ITALY: Battle of the Beach

In all Europe there is no street quite so lively, quite so cosmopolitan or quite so zany as Rome's Via Veneto—the broad, tree lined avenue known to Italy's American colony as "the Beach." And for a decade past, the heart of the Beach has been the polyglot, block-long Caffé Doney. There in the soft Roman night, Italians and tourists alike sat till the wee hours beneath bright sidewalk umbrellas, sipping whisky, apéritifs or coffee, and watching the Via Veneto's endless parade of smartly dressed girls, pomaded gigolos and international celebrities, ranging from...

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