Sports and outdoor activities
Spectator sports are popular in Italy, although the hallowed calcio, or football, is far and away the most popular, and tends to overshadow everything else - a rule to which Rome, with two clubs in the top flight, is no exception. As for participation in sport , there isn’t the same compulsion to hit the hell out of a squash ball or sweat your way through an aerobics class after work as there is, say, in Britain or the US. However, Mussolini placed a special emphasis on fitness, and the notion of keeping fit and being active is as fashionable a notion here nowadays as it is in most European countries - especially when it offers the opportunity to wear the latest designer gear.