What is competition? This week’s short comic story by Alberto Moravia asks just that question as a pushcart vendor first falls for his competition, then is destroyed by her--or does he really destroy himself? We also talk about the neighborhood in which the story is set, the picturesque quarter of Trastevere, and the walking bridges that connect it to the historic center on the eastern side of the Tiber and the lovely Via Giulia. For more on Moravia, check out the museum dedicated to him in Rome. The Museum of Rome in Trastevere offers exhibitions on the history and culture of this endlessly fascinating city. More on Trastevere from Lonely Planet. "The Competition" ("La concorrenza"), the short story we discuss in this episode, was originally published in Moravia's Racconti Romani (Roman Tales), but can also be found in a facing page collection by Dover books, along with eleven other short stories by Italian writers from medieval to modern times.