The walls keep the exhaust fumes from freely escaping into the atomosphere. Parking becomes a monumental problem. Cars simply pull off the road and onto the sidewalk. When traffic becomes jammed, mopeds, bicycles and even cars and trucks may skirt around using the sidewalk as a kind of shoulder. The risk of becoming an automobile casualty is very real.
Accidents are an everyday occurrence, further delaying traffic.
The air pollution is noticeable almost everywhere and the damage the emissions are doing to the country's art and environment is all too real. It is difficult for me to tell whether or not Italy is the laidback country many think. It is true that banks and stores appear to be closed more than open, but that may only be because of the perception of those who come from other parts of the world used to another time schedule. The ancient history of the country confuses. An engineering colleague here says that it is the only country where automobiles are totally assembled by robots.