City guides Italy

Rome

  • Espresso at EUR 1.19
  • Ancient city modern visa
  • Residents get in free

A capital where an espresso at the bar averages EUR 1.19 and, since February 2026, residents get into the Capitoline Museums and up to the Trevi Fountain free. Italy's nomad visa asks for about EUR 27,000 to 28,000 a year, depending on which consulate you ask. The catch is the paperwork: a degree or years of senior experience, apostilled and translated into Italian, then the Questura within eight days of landing.

Every figure checked 15 Oct 2026

  • EUR 18.53 per square metre a month Asking rent, Garbatella and Ostiense
  • EUR 35 Monthly transport pass
  • EUR 2.50 per 100g, or EUR 2 to 4 a slice Pizza al taglio
  • Country Italy
  • Time zone UTC+2 06:21 there now
  • Language Italian
  • Currency Euro (EUR)
  • Plugs Type C, F and L, 230V

How far English gets you We found no reliable figure for how widely English is spoken. Where it stops is clear enough: every visa document from outside the EU must be apostilled and translated into Italian by a certified translator, and the permit step at the Questura, the immigration police, after you land is in Italian.

Honestly

Is this your kind of place?

It suits you if

Degree-holding or demonstrably senior remote employees and freelancers earning comfortably over EUR 28,000 a year, who will trade top-tier infrastructure for an extraordinary city, cheap espresso and street food. The coworking spaces cluster in Ostiense and Pigneto. It suits someone willing to register as a resident, because that brings real perks, such as free entry to the city's own museums.

It does not suit you if

Anyone hoping the nomad visa is a formality. You need a qualifying degree or years of documented senior experience, apostilled and translated into Italian, and a trip to the Questura within days of landing. Freelancers are pulled into Italian VAT and tax filings. Anyone who hates heat: July and August average 31 degree highs. Anyone wanting a flat that is quiet, central and affordable, because Rome makes you pick two: the cheaper areas are noisy at night and the calm one, Prati, is dear. And anyone who needs fast, predictable bureaucracy.

Money

What everything else costs

Asking rent, centro storico EUR 30.26 per square metre a month Navona, Spagna and Trevi, Wikicasa, September 2026, the dearest zone
A 45 square metre flat at asking rates About EUR 830 to 1,360 a month Our arithmetic from the portal rates, Garbatella to the centro storico. Not a listing, and not furnished
Asking rent, Pigneto and San Lorenzo EUR 19.30 per square metre a month Wikicasa, September 2026
Coworking monthly EUR 199 to 300 Five Rome spaces, from a July 2024 blog. Not checked with the operators
Coworking day pass EUR 19.04 to 29 Millepiani in Garbatella EUR 16 plus 19 per cent VAT, via a marketplace. Regus from EUR 29
Single ticket EUR 1.50 BIT, 100 minutes. A 24-hour ticket is EUR 7 and a week EUR 24
Espresso at the bar EUR 1.19 average Rome, June 2026, from the government price observatory. It was EUR 0.95 in 2021
Set lunch Price not checked No menu del giorno price was found

Paperwork

Can you legally stay?

Minimum income About EUR 27,000 a year (Italian Consulate in Moscow, July 2026) or at least EUR 28,000 a year (Italian Consulate in Johannesburg, undated). Official sources disagree, so check the sheet of the consulate you will apply through
How it is set Three times the minimum income for exemption from health-care co-payments. The embassy in Pretoria adds that it must not be less than the average annual gross salary recorded by ISTAT
Family Johannesburg adds EUR 780 a month for each extra adult and EUR 130 a month for each child
The threshold moves Only when the co-payment exemption level or ISTAT's average pay changes. How often they are revised was not checked
Official name Entry visa for digital nomads and remote workers (visto per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto), a national D visa
Who qualifies Remote employees, with an employer in Italy or abroad, and self-employed workers. Whether owning a foreign company counts is unclear: only the Johannesburg consulate mentions entrepreneurs
Highly qualified A degree of at least three years or a level-6 qualification; or five years of higher professional experience, with contracts and at least two payslips for each year claimed; or, for ICT managers and specialists, three years in the last seven. Everyone also needs six months' experience in the work they will do
Evidence Annual income from lawful sources. Employees need a contract or binding offer, paying at least the national collective agreement minimum, and an employer declaration of no convictions in the last five years. Everything apostilled and translated into Italian. How many months of bank statements is not stated
How long The visa can run up to 365 days. Apply for the permesso di soggiorno at the Questura within 8 days of arriving: it lasts up to a year and renews each year while you still qualify
Tax Freelancers need an Italian VAT number (partita IVA). The Questura reports the permit to the tax agency, and unpaid tax or contributions can get it revoked
Permanent residence Years not checked
Citizenship Ten years' legal residence. A referendum in June 2025 to cut it to five failed: turnout did not reach the quorum
Without a visa British passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen, on a passport issued less than 10 years before you arrive and valid 3 months after you leave. American passports: up to 90 days
Tax residency Residence, domicile, physical presence or registration on the civil registry (anagrafe) for the greater part of the tax period. Part days count as full days

Where to live

Where to base yourself

  • Pigneto and San Lorenzo

    About EUR 19.30 per square metre asking

    Bars, live music, thrift shops and rents that are affordable by Rome standards, and the Famo Cose coworking in Pigneto

    The catch Late-night noise and rougher edges, and San Lorenzo depends on trams and buses

  • Trastevere

    About EUR 25.38 per square metre asking (a zone shared with Testaccio)

    Character, trattorie and riverside walks on the doorstep

    The catch Crowds, it buzzes every night, there is little metro, and some streets are too narrow for taxis

  • Prati

    About EUR 24.69 per square metre asking

    Wide avenues, Metro A and calm nights, with Pick Center coworking

    The catch Higher rents and little nightlife

  • Garbatella and Ostiense

    About EUR 18.53 per square metre asking, the cheapest here

    Metro B, courtyard architecture and the main coworking cluster, including Millepiani, Wire and Cowall

    The catch Housing is mixed street to street, and the Ostiense side has grittier blocks and noisy nightlife streets

Timing

The best time to come

  • Jan 12C, 66mm, 7 rain days
  • Feb 13C, cool, 63mm
  • Mar 15.8C, rain easing
  • Apr 18.8C, showery
  • May 22.3C, 5.5 rain days
  • Jun 28.1C, heat building
  • Jul 31C, nights 19C
  • Aug 31.6C, the hottest
  • Sep 26.7C, heat breaking
  • Oct 22.2C, but 88mm
  • Nov wettest, 108mm
  • Dec 12.7C, 98mm

Come now Fine Avoid

April, May and September are the months, on weather alone. July and August average highs of 31 to 31.6 degrees with almost no rain. October to December is the wet season, and November is the wettest month, with 108mm. We found no official source on when the tourist peaks fall, so these ratings ignore crowds. The averages are 1991 to 2020 normals for Rome Ciampino, from Wikipedia's table.

Not checked Typical download

Connectivity

The internet, honestly

We could not get a current broadband figure for Rome or for Italy: the only one we found dates from 2020, which is too old to use.

Cheap alternatives to a cafe table exist. Fluvio's "coffices" were from EUR 2 an hour in 2024, and Regus rents coworking from EUR 4 an hour. For daily video calls, get the landlord to confirm the line in writing before you sign, or pay for a desk.

Work

Remote roles open to someone in Italy

A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.

See every role open to this region

Eating

What to eat, and what it costs

  • Espresso al banco

    EUR 1.19 on average

    Drunk standing at the bar counter. The Rome average for June 2026, from the government price observatory

  • Pizza al taglio

    EUR 2.50 per 100g, or EUR 2 to 4 a slice

    Rectangular pizza cut and sold by weight, the default cheap lunch

  • Suppli

    About EUR 2 to 3

    A fried rice croquette with molten mozzarella inside

  • Trapizzino

    EUR 3.50 to 5

    A triangle of pizza bread filled with Roman stews

  • Porchetta sandwich

    EUR 5 to 6

    Slow-roasted pork in a crusty roll

Days off

Worth a Saturday

  • Colosseum, Forum and Palatine (Full Experience Arena)

    EUR 24

    The arena floor plus the Forum and Palatine on one ticket over two days. EU citizens aged 18 to 24 pay EUR 2, so Britons and Americans pay full price. Free on the first Sunday of the month, but walk-up only

  • Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

    EUR 20, plus an optional EUR 5 booking fee (2024 prices)

    The Sistine Chapel. Free on the last Sunday of the month, 9:00 to 14:00

  • Trevi Fountain, inner perimeter

    EUR 2

    Ticketed since 2 February 2026, card only at the gate. Free for everyone after 22:00, and free at any time for Rome-area residents who show ID

  • Musei Capitolini

    Free for Rome-area residents. Price for everyone else not checked

    The city's own collection, including the Capitoline Wolf. Ara Pacis and the Mercati di Traiano are free for residents too

The rest

Things the other guides leave out

  • Registering as a resident pays

    Since February 2026 Rome-area residents get into the Trevi perimeter, the Musei Capitolini, Ara Pacis, the Mercati di Traiano and others free

  • Part days count for tax

    Landing at 23:00 counts as a full day of presence for Italian tax residence, under the rules in force since 2024

  • Freelancers need a partita IVA

    The Questura reports your permit to the tax agency, and unpaid tax or contributions can get it revoked

  • Check when your passport was issued

    A British passport must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive, so one still in date can be refused

  • Colosseum tickets open 7 days ahead

    Free first-Sunday entry cannot be booked at all

  • Buy the monthly pass on the 1st

    The ATAC monthly pass runs for the calendar month, not 30 days from purchase

Work out whether you can actually afford to go

Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.

Browse the jobs

Every figure on this page was checked on 15 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.

Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons