On Four Years in Rome

A Letter from the editor

July 1st marked my four year anniversary of living in Rome, but I’ve actually spent six years of my life here. I moved to Rome for the first time in the summer of 2009, right after I graduated from Smith College with a major in French. I spent my junior year studying abroad in Paris, a city I embraced wholeheartedly. That year, I tried to take advantage of being based in Europe to travel around the continent during school breaks. I visited friends in Glasgow, spent Christmas in Athens, joined classmates in southern Spain for spring break, took a train to Nice, and met up with my parents and my sister in Barcelona before continuing on to Rome, Florence, and Venice. 

But it wasn’t until that trip to Rome that I felt as enchanted by a city as I was by Paris. I still think you’d be hard pressed to find a city as bewitchingly beautiful as Rome, with the ivy draped on faded ochre buildings, the narrow cobblestone streets lined with lively trattorias and bars, the monumental fountains, and grand piazzas that act as the city’s living room. I decided then and there that I just had to learn Italian and live in the Eternal City.

Fifteen years later, I still love Rome as much as I did then—perhaps even more. Though I returned to the U.S. in 2011 to do a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing at Columbia University, I always thought I might like to return to Rome one day. And when I went freelance in 2016, after working at Travel + Leisure, my first international press trip kicked off in Rome. Actually, I had sandwiched two press trips in Italy together and had three days on my own in Rome between them. As fate would have it, that’s when I met my husband Marco. 

Me and Marco on our wedding day. Photo by Saghar Setareh

When I decided to move back to Rome in 2019, it was partly to take my relationship with Marco to the next level and partly to see if I could do the job that I love in the city that I love. While I hate to jinx myself, so far both of those things have worked out pretty well for me. Marco and I got married in July 2021. (It seems July is a propitious month for me.) And I’ve gotten to a point in my career where editors come to me when they need an Italy expert, and friends and colleagues come to me for tips when they’re planning a trip to Italy. 

When I launched the New Roman Times eight months ago, I was confident that my well of stories and knowledge about Rome and the things that interest Romans wouldn’t run dry and it certainly hasn’t. Rather, the biggest challenge for me has been balancing my writing for mainstream publications with the work I do to keep this newsletter going. That’s not the only challenge though.

If I’m being honest, this newsletter isn’t really financially viable—not yet anyway. I hope that by continuing to dedicate my time to it, more people will see the value in it. If you can see the value in what I’m doing here, I hope you will consider upgrading to a paid subscription or gifting a subscription to someone who would appreciate one. 

By upgrading, you’ll unlock current and future paywalled issues that contain the intel I’ve worked so hard to gather over the years I’ve been living in and visiting Italy. You’ll get access to my curated lists of the best places to eat in Rome, the best bars in Rome, the underrated museums to visit in Rome, a detailed guide to the city’s neighborhoods, and a list of the best places to shop in Rome—and those are just the ones I’ve written so far. There are plenty more to come.

You’ll also unlock my series of 72 hours guides to popular destinations like Milan and an upcoming guide to 72 hours on the Amalfi Coast. And you’ll continue to receive exclusive access to paywalled issues as well as discounts from my partners, including 10% off Vespa tours by Scooteroma.

Right now, in observance of Italy’s semi-annual sales, I’m offering 30% off paid subscriptions. From now until August 16, a yearlong subscription costs $49 instead of $70. Or you can opt for a monthly subscription for $4.90 instead of $7 per month. 

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One of the things I’ve realized over the last eight months is that what gives me the most joy is interacting directly with you, my readers. If you have a question for me, email newromantimes@substack.com or leave a comment on any of the issues. You don’t need to be actively planning a trip to ask me a question. Feel free to ask about Italian culture, recipes you can make at home, or any other facet of life in Rome.

As a freelance journalist, I’ve learned to adapt my writing to suit the various publications I contribute to. In writing the New Roman Times, I’ve had the chance to develop my own voice. Thank you for giving me that opportunity.

Further Reading

• You can read more about why I launched the New Roman Times in my first editor’s letter.

• As a reminder, the archives of the New Roman Times are available to read at any time here.

• If you’ve visited the homepage recently, you might have noticed that I’ve organized some of the past issues into categories for easy navigation. You can find all the curated lists here, all the interviews with creatives and entrepreneurs in Italy here, and all the recipes here.

• To see where else I’m going and what I’m doing, follow me on Instagram.