By Cassidy Caukin
It’s your first visit to Cagli; as you’re walking down the cobblestone streets and taking in the rustic buildings lining the narrow roads, the smell of fresh foccacia fills the air as you near Piazza Matteotti. As your eyes scan the buildings, you glance toward Caffé del Commerciowhere people are sipping cappuccini and enjoying the Italians’ daily four-hour break for relaxation and food in the middle of the day, better known as pausa.
Photos by Lauren Goodspeed
You begin walking through the intersection toward the café when suddenly, a car pulls out in front of you. Unfortunately, this is a very common situation in Cagli. The fact that it is an ancient town built in the 13th century makes driving a very interesting adjustment for everyone. There are no stop signs, no sidewalks, no visually designated speed limits, and most importantly, stop lights are limited to highway bypasses. The Cagliese have adapted to modern cars and motorini, but several challenges factor into their everyday driving experiences.
Recently the economic crisis triggered a driving revolution, according to the owner of Cagli’s car dealership, Marco Volpi. These days, he observed, consumers prefer cheaper, smaller, more fuel-efficient, eco-friendly cars. According to Volpi, the average car buyer is between 30 and 40 years old and usually pays around 20,000 Euros for small, gas- and earth-friendly cars. In order to accommodate Cagliese needs, Volpi imports cars from Germany and Belgium.
Volpi says that Mercedes, Volkswagens, and Audis are in high demand, by far the most popular cars. He sells about 15 each month. Since cars are the most popular form of transportation, some locals even rent cars if they cannot afford to actually buy one. Monica Ruggeri and Valentina Mangani explain that luxury cars are not important to them; they like small cars because they are easier for parking, and just having a car in general is important to them, not the style of the car.
In Cagli, drivers face a variety of challenges. Most drivers must learn to drive manual transmissions due to the configuration of the streets: there are lots of narrow streets and sharp corners, so it’s much easier to maneuver on the streets. If the car is not automatic you can move and pass people faster, shifting gears as needed. Mangani says she’s used to all of the curves and hills while driving in Cagli, and she likes it because it “keeps driving interesting and she doesn’t get bored like she would if she were on a flat, straight road.” But the city is changing, and Volpi thinks that the Cagliese will switch to automatic transmissions in about 15 years.
Brakes also wear out very fast because of the hills and mountains in and around town. Brake repairs are the most common of all car problems.
Some of the more serious problems Cagli drivers face are traffic accidents. Local policeman Marco Reali deals with 4-5 accidents every month; though these tend not to be serious, the accidents occur because driving on narrow streets, which are not designed for automobiles, is difficult.
Reali also notes that motorini are becoming more and more popular and more dangerous. One challenge that the polizia face is that those who ride motorini and speed through town use their helmets to disguise their identities in order to do as they please. Laws are being changed in order to control the motorino drivers. He is confident that the government will come up with a solution for this problem soon.
The Narrow Streets of Cagli.
The prevalence of motorini has led to a new licensing system. Depending on the size of the cylinders on a motorino, different types of licenses are issued. For instance, if you have driving license B, you can drive a motorino with a 125 cubic centimeter or smaller cylinder. Also, if you want to drive a motorino with a motor larger than 125 cubic centimeters, you must take a driving exam.
Driving school instructor Antonio Lupini claims that the driving school in Cagli has to adjust the rules for their school once or twice a year. Because of all of the changes in cars and motorini, driving instructors are constantly having to update their knowledge of new technologies that factor into driving. Several times a year, Lupini and the other driving school instructors must learn about new technical security systems for vehicles. Technical changes occur rapidly, Lupini explains so cars in Cagli constantly have to get checked and repaired, especially when their owners lack knowledge of their new cars. Mangani remembers, “one night I had to drive back home without headlights because I forgot to get my car checked out…remembering to get my car checked is definitely a problem that I need to try to work on.”
As Cagliese are beginning to increase their travel, they also must learn to drive both in the narrow streets of the town, but also on the major highways and in much larger cities.
Web production by Kevin Pauly
