Cruising into Rome one afternoon, Ele decided to show me a new (well, new for me) neighborhood along the Tiber River:

Traffic was very backed up along the route we were on, but, hey, it’s Italy and such things are expected. However, as we advanced we came across this motorcycle accident pictured below and realized the source of the traffic headache.

However someone’s misfortune is almost always another’s gain and this time was no exception – Ele was able to slide into an outstanding parking space right in front of the accident scene that others were overlooking by gawking at the spectacle:

We went around the neighborhood for several hours and returned to find the police still at the scene of the accident. Italy is inefficient, but this surprised even me. I mean the guy wasn’t killed or even that seriously hurt:

However, upon further observation, it became clear that we were, in fact, observing a new accident in the exact same location. In fact, you can even see the skid marks from the motorcycle under the car that caused the accident below. I mean it is literally in the exact same spot:

However, this accident also involved us as our vehicle was struck as well. The driver of the car below claimed he was driving down the street when his tire just blew out and the vehicle spun out of control, striking another car, and then smashing into Eleonora’s car. (Eds. note – On two separate occasions I have had a tire blow out under extremely adverse circumstances, but with very different results. I am more than slightly skeptical of the story presented by the at-fault driver, but whatever the fuck):

Exchanging insurance information with the involved parties. Eleonora’s wounded car is on the left:

The kid is the one that was driving the car. His mother (the woman in the picture) showed up later:

Back at home, Eleonora describing the carnage and destruction of the accident to her mother:

So, two catastrophic accidents on the exact same spot as were arriving and departing. Steer clear of this Roman, one square meter danger zone (unless you’re looking to collect some insurance money).