Shards of broken beer bottles crunch under my feet while I walk through Trastevere en route to the market, early Saturday morning. Tennet’s Super Strong Lager, a Scottish beer, is higher in alcohol than the classic Italian lager, and most teenagers who drink this beer tend to prefer the buzz to the taste. Why the empty bottles are left unattended, and not disposed of at the end of the night, I’ll never understand. The broken glass adds to the mosaic of the city streets, filling in the spaces between the cobblestones.

Neon Birra Peroni signs glow through the window of le trattorie and i bar around Rome. The iconic branded lettering and burnt red color scheme seen on tables, umbrellas, and blackboard menus are quintessential to the aestheticism of Italy.