Laundry drying in Trastevere
Those quaint Italian postcards showing washing hanging out of the windows in apartment buildings are picturesque but also very much a fact of life here. We have a washing machine in our apartment but not a clothes dryer, and likely most other people don’t have one either. Even if one does, energy is expensive so at this time of year, when the sun shines more often than not, everyone takes advantage and hangs the washing out to dry. Looking out the window in the morning, one sees washing drying on balconies, on roofs and on lines hanging out the window. I’m waiting to see what happens in the winter, how do people dry sheets and towels?
- Laundry drying in Lanuvio
Today, we went to Lanuvio, a small, quaint, walled village about half an hours train ride outside of Rome. It was a beautiful sunny day which was nice as its been raining here for 2 or 3 days now. The perfume of linden and jasmine in the air was wonderful and we could see trees laden with lemons as we walked up the hill from the station to the village. Anyhow, given the rain, I guess many people decided to do laundry today so when we got to the village, the narrow cobbled streets had lines of washing hanging out the windows. By now I’ve seen washing everywhere I’ve been and I’m struck by how modesty prevails. One mostly sees larger items, no knickers waving in the breeze or any other undies for that matter!
