The thick buzz of Rome’s piazzas returns to life after long pauses. By day, the busy sidewalks overflow with foot traffic, and the few sunlit patches on the ancient cobblestones become precious. Along Via del Corso, and before the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and Piazza di Spagna, visitors move in waves: pause, snap, and move on. Groups, couples, and solo explorers alike check the moment in front of a fountain, climb steps for a memory, or simply nod to the era of the selfie.
Newspaper pages no longer dwell on this topic, and Romans have grown used to it. In 2022, about 15 million people visited the capital of Italy—a rise of roughly 176 percent from 2021—and the seasonal lull never truly appeared. Hoteliers report that 2023 is on track to meet or surpass that momentum, reinforcing a trend that stretches beyond a single year.
Ovidio Vidio, owner of a hotel near Venezia Square and another in Navona Square, notes a shift in the numbers he has managed since 2010. “The truth is, there has always been tourism, but Rome has never seen this much before. Restrictions are lifted, and since then the crowds have kept coming,” he says. “This is extraordinary. In our case, everything is rented out through June, and more than half of our rooms are booked for September. The forecast indicates a gross profit increase of 25 to 30 percent compared with the pre-pandemic years.”
modern olympics
Success can come with drawbacks. Hostels and dining venues report staffing shortages while workers contend with modest wages. Old challenges persist, with industry analysts estimating a need for 15,000 wait staff who are hard to recruit. Claudio Pica, president of the Federazione Confesercenti union, has proposed rethinking contracts for these workers and allowing holidays to be deducted from overtime, yet no decisive response has emerged.
The bigger question remains not how many visitors arrive, but how the city will absorb them. Will Rome’s renowned restaurants, bars, and lodging become prohibitively expensive? Will the surge push rents higher in central neighborhoods and raise the cost of souvenirs? These concerns touch the fabric of local life and the accessibility of the city to its residents.
Another persistent topic is cleanliness. City hall’s sanitation teams struggle to keep pace with litter in certain corners, and overflowing trash bins near iconic sites such as the Pantheon remain a visible problem. The Pantheon, a temple with centuries of history, still stands as a monument to Rome’s enduring grandeur and the empire’s reach across time.
‘itanol’ aboard
Air traffic keeps Rome humming. According to Assaeroporti, about 33 million passengers touched down in the city in 2022. Ryanair, Italy’s leading airline, announced expansion with 16 new routes to Rome and more frequent service on 16 routes, backed by a 1.5 billion euro investment in the city’s two airports. Travelers also arrive by sea, rail, or car, weaving Rome into a dense continental network.
“There are many people,” is a common refrain in Rome today, and similarly in Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid. Yet there is a layer many overlook: extensive mobility between these cities mirrors generations of movement within Europe. The Hungarian carrier Wizz Air has embraced this momentum, planning a broad expansion that would lift Rome’s routes to 66 by summer, linking Rome to Madrid and beyond. The mood on these planes is vibrant; conversations blend Italian and Spanish, a colloquial rhythm that passengers have nicknamed ititañol.