Italy wins/Italia vince!

As most of you know by now (Monday morning) Italy won the World Cup last night – and we had the pleasure of watching it on a huge screen set up in the Piazza Annuziata just a block up from our apartment.(See photo.)

We met up with Melinda and Dave at 7 on the Piazza della Reppublica and then walked over to a Chinese restaurant near our apartment for a bite before the game. We discovered earlier in the day that they (whoever “they” are) were setting up a screen on a stage almost next door to where we live so we thought that might be a good place to watch the people watch the game. (We had thought about going up to the Piazzale Michelangelo.)


So we strolled over to the piazza just as the game was getting underway and joined in the fun – Tuborg beer had a huge tent set up so there was easy access to libations. And what fun it was through two periods, two overtimes and through the winning kicks at the end. Man oh man the crowd went wild with each successful kick by Italy and were ecstatic when France missed one, which turned out to be the important one. And of course everyone went absolutely nuts when Italy made their 5th kick and so became World champs for the first time since 1982, a position they will hold for four years until the next World Cup series.


After the game we hung out in the piazza for a while taking in the moment so to speak. We stopped at our apartment for a minute or two and then the four of us strolled on to the historic center of the city to join in the festivities (read “craziness”) that was running (literally) rampant through town. Italian flags everywhere, he streets were packed with people singing, chanting, music, horns, you name the noise and people were making it – it was pure unadulterated fun.

And not a policeman to be seen anywhere. This is truly a civilized country.

We said goodbye to Melinda and Dave and strolled back to our apartment – skirting the Piazza del Duomo where there was an enormous traffic jam of human flesh and took the quiet side streets home.

Wish you had been here.

Steve