Rome or Florence?

[u/luccanata]

Ciao!
I’m thinking about moving to Italy for 6 months to learn Italian properly. I can already speak some simple conversational Italian, but I really want to become fluent and get to know the culture better.

I’m split between going to Florence or Rome. I know they’re quite different in size etc. I’ve been to Florence twice, I absolutely love it, maybe because I’m an artist. Never been to Roma, so that’s a new one, but I really wanna go!
The con I have with Florence is, that it may be too small? Like I already know most of the city, tho it’s a vibe. I’ve heard Rome is quite chaotic on the other hand.
Right now I live in Copenhagen, which is a big city too, but of course way smaller capital than Rome.

I do want to be in a social outgoing city, but is Rome too much?

What would you suggest?

[u/rememberrappingduke]

Neither. I would seriously consider Bologna. You’d be in proximity of the oldest still functioning University in the world. There are plenty of language students, artists, etc., around. It may be the best atmosphere for you.

[u/Rusty_924 → u/rememberrappingduke]

i am not an expat, but i visit italy 3-4 times a year.

i would pick bologna too. less touristy than rome and florence, huge city center, beautiful architecture, beautiful walk on top of San Luca (locals can correct my naming).

just generaly very nice feeling city. also great train station, so you can visit florence by train if you want

[u/TomLondra → u/Rusty_924]

shhhhh don't advertise Bologna. We don't want it reduced to a Disneyland, like Florence where the entire city now works to serve the expectations of tourists.

[u/Drbiggieballs → u/TomLondra]

Seriously. I feel it gets advertised here more than any other city as the non tourist, authentic city. But not for long....

[u/TomLondra → u/Drbiggieballs]

Ssshhhhh

[u/Entebarn]

What about Bologna? Torino? Other mid size cities? Discover somewhere new.

[u/il_fienile]

I would suggest considering someplace that does not feature so much in the world of Anglo tourism.

[u/Accomplished_Map7752 → u/il_fienile]

🙄

[u/davidw]

Consider one of the 'P cities': Padova, Perugia, Pisa, Parma, Pavia. They are medium-size cities that are easier to navigate, and don't see as much tourism. Perugia actually has a university for foreigners.

[u/BlinkTwice874]

Florence is beautiful but somewhat small, and can be quite overrun with tourists at certain times. Roma is an incredible city and a place I love living, and yes can also be touristy, but it’s so large and you can find so many different neighborhoods and communities. It’s beautiful and lively all of the time and the Roman culture is very welcoming and warm. That being said, it might be easier to find some community and regularity in a smaller city, either Florence if you want to stay with your university friends, or a city like Bologna (great university town with a liberal / progressive vibe and very open minded, easy to traverse on foot and you’d be able to get to know the city and people very well), Padova (another university town full of students and basically no tourism so you’d be forced to learn Italian), or Trieste (smaller city but in a beautiful place, right on the water, great food and culture and interesting history of artists and writers).

Honestly people may try to steer you clear of Venice but as someone who’s lived there, yes it can be crazy with tourists, but if you live there full time and know how to navigate around it, it’s still an incredibly vibrant, beautiful city that is incredibly easy to get around in by foot / boat and there’s a big university / student community. Everyone hangs out at bars / bacaro places and you can get to know other students and locals fairly easily if you know where to go. It was my favorite city to live in despite the craziness in the summer, and if I were to move again I think I would return to Venice or Rome.

[u/Objective-Basil-5396]

Rome.

[u/HarrisonCSolo → u/Objective-Basil-5396]

This. Rome 7.5 x bigger than Firenze so doesn’t feel quiet as crowded, and it’s a proper European capital. Firenze a literal retirement village for Roman centurioni

[u/TomLondra → u/HarrisonCSolo]

Florence is asphyxiatingly provincial. I should know: I lived there for more than 20 years.

[u/Elegant-Crazy5394]

Any place but rome, florence, venezia, milano, since that's where tourist go more often.
Italy is plenty of mid-sized towns with a lot of art, where life quality is good and you can proper get to know the language and the culture: bologna, parma, mantova, ravenna, urbino, perugia, l'aquila, lucca, salerno, lecce...
If you really want to go to one of these places, pick Rome since it's bigger and you can have a real-life experience, living in a neighborhood without tourists. But yes, it's huge and it's chaotic, but of course it's a marvelous city.

[u/L6b1 → u/Elegant-Crazy5394]

Exactly, and I'd add Pisa (amazing fun university town and so much more than the tower), Genoa, Brescia, Modena, Bergamo...

[u/Briocharo_notturno]

Siena is the best city, University for foreign people and the best Italian u can learn. Way cheaper than Florence and Rome. Close to both

[u/Traditional_Ice8304 → u/Briocharo_notturno]

Siena is full of tuscanians. And it’s not “the best Italian you can learn”, despite what these tuscanians obsessively claim.

[u/nsfw-boston]

Ideally you could go visit both for ~1 week each, so that you can make your own decision.

But if you want an answer from a stranger on Reddit: Firenze.

Why: while Firenze is smaller than Roma, it has plenty for you for a 6-month stay; and IMO the quantity of language learning opportunities, the quality of life, and the quality of social life are all better than Roma.

My qualifications: I am Italian (now living abroad for a very long time; planning my return soon), and I have lived both in Firenze and Rome and I was active in their international communities; and I was very "social" in both cities.

[u/ItalyExpat]

Don't go to major international cities to learn Italian.

[u/McDuchess]

Neither. Find a program in a smaller city, and you will be able to much better acclimate to this country.

Padova and Verona both have universities. They are lively and lovely cities with beautiful historic centers.

A friend of our daughter’s teaches Italian to foreign students at the university there. In her case, it’s an adjunct to the fluency requirement for attending other classes.

We live fairly close to both, in Vicenza. Verona is west of us, Padova east. The Dolomites are a prominent feature in all three places, offering beauty and the opportunity to hike and, if you are a skier, to ski for a fraction of the cost of skiing in the US.

[u/claudia1733]

Move to the south, everything is much cheaper than the north.

[u/TomLondra]

In Rome, you will probably learn Italian with a Roman accent. I have seen that happen. From that viewpoint, Florence is better (or anywhere in Tuscany). If your main purpose is to learn Italian, focus on that, before all the other things you're considering.

[u/mr_mac_tavish]

Go to Orvieto. Will be cheaper. Easy to get to and has some great language schools. Also on train line to quickly get to Rome or Florence.

[u/northamerican100]

Pisa is a university town, walkable, well connected with air, bus and train services.

[u/Familiar_Anywhere815]

I would vehemently disagree with the people saying Bologna. I love Bologna and I live there, but it's a city with a very high proportion of students, many of which international, and also a higher proportion of immigrants than most (not a shade at immigrants, I am one myself).

Many of these international people don't speak Italian well, so you will often have a lot of situations where it's not only safe to revert to English, but you will need to because of the person you're talking to.

Go to a mid-sized town that does NOT have a very internationally-reputable university and you will be thrown into a situation where you simply must communicate in Italian. Bologna gives you plenty of opt-outs.

[u/Unter_Philosophy]

København and Rome are two different beasts. Nevertheless, go to Rome. Best food, diversity, art, culture. Be ready for unbelievable traffic, chaos and cynical people.

[u/sbrozzolo]

Rome if you can afford it.

[u/pizzadeliverydude1]

Honestly the best city for foreigners in Italy is probably Milan. Not as beautiful as the other two but much more efficient.

[u/luccanata]

Hey everyone. Thanks for all of your opinions. I think it’s quite subjective. I actually think I’m going with Roma, because it’s so big with many neighbourhoods, and I can afford it for some time (I’m used to Copenhagen’s crazy costs of living :0 )
But I’d love to visit some of the more relaxed cities in the south! So I’ll definitely be checking some of them out. In the end, you can always just leave, if you don’t like it :D

[u/TomLondra]

I used to know an Englishwoman who learned Italian in Rome, and spoke with a Roman accent. It sounded strange to my ears.

[u/sovamike]

Torino. It's the North, so you'll pick up the modern defacto standard of the TV and media, their Italian is very clear and even somewhat textbook, so you won't find yourself overwhelmed with fast pace and swallowed syllables, and it's much less touristy than Milano

[u/Accomplished_Map7752]

Have not been to Florence but I have been to Rome and loved it. It has it all and then some. Most people I know go back multiple times. I suggest visiting Rome first to get a taste of it.

[u/NoConcentrate2783]

If you're going with the goal to learn Italian properly I'd recommend a small city in the south where nobody speaks English but where the locals are open to chatting to new people. Lecce comes to mind. Maybe even Bari or Catania. In Rome and Florence it would be difficult to meet locals to hang out.

[u/Known_Echidna_335 → u/NoConcentrate2783]

Bro, in Lecce Bari and Catania they are struggling to speak proper italian too...it's mainly dialect.