2025 is a holy year in Rome. On this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene chats with journalist and Rome local Laura Iztkowitz about how to experience the Eternal City like a local and avoid the crowds during the busy year of Jubilee.
Transcript
Aislyn: All roads lead to Rome, as they say. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of traffic on those roads in recent years. In the wake of the pandemic, the city has grappled with overtourism. But in 2025, the year of the Holy Jubilee, there are more reasons than ever to visit. And there will be more people than ever visiting.
But there are many ways to avoid the crowds. Here with us today is Laura Itzkowitz, a Rome-based journalist who recently wrote a story about the Eternal City for Afar.com. The link is in the show notes.
And in this companion episode, Laura takes us off the tourist trail.
Laura, welcome to Unpacked. It’s so lovely to have you here today.
Laura: Thank you so much for having me.
Aislyn: Well, you’re here to talk about Rome, and I know you’ve lived there for a long time, so I was hoping that we could start with just having you explain your relationship with the city. How did you wind up there, and what is it like all these years later?
Laura: How long have you got? Basically, I fell in love with Rome on my very first visit to the city, which was, like, more than 15 years ago now. During my study abroad year, I actually studied abroad in Paris, was a French major in college. But, as many study abroad students do, I tried to, you know, use that time to hop around Europe and visit other places.
My family came and met me, like, at the end of the school year, and we went to Rome, Florence, and Venice. It was a beautiful summer day in Rome, and I was walking on Via della Pace, which is one of the little cobblestone streets right around Piazza Navona.
And I remember just like looking around me and, and seeing all these beautiful, weathered, faded buildings covered in ivy, and all these very glamorous-looking Romans in white linen, you know, standing around or sitting and drinking at the cafés, and hearing them speak at the time to me just sounded like little operas happening all around me.
And it was like a light bulb that went off in my head, like, I just need to learn this language and live here.
Aislyn: And you have, you’re here 15 years later. What has kept you there all these years? Have you ever flirted with the idea of leaving or going elsewhere, even in Italy?
Laura: I spent two years living in Rome between college and grad school. So, after that moment, I went back to finish college and picked up Italian 101. And then as soon as I graduated I moved to Rome, signed up for a teacher training course to learn to be an English teacher.
Aislyn: Oh nice.
Laura: And so I spent a couple of years just kind of bopping around the city and, you know, cobbling together, living, teaching English lessons to children and businessmen, mostly—
Aislyn: Oh my gosh.
Laura: Which is a whole other story. But I knew that I didn’t want to do that long-term for my career. So while I was here, I started applying for some grad school programs and got accepted to a prestigious MFA program in New York.
So, I moved back and then I stayed for another six years, getting my career as a journalist off the ground. And in 2016, right when I was going freelance, I visited Italy again, and that’s when I met my now husband. So . . .
Aislyn: He’s Italian?
Laura: Yes, he’s Roman—100 percent Roman. And I thought, you know, Let me see if I can make a go of this and go back to Rome and see if, if we can work out as a couple and if I can make this career work. So I moved back in 2019 and I’ve been here since then.
Aislyn: Well, since you have this front-row seat to Roman culture, both living there and being married to a 100 percent Roman, I would love to get your thoughts on the personality, the soul of Rome. Like, how would you describe that at this point in time?
Laura: This is such a great question. I love this. And I, I don’t know if I can do this question justice because I don’t want to generalize, of course. But, my friend, actually, Elisa Valeria Bove [a trained archaeologist and Rome tour guide], she once described Rome to me as a sort of mother figure: “Mama Roma,” she said, as this sort of, like, you know, wise sage woman who envelopes you in her warm embrace.
And I think that’s kind of a nice image. Rome is a city that has been around for thousands of years. She’s seen it all. She’s lived through it all. She knows who she is and what’s best for her. And she probably knows what’s best for you, frankly, because she’s an Italian mamma. And she definitely wants to make sure you’re well fed. And, you know, sometimes she’s gonna give you a little tough love, because sometimes this city throws that at you.
Aislyn: I love that. That’s a great answer. How would you suggest that travelers engage with that “Mamma Roma”?
Laura: I think that just trying to have as much contact with real Romans as possible is always enlightening. I mean, for me, I always find those interactions rewarding, whether it’s, you know, going to the little neighborhood restaurant where the owner is, like, this super Roman woman: totally no-nonsense, you know, comes to your table and reads the menu off of a chalkboard and is like, “OK, so what do you want?”
Aislyn: Yeah [laughter], would you say Romans in general are no-nonsense?
Laura: Yes, I think, I think they are fairly no-nonsense. Yes, definitely more direct than what Americans are probably typically used to.
Aislyn: Got it, OK, so go meet the locals, have the local dinner. It sounds like part of that is, like, get out of the kind of main tourist hot spots. Is that [right]?
Laura: Yeah, definitely. Um, I mean, Rome is a huge city. The population is, I believe, around 4 million, but in terms of the geography, it’s so much larger than what visitors typically see. OK, so visitors typically spend most, if not all, of their time visiting the centro storico, the historic center, which is the core, you know, all the main monuments: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Campo dei Fiori, and the Jewish ghetto. And then you could consider the centro storico to be, uh, like the area even around the Colosseum and the Vatican, basically within the Aurelian walls, which were the ancient walls that fortified the city. But, like, outside of those walls, there are so many other neighborhoods, and I still don’t know all of them.
I mean, I can tell you that to cross from one side of the city to the other, by car, would take you probably an hour. By public transit, could easily take you two hours or more.
Aislyn: Wow, yeah.
Laura: So it’s, it’s a much larger place than what people think. And even some of the more, I don’t want to say “satellite neighborhoods,” but let’s say the neighborhoods that are not considered centro storico but are very close to the centro storico, like, um, Testaccio and Ostiense.
You know, that’s a very popular area for food and nightlife. San Giovanni. San Lorenzo, which is like a student neighborhood where the university is—lots of cool bars and restaurants around there. I mean, these are neighborhoods that, let’s say, the first-time visitor probably would not go to. Like, for Romans, these are still very central neighborhoods. There’s so much more even beyond that.
Aislyn: So, in your story, you say that Rome has always been at a crossroads, drawing people from all over the world. But, as we’ve discussed lately, mass tourism has impacted it in these really large ways.
So I’m curious to know, from your perspective, how has the city changed in recent years? And how is, say, the local government responding? Are they stepping in to help support Rome and tourists and locals?
Laura: I feel like, in a way, it’s, the mass tourism thing is kind of something that happens slowly and then all at once.
Aislyn: Yeah. Hmm. Interesting.
Laura: It’s probably been gradually ramping up for years, but I feel like I’ve really noticed it in the last, let’s say, since the pandemic ended and people have started coming back.
Aislyn: Wow. Really?
Laura: I mean, and maybe that’s because there was such a stark contrast when, because I was here for the pandemic, I was standing at the Trevi Fountain with only, like, two other people there. So—
Aislyn: Wow.
Laura: I mean, it was just unbelievable if you think about that. And now, if you, like, look at videos on social media of the Trevi Fountain, it’s just packed, packed with people.
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: Almost all the time. And it seems like it’s happening almost earlier and earlier every year as well. Like, from definitely April, but possibly even March?
Aislyn: You know, I had wanted to ask you if there is a shoulder season, like, if there are times that you can go and dodge some of these crowds, but it sounds like shoulder season, too, is disappearing a bit.
Laura: Well, shoulder season is winter now. And I think . . .
Aislyn: Yeah, wow.
Laura: . . . I think that winter is kind of the secret season here, to be honest. I actually love being in Rome in January and February because the city is so much quieter, and you can get around so much more easily, both in terms of walking and traffic as well.
Aislyn: Climate-wise in the winter? What is it like?
Laura: I think the winters here are pretty mild, especially compared to New York, where I lived previously. There is a little bit of rain, sometimes, but generally it doesn’t get terribly cold. So, I mean, you need a winter coat if you’re walking around, but generally, like, I walk around with a winter coat but don’t have to close it.
There are beautiful, like, bluebird days when the sky is clear, and there’s this really wonderful kind of soft, winter light . . .
Aislyn: Hmm.
Laura: Which casts this lovely glow on all the buildings. So, I love it here in winter.
Aislyn: Amazing. Have you seen the local government try to respond, or do you think that there will be any kind of ticketing? You know, some of these other cities where there’s been such mass tourism, they have started to put those types of limits in place.
Do you think that’s something that we’ll see in Rome?
Laura: Well, there are a few things, which I noted in the story. So, the Spanish Steps, for example. They banned sitting on the Spanish Steps back in 2019, but that was one of those places that, you know, would get really crowded. Like, people would just sit and hang out on the steps and, you know, sit there and drink beers or hang out and talk to friends and stuff like that.
So, sitting on them has been banned for a few years now. Whether or not it’s really enforced is a different question, you know. Like, I usually walk by nowadays, and there may be some police officers milling around, but, like, if you’re up at the top of the steps, they’re not coming after you.
Aislyn: Yeah. Interesting.
Laura: And then the Trevi Fountain, for example.
Now, when you want to go to see the Trevi Fountain, you actually have to get in line and wait your turn in order to get up close to the basin.
I mean, there have been rumors about possible fees, like tickets, in order to get up close to the Trevi Fountain. That has not happened yet. They did start charging at the Pantheon, however. Now, in order to enter, you have to buy a ticket; it’s like five euros, so it’s not a lot. That was I think a pretty big deal, especially because in Rome and in Italy, for the most part, churches have always been free to enter, right?
The church is supposed to be a refuge for people where, you know, anyone can enter and admire the beautiful art but also just, like, have a place to go if it’s raining or if it’s super hot in the summer, and you’ve been walking around and you need to sit down. So, these measures are a little bit controversial in some ways. I guess we’ll see if they actually make a difference in combating this mass tourism.
Aislyn: Yeah. That’s tricky, because five euros might not be enough to dissuade people, but I also understand why they wouldn’t want to raise it, per that idea that the church is a refuge.
Well, given all of this, how would you encourage travelers to engage with the city if they want to try and have a less-crowded experience?
It sounds like visiting during the winter could be a great plan.
Laura: Yes, I mean, visiting in the slower season, for sure, is a good way to do it. I think it’s not that hard to get off of the tourist trail if you think that most of the tourists are concentrated around the centro storico area, right? So, walking around Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, like, there are gonna be crowds. But even within the centro storico, there are places you can go—like small museums, palaces, other lesser-known churches—that are empty.
Like, this past weekend, I went to the Galleria Corsini, which is this beautiful museum inside of a former aristocratic palace in Trastevere—which, Trastevere, again, is one of those, like, neighborhoods that is super popular, gets extremely, at times, unbearably crowded, more so on nights and weekends, because it’s known as sort of a destination where people go out and drink and eat and all of that.
But in this same neighborhood, you can go to Palazzo Corsini, or you can go to Villa Farnesina, which has incredible frescoes by Raphael on the ceiling. It’s amazing. And these places are empty. I mean, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, which is right on Via del Corso, one of the main thoroughfares in Rome, one of probably the busiest streets, this aristocratic palace is literally on that street, and yet you can just duck inside, and it has this beautiful courtyard with a café.
You can sit and have a drink there and you can go upstairs and visit this museum, inside of this palace; it’s basically like a miniature version of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. It’s just incredible. There are so many places like this. And then, of course, there are the neighborhoods that are just a little bit outside of the centro storico, which we started to talk about.
Aislyn: I do feel like it begs the question, Is it worth going to see the quote-unquote iconic sites of Rome anymore?
I mean, if you can have these experiences elsewhere, why would you necessarily wait in line to see the Trevi Fountain, right? Like, I understand the historical and cultural draw, but do you think, especially for a first-time visitor who has perhaps not seen these things before, do you think it’s worth trying to and fighting the crowds?
Laura: Ah, that is a really hard question, actually, because I, I don’t think I can give a definitive yes or no. I feel like, you know, of course these are treasures, right? The Trevi Fountain is just unbelievable. And if you can see it without the crowds, it’s . . .
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: . . . amazing. But in order to do that, you have to go at, like, five o’clock in the morning.
Which, you know, some people, yeah, some people will do. I have actually seen the fountain in Piazza Navona at, like, four o’clock in the morning once, and it was honestly one of the most surreal and magical experiences I’ve ever had anywhere.
Aislyn: Wow.
Laura: So, I do think that these places are still worth seeing, but . . .
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: It’s hard when, you know, knowing that going to them during these normal hours during the day, and they’re so crowded, and you’re, like, elbowing other people to try and get up close . . .
It just kind of ruins the experience. I feel the same way about the Vatican museums, to be honest. And I, I really wish that they were managed differently because the crowds are just so overwhelming. For example, I went with a couple of family friends who were visiting a couple of years ago in April, so not, like, super-high season, but getting into it. And I was on a guided tour with them at, like, two o’clock in the afternoon, and at some points during the tour I looked around and I couldn’t even see them anymore because we were just, like, in a sea of people. It’s just a nightmare, to be honest.
And I’ve also been to the Vatican museums for the 6 a.m. tour with the clavigero, the key keeper who is opening the doors—
Aislyn: Oh my God.
Laura: —and have seen the museum completely empty, and that has been an unbelievable, incredible experience. I want to say everyone should be able to have that experience, but of course, that kind of thing is very exclusive; you know, the normal traveler is going to be going there amidst the crowds.
Aislyn: Yeah, it’s interesting, because we do talk about shoulder season and off-season a lot in travel, but it sounds like off-season within the day is maybe a smarter way to look at it at this point in time?
Laura: Yeah, some of these attractions have either early or late opening hours, so I would say always check, because, for example, the Vatican tour at 6 a.m., that’s, like, a very exclusive one that normally needs to be booked through a high-end tour operator. But the Colosseum also, typically in the summer, does night tours, and so I went and did that with a friend once who was visiting, and that was amazing because we were there after it was closed to the public, and it was just a small tour with an official Colosseum guide who brought us inside and down into, um, the hypogeum, which is the area where all the wild animals were kept—basically where the gladiators would walk through before they came up onto the stage.
And also to see it at night, illuminated, is really special.
Aislyn: So there’s this anecdote that you shared in your story that saddened me. You said that you’ll see an Italian grandma standing in a window. Which, you know, on the surface, I think for most people, it would actually look like a very authentic experience. So how do you encourage travelers to find and identify quote-unquote authentic food experiences in Rome?
Laura: Actually, I hadn’t even thought of that until I was interviewing Sophie Minchilli for that story.
Aislyn: Yeah, yeah.
Laura: She mentioned it as something that she’s noticed lately, and I thought about it, and I’m like, yes, I have seen that too. There are these restaurants, usually near the big major piazzas, you know, that have these big windows where there is some woman just, like, making fresh pasta, and this poor woman . . . it’s like a freaking zoo; you know, it’s totally not, like, traditional or authentic in Rome. I mean, the sort of pasta grannies down in Puglia are super famous. And there, I guess, it is, like, an authentic thing that these grandmothers would be standing outside of their houses making pasta in the street, because in Puglia in the summertime it’s really hot, so . . .
Aislyn: Yeah, they’re not going to be outside.
Laura: It’s cooler for them.
Aislyn: Yeah, yeah.
Laura: But in Rome that’s never, that’s never been a thing, right? In Rome, there’s not even this idea that fresh pasta is better, and that’s sort of a misconception that . . .
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: . . . visitors and tourists tend to latch on to. Like, oh, it’s Italy, therefore fresh pasta. It’s amazing. It’s so good. And yes, like, fresh pasta can be amazing, but, um . . .
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: . . . there are so many different types of pasta, so many different types of sauces, and in Italy, the cuisine is very regional, first of all. So, there’s typically a sauce that pairs with a certain shape of pasta, and there are some that work really well with fresh pasta, like cacio e pepe, great with fresh pasta, that’s a super Roman dish. But, like, carbonara, amatriciana, these are not dishes that Romans would typically use fresh pasta for.
Aislyn: Interesting. That was surprising to hear, but fascinating. You know, like, it completely upends what I think a traveler would, again, expect and look for.
What about takeout culture? In your story, you mentioned that there was a link between that and Airbnb, in a problematic way.
Laura: Yeah, the takeout thing is a little bit more complicated in the sense that takeout has always been part of the culinary landscape here, I would say. For example, the fritti: These are fried things, as a category. We have suppli [fried rice ball with tomato sauce], for example, mozzarella in carrozza [fried mozzarella sandwich], the fried zucchini blossoms. These are like . . .
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: . . . typical street food snacks that any Roman would grow up eating, you know, stopping and into a takeout or a little friggitoria, for example, which is a place where they make fried things or pizza.
Pizza, of course, comes in many shapes and forms, and one of them is pizza al taglio, which would be “by the slice,” or even bakeries usually have at least the pizza bianca, which is “white pizza”; it’s sort of like the focaccia, just the same dough, but without toppings, just a little salt and that’s it. Basically all salt and olive oil.
So that has always been a part of the Roman culinary landscape, but I think this sort of, like, proliferation or multiplication of these takeout spots that have started to replace the little, like, neighborhood grocery stores in some neighborhoods in Rome. And that’s a shame, of course.
I mean, Rome has . . .
Aislyn: Yeah. Yeah.
Laura: . . . has also always had a strong culture in terms of not only markets but also shops; like, of course, you have the baker, you have the butcher, but then, of course, you have the cheese shop. And, like, the shop that sells salumi, right? So all the charcuterie, the prosciutto, and salami and all of that. And some of these places are getting kind of pushed out. I mean, there still are some really wonderful historic ones, but, like, you know, the tourists aren’t necessarily going to go and buy a whole thing of cheese; they just want to go and get a sandwich, right?
Aislyn: That makes sense. You’re not grocery shopping, necessarily, unless you’re staying for a long period of time. One of the ways to potentially combat over-tourism is to take fewer trips and then stay for a longer period of time.
So, given all of that, what do you think Rome can reveal to someone if you stay beyond, say, a week?
Laura: Oh my God, so much. I think Rome is one of the most incredible, magical cities on Earth. It has, you know, over 2,000 years worth of history. And then you can be walking around and on one corner see these incredible ruins that were there from the time of Julius Caesar, and on the next corner, there’s, like, a really cool new bar or restaurant.
And there are so many hidden gems as well that you need to take your time in order to seek them out and find them, like some of the museums and palaces that I mentioned. But also the churches, like, you know, you can see the Moses by Michelangelo in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Monti, which is just incredible. You can see frescoes by Raphael in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, the Caravaggios, there are so many Caravaggios, in different churches. Some of my favorites are in the Church of San Luigi de Francesi, which is between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. And then again, exploring a little bit farther, right beyond these places. You can go spend time on the Appian Tica, which is incredible. The Appian Tica was the ancient Roman road.
It was called the Queen of Roads. And, you know, the, the saying, all roads lead to Rome, basically that was the original road and it went from Rome all the way south down into Puglia.
Aislyn: Amazing. Wow. Wow.
Laura: So you can literally walk on those stones that ancient Romans walked on thousands of years ago. And walk in the shadow of these ancient aqueducts.
And that’s another beautiful place where tourists don’t normally go, but it’s also a regional park, so Romans love to go there, especially on, like, beautiful spring days on the weekends. You’ll see tons of Romans hanging out and having picnics, or walking their dogs with kids playing, and all these everyday scenes in these incredible places.
Aislyn: Well, with that in mind, where would you recommend that someone base themselves to experience the best of Rome? Or where do you recommend that like friends and families stay?
Laura: So it’s funny. I always used to tell people to stay in Monti, which ironically Sophie was telling me is her neighborhood. And according to her, it’s one of the neighborhoods that’s been really gutted by Airbnbs.
Aislyn: Oh, no.
Laura: I mean, of course we have different perspectives. She grew up there and she knew more of the boutiques, the old-school places that a lot of them have disappeared. But I do still think that Monti is a really vibrant, fun neighborhood. It’s the neighborhood that’s just uphill from the Colosseum. So you can walk to the Colosseum within 15 minutes, it’s just cobblestone streets and piazzas where people gather around, lots of bars and restaurants, and boutiques by artisans.
Otherwise, I think it, it kind of depends a little bit on the type of traveler you are. So for example, San Lorenzo is kind of a more up and coming neighborhood, but it’s definitely still quite gritty.
So, not the like charming cobblestone image of Rome that one would have in their mind. But like, if you’re interested in good restaurants and some cool bars, like street art, graffiti, lots of artists, that could be a good place to stay.
For someone who really loves a beautiful hotel . . .
Aislyn: Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah.
Laura: . . . which I would count myself among them for sure, um, the area around the Spanish Steps and Villa Borghese and Piazza del Popolo is just full of very luxurious, fabulous hotels from the Eden Hotel, for example, one of the historic grand dames was renovated a few years ago and has a fabulous rooftop restaurant and bar.
So you can actually go have your aperitivo while watching the sunset on the rooftop bar and then do the gourmet tasting menu at La Terrazza in the evening. I mean, that’s fabulous. The Hotel de Russie on Piazza del Popolo, which is where my husband works. Full disclosure, yes. But it is one of the most beautiful hotels in Rome and I’m not the only one to say it.
It consistently wins awards and is always on the lists of the city’s top hotels. That place for me has the most magical garden in Rome. It’s like centered around this courtyard. The hotel itself is a historic building, where Picasso stayed, and I think Nijinsky, the ballet dancer, stayed at one point.
And, it’s now part of the Rocco Forte Hotels Group. So it opened in 2000 and was one of the very early luxury boutique hotels in the city. Now there are tons of them, but that was kind of the OG.
Aislyn: Yeah, OK.
Laura: And even if you’re not staying in those hotels, I still always recommend, go have a drink. You can go and sit in that courtyard and have their Stravinsky spritz, and I think it’s 20, maybe 25 euros, which, you know, it’s not cheap for a cocktail, but it comes with this . . .
Aislyn: You’re getting an experience.
Laura: Exactly. You’re getting to experience this incredible atmosphere and all the little snacks that they serve with it, which are also wonderful.
Aislyn: Would you suggest that people stay in Airbnbs in Rome at all? Or do you think for most travelers a hotel is the best way to support the local economy?
Laura: I think definitely hotels are a better way to support the local economy. Airbnb has really changed the character of a lot of the neighborhoods. But also, I would note that recently in Italy, a new law has been passed requiring hosts to actually be physically present to check people in.
I mean, the pretext for this was, you know, in order to increase security and, and I’m sure there is an element to that. But I think it’s also a measure to discourage people from just converting apartments and using a lockbox. Because, of course, if, if you can put a lockbox and it’s super easy for the host.
They don’t even have to be there. Whereas now they do. It’s something that’s been for sure, like, troubling locals to see how many apartments have been converted into Airbnbs. I mean, I have a friend who was living in Trastevere for over 10 years, and her lease ran out a few months ago, and her landlord decided not to renew.
She thinks that they’re converting the apartment into an Airbnb, like everyone else. And she looked and looked and looked because she really wanted to stay in her neighborhood in Trastevere, and she could not find anything at all, and moved to a different neighborhood across the river.
Aislyn: Wow. Wow. Yeah, that’s sad. That is really sad. I think that’s a nice segue into talking about this idea of etiquette and culture. So how can people be respectful when they visit Rome?
Laura: I think that Romans have the sort of, politeness and pleasantries, much the same way as the French do. So when you enter a place, you know, say, “buongiorno” or “buonasera” if it’s the afternoon or the evening. Um, another neutral greeting that I use often is “salve.” You can say “salve” and that’s just like a neutral “hello.” “Ciao,” of course, is used only with, like, friends or family that you’re already familiar with. So if you’re entering a store or a restaurant or whatever, “buongiorno, buonasera.”
Um, other things, I mean, do we want to talk about the no cappuccino after 11 a.m. rule?
Aislyn: Lay it on us.
Laura: I don’t know, it’s probably kind of silly, but it really is a thing that I would say Romans generally still do abide by. You will probably get some funny looks if you order a cappuccino, especially after a meal. The idea is that after you’ve had a big heavy meal, you know, you’re having pasta and maybe antipasto or meat or fish or whatever. Your stomach is already quite full and then to put a cappuccino, which is like full of this rich milk, is just very bad for your digestion. That’s what they say.
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: So, instead, order an espresso or an espresso macchiato, which is my drink of choice. It’s just an espresso with a little bit of foamed milk on top.
And that’s totally acceptable at any time of day.
Aislyn: Are there any other etiquette or maybe food mistakes that you see travelers making?
Laura: Yes. Yes. I mean, there are a lot of kind of unspoken rules in Rome and Italy, especially around the food culture. Definitely don’t ask for parmesan cheese on your spaghetti with clams. My husband, I don’t know if he really does this or not, but he has told me in the past that when people have done that at the restaurant, in the hotel, he would just tell them, “Oh sorry, we ran out.”
Aislyn: Oh!
Laura: Because it just pained him so much the idea that people would ruin this wonderful dish of spaghetti with clams by putting cheese on it. I mean, it’s a general rule in Italy that you don’t mix fish and cheese. There are exceptions to this rule, but generally the idea is that these are sort of two strong elements, right?
And the cheese in particular is a very strong flavor, and putting it on top of a dish like spaghetti with clams just masks the wonderful flavor of the clams.
Aislyn: Alright, that’s a great one. Is he a, a chef?
Laura: He’s a waiter.
Aislyn: OK, nice. So he’s just like, oh yeah, sorry, just freshly out of parmesan in Italy. That’s great. Um, what about dress code?
Laura: Dress code. I mean. Romans definitely dress sharp. They’re very stylish dressers in general, I would say. Um, so, you know, you’re definitely going to stand out if you’re, like, wearing a T-shirt and a baseball cap and definitely no flip-flops. Italians never wear flip-flops in the city, only at the beach.
No athleisure wear either. You never see Romans, like, running around town wearing yoga pants. Absolutely not. You don’t have to be, like, you know, dressed up as if you’re going to an opera every evening or something. But, like, you know, a nice pair of jeans, uh, a nice top, maybe a blazer, and then, of course, the churches are a whole other question because if you want to enter the churches, of course, you have to cover your shoulders and your knees and whatnot.
Aislyn: Yes. Always have that scarf or that extra layer. That’s what I remember from my church visits.
Laura: Yes, definitely.
Aislyn: Well, we can’t talk about etiquette without talking about tipping. So what is the tipping situation in Rome right now?
Laura: So, the tipping culture. OK, I have a lot of thoughts about this subject because my husband works in a restaurant.
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: Generally the consensus or the idea is that tipping is not expected in Italy because servers make a living wage. OK.
I think that’s not true.
I mean, knowing how much they are making, I think it’s not true by a long stretch. The average salaries in Italy are a lot lower than they are in the U.S. in general. So I would say again, tipping, it’s definitely not the kind of thing where you absolutely have to tip 20 or 25 percent everywhere. That’s not expected. But I still think it is important to leave a bit of a tip if you’ve had decent service.
Because . . .
Aislyn: Yeah.
Laura: . . . a lot of the restaurants will write a lined item on your bill for “coperto,” right? Which is the cover charge. But typically that money is not going to the servers. It’s going to the owners of the restaurant. And the servers are probably making no more than 7 euros an hour.
Aislyn: Wow, yeah.
Laura: So, I mean, I frankly don’t know how that can be considered a living wage, especially in an expensive city like Rome. So I,
Aislyn: I know, that’s shocking. And if you don’t have a huge tipping culture to help fill the gap there, so to speak. OK.
Laura: So tips are very much appreciated and I think that honestly as good travelers, as responsible travelers, it is kind of our duty to leave a tip because you have to consider that you’re coming from a much more privileged place.
Aislyn: Yeah, that’s really helpful to know because I think the main thing is people don’t want to offend, right? So like, for example, if it was Japan where it’s just like truly outright rejected. But it sounds like there, it is something we should encourage people to be doing more of, especially travelers.
Laura: So I think that for locals, it’s not unusual for locals not to tip or to leave a very small tip. But again, locals are earning much lower salaries in general and coming from a different cultural place as well. So, I do kind of think that if you’re coming from the U.S. and you’re used to tipping?
Great, like, leave your tip. I mean, if you want to leave 20 percent, leave 20 percent, and they’ll be absolutely thrilled. If you want to leave 10 percent, they’ll be happy with that. It doesn’t have to be like a specific number or even a specific percentage, but it’s a gesture that I think is appreciated.
Aislyn: So this year is the Jubilee, which takes place every 25 years. It’s a Catholic holy year that started on December 24th and will end on January 6th, 2026. So a lot of people are making religious pilgrimages to the city.
What have you seen come about as part of that?
Laura: In some ways, it is a good moment to come to Rome. I mean, we’ve been talking a lot about the negative effects of mass tourism, but the Jubilee has brought a lot of improvements, actually, to the city.
A lot of the monuments have been cleaned. So for example, in between the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo, they built like a whole new pedestrian piazza that didn’t exist before.
Aislyn: Wow.
Laura: I mean, that’s pretty amazing. They cleaned up all the angels on the Ponte Sant’Angelo, which was the bridge that crosses from Castel Sant’Angelo over to the other side of the city, and that’s wonderful.
They have pedestrianized some streets as well. I believe Via Ottaviano has been pedestrianized, that’s near the Vatican. But they’ve also been cleaning up a lot of the monuments in the historic center, including the Trevi Fountain. And the fountains by the Navona, I mean, all these things have been cleaned up in anticipation of the Jubilee.
So, it is an exciting time to be here and see the city in sort of a new, cleaned up, spiffed up light.
Aislyn: Well, thank you so much, Laura. It’s been lovely to chat with you and I appreciate you sharing your, your wisdom.
Laura: Thank you so much.
Aislyn: Thank you so much for joining. I’ll see you in Rome. See the show notes for more trip planning resources. You’ll find Laura’s companion article on afar.com as well as her website and links to the hotels and museums we discussed. If you’d like to weigh in on upcoming episodes, subscribe to our newsletter behind the mic at afar.com/btm, or leave us a voicemail at the link in the show notes.
Next week, we’ll be back with advice on planning your summer travels with Afar destination expert Mark Elwood.
Mark: One of my favorite secret places is Mackinac Island. Which is Michigan’s perfect, tiny, gorgeous piece of summer deliciousness. No cars, a grand hotel that’s been open for decades. A chance to sort of step back in time in all the best ways.
Aislyn: Wow.
Mark: And I’m going to say that if you haven’t been to Mackinac Island ever, this summer is the time to say gosh, say to someone from the Midwest you know, “Can I come?” Or do you want to keep it a secret to yourself? Then book a little trip.
Aislyn: Ready for more Unpacking? Visit afar.com and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Tiktok. We’re @afarmedia. If you enjoy today’s exploration, I hope you’ll come back for more great stories. Subscribing always makes that easy, and be sure to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other travelers find it.
And if you want to ask a question or suggest a topic for coverage, you can leave us a voicemail at the link in the show notes, or email us at unpacked@afar.com
This has been Unpacked, a production of Afar Media. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland. Music composition by Chris Colin.
And remember, the travel world is complicated. We’re here to help you unpack it.
