World: A Moment for Pedestrians

The Eternal City has always had an eternal problem: traffic. In Julius Caesar's day it was chariots and wagons jammed axle-to-axle on the cobblestones. Today it is Fiats and Alfa-Romeos bumper-to-bumper in a jam that reaches maximum autosclerosis in Rome's downtown arteries during the holiday shopping season. Caesar solved the problem in his day by imperial edict, banning carts, wagons, coaches and elephants during daylight hours. Last week Rome was trying the same thing on a smaller scaleĀ—and ruefully discovering banning Fiats by fiat to be hardly a Caesarian triumph.

Roman Traffic Commissioner...

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