Are You Enjoying Our Linguine? (2025)

2 days ago

An American family in Rome's gelateria demonstrates their persistent curiosity and desire for knowledge about unfamiliar gelato flavors, embodying a sense of adventure and imperial confidence.
American tourism is depicted as an imperial force that assigns meaning and value to foreign cultures, often overlooking local realities and histories, while also driving economic and cultural changes.
The article critiques the hidden structures of tourism, including low-wage labor and real estate speculation, where local workers and residents become peripheral in narratives dominated by tourist experiences.
A contrast is drawn between ordinary American tourists who engage deeply with local culture and the elite who are smug and unobservant, yet both groups influence demand for amenities like cold brew coffee.
The author explores personal ambivalence as a Roman resident, feeling both inconvenienced and humiliated by the tourist dynamic, while acknowledging economic dependence on American visitors.
Tourism is linked to data collection and gentrification, where descriptions of places can fuel real estate investment and alter neighborhoods, as seen in a local businessman's artificial 'borghetto di merda' development.
The piece concludes that the once-criticized American tourist aesthetic has globalized, with tastelessness and consumer demands now universal among the affluent, blurring cultural boundaries.

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