W hen, out of curiosity, Leila Cader and her friends entered the gardens surrounding Castel Sant’Angelo, a prominent Rome monument that once served as a refuge for popes during times of war, they thought they’d chanced upon an enchanting winter wonderland.

With the scent of mulled wine wafting through the air, Santa’s elves wandering around, stalls selling nativity-scene figurines and skaters merrily gliding on an ice-rink, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

That was until they got to the “ bullometro ”, or “bullyometer”, a long blue billboard featuring cut-out faces of various people, and twigged that something was amiss.

Cader, an American on an internship in Rome, and her friends had found themselves at Atreju, an annual week-long festival organised by Brothers of Ita

See Full Page