Five Things I Love About the Fall in Rome

Why I love the fall in Rome
From the time I was a little girl, the fall has been my favorite season. It's the time of my birthday, of a fresh start to a new (school) year, of finally being able to cozy up in sweaters and tromp through dry leaves and smell woodsmoke in the air. While I'll always be partial to the glorious falls of New England, the autumn in Rome is pretty wonderful, too.

Here are five things I'm most excited about this fall in Rome.

Autumn in Rome

There's something special about the light in Rome in autumn. Hard to show—and even harder to describe—it's a kind of golden glow that covers everything, and not just in the evening. When I first moved here, it was an October. And this light was one of the things about Rome that made me fall in love.

 

Via Margutta in autumn and fall fashion

When it comes to fashion, the fall is when Romans are in their element… thanks to the unpredictability of the elements themselves. The cooling temperatures and flash rainstorms mean that, to keep warm and ward off such horrible made-up diseases as la cervicale, every self-respecting Italian has to bundle up with scarves and coats (and sweaters and and gloves and hats). Even if it's an unseasonably warm day. The impressive part? While I feel like an overstuffed snowman in my layers, they manage to make all of that bundling up look nothing short of stylish.

 

Autumn rain in Rome

When it rains in Rome—which it starts to, like clockwork, every September—it's rarely the ongoing, trickling, depressing rain you get in, say, London. Instead, the rain pours down hard. And then, just as suddenly, stops. The result? Dramatic, Turner-worthy skies and a gloss over everything that makes the city that much more beautiful—and photogenic.

Comfort foods of fall in Rome

Rome's summer heat always sucks the appetite right out of me. But as temperatures drop, tucking into the simple-but-stick-to-your-ribs staples of Roman cuisine, like pasta carbonara (above, from Da Danilo)—isn't just palatable again. It's glorious.

 

Fall colors of Rome
I'm such a New England girl, it took moving to Rome for me to realize that, yes, trees change color in other places, too. In Rome, one of my favorite places to wander in autumn is the Villa Borghese, an oasis of trees, and autumn colors, in the city center. 

You might also like...

6 comments

  1. Yes, I love autumn too, it’s very particular and beautiful in Rome, where the weather is a little warm but you can get the chills, the leafs fall and the redish-orang colors comes out… it’s looks like a painting of harmonic colors.
    Beautiful tips and I must try Da Danilo I believe
    Check out my blog: http://selectitaly.com/blog

  2. This post makes me really excited because I’m traveling to Rome this October. I’m so glad you mentioned about the rain, because I was a bit worried it would the constant grey drizzle of Vancouver or London. And that photo of Villa Borghese… I can’t wait to see the park in fall colours!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.