I moved to Rome in search of the dolce vita but discovered its dark underbelly
euronews.comarchitectural wonders.Ancient ruins? Miles of them. Fresco-covered churches? Over 900. Art Nouveau glamour?
Visit the eccentric Coppedè neighbourhood. Want to see the pyramids? You’ve even got one of those: the 2,035-year-old Pyramid of Cestius.And that’s the first thing that will strike anyone upon moving to Rome.
Beauty truly is everywhere, in the smallest of details. It’s in discovering hidden courtyards, secret churches, finding ancient Roman mosaics in the basement of a small local restaurant (Trattoria Tritone 1884, for anyone wondering).Just as beauty is omnipresent, so, too, is squalor and disorganisation.
The city is a victim of urban decay and diminished public services - testament to decades of poor local administration.And that is the paradox of Roman life: that good, the bad and the ugly are inextricably intertwined, making life in the city in equal parts idyllic and infuriating.Adapting to this chaotic cocktail was certainly a baptism by fire at first, a far call from the structured life I lived back in England.
