Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rome is magnificent and brutal at the same time. It's a showcase of Western civilization,
withastonishinglyancientsightsandamodernvibrancy.Butifyou'recareless,you'llberun
downorpickpocketed.Andwiththewrongattitude,you'llbefrustratedbythekindofchaos
thatonlyanItaliancanunderstand.Onmylastvisit,acabbiestrugglingwiththetrafficsaid,
“Roma chaos
.
”
I responded,
“Bella chaos
.
”
He agreed.
While Paris is an urban garden, Rome is a magnificent tangled forest. If your hotel
providesacomfortablerefuge;ifyoupaceyourself;ifyouaccept—andevenpartakein—the
siesta plan; if you're well-organized for sightseeing; and if you protect yourself and your
valuables with extra caution and discretion, you'll love it. (And Rome is much easier to live
with if you can avoid the mid-summer heat.)
For me, Rome is in a three-way tie with Paris and London as Europe's greatest city.
Two thousand years ago, the word “Rome” meant civilization itself. Everything was either
civilized (part of the Roman Empire, Latin- or Greek-speaking) or barbarian. Today, Rome
