California Is a Little Rome

 California Is a Little Rome — And That’s No Accident

Did you know that California has the second-largest Italian-descent population in America? After the fall of Rome in ancient times, which place on earth best replicates the high-class privileges, comfortable lifestyle, and the sheer beauty and richness of a land, other than California? And what if this wasn’t simply about Italian immigrants searching for a second home? What if reincarnation is real, and those wandering Roman souls landed there not by chance, but by careful choice?

From 2017 to 2019, I lived in Orange County, California, and witnessed what I’d call a distinctly “Italianish” culture — pervasive and hard to ignore. That state has vineyards, coastlines, and all the right landscapes. Many neighborhoods carry Mediterranean-style architecture and are named after Italian regions, right down to the street names. The love for Italian food is more than real; olive oil goes on everything. Many California-born residents with Italian surnames are also Catholic. That’s no coincidence — it’s quite the Roman thing to do.

I’m no history buff, but I’m fairly confident that Rome gave us modern politics and a major world religion. The Romans landed in Britain in AD 43, imposed their own rule, and — fast-forward — here we are in America, still heavily shaped by those same social and power structures, minus the monarchy. No Claudius here… or maybe? What would Machiavelli actually say about all this? I suspect he would have quite a lot to say about our current political landscape. Very Roman-like: a grandiose socio-political circus, and the proverbial bread — though these days, more circus than bread. Am I wrong?

Rome Never Truly Died — It Just Adapted

Consider this: an American-born Pope and the pointed words exchanged between him and a sitting U.S. president make you wonder if these moments are just a reminder that Rome never truly died — it simply metamorphosed into something better suited to modern times. It all resembles an in-house power play, with the same recurring characters across different, expanded geographic settings. Are these key players, those who hold the ball, Romans in spirit? Do some of them drink red wine, listen to classical music, or opera? Do they eat charcuterie, aged cheese, and dried fruits? Do they take long, warm baths? Add McDonald’s to the frame, and the picture is complete.

I’m not judging any of the above. I’m simply observing that the most efficient, time-tested social structures tend to persist because they work. It’s common sense: if a wheel turns, you build a cart. Britain was dominated and deeply shaped by Rome early on, so none of this is surprising. We have inherited quite a few essential traits — good and bad.

Stop here. Think.

How Beliefs Are Built

Everything I have mentioned above is information — presented here as a casual essay with light storytelling. Some of it qualifies as opinion, some as cultural reference, and some as historical fact. The value in assembling information like this is that it may help validate, fully or partially, some of your own worldviews.

Depending on your education, social background, and the quality of your information sources, you may find the above idea compelling or entirely irrelevant. That’s exactly how belief formation works. Before you commit to believing something — before you place your faith in it — there is information you have gathered from many sources: things you have heard, read, seen, or experienced yourself. “I believe in this” means that, somewhere behind that conviction, there was at least some positive information pointing you in that direction. Belief is a process, not a switch.

Think of it like reading product reviews online. The available narrative helps you decide whether something is worth your time, your money, or your trust. You tend to believe the things that resonate with who you are — and I am more similar to you than you might think.

Your Own Reconstruction Awaits

Yes — I do believe California is a little Rome. And speaking of a grandiose culture that never truly dies, let me bring up the reason behind my recent book: STILL THERE. It is an illustrated workbook designed for those who have lost their way and have no idea how to rekindle their old passions, hobbies, and ideas. Think of it as your own personal Roman reconstruction. Somewhere in a forgotten drawer, your most beautiful ideas are still sitting — buried, perhaps neglected, but never gone. They are alive and waiting for you to reconnect. Just as I did.

Do you think the things I write are the product of laziness, procrastination, or fear? For over a decade, all three of those things defined me. But I eventually overcame them. Today, none of them apply — because I found a way to restart: to write again, to create again, to move forward again. And before I fully launched back into my writing career, I felt I had to pause, take a full stop, and help others do the same. It didn’t feel right to simply walk away and leave people behind.

That is why STILL THERE exists — an easy-to-understand, genuinely digestible workbook to help you find your way back to the things you are passionate about. Art? Business? Going back to school? Whatever it is, this book meets you where you are.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say. The intention here is to help you build yourself. You are Rome. Your abilities, your talents, your buried ideas. And just as all roads lead to Rome, so does STILL THERE. It is a guide and a starting point: a book where you can participate and learn. It is interactive — you can read, take notes, solve puzzles, follow comic strips, and even color some of the graphics. It is a workbook, meaning you interact and co-create as you move through it.

It is my contribution to your life and to your search. I'm sharing what I know and what I have built—and it is available to you now.

One small step away.

Click this Amazon link and make STILL THERE your new starting point.