So, tell me about Rome (or Italy in general)...?

Question

I'm not going until next year, but I'm above and beyond excited. I've read a lot about the history/culture or Rome and Italy in general, but I want to hear more! So, anything you loved or didn't love about Italy? Just anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Thanks!

Answer 1

you are going to LOVE it in italy! there is always something going on and the food is beyond fabulous, not to mention it is the fashion capital of the world! italy boasts some of the best looking [if not the best] people on the planet and we have a gorgeous language. here are some websites to get you even more excited! hopefully you're going to other cities besides rome because otherwise you will miss out!

[roma]

http://www.10best.com/Rome,Italy/

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-27...

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel...

other cities, just in case:

[firenze]

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-27...

[venezia]

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-27...

[milano]

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-27...

[torino]

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-28...

HAVE FUN!

Answer 2

Hi!

I'm from Milan.

Sorry for my English...

Italy is the name that collects since 1861...very different realities.

In every place you will decide to visit...you will find...different traditions, languages, food, fashion, castles and way of living ;o)

Great differences between Milan and Rome are: language (Milan is a multicultural city and speaks a standard Italian, Rome has a typical dialectal accent), life (Milan is the centre of Italian Economy and Work, while Rome is more linked to Tourism).

Milan is a very big city, it is a "little" New York.

Milan has inserted its Cultural Heritages in its new life. And you will see Duomo, Teatro Alla Scala, Castello Sforzesco, Santa Maria delle Grazie exc...near all the newest buildings.

Milan has many shops and boutiques. Footbridges are many but...is difficult entering if you have no invites ;o(

People here, buy media at Ricordi Mediastore, Messaggerie Musicali, Mediaworld, Saturn, and Cloths at Miss Sixty, Footlocker, Levi's, Nadine, Zara, exc...You will find the boutiques linked to the cloths showed in the footbridges by Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Biagiotti exc...in Via della Spiga or Via Montenapoleone near Duomo and Teatro alla Scala, but they are very very expensive! (For example an hat...1000 euros...).

as for pubs...Milan is fantastic!

We have great discos: Alcatraz, Rolling Stone, Hollywood, de Sade, ...Pubs: Cowboys Guest Ranch, Milwaukee'd Diner, Angelo Nero, exc...and many beautiful places with beaches and tropical swimming pools, like Acquatica, The Beach ad Idroscalo Punta dell'Est, or very fashion places like Cheval Cafe (At Ippodromo near the Leonardo's Statue), Just Cavalli Cafe (The local of Cavalli, a stylist), exc...I send you a link in which yu will find all the most famous discos, pubs, hotels exc.. of Milan even if it is written in Italian: http://www.milanonotte.it/discoteche_mil...

Italy has beautiful ancient places I think the beauty of Italy is Its past: castles, ancient churches, exc...and...food!

We have many wines, cheeses, exc...

In the south of Italy you will find more traditions and ancient past: Pompei for example is a city which was covered by the, I don't know the term, we say "lava", fire...of the Vulcan thousands years ago and you still can see the corpses today covered by stone.Then Ercolano, Capri, Agrigento and its temples. The centre of Rome...was the one which made great the Romans during the Imperial age. In the south you will find different type of cousine which uses much more oil, poverty and dialectal language. In the north..lives commerce, economy, so Milan is much more near the rest of Europe as fashion and traditions, schools, way of living.The south is much more rude, even in the language and is certainly poorer.You will find also much more pickpocketers.

Other beautiful cities/Places are: Venice, Verona only for the arena and the balcony of Romeo and Juliet ;o), Imperia/Port Maurizio, nervi, camogli, Portofino, Pisa for the Torre, Firenze (Uffizi), Argentario (Toscana), Como, Taormina, Sardegna!

In general italians are quite people. They love taking all their times and it is because everyone work very slowly ;o) (or often don't work ;o)

Italians love life in family and eating!But also doing shopping or going to disco.

Italians like laughing and being happy and always think about soccer!

Things are not so expensive...maybe "Perpetua" has found all the places opened only for tourists!

The coffe I take near the place I work costs exactly 35 cent!

The best places to eat...are far from the centre often hidden...the other...have only cousine multicultural and for tourism but not very good, cheap and typical!

Have a nice holiday! You will find many friendly people and have a nice experience, I'm sure! If you visit Milan, for any question ask me, I'm here ;o)

Answer 3

The best city in the world!!!! The people, food, lifestyle, sights, soooo romantic!!!

Answer 4

Roma is the best place in the whole world. Enjoy every second of it and go EVERYWHERE.

Answer 5

Gets some DVDs like:

Roman Holiday

La Dolce Vita

Three Coins In the Fountain

Two Women

I love Rome!  So much beauty and history.  Be sure to go to Castel St. Angelo and walk across the Angel Bridge.  If you have a chance, take a trip out to Villa d'Este and walk around the magnificent gardens.

You could spend days going through the Vatican Museums.  

Have some gelato for me!  I loved Strattiatella!

Answer 6

Perpetua...has answered the closest to the reality so far.

The first thing I would probably say to you is take the American view of what Italy is and throw most of it it out the window. I'm American and grew up in America and have no Italian heritage in my family and I moved to Italy while in my early 30's and lived there for about 5 years, so I can give you a true biased view and what it's really like there.

Italy is a VERY diverse country, most would say two different countries really if you divide it geographically from North to South.  in the north of Italy everything is very clean and organized and quiet and people are more reserved and all the "rules are followed" so to speak, the more north you go the more it's like this, hence being so close to Switzerland and Austrian influence etc.

Rome, as you mentioned, and where I lived, would be classified as "Southern Italy" although geographically it's in the middle. Southern Italy is the pizza, pasta, sun, beaches, scooters etc that we as Americans have come to know, but there's way more than what TV has shown us.

Rome is a very dirty city and it's full of noise, crowds, congested traffic, chaotic and at the same time friendly, beautiful, romantic and historic.

One of the first things I noticed when I moved there was the VOLUME of everything was so loud, it seems like they are always "Arguing" with each other although they aren't, they're just very passionate and over dramatic about everything, even the smallest opinion. Mostly everything revolves around food and lunchtime. You'll hear grown men talking about how their wives made the pasta sauce the night before, I'm serious. As long as mama is making the pasta, everything is ok. The dogs on the street can bark ALL night long and the neighbors/owners wont even care because the noise is "normal". If that happened in America the police would be there in 5 minutes.

Rome is mostly historic and you'll see alot of tourists, thats the main income of the city. You can spend an eternity going to all the museums and sites and visiting the fountains and ruins etc.

Also you'll notice that Rome is much slower than America. So don't expect at all things to get done or be done in the same speed or way they are here. I can write a book on how the store sign says they open at 9am and the owner comes at 945 with the keys to open the store, and the store closes at 5pm but when you get there at 430pm it's already closed or the waiter in the restaurant will take 10 minutes to come take your order and 15-20 more minutes to give you your check when finished, even after asking a few times, or waiting at the post office for 1.5 hours in line (Literally) to get something etc..

Romans (Southern Italians) do not like to follow the rules, it's like they have to go against the rules no matter what they are.

Anyway - Romans are very hospitable people and fun.

One time I was with my wife on the bus at the depot - the bus was getting ready to leave with all the passengers on it. As soon as the driver started the engine to leave my wife said to the driver "Hey can you wait a second, I wanna go across the street to the deli to get a bottle of water" He said "Si Certo!" (Yes, of course!) and everyone on the bus was talking to each other and didn't mind at all. So she gets the water and on the way back to the bus, she stops and starts talking with someone she knows for a few minutes, still no one cared and then she gets on the bus and we all leave. Think that would happen in America? No way! Here everything is about $$$$ and this country has lost the "humaness" of life.

So, enjoy yourself in Rome and get into the culture and experience the hospitality and culture and let your hair down and dont follow the rules and you'll get along fine.

Answer 7

Italy is a big place so is difficolt to describe...very various each region or city got something different and very interestant to sea and do...is not  a boring place specially is summer you can do lots of things and along the coasts life is very exciting...i would advise you to visit the south...is downrated but....is fantastic....specially the people are very friendly

buon divertimento

Answer 8

if you're going in the summer expect hot and dry weather throughout all of Italy.

Rome in general is a crowded, congested, loud, dirty city. Don't get me wrong, it's breathtaking and beautiful, but there are some parts that look like our inner-city areas with graffiti and trash all over the place.

Italians are very very very rude people, even if you speak to them in their language. In general they're very rude to each other too.

There are so many pickpockets everywhere so please take good care of your passport and wallet. Don't wear any fancy jewelry.

Exchange dollars for Euros at the airport BEFORE you leave for Italy. Your plane most likely will be delayed, arriving late, and tour buses usually don't operate after 9:00pm so you'll have to take a taxi to your hotel. If you're going to use a credit card, call your bank at least 2 weeks in advanced to let them know you'll be in Europe. That way they'll let you access atm machines overthere or just pay with your credit card.

Take clothes that will cover your shoulders and obviously your chest area, because although Italians like to be fashionable, and everyone wants to be comfortable, particularly in the hot weather, you WILL NOT be admitted into places of worship if you do not cover yourself!

take comfortable shoes and clothing

if you're going alone or with family expect long long long delays at the tourist spots in Rome like the Colosseum, Vatican City, the Forum, etc. If you're going with a tour guided group you're in luck because usually they're allowed to walk right in past the long long long lines.

Unless you're staying at an American Hotel (Holiday Inn, Motel 6, Hilton), expect very small cramped rooms! with even smaller, dusty bathrooms. Your bathroom will have an old dusty bidday and even an oversized sink just in case you need to do your laundry in the bathroom (you'll get the point when you arrive in Rome as you'll see Italians love to hang their clothes out on the balconies). You may even have to pay additional fees at your hotel if you want to use the pool, they may charge anywhere from 5 to 10 Euros per person eve if you're their guest!

Be prepared for wacky weather, I went in August, and although it's hot as h**l, you may experience a thunderstorm or two at night.

The food in general is EXCELLENT anywhere you go, but expect to pay a whole lot of money.

Buy an international calling card, with a whole lot of minutes.

When you buy bottled water, buy the large bottles, in most places they cost the same as a small bottle of water or sometimes even less.

Buy stamps for postcards at the kiosks where you buy souvenirs. The Italian post offices DO NOT sell stamps, don't ask me why, that's the way they run things. And the vendors won't remind you to buy stamps.

Europe is expensive, however much money you plan on taking, take double, you will be paying close to $10 for a cup of coffee.

Enjoy the wine, pasta, bread, and cheese.

If you order coke, or any other kind of soft drink, you have to specify if you want it with ice, they'll serve it to you warm.

A whole lot of what I've posted may seem negative, but it's really not, Italy is in general AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL, you'll be amazed at all the sites, just have fun!

Answer 9

Italy is the best and my fav part is ROME!  Get a book to read up on all things to do!  Stay within walking distance of the Colleseum you will be near a lot!  Go to the outside markets and buy pics for your walls..they are not ther ein the rain so get them while the sun is shining!  Visit the Forum and the "Wedding Cake"  and the Vatican!  You will enjoy!!!!!!  I wish I was going back soon!   Visit he small stores on the streets for souveniers!  Cheaper!!!  Buy a statue sold on the street,,,they are beautiful!!!!  Have a blast!  Learn Italian.....