Firenze and Gypsies

Yesterday I made my way to Firenze (commonly known as Florence to Americans). When I arrived in the bus station, I was promptly greeted by a man shooing two gypsy girls out of the building. In Lucca, gypsies exist but not in the capacity that they do in Firenze or Roma. In Lucca, they live on the bank of the river just on the very outskirts of town and you may occasionally run across one or two in the centro. In Firenze, they are much more common and they spend time especially around the bus and train stations, where I was. There is no danger with gypsies, except that of mysteriously having your stuff disappear when you are around them (a magical quality that they seem to possess, really). Seeing the two girls forced to leave the bus station where they were begging brought back to mind the fact that I have not yet told you anything about them or their lifestyle. I myself know very little, but I will try to tell you some about what I do know. First of all, their lifestyle is a choice and it would be seen as a complete disgrace to the clan if they chose otherwise. (In fact, Im told that such a person would be found by whatever means necessary and only God knows what would happen then.) The goal of the clan is to protect its own by whatever means necessary. They live on the outskirts of any given town, typically near the water, in a group in tents or similar compounds. The government knows where they are and rather than disperse them (as you may expect to happen), they turn a blind eye and recognize that it is better to know where the gypsies are than to be unsure. Their homes and lives are very modest ones and everything they have they receive by begging on the street during the day. The children go to school like normal children (though it is, apparantly, seen as more of a daycare situation than a means to an end or an end in itself) and while they are at school, their parents are out working. For work, a gypsy wears a whole different set of clothing which appears more tattered than their normal clothing might. Their entire appearance changes for the street. Gypsies have their own language (which is something like Italian, but not) and their own relgion (which no other known group supports and is something like a mixture of pagan rites and Catholicism). Children are also in the family business, as it were, and when they arent in school they also participate in making money with their parents. I have never been duped by a gypsy but I hear that it is quite easy. One will talk to you while the other picks your pocket or one will slit your bag as you are stopped on a bus. They are professionals at what they do. When Italians see them they are either disgusted or disinterested. If they own a business, they may try to run off the gypsy but I have never seen an Italian give money to one. Mostly, they traffic in tourist areas and target the "prime candidates" whose wallets are not secure and who seem to be more enveloped by their map than their surroundings. So, when in Rome, beware.
In other news, Firenze was a great experience, especially since I did it all on my own and things went well. I was missing my friend Bryan who was really great at navigating in our last trip there, but I did alright and didnt get lost so much as turned around a couple of times. Firenze has a jumble of streets that follow no particular pattern and so, landmarks are the only way to track a path. I saw the Baptistry Doors, which I had seen before but which meant a lot more to me this time after having read about them briefly in "Brunelleschi's Dome." They really are magnificent and took so many years to build. It is amazing how much of the art around us that we take for granted and how much time it took for certain projects to be completed. The difficulty of the dome on the Duomo is actually incredible and took the entire adult life of one man and much of the adult life of another. Its main architect barely saw its completion before dying and one of the architects did not even live to see the lantern on top finished. To think how quickly we see projects rise and fall in cities these days, it is nearly impossible to think of living your whole childhood around a single construction project! Wow!
I made my way back to Lucca after 5 hours of walking, completely exhausted but pleased with my day. I hope to go back again soon for my fourth trip.