David Meeker

February 27, 1968   ROME, ITALY — The Fiat is rapidly devouring the Eternal City. And because Rome is unable to satisfy the automobile’s growing appetite, its narrow streets may be the stage for man’s first showdown with the motorcar. Rome’s traffic problem has become a legend in its own time, growing at such a frantic pace that officials here describe the situation now as “Tragic!” Currently the city has more than 775,000 vehicles plying its streets and new cars are being poured into the traffic stream at a rate of more than 10,000 monthly. Even if the current growth rate for private autos does not accelerate as expected, Rome faces the task of moving in excess of 1,000,000 vehicles by 1970. Traffic experts here say that the saturation point is around Rome’s next corner because the city cannot be shaped to meet the demands of the car. While its European and American counterparts have devoted larger and larger shares of their available land to the auto, Rome cannot consider cutting a swath of expressway