Rome

THE ETERNAL CITY

The Metropolitan City of Rome is situated inland on the west coast of Italy on the Apennine Peninsula along the Tyrrhenian Sea within the greater Mediterranean. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the historic center displays this ancient capital’s 2500 years of history, flanking the Tiber River.

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Basics

• Roma: Capital of Italy (and the region of Lazio)
• Languages: Italian and Romanesco dialect (efforts to preserve, vulnerable to extinction)
• Currency: Euro
• When to go: Spring and fall temperatures are most pleasant;
  October to April prices are best, except for Christmas and Easter;
  Summers (June to August) tend to be hot and humid and heavy with tourists
• Airport: Roma-Fiumicino “Leonardo da Vinci” International Airport (main), Ciampino International Airport (secondary)
• Train Stations: Roma Termini Station (central), Roma Tiburtina Station (NE), Roma Ostiense Station
• Transportation: Metro, tram, bus, and local train passes — at the train station (24-, 48-, 72-hour, 7-day passes);
  Vespas are popular forms of transportation: very walkable
• River: The Tevere, Tiber River, flows from the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, running through Rome to join with the River Aniene then flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea
• Neighborhoods: 22 Rione of Central Rome (see map and table above)
• Safety: Rome ranks as a safe city, but be aware of fast-moving traffic and pickpockets, particularly in tourist areas and public transit areas, especially Termini Station

Rail

• TrenItalia‘s high-speed FRECCE trains from Rome take just under 1-1/2 hours to Florence and just over 1 hour to Naples, with service to all other major cities, like Milan and Venice. I found this Walks of Italy rail GUIDE to be very helpful.
• TrainLine rail app is a good resource for making reservations.
• Rail Europe is also a great source for making necessary train reservations—more travel information can be found in my post on an earlier trip: Northwestern Europe
• Our Eurail passes covered our train travel between cities and villages within our selected countries on the continent
• For local transport throughout Rome, we purchased unlimited 7-day journey passes at the train station, which include metro, bus, tram, and local trains—information guide HERE
• Metro maps were stored on our phones for quick reference, such as this one for Rome: