Fear takes root in the Eternal City

A curious report was released this week wherein researchers tried to measure the climate of pessimism and fear in major metropolitan areas around the globe. My first question-why?. My second question-who “won”?

If you know where the photo above was taken you should already know the answer. Surprisingly, the inhabitants of Rome took the prize for being the most fearful lot in the world. That’s Italy, not New York-though I feel much more sympathy for citizens of the latter than I do the former. When asked to identify their outlook on life, 46% of Romans polled chose uncertainty, while 12% chose outright fear. The results of this census are surprising, considering the natural and historical beauty of Rome, and the whole of Italy for that matter.

Like most people I equate crime statistics in a particular area with the levels of fear and pessimism of its citizenry. However, that theory does not seem to carry much weight in this case. Though Italy has its share of political and economic issues, the country’s murder rate on the whole is only 47th worst in the world. As a frame of reference-the USA is 24th, and number 1 is Colombia. Its rates of assault and rape are also very low.

Italy does, however, rank rather highly in car thefts per capita. Considering the significance of the automobile to the Italian identity, that’s likely all the explanation you need for their pessimism. If some long-haired, soccer jersey-wearing bandit with over-sized sunglasses absconded with my 550 Maranello, I wouldn’t be to bubbly either.

Check out the statistics for yourself by clicking here.