Of Pigs and Boars: Rome's Problem with Cinghiali--and Swine Flu

 

There was a time, not so long ago, when a story about a cinghiale (a wild boar) showing up in Rome  brought a smile to one's face. How unusual. Cute critters. 

A wild board in Piazza Verbano

No more. The boars are more common now. Just in the past week, a boar was seen rooting around in a flower bed and a garbage bin in Piazza Verbano (near where we lived one of our times in Rome), in the heart of the neighborhood Trieste/Salario. Police arrived and closed the piazza for 20 minutes. A woman walking her dog in Villa Glori, in toney Parioli, was threatened by cinghiali (and folks are now being warned to keep their dogs away from the animals). Wild boars have also been sighted in the southern suburb of EUR, on the busy thoroughfare Cristoforo Colombo, in Piazzale Pio XII, in Piazza Vescovio (Trieste), on Monte Mario (one of our favorite close-in hiking venues and featured in our guidebook, #11 on RST's Top 40), and around a children's playground in Prati, near the Vatican. According to a veterinarian expert on the subject, the boars are not generally aggressive but will defend themselves, and they may become aggressive if people have food with them. His advice: drop the food and leave. 

A family of cinghiali at a children's playground in Prati. 

A genuine sense of crisis has emerged only in the last few days, when a boar was found dead with the swine flu virus in the Insugherata Reserve, an enormous, largely undeveloped area northwest of the city center. The disease is highly contagious among wild boars and regular pigs, and deadly 98% of the time (ok, we've hiked there as well - and came out on one of the farms ringing it). Now we're learning that there are some 12,000 small pig farms in the region, with all their 43,000 pigs in danger from the virus, which is lethal for the pigs. Although it seems clear that the virus does not spread to humans (and one always worries about when a virus will "jump" to humans), it is a resistant virus, able to survive for up to 100 days in the outdoors (and several months in salami or frozen meat), and it is spreadable by human contact--on one's clothes, for example. 

Now there's at least one article a day in the newspapers about the "la peste suina" (the swine flu, referred to in the papers here as psa [swine flu africana]). It's no secret that the major cause of the problem is Rome's horrendous, decades-old garbage problem. In every section of the city, the garbage bins in which residents throw their refuse are overflowing, to the point where frustrated citizens put their garbage outside the bins, on the ground, where it often remains for days. The boars love these easy pickings, and come into the city to eat. They eat and multiply. Estimates differ, but it's likely there are about 20,000 wild boars in and around Rome--especially, but not entirely, in the areas to the west and north.

There are plans to deal with the problem. The Lazio regional government (in which Rome is located) has created a "red zone" (see map above) where picnicking and other events, and the feeding of animals, will be prohibited. The red zone is bounded on the west and north by the GRA--a super highway that circles the city, and on the east by stretches of the Tiber River. But there is no "natural" barrier to the south, where the red zone will be marked by city streets, including via di Boccea and via Cipro (see the numbers on the map - we were living 2 blocks from via Cipro last month).  And, as a glance at the map reveals, wild boars have been sighted in many areas of the city that are outside the red zone and on the east side of the Tiber (Piazza Verbano is one example). 

The Commune of Rome will fence off some of the garbage bins. Medical authorities will check the farm pigs for disease (not a simple task). Some of the larger green areas will be closed, though which ones and to what extent has not been revealed. And the plan includes efforts to close off the migratory avenues (the "green channels") that the boars use to come into the city proper. How that will happen is not clear.

Dealing with the boar invasion won't be easy. The last half dozen of Rome's mayors have sworn they'll get the city's garbage collected, and, no matter the political party in charge, the problem has only gotten worse. The city's northwest is the site of several enormous parks. Some are heavily used and cared for, including Villa Ada (the source of some of the boars in that area of the city) and Villa Borghese. But others are quite primitive spaces--Monte Mario, Parco del Pineto, and the Insugherata Reserve among them--and it will likely be impossible to find the boars in these areas, let alone remove them or change their migratory patterns. 

In the meantime, we're thinking of staying out of the more remote parts of Monte Mario--for years, a favorite haunt--and leaving Parco del Pineto to the cinghiali. 

Bill 

P.S. Two days after I drafted this account, the papers reported 16 dead wild boars in the Insugherata, 2 of which had swine flu (only 2? why did the others die?), and that 650 pigs would have to be destroyed to keep the disease from spreading. The day before, it was reported that, because of the small number of cases, pig farmers were not required to register with the authorities. Today, May 11, the word was that a woman in the suburb of Bufalotta couldn't leave her house because there were 20 boars outside; a 4th case of swine flu was reported; and residents who live inside the affected area--presumably the "red zone," were asked to disinfect their shoes whenever they left that area. Good luck on enforcing that one!. 

Walk to the Mosque and Villa Ada

Our regular readers will know that we (RST) are walkers.  Just give us a destination (or not) and we're off.  On a weekend in June, while living on via Salaria (in the Salario neighborhood), we struck out for Rome's signature mosque (co-designed by starchitect Paolo Portoghesi), which is tucked into  north Rome between Villa Ada--a huge park--and some sports facilities that line the banks of the Tevere.  Here are some of things we saw on our walk.

At piazza Santiago del Cile, on fashionable viale del Parioli, this very unusual traffic circle.  Unusual because the grass has actually been mowed and the bushes trimmed. That's what you get when you live in Parioli.

We took a bit of a side-trip east, up to Piazza delle Muse.  There's now an attractive bar up there on the bluff above the mosque, with good views.  And we saw this sign, which tells drivers of scooters and motorcycles that they have to walk their machines in this area.

Dropping down to via Ruggero, we hit a T at viale della Moschea ("mosque avenue").  Lanes have been closed because the road has so many potholes it's considered unsafe.

Bill liked this road sign--almost a work of art. Of course, drivers won't see it; it's in the trees.

That's the mosque on our left.  It's #24 on our RST Top 40 list; a fascinating building. When we wrote about it in 2010, it was Europe's largest mosque. It's open to visitors only certain times and days.

The only way to get to Villa Ada from here is this road: overgrown--not made for pedestrians--and a fair amount of traffic.

About a half mile ahead, a path leading into the recreational areas of Villa Ada.

Parts of Villa Ada have paths but are otherwise rather wild.  We like that.

In Villa Ada: graffiti, tree trimmings not removed.

Romans  playing and picnicking in the Villa

Around the lake at the northern end of the park.

Map of the park, now illegible.  I photographed this map because it comes close to what I understand and appreciate as "found art." 

History and archaeology of the park, now illegible.

A warning that the fenced-in area is off limits because of big holes and cave-ins.  At least you can read this.

Nice shaded area

Exercise equipment now unusable; ubiquitous yellow tape.

On our way home:  a small public playground with usable equipment.  But empty--they're all in Villa Ada.

Bill

Underground Rome - the Royal bunker from World War II

Our guide points out the enormous double doors through which a car - carrying King Vittorio Emanuele III and Queen Elena - could be driven into the bunker.  The doors still have their rubber gaskets (to keep out poison gas).

The "bunker" built for the King and Queen of Italy to protect them from Allied bombing in World War II is now open for tours by the group that restored it - Roma Sotteranea ("Underground Rome"). The bunker is a fascinating reminder of the days of WWII and of Italy's role in the war.

Entrance to bunker today.

Villa Savoia, today, in the re-named Villa Ada,
one of Rome's largest and 'wildest' parks.
The building - Villa Savoia - now houses the Egyptian Embassy.

The underground space, at the southern end of Villa Ada, is about a quarter mile from the Royals' then home, Villa Savoia, but of course they weren't expected to walk that far under threat of bombardment, and no tunnels or underground walkways have been found. So the assumption is that they were driven to the bunker from their villa, hence also the need for a bunker large enough to accommodate cars.

A view of Mussolini's bunker under Villa Torlonia

According to Roma Sotteranea's archival work, the bunker was built from an extant underground area that held cast-off clothes the Queen periodically gave to the poor.  Though no records exist (and this is thought to be because the Royals didn't want the plans for the bunker to fall into the wrong hands), Roma Sotteranea estimates the bunker was built in 1940-42.


Mussolini apparently encouraged the King and Queen to have a bunker.  He had one for himself under Villa Torlonia, the site of one of his homes, a bunker we have visited (closed to tours since about October 2016 - not clear why).

There are no bedrooms in the Savoys' bunker. The assumption is that this was an area of temporary - not overnight - reprieve from bombing.  There is a 'living room,' complete with tea service, and two bathrooms.

There were various methods to prevent exposure to poison gas - the Italian government feared the Allies would use it, as Italy had in its African colonies.  Besides the rubber seals on the doors and other openings, there are existing gas masks and other devices to provide fresh air.  If power went out, there was a bicycle to be used to provide man-made power.  A servant would peddle to provide energy.

Gas mask and other accessories from World War II.

On July 25, 1943, Mussolini was at the Villa, possibly hiding in the bunker, when he was arrested just after meeting with the King.  On September 8, 1943, after a truce was signed with the Allies, the King and Queen left the villa for good.  On September 9, they left Italy.

Stai rcase leading to escape
hatch in park.  The materials
used were all first class -
like one would use in
the royal villa itself.

The bunker fell into disuse from September 8, 1943, and was the site of considerable desecration.  Roma Sotteranea crews spent almost 3000 hours beginning in 2015 working to restore it.

Before the intervention of Roma Sotteranea

Tours of the bunker generally are scheduled on the weekends and must be reserved well in advance.  The cost is 10 Euros.  As of now, tours are only in Italian. Information on the bunker is available in English on Roma Sotteranea's web site: http://en.bunkervillaada.it/the-shelter.html

Dianne

The bunker is circular - schematic below.

Rome's she-wolf takes many forms

The Capitoline Lupa on the column in Michelangelo's piazza.  Bill took this photo, with the three Italian officials in the background. It's a classic.

Anyone who's been in Rome for more than a few minutes will have seen the iconic image of the she-wolf suckling the infant twins.  This "lupa" (she-wolf) is the overarching symbol of Rome - succinctly reminding everyone of the story of Rome's founding.  The twins, Romulus and Remus, were the sons of the God Mars (or perhaps the demi-god, Hercules, but you know how those divinity stories go) and a Vestal Virgin, sworn to chastity  (just to make the story more interesting).  They were abandoned at a river by one of their male forefathers, who tried to prevent them from obtaining their rightful inheritance as leaders of a pre-Roman state, Alba Longa.  A she-wolf found them and suckled them and, eventually (after killing his brother, ETC.!), Romulus founded the new city-state of Rome.

The most famous statue of the lupa suckling the twins is on the Capitoline Hill.  The original is in the museum there, but a darn good replica sits on a post in Michelangelo's piazza (photo above).  We've always been attracted to the statue and the image, and it turns out we're not the only ones.




The lupa sometimes can look menacing, as in this poster; she
no doubt looks more menacing here because of the rips in the poster;
 the poster is simply advertising a concert.

The lupa is the primary symbol of Rome's soccer team, A.S. Roma, founded in 1927.  Some even go so far as to have it tattooed on their arms.

stylized lupa as the soccer team's symbol

Classic lupa as part of A.S. Roma's logo.

Perhaps my favorite.  This was on a publicity poster for the 2012 summer music festival in Villa Ada, a festival that year promoting music from around the world:  the title, Roma incontro il mondo ("Rome meets the world"). Note the ethnicities of the 3 - yes 3 - infants.  And, we have a happy lupa here.

Right-wing use of the lupa, looking threatening,
showing her smashing the Euro.

close-up of the Euro being smashed; the imagery
 argues against Italy being part of the EU.

Mainstream advertising using the lupa:
the furniture store here "offers you more."
The udder is appropriately large.

Artists like the lupa too.  We especially appreciated this image of Italy's most famous film star, Anna Magnani, "walking" the lupa - by street artist Biodpi.

And the image below, well, we couldn't quite figure out what this blogger was about.  The image speaks for itself, we think.

:

Mussolini was big on the lupa.  So her image appears in many bas reliefs and statues of the Fascist era.  The one at left is from the bas relief on the once-Fiat building at the far end (coming from the train station) of Largo Susanna in central Rome.  The others appear on two public buildings of the era around Rome; for example, below left on a school.

The lupa on a contemporary, official sticker.

Dianne
More images are available on an Italian Web site:  http://lupi.difossombrone.it/storiaeoriginelupo/main001_lupacapitolina.htm