Italy at a Crossroads

Rome

‘THE BEAUTY and splendor of the modern city may be ascribed to the abuses of the government, to the influence of superstition,” wrote Edward Gibbon in a postscript to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 1787. He was comparing the Rome of his era to the ancient city, but not much has changed since then. At my hotel, the venerable Raphael, Bettino Craxi was holding court in the tea rooms, albeit to a diminishing crowd of ever-seedier followers: Craxi has been implicated in the vast bribery scandal which has unfolded here over the past two years, the scandal that has brought Italy’s entire political class into disrepute.

RS

About the Author

Radek Sikorski

Rome

‘THE BEAUTY and splendor of the modern city may be ascribed to the abuses of the government, to the influence of superstition,” wrote Edward Gibbon in a postscript to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 1787. He was comparing the Rome of his era to the ancient city, but not much has changed since then. At my hotel, the venerable Raphael, Bettino Craxi was holding court in the tea rooms, albeit to a diminishing crowd of ever-seedier followers: Craxi has been implicated in the vast bribery scandal which has unfolded here over the past two years, the scandal that has brought Italy’s entire political class into disrepute.