Italians take their soccer seriously -- and as a result so do the Italian police. A soccer match between Siena and Rome was scheduled during our stay in Siena. The day before, which happened to be Lisa's birthday, Lisa and I went to watch them practice in il stadio (the stadium).

There were signs posted on the main streets leading to the stadium informing us parking was not allowed the day of the match from 7am until after the soccer match. The day of the match the Carabinieri (Italian military police), dressed in riot gear and carrying automatic weapons, blocked off the streets, and wouldn't let anyone through unless they had a ticket. We had to explain to them -- in Italian -- that we wanted to go back to our hotel.

After the match, they ushered the Romans back to their cars and onto buses and escorted them out of town. They wouldn't allow the Sienese fans to come out of the stadium until the Romans had all left.