Rome
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Life in Rome

Academics • Calendar • Life in Rome • Preparations • Rome Info • Pics • Contacts

For over two thousand years Rome has been a city at the center of the world's attention. Many have desired to live here and many have, at least at some point in their life. Here are some things about living in Rome today that you should know as you plan your semester.

• The Roman Day

• An average day

• Housing

• Health and Safety

• Weather

• Practical Rome Information

The Roman Day

9.00-13.00 (9am-1pm):  Morning (mattina)
13.00-15.00 (1pm-3pm): Lunch time (pranzo)
15.00-19.00 (3pm-7pm): Afternoon (pomeriggio or sera)
19.00-24.00 (7pm-Midnight): Evening (sera)

Average lunch time: 2pm
Average dinner time: 9pm

An Average Day During the Week

During your semester in Rome, you will "do as the Romans do", living your life on a regular adult Roman schedule.

• Greeting the day

  
  

  On the three mornings of the week that you have class, you will get up about 7am. You will start your day with the smell of fresh cappuccino or café espresso and accompany it with some fresh bread, real dairy butter, and Italian jams. After your shower, you will step into the bustle of Roman life as you head out to the bus stop at about 8am.

• The morning commute

  
  

  As the bus or tram arrives at your stop, you will step in (always at either the front or the back doors, not the middle door) and join the many others on their way to work and school. You do not have to worry about stamping and validating your ticket because the bus pass in your pocket is your ticket throughout the month. At the right point, you will transfer to another bus, which will take you to your destination.
  
  

  On the mornings you do not have class, you can spend the morning sitting in the local café sipping cappuccino and reading, go to one of the public parks throughout the city and enjoy nature while you study, sit in the quiet of one of Rome's many libraries. You can also use these mornings to explore the city, visit a museum, and come to know Rome.

• Class

  
  

  Your morning class may be held at Italiaidea, just a couple of blocks down from the world-famous Spanish Steps, in a 19th century building built next to a medieval church. Many times your class will not meet at Italiaidea but at some other point throughout the city. In this case, you will get of the bus, or come out of the metro, at the Roman Forum, at the Basilica of St. Peter, at the Catacombs of Priscilla, etc. Your class will introduce you to the many layers of Rome from the perspective of history, art, literature, philosophy, or theology.

• Lunch

  
  

  As your class ends at 12.30, you will have a normal Italian lunch break. This means that your next appointment will be at 3pm or 4pm in the afternoon, when the Roman afternoon begins. You thus have time for a leisurely lunch where you enjoy a sandwich made with cured ham (prosciutto) and fresh mozzarella, a slice of pizza, or a hot plate of pasta. After lunch you can sit and study in a park, a café, or a library.

• Afternoon Italian

  
  

  You will learn or improve your Italian through two intensive courses, taught for three hours every afternoon during the first eight weeks of the semester. These are taught at Italiaidea, next to the Spanish Steps. In the third month of the semester, you can use the afternoons to read and study at a café, a park, or a library, or use the time to explore the city, visiting its many historical monuments and museums.

• Evening commute

  
  

  At 7pm, when the Roman day ends, you will join your fellow Italians for the commute home. Leaving the historic center, you will board your bus or metro and head back to your neighborhood, arriving home about 8pm.

• Dinner

  
  

  At around 9pm, Roman dinner time, you will sit down with your hosts to enjoy your evening meal and pleasant conversation. The meal will be served in the Italian, three-course style, beginning with a soup, pasta, or rice course, followed by a meat or fish course and a side vegetable, followed by fruit for dessert. You will have water and wine to accompany your meal. During this time you will get to know your hosts and talk with them about how they live their lives.

• Evening

  
  

  Depending on your personality, you can spend the evening in two very Italian ways. On the one hand, you can, like many Italians, spend a quiet evening reading, getting to bed around 11pm with a full nights sleep ahead of you. On the other hand you can, as many do, get dressed up after dinner and head out into the city around 11pm for an evening of dancing (the clubs usually open around that hour), conversation, and meeting people, taking a taxi or the night bus home around 2 or 3am. Remember, though, that you have to be coherent for class in the morning!

  
  
  

Weekends

The weekends are your chance to explore the areas around Rome, venture out into other parts of Italy, and perhaps even beyond. The train trips become your study times as you experience sites and places that you have only read about and seen in film. See the section on Trips.