Sound of a City: A journey through Rome in 20 songs
There’s nowhere quite like Rome. Even its dishevelled corners possess a unique charm. Once you’ve successfully exited the tarmac eternity of Roma Termini, a city divided by the turquoise waters of the Tiber unfolds before you. Renaissance churches flanked by ornate fountains and ancient temples look onto wide boulevards swamped with sun-baked tourists, all struggling to comprehend the archaic beauty of what surrounds them. Then again, incomprehension and sunstroke look remarkably similar from a distance.
That’s the thing about Rome, it’s bloody hot. Sometimes unbearably so. Even the people of Naples, who chose to inhabit a city surrounded by active volcanoes, had the good sense of positioning themselves near the coast. The people of Rome, in contrast, had no choice but to acclimatise to unrelenting 40-degree heat. Ask a Roman, and they’ll tell you that the only way to survive such days is by finding a spot of shade, ordering something sumptuous to eat or drink, and watching the world pass by.
Of course, staying put means missing out on all that Rome has to offer: the sun-dappled Palatine Hill, for example, or Trestervere with its bustling nightlife. Then there’s the filmic expanse of the Parco degli Acquedotti and the lush gardens of Villa Borghese. As always, the best way to see Rome is on foot. Actually, scratch that, the best way to see Rome is by Vespa. Sure, there’s a very real possibility that you’ll get run over by an insane motorist trying to get their Ferrari through Via Giulia, but the rewards are innumerable. But if you do choose to explore Rome “a piedi”, you’re going to need a soundtrack. That’s where we come in.
Travelling to the Eternal City is like entering a half-forgotten dream. We feel as though we know it already, and yet our expectations always fall short of the dazzling reality. This is the city of Raphael and Michaelangelo – of Cellini, Federico Fellini, Sophia Loren, Roberto Rosellini, Nero and Dante. It’s home to some of the most famous artworks in the world and several of its most iconic historical sites. It simmers with the sound of Nina Rota, Ennio Morricone, Otterino Respighi – whose ‘Pini Di Roma’ is an exploration of the city’s very soul – and the great Luigi Tenco, the brooding singer who committed suicide shortly after being rejected from the 1967 Sanremo Festival.
In this playlist, we’ve tried to capture the sonic mood of Rome in 20 songs – no easy task given its vast history. The music you’ll hear below is taken mainly from two key periods in Rome’s musical past: the tumultuous turn of the century when Italy was still coming to terms with unification and the post-war period from 1950 to 1970. You’ll also hear several scores from famous films set in Rome, including Fellini’s La Strada and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty. Enjoy.
