Over the course of the past few years, the number of stores selling cheesy souvenirs in Rome has doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled. They’re everywhere and they’re full of sweatshirts, caps, puzzles, Ferrari toys, and the like.
Mostly we ignore those places as we walk but and spend our time thinking wistfully about the trattorie, cafes, and family-run shops they’ve replaced in Rome’s streetscape.
But there’s one store near the Pantheon that recently caught our eye. We were charmed to see that they’d creatively dressed a child-size Pinocchio in the plastic gladiator armor that’s so popular amongst young tourists. Granted, there’s a few problems with his helmet, but otherwise he looks worthy of a spin around the arena.
