In the inter-war period urban areas and especially the capital became a crossroads where people from different cultural origins met. The city was full of sounds, songs and melodies that drifted everywhere, recalling various places and times: the village with its traditional society, people's native towns, the exotic cities of the East or the cosmopolitan capitals of Europe. The barrel-organ, the instrument that wandered the streets spreading echoes of all these different evocative aspects of the world, had two great rivals: the phonograph and, from about 1926 onwards, the radio. The latter especially caused a great sensation. It was placed mainly in public spaces and dining rooms, and the few households that possessed one were considered privileged, since they could do so many things: like, for instance, observe the international scene courtesy of the radio station at Rome, or adjust their watches to the exact time as established by the observatories of the world. A radio was relatively easy to install, with a formal licence from the ministry of Navy, and it could even be transported in a car.