Italy
🇮🇹 Rome
Ochre walls, fountains, and a city that has been practising being itself for a very long time.
A bit of music
Yesterday — a slow one for the stones and the fountains.
A little history
Rome was a village on the Tiber, then a republic, then an empire that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Colosseum was for public shows, not only cruelty — though there was plenty of that. After the empire faded, the city remained the heart of the Catholic Church. You can still walk on stones that carts used two thousand years ago.
Things worth knowing
- There is a saying: all roads lead to Rome. For a long while, they really did.
- The Trevi Fountain is so famous that people throw coins in for luck. The money is collected for charity.
- Cats have a legal right to live in the ruins. Romans take this seriously.
- Espresso at a bar is often cheaper if you drink it standing up.
What they eat
Cacio e pepe is pasta with pecorino cheese and pepper — three ingredients, if you do not count patience. Pizza bianca is flat bread with oil. Gelato is not a prize for finishing dinner; it is a civic duty. A simple coffee and a sit-down in a piazza is a full afternoon.
A local story
A Roman might tell you their neighbourhood is not “Rome the postcard” but a baker, a noisy courtyard, and a fountain they have walked past since they were small. The glamour is in the background. The life is in the errand.
A little more
If you only notice three things: the colour of the walls in late afternoon, how people stand at a coffee bar rather than sit, and the way a tiny church can hide a whole gold ceiling. Rome is not in a hurry to impress you. It has already done that for emperors.
If you would like a proper read, this opens a BBC page in a new tab. Come back here when you are done.