Street beggars in Rome

Blogger Alexei Neshitov writes: “In anticipation of a series of posts about Rome that have yet to be written, when analyzing the obtained photographs, I singled out several images united by a common theme. There are not too many of them, but, in my opinion, they deserve a separate post. Popular tourist destinations around the world attract not only those who want to visit them, but also those who want to earn money in this process. Rome is a real Mecca of tourism. On average, about 10 million tourists come here every year. Of course, such a flow of people coming to rest brings the same huge flow of money, which makes it possible for hundreds of restaurants, boutiques, museums and ... beggars to flourish. Of course, most of them consider themselves street performers, dressing up in some unusual costume and settling in some crowded place for the amusement of crowds of tourists. Everything would be fine, but the images of these artists are for the most part so beaten up that there is no desire to give money at all. True, most novice tourists have a look that is not yet washed out, and they no-no, and even give beggars a coin.

So, the hit parade, the beggars or artists I noticed, as you please.

(Total 8 photos)

Source: Journal/neshitoff

1. Dog lover. The most outspoken kind of begging seen in Rome. Except, of course, for a homeless person who lives not far from our hotel and brazenly begged us for money. Perhaps in every more or less large city in the world and of course in Russia there are such beggars with dogs. The same character attracted me primarily because he was a hefty man, quite well-fed and decently dressed. By the way, he really did not like that I decided to photograph him.

2. Bird lover parrot. Everyone knows that bright parrots cause bouts of joy in girls and children. However, adult uncles also love parrots. One such uncle with the face of an inveterate Pakistani was sitting on the bridge of angels with a tame parrot trio on a perch, at the same time trading in some trifle, such as toy balls of slugs, which, if thrown with force into a wall or floor, are first smeared into a cake, and then gathered again to original form. Mimic birds are great for attracting attention. But they are not just here. Kissing parrots are at work now. Liked parrot love - pay some money. The box is right there.

3. Sweet gladiators. The image of a gladiator in the mind of any person appears as a strong, stern warrior, but not in this case. Gladiators are perhaps the most common theme in Rome. They roam everywhere where there are ruins and a lot of people. Moreover, they are mostly dressed in the same Chinese armor, but everyone’s shoes are already the same as they had enough imagination for. Someone in Velcro sandals, which our tourists love to wear with socks, some in terrible boots, ala construction tin, and some don’t bathe at all and walk in sneakers. I managed to catch the moment of transformation of two, at first glance, quite normal men into glamorous gladiators. Look what a beauty. Leopard print dress, tights, ruffles. It remains to add heels, take plastic swords in pens and you can go to work.

4. Yogis with a steel arm, a steel pipe and a steel back. At first glance, a very unusual and mysterious installation. But only at first glance. When after five hundred meters you see exactly the same, and then another one of the same, the originality of the idea, you see, disappears. I have already seen several such yogis in Barcelona, Tenerife and somewhere else. The plot is always the same. One yogi sits, like in meditation, with one eye vigilantly looking at the money basket, and holds in his hand a piece of steel pipe, at the upper end of which the second yogi sits. Because the site is not visible. A strange thought creeps into my head, what place is this severe yogi kept on the pipe? It's amazing how powerful this yogi's meditation is and how secure his butt is. By the way, these comrades sit down exclusively under a black veil with the help of a third person, apparently so as not to shock the public.

5. Man is incomprehensible. Apparently, the author created the image of an invisible man, but it can be assumed that a man without a head. In any case, this theme is also present in various tourist cities of the world, and in Rome alone it was seen three times. Moreover, in the latter case, at the Colosseum, the invisible man so entered the image of the invisible that he disappeared altogether. There was only a jacket on a special stand, a hat, glasses on a wire and, of course, a jar for money. Acting is a great thing. You in the image go about your business, and the income goes.

6. Metal cowboy. Basically, it's pretty original. The costume is well thought out. The mechanical cowboy sits absolutely motionless, but one has only to throw a ringing coin into his coin acceptor, the soulless piece of iron suddenly comes to life and clumsily nods his head in gratitude. The impression, unfortunately, was quickly overshadowed when ten minutes later I came across exactly the same cowboy. I decided that he could teleport to different places in Rome through the famous Roman plumbing.

7. Death is a beggar. Here is the number! By the way, as it turned out the most popular among tourists. The old woman, death, apparently, completely blunted her scythe, and no one allocated money for a new one, so she had to go out to the people. And they are happy to try. Smiling, taking pictures. Moreover, from time to time there are so many who wish that they stand in line to look into the eyes of death and try to pay off it with a euro coin. Death, it should be noted, behaves quite courteously and bows gratefully with a permanent smirk on his face.

8. Ivy man. I don't really follow Marvel comics and I have never seen such a super-hero. Perhaps this character is the future opponent of Spider-Man in some new series. Apparently, it will be a real tough blockbuster. After all, the ivy man is very insidious. Pretending to be ivy, he guards his victims, deftly peeping with one eye first at the victim, then at the jar. And when she, gaping, falls into the set traps, wraps her in ivy tentacles, and then, for the sake of fidelity, beats her with her stick. Walked around him just in case. But still this is the most original image of a street beggar that I have seen. And not only in Rome.

I'm sure there are other dressed up, painted beggars on the streets of Rome, but I was not lucky.

I will tell about other interesting places later. Stay in touch!