New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- Standing at my window, I watch Piazza della Repubblica wake up. The semicircular piazza is framed by the remains of the Baths of Diocletian, built at the beginning of the 4th century, and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, which Michelangelo created from part of the ancient baths. The curved buildings that hug the plaza were designed by Gaetano Koch in the late 19th century, when Rome was being reshaped as the capital of unified Italy.

After a few days, I watch less for the monuments and more for the traffic between them. Commuters start moving through the piazza while it's still dark; tourists arrive later. By afternoon things slow down: people linger over coffee, the light changes, the piazza ...