We are very dull here in Rapallo, I am beginning to think.  Granted, there’s lots of traffic and hubbub downtown, scooters darting in and out of traffic, pedestrians crossing outside the zebra stripes.  But it is the stripes themselves that makes me think we are dull.  Our stripes are the plain old white stripes depicted in the driving manual.  Here’s an example:

(This is an old photo so it shows more of the crosser and less of the crosswalk, but you get the idea…)

This past week we were, once again, in Piemonte (about which you’ll hear more in an upcoming post).  Now there’s a region that knows how to make its crosswalks attractive  and eye-catching.  How about this snappy blue?

Red has ever been the color of caution, and this red crosswalk would make any pedestrian feel safe.

But my very favorite is, granted, a variation on the white theme, but done with such artistry.  Nothing says class, whether it’s in the foyer, the bath, or inlaid in the street, more than marble.

Say… isn’t that the captain crossing outside the stripes?  I bet he didn’t stay in the lines when he colored as a kid, either.

In the spirit of fairness I have to say that just in the last year Rapallo has added some very sparkly little lights that blink feverishly at night along the boundaries of some of the zebra crossings.  But only some of them, which makes me wonder if the others aren’t more easily overlooked by speeding motorists expecting the twinkling visual cue?  In any event, they look quite modern and marvelous… when it’s dark outside.

I’m feeling pretty good about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, so I’ve come up with my own design for a crosswalk, using all the others for inspiration: