A very cosmopolitan Roman holiday

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The best things can sometimes happen by accident. Take this photograph for instance - we're sure it wasn't taken on purpose. Who would go all the way to St. Peter's Basilica from England only to photograph the car park? Readers who remember the old viewfinder cameras of the 1960s will know that they were often prone to parallax, where the picture seen through the viewfinder is not the same as that which passes through the lens, and we think that's probably what led to this photograph here.

The location is easily identified as St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City, and the photo paper is dated September 1963, so it was probably taken while on holiday in the August. We don't know any more details - the photographer may have been a Catholic on a pilgrimage, or they may just have been following in the footsteps of La Dolce Vita - but what interests us is the cars.

What's most interesting is how cosmopolitan the scene is. There are cars from all different countries, with a suitably diverse mix of number plates as well, with the notable exception of Italian ones. We suppose the three Fiats - the 600 creeping into shot on the left, the blue 1100 and the white 1300/1500 by the fountain - are probably on Italian plates, but they've been concealed.

Two Fords, a Cortina and Anglia, have the first row to the themselves, while the second row contains a Mercedes-Benz 190 visiting from Belgium, a Renault Dauphine from France, and one of the most impressive vehicles in the shot, the slightly sinister-looking 1956 Cadillac Series 75 limousine, a model favoured by some of the world's most high-profile statesmen. The only other car we can positively identify is the pretty Borgward Isabella saloon, always a rather rare car outside of its native Germany and her immediate neighbours.

If that doesn't put you in the mood for driving holiday to Rome by classic car, nothing will. The only question which remains is: which of these cars would you take?

Words: Zack Stiling; photograph: Stiling Collection
 

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