one of the most beautiful views of the city below.

But the thing particularly interesting about this setup is not what you see, but what you hear. At various periods throughout the day, it's very common to hear the cry of a heartsick mother or girlfriend searching for the voice of the one she loves. The men's bathrooms of the prison face towards the hill, and when all is quiet outside, voices carry for miles. In this manner, the unwillingly separated can communicate across the distance.

It's the same today as it was 50 years ago. In fact, some of the early black & white Italian films feature the same conversations you can hear taking place across the valley at this very moment.