GL 350 Leisure

The Italian lifestyle has developed largely around leisure in ways that I never expected. As we discussed in earlier weeks, Italians form pessimistic view causing them to mistrust and avoid bad situations. What typically comes with pessimism is ample leisure time. If you are pessimistic you won’t want to do anything to better your situation. In earlier chapters we discussed how Italians will rejoice over having a simple job working for the city. It is a consistent pay check, but nothing so special. Francesco explains how leisure has worked in benefit for the Italians by writing about how to prosper under grueling tyranny. “I do not blame those who, enflamed by love country, defy dangers to establish liberty and popular rule, though I think that what they do is extremely risky. Few revolutions succeed, and, when they do, you often discover they did not gain you what you hoped for.” It is much easier to tough it out through the rule of a tyrannical power instead of forming a revolution to oust the dominant party, and that is exactly what Francesco encouraged. There was much less risk in painting, writing literature and magnificent sculpting than there was in revolution. These activities are ones enjoyed in leisure rather than working hard to better a bad situation.

                Americans are go getters. Competition over jobs is incredibly difficult and businesses will rigorously push to expand their influence and income faster than their competitors. I’ve seen several documentaries and read articles on powerful businessmen who will spend 20 hours every day traveling across the country or globe, meeting with other CEO’s and directors and forming business partnerships. The other 4 hours are spent sleeping. Leisure doesn’t even come into play for the most serious and hard-working Americans. Time is money, and time wasted is lost cash. Italians are different from Americans. Relaxation seems to have become part of their culture. They live a simpler life where getting a smaller, consistent job is preferred. Traveling is something of leisure for the Italians. They like to travel in silence to enjoy the free time they have on a train.

                The colossal gardens and their villas are a place where Italians can spend their time running, meeting people or walking the dog while taking in the sites. The gardens are so beautiful that it is impossible not to be impressed whether you are a native or foreigner. Edith Wharton describes the Villa d’Este as a magnificent place. “The wildly Baroque garden behind the Villa d’Este gushes with amazing fountains, the mythological statues surprising you at every step you take down the steep and beautifully cultivated plants.” These gardens are a place of leisure for not just Italians, but the foreigners too. The gardens are unlike anything else in the world, and every one of them has something different: for example, the Borgese Gardens houses the Rome Zoo. Tourists can bike these gardens while the locals can walk their dogs. There are tours through the villas showing off their impressive artwork. There is much to do in the gardens that offer incredible amounts of Leisure that are not the same as the United States. We may have the metro parks, but they aren’t as beautiful as an Italian garden.