Rome – A City only Lightly Touched by Air Conditioning

Rome is hot in the summer. Air conditioning feels really good when it is hot. Yet, many parts of Rome don’t use it much.

Sure, air conditioning has it’s down sides. It uses energy and it can inhibit social interaction by creating numerous closed in spaces rather than larger more communal areas. However, in other warm climates those ideological barriers have proven incapable of holding back something that feels so good it can be classified as “quasi-addictive.”

I would guess that the main reason for the limited use of air conditioning in Rome is simply that the buildings weren’t built for it. They are historic (pre-air conditining) buildings in a very history city. Why change something that has worked well for so long?

Still, when seen from the perspective of an Arizona resident it is amazing that it isn’t used much. In Arizona pretty much everything is air conditioned. The cars, the buses, the houses, even some parking garages. Yes, even the gigantic stadiums are air conditioned.

Considering how incredibly good air conditioning can feel on a hot day I wonder if there is another factor that I am missing. Could old buildings really have held an invention like air conditioning at bay? Perhaps there is a secret pact, or a conspiracy, involved. I hear that Rome is a good place for those.