[Mid-tempo music plays]
Reedus: Eternity.
The feeling when the pavement stretches on
without an end in sight.
The idea that what was will always continue to be.
The perpetuity that could only exist
in the place where all roads lead.
♪
The Eternal City.
I'm here for some perspective
on what it really means to last forever.
♪
This is "Ride," and we're in Rome.
[Horn honks]
[Traffic passing]
[Vehicle chugging]
[Soft music plays]
Rome is considered the birthplace
of Western civilization,
an empire without end,
destined to go on forever.
Grazie.
And for over 2,700 years, it's done exactly that.
From the Roman ruins to Renaissance masterpieces,
baroque sculptures to neoclassic architecture,
walking these streets is like traveling through time.
♪
Yeah, you heard that right -- walking.
♪
This trip, we're leaving the motorcycles behind,
because getting the feel of a city
sometimes requires a more ancient mode of transportation.
Rome is the heart of the world.
Rome is my heart, my base, my history.
You can find everything in Rome.
It's like a museum open-air, without a roof.
Museum is a feeling for me, "Oh, I'm at home."
♪
Reedus: And I couldn't be here at a better time.
My old friend Johnny is vacationing in Italy
and we're going to meet up tomorrow.
Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville. Welcome to "Jackass."
Reedus: I've known Johnny Knoxville
since back when he was still going by P.J.
as a young actor in L.A.
Not quite an eternity,
but sometimes it feels pretty close.
Wow. I mean, come on.
Right?
♪
Reedus: Starting in the historic city's center,
I'll fill up on authentic cuisine
and passed-down tradition.
Meeting up with Johnny, we'll spend the day riding out
to a medieval sculpture garden, in Bomarzo
and a dying hilltop village in Civita di Bagnoregio.
Before we turn into the city,
where a female biker group will be our tour guides,
a three-day, 240 kilometer journey
around the ancient sites of Rome.
♪
Hey, how are you? Buon giorno.
Norman. How's it going?
It's good. Welcome.
Wow. This place is cool.
But when in Rome and you don't speak the language,
find an American to help you out.
So, is this where you do your grocery shopping?
I do, yeah.
And then I'll, like, have a slice of pizza
over here, you know?
Katie Parla is a food journalist, cookbook author,
and podcast host
who's called this city home for 20 years.
But my favorite place in the market
is Mordi e Vai.
It's a little sandwich stall owned by a family.
Is this us? This is us.
This is Giuliano. Hey, how are you?
Norman. Nice to meet you.
So, Giuliano's father, Sergio,
grew up in his dad's butcher stall
in this neighborhood.
As a slaughterhouse worker,
he wouldn't have been paid very well.
And so it was, like, the poor cuts and organ meats
that would have filled his table.
And those are some of the very recipes
that you find here.
♪
I would recommend the numero uno.
So, it's braised brisket. It's super tender.
Really beautiful fat marbling.
Sure, yeah.
And this is, I mean, the tripe Roman-style.
Oh, wow.
I think I'm gonna go for that.
And you can try it if you'd like.
Explain to me what tripe is, exactly.
So, it's the stomach lining of a grazing animal.
Really? Do you like it?
I don't like it, I love it.
Really? Yeah.
When did people start eating tripe?
Like... I mean, in Rome,
27 centuries ago, when they founded the city.
Like, people have been eating guts for a long time.
Yeah. Oof.
Yeah, it's not for the faint of heart,
for sure. Yeah.
Grazie, caro. Oh, grazie.
Thank you so much. Nice to meet you.
Alright, ready? Cheers. Buon appetito.
Oh, this is awesome. Mm-hmm.
Wow. This is great.
Complimenti, Giuliano.
Wow! [Chuckles]
So, you've got, like, super savory, very soft meat,
bitter greens,
that kind of, like, the juice of those
are absorbed into the bread. It's awesome.
Do they ever put cheese on it,
or is that, like, a no-no? They don't.
It's not that just they don't, they won't.
They won't? No.
Oh. So, they'll be like, "No."
Do they kick you out?
They won't kick you out, they'll just shame you
so that you never make that mistake again.
Can I try tripe?
Of course. You got your slice right there.
Okay, wish me luck. Good luck.
Alright, here we go.
♪
Oh, wow.
Reedus: My face -- it says it all.
It's, uh, like jello meat. Ooh. [Laughs]
Wow. It's like -- Yeah, it's tender.
I mean, this is, like, one of the most delicious sandwiches.
Try this.
Even I'm having a hard time acting my way out of this one.
Keep it. You can have that one.
Mmm. Mmm.
Pretty good, huh? Yeah, it's awesome.
But you've got to respect a 3,000-year tradition,
even when it's not your cup of, uh, tripe.
Nice to meet you. Yeah, yeah, it's a pleasure.
Ciao. Ciao, ciao.
You know everybody.
You're like the mayor of this joint.
I've got the whole day to wander,
so Katie suggested I meet up with her musician friend
over in Piazza del Popolo --
back during the Empire,
the site of Rome's main entrance,
where visitors from foreign lands
first laid their eyes upon the city.
Kavanaugh: ♪ When you're out of Rome, feeling down ♪
♪ Call my number, and I come around ♪
♪ To get you through even the darkest night ♪
Yeah! How are you? I'm Norman.
How are you doing? Nice to meet you.
Nice to see you. You're good on that thing.
Thank you. It's my ukulele,
I got this for 30 euro, four years ago,
and it's taken me all the way to Piazza del Popolo in Rome.
Wow, wow. Where'd you come from?
I'm from Ireland. Oh, really? Cool.
But I've lived in Italy for 30 years now.
Wow. What brought you to Italy?
Uh, traveling, and Italy was a good place to stop.
Very cool. Do you play the ukulele?
I don't. You want to learn something?
I do. Good!
I just happen to have another ukulele here.
Yeah, let's play ukulele. Very cool.
There you go. So, alright. It's the G chord.
[Ukulele plays]
And then back to A.
[Ukuleles play]
Nice! [Ukulele plays]
Hyah! [Laughs]
I like it. I have seven of them out.
You'll be here for a long time. How'd you get into this?
I was walking past a store, and I saw it in the window.
And my girlfriend said to me, "You should buy that."
And she's very sorry that she suggested that to me.
[Both laugh]
The next few years were hell for her.
Yeah. Does she play, too? No.
Oh, she didn't pick it up? No, no, no. No, no, no.
She picks it up to throw it out the window occasionally.
[Both laugh]
So, you're enjoying the trip? Yeah, I love it here.
This here is Piazza del Popolo.
"Popolo" means "the population."
So it is the square of the people.
And this obelisk here,
it was presented to the Emperor Augustus
10 years before Christ? So, I mean,
this one of the most historic places in Rome.
I have a friend nearby. He's got shop.
I was gonna go over and see him.
And he makes marble. He makes etchings on marble.
And he's really a fascinating guy.
Oh, cool. Can I tag along?
Yeah, you're not busy, you can come along.
Let's go, yeah, I'd love to. Cool. Let's do that.
♪
What are your favorite areas to hang out down here,
now that you've been here awhile?
Kavanaugh: I love going down the Tiber on the river around twilight.
♪
It really is fantastic.
This is definitely the shopping area.
You discover the true essence of a place
by getting off the beaten path, so we're on our way
to see a more traditional Roman way of life.
Look how pretty this street is.
Did you see the cat? No.
[Laughs] Oh, my God, a -- Cute.
[Ukulele plays]
♪ A pussycat, pussycat
You loving it?
Wow. This is gorgeous through here.
This is his shop. Sandro's his name.
Sandro! Ciao.
Nice to meet you.
It's a pleasure. What a cool store.
It's a store but also a shop.
This is where you do everything. This is your workshop.
Amazing. How long have you been here?
[Speaking Italian]
[Laughs] "Since this morning."
Since -- Yeah, right.
[Laughter] Wow.
His father opened it 50 years ago.
Wow. Your father started the business?
[Speaking Italian]
Very cool. Can you show us how you do it?
♪
Old-school, yeah.
♪
Reedus: You've got this down to a science.
This place is amazing. Is this your papa?
Yeah. Yeah.
There's something about having a studio like this
that tells a lot about the history.
And there's a lot of soul here.
Si. It's great. Great.
He says that it's his father's merit,
and he wants to keep it
the way that his father originally had it.
That's awesome. Yeah, that's great.
Let's do it!
♪
Thank you, Sandro. Grazie.
♪
Mmm. Mmm! This is delicious.
Mmm.
Who is this right here? The painting?
Oh, okay.
All of these pictures here, they're of his father,
because this being a street full of galleries and artists,
they used to drop by here and have lunch,
basically like we're doing now, and so to thank his father,
they would do a portrait or a drawing.
Oh, wow. Are they based on humor, religion?
[Laughs]
Bad words, swear words, curse words.
For example, what have we got here?
"I am me, and you're not worth a [bleep]."
[Laughter]
[Speaking Italian]
"Qui chi parla di politica e [bleep]."
[Laughs] What does that mean?
Here, anyone who talks about politics is an [bleep].
[Laughter] So true.
Mm-hmm.
Si.
"If you enjoy the work you do,
you won't even work an hour of your life."
That's -- Yeah, that's true.
Cheers. Cheers.
Cheers, cheers! What a pleasure.
What do you say in Romano? [Speaking Italian]
Saluti! Saluti!
Como Italiano. Saluti! [Laughs]
In Rome, the preservation of the past is its own art form.
A way to honor what was
by keeping it alive for future generations.
Grazie, ciao. Ciao!
Bye-bye. Ciao.
♪
Reedus: Before I meet Knoxville tomorrow...
I'm exploring Rome with my new Irish buddy, Fergal.
It's great to have a place like this
where the old guys hang out.
He may be a transplant, but the guy knows
the local spots.
Have you played bocce before?
I've seen it, but I've never played it.
Man: Bocce is an old traditional game.
It's quite relaxing.
Bocce is played with wooden balls.
Man: The object is
to place your balls near the small cue ball
and to knock your opponent's ball out of position.
I've always seen old people --
Old people play bocce in Italy.
♪
Kavanaugh: I did a running curve there.
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
Reedus: Bocce might just be the oldest sport in the world.
Originating in Egypt, the game's current form
can be traced back to Rome, 264 B.C.
A game that old can't be too hard, right?
Can we try? Yeah? Uh-huh. Okay.
♪
So, first, you got to throw the, uh -- the dummy.
Okay.
Okay, so that's our aim there now.
♪
Way too hard! Oh.
♪
Oh, I think this game might be yours.
Okay. [Laughs]
You've played this before. You've played this before.
Wow. Okay.
Uno. [Speaking Italian]
One for him? And zero for me.
Can you get, like, a slow-motion victory lap?
[Laughing]
[Humming]
♪
The bocce ball champion. [Laughs]
Oh, look at this.
I mean, like, I'm, like, a champion.
♪
Ugh. No! You've already beaten me.
Should I just retire? [Laughs]
I'm not sure if I should be proud of my bocce skills
or worried that this ancient city is aging me.
I mean... Number one.
Reedus: But tomorrow I'll meet up with someone
who I'm sure will bring my youthful side right back out.
Nice, Norman. See you around.
It was a pleasure to meet you, man.
Thank you so much. Enjoy.
♪
Reedus: Day two.
Yesterday I was left alone with my thoughts.
Today I'll just be looking to stay out of trouble.
Knoxville: Oh-ha-ha!
[Horn honks]
Well, hello, sir. Hey, buddy, you found me.
Fancy meeting you here. [Laughs]
Dude, what is this car?
[Laughs]
I need a hug first. Come here. Come here.
It's good to see you, buddy. Yeah! Wow, look at this!
Yeah, it's beautiful, right?
Two hillbillies made it to Rome. [Laughs]
This car is what happens when you realize
one of the craziest daredevils in Hollywood
is better at crashing motorcycles
than actually riding them.
Emergency brake, emergency brake.
Emergency brake. [Laughs]
So we're taking this Fiat 1100
to explore some historical relics outside the city.
Hey, buddy. This sounds good.
The best way to see the city. Yeah, driving around?
Yeah.
Whoa.
Yeah, you got to-- I'm not great.
I'm a terrible driver. [Chuckles]
After my last concussion,
I started having a lot of accidents.
Great! [Laughs]
How many concussions have you had?
Like, over-- I think around 16.
Wow.
What's the most [bleep]-up stunt you ever did?
Well, I've been a few times where I almost bought the farm.
The bull, right?
♪
Ugh!
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
It took me a few months to recover from that.
I had, like, a gnarly concussion,
brain hemorrhage.
My brain went offline for a few months.
I miss it. You do?
You miss what, the adrenaline rush of it?
I think I was addicted to it. Yeah.
As I get older, like, all I do is
watch history documentaries now.
I was watching some documentaries on Rome
before I came.
And Nero built this huge, manmade lake
and all these extravagant buildings in honor of him.
And the next guy, he obliterated all the things that Nero built
and built the Colosseum on it.
I love that you did research.
I didn't do anything. I just researched where to eat.
I've officially turned into an old fart, Norman.
You and me both, bro.
I've known you for how long now?
I was 24? Yeah, early 20s.
So 27 years?
Yeah, how did we get so old? How did this [bleep] happen?
It just happens overnight.
For most of us, time is a jet plane,
except in this immortal city, where it somehow stands still.
It feels like we're driving around on a movie set.
Yeah, and I'm holding on like I'm in a [bleep] roller coaster.
Well, because I'm a terrible driver.
Literally, like, I can't hold on any tighter than this.
[Sighs] Good times. Here we go.
♪
Whoo-hoo-hoo!
Go, dudes! Excuse us. [Laughs]
"Excusi, excusi"!
Reedus: Today we've got big plans
that are going to take us out of Rome.
[Laughs]
Assuming Johnny can get us there in one piece.
We're on a 90-kilometer drive to Bomarzo,
site of Sacro Bazo, Park of the Monsters.
Then, it's another 35 kilometers before the day's final stop,
the dying city of Bagnoregio.
♪
Hi!
♪
Oh, your emergency brake is on.
There you go. [Laughing]
♪
The Monster Garden looks really cool.
There's all these sculptures and whatnot there.
Knowing Johnny like I do,
I thought this place sounded right up his alley.
This actually is fascinating!
It's hot in that car. [Laughs]
Alright, let's see some monsters.
Yeah. Let's do it.
Let me put on my cool hat.
♪
Built in the 16th century by an Italian military general,
legend has it these unusual gardens were meant
as a sign of grief after the passing of his wife.
Over time, they were forgotten
and left abandoned for hundreds of years...
Salvador Dali's the reason this place got rediscovered.
...until Salvador Dali's 1948 film renewed interest
in these bizarre, dark creations filling the countryside.
Man: [Speaking Italian]
[Dramatic music plays]
[Speaking Italian]
♪
Reedus: Today the gardens have been restored,
but the questions remain.
Oh, wow! Here we go! Ooh!
Wow. That's cool.
Ooh!
Ooh.
Oh, man, that looks like they're doing a flying 69 or --
They're doing a flying 69.
[Chuckles]
I mean, this would take forever to make this.
The struggles between giants.
It's Hercules standing while he quarters Cacus.
Hercules, the protector of the weakest,
and Cacus, who stole food from the poorest.
So that's punishment.
And just think of the poor bastards
who had to model for this for, like, hours on end.
It would have taken so many people
to carry these pieces here.
Because he surely doesn't carve them
right on the spot, right?
I do not know.
♪
Oh, this is pretty cool.
Wow.
[Speaking Italian]
Latin for, "These sculptures have no nipples."
[Chuckles]
Ooh, the elephant's cool.
Here's Neptune.
Jason Momoa.
Yeah.
This is kind of trippy, actually.
Yeah. Right? Why do a crooked house?
♪
"The house being next to the old entrance,
we can deduce that Vicino Orsini
wanted to offer strong emotion
to his friends who entered the house for a nap."
So, this is when you get visitors
and you want them to get dizzy and leave your home.
Right. This is like a welcome mat
that goes, "Now turn around and leave."
Come with me into the dizzy mansion.
Wow. Yeah. I get it. Whoa.
It does kind of fuck with your equilibrium a little.
Yeah. Woof.
Knoxville: Imagine trying to pour a drink in here.
Yeah, right? It makes me dizzy.
I got to get out of here. I kinda want one.
♪
Wow. You guys look great together.
I mean, she was the Kim Kardashian of her day.
She might have been, yeah.
This one looks pissed that you just did that.
She's the wingman.
Literally! She has wings sprouting out her back.
Yeah. I want to see the ogre.
♪
Whoa, this is amazing.
"Orcus symbolizes the entrance of the underworld
as Dante's paraphrase,
'Every thought flies away' engraved on its lips."
"Every thought flies away." That's cool.
"Every thought flies away."
Dante said it, so I'm sure it has some merit.
But standing here, nearly 500 years
after these statues were first conceived,
we're still racking our brains
trying to unlock the mystery of the story they intended to tell.
♪
Come on, baby. Come on, baby. You got it.
How do the brakes feel?
The brakes? The brakes are a little shady.
But I think we can make it into the next town.
♪
[Brakes grinding]
[Laughs]
That didn't sound good.
Yeah.
[Horn honks] Oops.
Sorry about your clutch, whoever owns this car.
[Laughs]
♪
I really want to see this next place we're going to.
I do, too. I've been reading about it.
Because I looked at pictures and it was beautiful.
In case we haven't gotten existential enough on this trip,
before we head back to Rome,
we're stopping at the Dying City.
Apparently the stone entranceway was built by the Etruscans
and they were little bitty people. Really?
They were like -- the women were 5 foot,
and the men were like 5'2."
Wow. Look how beautiful.
Civita di Bagnoregio --
a village built on a plateau of volcanic rock
and as if it were suspended in midair.
But for the last 300 years,
earthquakes, landslides, and floods
have threatened its very existence.
[Bell tolls]
Wow! Let's do it.
Wow, that's insane. This is amazing.
This doesn't look real to me. You know what I mean?
Yeah.
The right side looks like it's about to fall right now.
Yeah. It may fall while we're up there.
When was this built?
2,500 years ago. Wow.
I would hate to be the house on the far right.
Yeah.
I mean it's literally crumbling down the mountainside,
this place. Yeah.
It's a third of its original size, they said.
Oh, wow.
Like, I'm really excited over this.
Yeah, this is -- this is another level.
Yeah, I'm feeling it right here.
Oh, yeah. Let's stop for a sec.
I'm gonna look at my steps after this.
Civita di Bagnoregio is very famous in this land.
It's very old.
It's first named in Etruscan time,
before Christ.
Just start from the base and go to the top.
It's like to walk through the centuries.
It's called Dying City.
There's also a big earthquake reduced this town
like it is now.
Wow. We're walking down
a 2,500-year-old Etruscan-built entrance.
Can you imagine being the postman?
Oh, I know, right? He's got a firm ass, I bet.
Him walking up here every day?
Sure, yeah.
That son of a bitch.
Standing right here, guys.
Yeah, nice to meet you.
Again! What am I, Just chopped liver?
Obviously, they didn't see "Jackass Forever."
it was a big hit in America.
Thank you. Of course.
Oh, God. Thank you.
It's no fun when -- You're patient.
Yeah, I'm very patient.
Once I take a picture and then --
Oh, yeah, yeah. No, you're good, you're good.
Big fan of my earlier stuff.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Oh, yeah, no problem. Okay, let's get back to work.
Let's go. Go on.
[Bell tolls]
Yes, he said, 10 people live here,
and they're only summer homes.
Nobody lives here full time at all.
Oh, we have people drawing. Oh, art class.
You guys want to sketch my buddy?
He's about as old as a building these days.
[Laughs] Maybe older.
You guys want me to take your photo in front of the church?
No? Okay. Okay.
[Laughs]
She does not like us.
Oh, thank you.
"Jackass"?
Do sideways, you can get all of us in.
You done? Let's go.
Got things to do. Thank you.
He gets so catty when that happens.
[Laughs] Rawr!
The Etruscans were small people.
I mean, just to stand in the doorway, you can see.
♪
Not a lot of head room.
♪
I thought this was going to be
a depressing sort of end-of-the-world vibe.
This is like Heaven on Earth.
It's like a Shangri-la.
It may be the most beautiful place I've ever been to.
Thank you for inviting me on this trip, Norman.
Honestly, this is ridiculous.
♪
Reedus: It's said, nothing is forever.
But in Italy, that's debatable.
[Laughter] Yeah.
A once-dying city, run down and deserted,
is again full of visitors and life.
Yeah, that does not look real.
Reedus: Day three, and we're back in Rome.
Today we're going to check out a popular city site
on a knee scooter --
a vehicle so easy to ride, they even let kids use them.
You want the black one or the black one?
I'll take the black one. Okay.
So, this is your brake. That's your go.
Okay. And sort of a bell.
Alright. Kickstand up.
Oh. Okay. Here we go.
Kick it, and then give it throttle.
No, no, your thumb. Se the red thing?
Oh, yeah. Oh, that's the throttle?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's up? Hey.
♪
Hey. Que [bleep]?
♪
Cheez-It, man. It's the fuzz.
You'll never take me alive, coppers.
Polizia. Polizia, polizia.
Oh, look at those young lovers over there.
Should we just go sit next to them?
Ah. Hi.
[Speaking Italian] What?
Hey, what's going on? Hey, what's up?
What? What happened?
No?
Did we [bleep]-block?
Then we start making out right in their spot?
[Moaning]
[Laughs] We totally [bleep]-blocked.
Ooh.
♪
Wow.
Come on, Johnny!
It's as fast as it'll go.
Are we at the gates to the city of Rome?
Yeah. This is amazing, the gates.
Are we going out into the world?
Whoo!
♪
It's just like Las Vegas,
They have the Forum, Caesar's Palace, everything!
Oh, oh! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
[Vibrated groaning]
This is giving me a headache. Like, I'm done with these.
These are Roman roads, Norman!
The cobblestones are rattling my brain.
We're riding on history. Yeah.
You usually have motorcycles on this show,
but you get Knoxville,
and we're riding around on scooters.
[Both laugh]
They have no faith in me.
♪
Definitely the way.
All the tourists are headed this way.
I have such a headache. Oh, from the, uh...
Oh, this is the great calendar.
This is the calendar of hot priests.
And there's some hot priests.
Reedus: Well, you missed this one.
Yo, come here. What did I miss?
Oh, the gladiators. This is even better.
Yeah, yeah. That dude's definitely not a gladiator.
What would your gladiator pose be?
[Grunts] What would yours be?
Mine would be this.
Alright, oh, here we go.
So, this is the Trevi Fountain, Norman --
one of the most famous fountains in the world.
You can throw in like a couple euros
for a wish for a good wedding
but it costs more for a good divorce,
so people put in more money for a divorce. [Chuckles]
This looks like -- like Disney World or something.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
Whoa.
♪
Reedus: Trevi Fountain, a 16th-century baroque relic.
In a city full of iconic landmarks,
this one stands tall.
Immortalized in film, situated in the heart of Rome,
it attracts over 1,000 visitors every hour.
Yeah, get in there. Go jump in the water.
It would feel really good. It would feel great.
The cool thing is, like, there's
an ancient aqueduct under here
that used to supply water to Rome.
And that's what supplies water to this fountain.
♪
You want to throw coins in? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Alright, nice to meet you. A pleasure.
Come on, let's throw some coins.
Reedus: Legend has it that taking a drink
will guarantee you return to Rome.
-Make a wish. -You got it?
Alright.
But these days, throwing in a coin
apparently works just as well.
Hey, man, how are you? A pleasure.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry, Norman.
[Laughs] You know?
Yeah, let's do this -- Shh.
Let's do this real quick, before there's a mob scene.
Let's make a -- right hand over left shoulder?
Yeah. Okay.
Let's make a wish. One, two...
♪
All the money in here
goes to, I think, feed the homeless
or some type of charity, so you just did a good thing.
I feel good about it. Let's -- This is --
This is the -- This is the scene right here.
Yeah, yeah. This is crazy.
Hi.
Wow. Hello.
Hello.
Yeah. It's gonna be real quick.
-Gonna be really quick. -Thank you.
Yeah, man. Cool, you got it.
-Real quick. -Yeah, yeah.
[Indistinct conversations]
Yeah, this is gonna be a mob scene.
Reedus: Well, it looks like I've locked in my return trip.
And a good thing. I'm gonna need it.
Next time, maybe I should leave our camera crew at home.
Can we have a picture? Sure, yeah, yeah.
Really wants one now.
♪
You know how to do this? No.
I don't know how to ride at all.
Reedus: Rome may keep the past alive,
but that doesn't mean it stops pushing forward.
Okay, here's the gas. You got to go like this, right?
So, on our last day, we're meeting up with The Litas,
the first all-female motorcycle club in Rome.
They want to take us on a ride through the city.
So we had to compensate.
My first time riding a Vespa.
That's right -- Italian scooters.
Let's hope it's not my last. [Chuckles]
♪
Whoo!
♪
Dude, this is kind of fun.
♪
I feel so badass right now.
I'm harder than Roman concrete.
I'll tell you that right now. Whoo-hoo!
This is pretty Italian.
Between the line scooters and the Vespas,
I may never ride a motorcycle again.
[Laughs]
Vespa ride's pretty good. It's my first time riding.
If I can do it, anyone can do it.
I don't think that we could possibly
look more like tourists right now.
I know. You know what I mean?
A couple hillbillies on Vespas.
Let's go meet The Litas. -Yeah.
[Horn honking]
-Hello! -Hi.
-Hello.
Hi. My name's Johnny. Nice to meet you.
Francesca. Nice to meet you.
Hi. Norman. Hi.
Johnny. Nice to meet you. How are you?
Welcome to Rome. Thank you.
It's beautiful here.
What was that place we went to yesterday with --
that's really old, on the mountain that's falling down?
Oh, Cevita di Bagnoregio or something?
Civita di Bagnoregio.
Oh, yeah, that's how I meant to pronounce it.
With the big long bridge? Yeah, it's beautiful.
So cool! I know.
On a volcanic plateau that's eroding?
Hopefully, it doesn't collapse.
Who started The Litas? What's the history?
We are a branch of the collective The Litas.
It's a group of women's -- we say women's riding bikes.
So anyone who identifies as a female.
There are no special "correctory" sticks,
or you don't have to have certain bikes to be in.
Or you don't have to be, you know, certain age to be in.
You know, we are open, we're very inclusive.
In America, I know there's a bunch of Litas.
So many. Pretty much every big city has one.
You guys are spread out everyone.
Lisbon, so Portugal. There is France.
It's very nice for us, because whenever I travel.
Yeah, yeah, someplace to stay.
Find local Litas and see, "Can we meet for a coffee
or a beer, or can you take me out?"
Where are you taking us right now?
Are we following you?
We'll go to the Appian Way,
which is one of the oldest streets in Rome.
Oh, cool. It's really beautiful.
As we would say, all roads lead to Rome, right?
Right. I'm excited. Let's go.
Yeah. We'll follow you.
Yeah. Alright.
♪
So, how do you like your Vespas?
I'm loving this Vespa.
You couldn't go more Italian than this.
[Laughter]
What about the food? Are you enjoying the food?
The food is amazing. Yeah.
I gained like 10 pounds already.
[Chuckles]
Alright, that means that we have done a good job.
♪
What's the differences between northern Italy and Rome?
Rome, it's much more of a Mediterranean kind of place.
So, people are much more relaxed,
much more easygoing.
In the north, people give more importance to their jobs,
to their career.
I actually lived in Milan for some years.
So I got to experience both places.
Italy is a very long country.
So it makes sense that we have different lifestyles,
different cuisine.
What's Sicily like?
It's beautiful.
My grandmother is from Sicily.
Ah, yeah, you should definitely take the time
to have a trip to Sicily. It's beautiful.
I would love that.
Is that the Forum? Yeah.
And this is just for shopping?
Or is it shopping and games?
Games, gladiators, having fun on a Sunday.
And you've also got a shopping area.
It's just awesome.
♪
What kind of trees are these to our left?
These are sea pine.
They were planted for the first Olympic games
that Italy ever had,
all around the city, and now they are huge.
Wow. They're gorgeous.
♪
Do you see the city walls? These are the Aurelian Walls.
They separate the old center of the city
from the outskirts of the city.
Now, of course, everything
that is outside of the city wall,
it's all very central,
because the city has expanded that much.
Reedus: At the height of their empire,
Rome was so powerful,
they actually removed the city's surrounding walls.
But after German tribes invaded in 271 A.D.,
work began on fortifying the capital,
closing 3,500 acres and all Seven Hills of Rome.
For 1,600 years, these walls were
the front line of defense for the city's center.
♪
Goodbye, little Vespa. That was fun.
But this trip isn't over.
We're off to visit the quintessential symbol of Rome.
Thank you for the tour. Yeah.
Yeah, that was great. Thank you so much.
Really fun. Are you guys tramming with us?
Of course. Yeah, of course.
Alright, let's tram.
♪
Reedus: A vestige of what was once
the largest tram system in Italy,
these symphonies of transit run like buses through the city.
When they aren't serving the public,
you can rent them out for private festivities.
♪
1, 2, 3, 4.
[Up-tempo music plays]
Reedus: Oh, wow, look at this.
Oh, my God. Is this us?
Let's go!
Oh! Hi.
Hey, guys.
♪
Is this Roman music?
Neat. [Chuckles]
I feel bad if anybody wants to get on the train
and we're like, "Psych."
Where's your hometown? Badi.
It's in the south of Italy.
So, Sardinia -- tell me about Sardinia.
Sardinia -- what they speak there,
I can't understand anything they say.
Their dialect is foreigner to me.
But they're good at cussing, I heard.
Very creative cuss words -- curse words.
Oh, they are.
What is your favorite Italian insult?
There's one that means, "I curse your favorite relative."
Do you know that one? [Laughs]
E muorte tuje. Yeah, that's it.
E muorte tuje.
[Imitating Italian]
E muorte tuje.
♪
The Colosseum is coming up.
Oh, the Colosseum.
Oh, yes, nice.
♪
Man: Rome's best-known, I suppose,
would be the Colosseum. It's the symbol of Rome.
The Colosseum now is a monument,
but in the past, was the first stadium.
It was the ancient theater in which gladiators
fight each other, like stadium football for us.
People come there to see the blood.
It has, like, a violent history.
People went to see people fighting and dying at the end.
Up or down, you could decide about the life of people.
There's so much bloodshed there,
it's like a giant cemetery.
Like, this used to be all marble,
like, all over the walls.
And the Catholics ripped it down
and built the Vatican over it. -Yes.
Reedus: That's right, I did my research.
And after listening to Johnny all trip,
it's my turn to drop some knowledge.
Reedus: So, entertainment was free,
and they would charge people to go to the toilet.
And that's where taxes came from. Right?
Ah. That's where taxes started.
The emperor that got the most blood on the ground
got the most votes.
That was the entertainment. Right? Oh, wow.
And he would go like this, which means cut the jugular.
Place is full of murder. Murder and poop.
Yeah, but the people were entertained.
Yeah, that's true.
As a Roman, like, what do you think of that?
Well, I think we're just so lucky
to have one of the oldest building in--
You know, you -- you have an urge --
There's no, like, Roman guilt or anything?
Like -- There is not much of that.
Because that's a lot of murder.
Yeah. Italians don't do well with guilt, in general.
I mean, every country has their guilt.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah, but also each society has different ways
to deal with it. I don't think we are a country
that really thinks about the past much.
We take it for a granted a bit. You know what I mean?
It's hard not to think about the past
when everything's so open. Exactly. Or the opposite.
You get kind of alienated by it, right?
You get kind of used to it. And so you --
Seems like you'd be reminded of it, though.
You know what I mean? I agree.
You didn't ask me my favorite gladiator.
Who's your favorite gladiator?
Oh, I'm so happy you asked me.
Flamma. He fought 31 times. He won 24.
And he was offered freedom four times.
Had an endorsement deal at one point.
And he turned it down all four times.
And died in the ring. So, but I do love history.
And I love Roman history. We're literally standing
in front of the Forum and the Colosseum.
That's not so bad from a guy from South Knoxville.
-[Chuckles] -That's pretty great.
♪
Reedus: The past -- it surrounds us.
Whoever, wherever we are, we all carry a piece.
They say you can't escape it, and maybe that's the point.
♪
But it might just be the key in letting things live forever.
So carry the memories and traditions that serve you.
And hold tight to friendships that stand the test of time.
Knoxville: Yeah. Thank you. That was fun.
-Alright! -Nice!
Reedus: And for the rest, don't overthink it.
It's like the great Dante said, let it all fly away.
Reedus: I love you, Johnny. Thank you, all.
-Saluti. -Saluti!
-Cin cin.
-Cin cin? -Cin cin?
Saluti. Cin cin.
♪