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Rome is one of the cities you have to visit in your lifetime, same as Paris, New York or London. It has so much architectural and cultural significance that you can literally feel its presence everywhere in the city. Regardless of that, the city changed a lot with the passage of time and not always in the good direction.My visit to Italy’s capital has left me with mixed feelings and 10 reasons to love and hate Rome.
Reasons to love Rome
1. Architecture.
Everything you will see in Rome you have already seen somewhere before. Either in the movie or a history book or a building across your home, because the architecture of Rome made its wave of influence around the world. Buildings of the ancient Romans lasted for centuries and are still in use today. There is a good chance that they will outlast most of the new stuff.
2. Historical significance.
Even if you think you already know history very well, there is so much more to discover during your visit to Rome. The city is practically breathing history. It is impossible to walk ten meters without stumbling across some very important artifact of the past. I guarantee, you will be tired of clicking your camera by the end of the day!
You’ll get chills all over your body from touching walls which have been there since Julius Caesar and even before. You get to see where the great historical characters lived and came up with the rules of modern society, including as democracy, the rule of law, alphabet and even the calendar with month names that we use today.
3. A city within the city.
Just by visiting Rome you get the chance to see the smallest country in the world – Vatican. Being only 0.44sqm. big it still has major significance in the Christian world. The St. Peter’s square of Vatican surrounded with 90+ statues of saints is breathtaking by itself.
4. Piazzas.
Rome has so many small squares (piazza) that it is very easy to get lost. But they enormously add to the charm of the city creating spots for people to gather and chill.
5. Food.
It is very hard to beat Italian food, which successfully became international. 
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Reasons to hate Rome
1. Rip-offs.
Rome is a place where you have to pay 2 EUR to be able to have your food inside. On top of that, we were rather unlucky with our Time Elevator Rome experience, where we were supposed to see a short film about the history of Rome. I am sure the movie was great, but I couldn’t tell without having 3D glasses on, which they didn’t have, even though it was a 3D movie theater. After the movie was finished, I felt like checking my eyesight cause of double vision 🙂
2. Construction work everywhere.
Be prepared that many of the attractions you dreamed of seeing would be closed due to construction or reconstruction work. Since the city is full of ancient artifacts, a lot of work is being done to see if there still might be something buried in the ground. Sometimes all their hard work smudges the beauty and grandness of the city. 
3. Flooded with tourists.
If you plan to visit Rome in summer, be prepared to stand long queues. It seems like the whole of the world visits Rome in July.
4. Dirty.
I’m not going to tell you anything new – all major cities are dirty, that’s a fact since there are more people in it. But I expected that Rome, being such a significant historical cradle of the modern world, would be preserved with much more care.
5. Expensive.
Needless to say, Rome is an expensive place to stay. One night in the double room of a very modest hotel on the outskirts of the city will cost you a minimum of 50EUR. If you are going for a long vacation, be sure to pack your wallet with some Euros.
BONUS:
Rome is a city of cats. Walking through the night city center I have stumbled across the reconstruction site of the ancient Roman Forum which turned out to be a haven for homeless cats. I could count at least six. Decide for yourself whether this is a love or hate factor, but I definitely enjoyed that scene!
Regardless of what I may think, Rome is still one of the most popular places to visit in Italy and your journey to this country wouldn’t be complete without visiting its capital.
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Let me know what you think about Rome! Leave your comments below.
It’s funny how places can be such a different experience for different people. I love Rome, for the most part. Even though I agree with you on some of the annoying points, like the construction all over the place. But I also think it doesn’t have to be necessarily expensive — you can save some money by using Airbnb instead of hotels, for example.
You’re probably right, Bianca. Also, it didn’t help that I was there in the peak of the season, so obviously all the budget and good places were already booked up. But since I like ancient history, Rome was very interesting to me regardless of the annoying things.
ah so true! Hate rip offs and construction too! will add garbage strikes to the list. OMG the smell in summer! LOL 😀
What about how racist everyone is? Warning to all black and Indian people, do not go to Italy/Rome you are not welcome there. They treat you like a rodent when you try to eat at a restaurant or coffee shop. They get your order wrong on purpose to bully and dehumanise you. All service staff are nice to white tourist but when its your turn the hostility begins. Go to Asia for your holidays, asians are so kind and have such good hospitality compared to europe. Just because the white mainstream media tells you its on a bucket list of must see city dont go! Those bucket lists are for white people. The black experience is totally different. For us we will be treated well in Asia, canada and the mid-east. In my extensive travel experience dont bother going to europe. Thank god we brexited, I cant believe how long these racist people were allowed to come into our country and bring their nasty attitudes with them. Its such a double standard their people can come to the UK with freedom of movement but when we try to go on holiday we are treated like shit. Good riddence Italy and rest of EU.
Sana, I am so sorry to hear that you had a bad experience in Italy. It sounds like you are rather hurt by what happened. I cannot add to that because I am not a person of color and I haven’t experienced the same as you. However, we need to be careful throwing generalizations around, as I am sure not all people in Italy are racist and not all people in Asia are kind and hospitable.
I have been dreaming about visiting Italy my whole life. When I started plaining our first trip to Europe, Italy was a must see before we returned. When we stepped off the plane, I couldn’t wait to experience the people, enjoy the food, and see the beautiful sites. Unfortunalty we had a terrible experience with the people that tainted everything we saw. The Italians we encountered were rude and hateful to us. At first I thought it was the differences in cultures, but when I was cussed out by an Italian passport agent, I knew it was more than that. My teen daughter and I are white, USA citizens. When we boarded the plane to leave Italy, I swore I would never return. No amount of good food or beautiful historical sites could make the city beautiful when everyone clearly hated you because of where you are from.
Rome is so special, the only city I´ve been to twice.
I would have to disagree with most things. Firstly, I couldn’t get over how rude and ignorant Italians are and I’m saying this as Northern European , we have some rude ignorant people, but majority of Italians are on different level. Everyone is for themselves, people will not let you pass on pedestrian walks, run into each other, men stared at me like they had never seen a woman, that felt really disgusting, people park and drive like they have never had any rules of the road, I feel like I had to fear for my life every time I was outside. And it is a shame to see these beautiful old small streets not walkable as cars try to hit you nonstop and there is no place for both cars and people. As a vegan I found food horrible and at the year 2022 when every country in Europe has such amazing, delicious options, I was disappointed that pasta land had barely anything to offer. Streets were so dirty and smelly, I don’t understand how people can live like this. People in this city really ruin the whole experience of the historic beauty that Rome has to offer.