All in the Family

Students have pointed out that the Angelicum is like a family.  It is small enough that most people know, or at least recognize each other.  The professors know the students.  We know the secretaries, administrators, and pretty much everyone who works there.  And there is a sort of familial relationship connecting us all.  But then there are a couple of external businesses within the Angelicum--the bookstore and the bar.  We know those people, too, of course, but they are run independently of the school.   In the bar, it really is a family.  We all know Gabriella and her daughter Alessandra who come in every day to make sure we can stay energized during lectures, providing us with coffee and snacks.  We know Alessandra's daughter, Giorgia, who comes in to help during the morning rush, and Alessandra's husband, Francesco, who comes in occasionally as well.  Her brother Stephano works in the bookshop, keeping up with all our photocopies for class handouts, for theses, and research or anything else we need to copy or print out.  Sometimes Gabriella's husband will come as well, to pay her a visit in the bar.  And it's really neat to know the whole family is there.
Then there is the chocolate shop underneath my apartment.  That, too, is all in the family.  The mother just got back from France, I think.  She has been ill, and she has orthopedic problems, and it's better to trust physicians from one's own native land.  She is normally in the shop everyday.  While she has been gone, her daughter has taken care of it in the morning, and her son in the evening.  It was nice to see she was back with her daughter and son and grandbaby when I came home from school Friday.  But they seemed quite busy then.  Otherwise, I often stop to have a little chat with them.
Then, there is the restaurant just down the street, run by brothers Antonio and Angelo.  They didn't bother coming up with a name, but just call it Trattoria 34 (the restaurant at house number 34).  They do have another person working with them who isn't part of their family--a Serbian refugee from the wars over there in the '90s. 
Besides that restaurant is the one where I chat with the family--La Rosa.  I finally figured out that the name doesn't just refer to a flower, or to the pink pepper (pepe rosa) they use.  The mom's name is Rosa!  And she works there regularly with her husband and son.  Her daughter used to work with them, too, until she got married and moved away from Rome. 
And then there's the family of my landlady.  One daughter lives here and takes care of this palazzo, while her mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, and baby niece live in Trastevere, in the family home where they rent out 3 other apartments. 
I enjoy seeing all these businesses stay in the family.  And this is just a small sample from what I see in my little corner of Rome.  One of the differences I find over here is how often businesses stay in the family for generations.  I wonder if it helps the families to stay together?  They are certainly more close-knit here than in America.