By www.romephotofuntours.com - Giulio D'Ercole
Street cats, white cats, black cats, tabby cats... and finally red cats! Those are another peculiarity of Rome. Beautiful cats that live placidly in the shadow of the Roman ruins, passing through the open-air market stalls, lazily snoozing in the shade of the alleys, in the courtyards of old houses or in the lodges of ancient noble palaces.
Years ago, way more than nowadays, these gorgeous felines, were a constant company in Romans' life, especially in the old neighborhood like Trastevere, Campo de' Fiori, Monti and, of course at the Colosseum and the ancient Forums.
Their life was in some way "easy", loved and cared for by those people who, in the Roman dialect, are called "Gattare" ("gatto" is the Italian word for "cat"). It is for this reason that it is not so difficult, while walking through Rome, to spot fat and chubby cats basking in the sun outside buildings gates or between the ancient columns of the Trajan markets, as well as on the two thousand years old walls of the Baths of Caracalla.
I must say those small felines are a charming, calming and some how exotic presence....maybe it is true that God created cats so that we could caress lions and tigers.
