Saturday 13 February 2021
The records of Rome. Big numbers, not always enviable, for a big city.
Rome is big, very big ... and boasts countless records.
Numbers and accounts reported here are widely rounded, approximate and the result of estimates that are almost never supported by reliable and official data ... but they are useful to give an idea.
People and tourism.
It is the most populous town in Italy, with about 2,800,000 inhabitants; if we add commuters, students, nuns, priests, politicians, soldiers, demonstrators, marathon runners, etc. we should get to 4 million. In second place is Milan, with half of the inhabitants. In Europe only Berlin and Madrid surpass us.
It is also obvious that it is the Italian municipality with the highest number of foreign residents (more than 10% of the total); the largest communities come from Romania, the Philippines, Bangladesh, China, Ukraine, Peru, Egypt, Poland, India.
In addition to having many inhabitants, it also has many tourists: 10,000,000 per year. They stay in the city for about 3 days. We therefore have to provide support to 82,000 tourists every day, which is as if the whole of Varese was moving from us.
Which explains why there are 1,000 hotels and 10,000 b&b/guest houses. It also explains why, in the high season, it is impossible to find a room at a good price. Unfortunately, "high season" means from March to June, September and October, therefore 6 months a year.
Note for those wishing to open a b&b in Rome: perhaps this is not the case, the market is already saturated.
Since we also have to feed these tourists (along with a good chunk of the local population who have a habit of going out for dinner or having a sandwich for lunch), 2,300 restaurants and 9,000 bars may be insufficient. We compensate for the lack with an unspecified number of pizzerias by the slice, sandwich shops, kebabs, sandwiches and in short, anything that can be removed and swallowed.
Note for those wishing to open a restaurant / bar in Rome: go ahead, it seems the sector is hardly saturated.
It is the most populous town in Italy, with about 2,800,000 inhabitants; if we add commuters, students, nuns, priests, politicians, soldiers, demonstrators, marathon runners, etc. we should get to 4 million. In second place is Milan, with half of the inhabitants. In Europe only Berlin and Madrid surpass us.
It is also obvious that it is the Italian municipality with the highest number of foreign residents (more than 10% of the total); the largest communities come from Romania, the Philippines, Bangladesh, China, Ukraine, Peru, Egypt, Poland, India.
In addition to having many inhabitants, it also has many tourists: 10,000,000 per year. They stay in the city for about 3 days. We therefore have to provide support to 82,000 tourists every day, which is as if the whole of Varese was moving from us.
Which explains why there are 1,000 hotels and 10,000 b&b/guest houses. It also explains why, in the high season, it is impossible to find a room at a good price. Unfortunately, "high season" means from March to June, September and October, therefore 6 months a year.
Note for those wishing to open a b&b in Rome: perhaps this is not the case, the market is already saturated.
Since we also have to feed these tourists (along with a good chunk of the local population who have a habit of going out for dinner or having a sandwich for lunch), 2,300 restaurants and 9,000 bars may be insufficient. We compensate for the lack with an unspecified number of pizzerias by the slice, sandwich shops, kebabs, sandwiches and in short, anything that can be removed and swallowed.
Note for those wishing to open a restaurant / bar in Rome: go ahead, it seems the sector is hardly saturated.
Streets, public parks, traffic and traffic.
As all roads lead to Rome, it has the largest road network in Europe, with 6,000 km of roads. Considering that it covers an area of 1,300 Km2 (more or less a quarter of Molise, fourth place in Europe after Istanbul, Ankara and London) and that, of these, 850 are of lawns, parks and villas (another record, greenest city in Europe) would not even be a problem.
Except that (record !!!) we have about 2,800,000 private cars, or one each. It will be for the number of cars per capita, it will be for the geographical extension, but we are second in the world for hours lost in traffic (after Bogota, which still has double the number of inhabitants, many of whom can only afford a bicycle).
As all roads lead to Rome, it has the largest road network in Europe, with 6,000 km of roads. Considering that it covers an area of 1,300 Km2 (more or less a quarter of Molise, fourth place in Europe after Istanbul, Ankara and London) and that, of these, 850 are of lawns, parks and villas (another record, greenest city in Europe) would not even be a problem.
Except that (record !!!) we have about 2,800,000 private cars, or one each. It will be for the number of cars per capita, it will be for the geographical extension, but we are second in the world for hours lost in traffic (after Bogota, which still has double the number of inhabitants, many of whom can only afford a bicycle).
Transportation.
Roma Termini is the busiest station in Italy. Half a million passengers a day. It is no longer Varese that stays in Rome, but Genoa that passes through these parts.
Much of Monza instead passes through Fiumicino Airport (120,000 passengers per day).
We also have 3 metro lines, a dozen suburban railways, 350 bus lines on which 2000 buses run (or at least should). None of this works as it should, which certainly does not make us climb any Italian rankings, much less European.
However, by adding up the Km of development on iron and rubber we get 4,650 Km, which at least in this brings us to the first place in Europe.
Roma Termini is the busiest station in Italy. Half a million passengers a day. It is no longer Varese that stays in Rome, but Genoa that passes through these parts.
Much of Monza instead passes through Fiumicino Airport (120,000 passengers per day).
We also have 3 metro lines, a dozen suburban railways, 350 bus lines on which 2000 buses run (or at least should). None of this works as it should, which certainly does not make us climb any Italian rankings, much less European.
However, by adding up the Km of development on iron and rubber we get 4,650 Km, which at least in this brings us to the first place in Europe.
Monuments and churches.
Here we are unbeatable. It is the city with the most monuments in the world.
And it is the city with the most churches in the world: 900 (but in our opinion even more).
St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world (if we exclude modern constructions such as Our Lady of Peace in the Ivory Coast).
We are also first in the world for fountains (there are those who say 2,000).
The Colosseum is the most visited monument in Italy. But it ranks sixth only in the world, surpassed by Lincoln Memorial, Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Great Wall of China and Notre-Dame de Paris.
Here we are unbeatable. It is the city with the most monuments in the world.
And it is the city with the most churches in the world: 900 (but in our opinion even more).
St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world (if we exclude modern constructions such as Our Lady of Peace in the Ivory Coast).
We are also first in the world for fountains (there are those who say 2,000).
The Colosseum is the most visited monument in Italy. But it ranks sixth only in the world, surpassed by Lincoln Memorial, Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Great Wall of China and Notre-Dame de Paris.
Culture.
First in Italy for the number of universities (46 between state, private and pontifical).
And also by the number of students (200,000, of which 40,000 are non-resident).
First in Italy for the number of universities (46 between state, private and pontifical).
And also by the number of students (200,000, of which 40,000 are non-resident).
Various.
It is the only city in the world that contains a state (the Vatican).
The Appia Antica Regional Park is the largest urban park in Europe.
The Tiber Island would seem to be the smallest inhabited island in the world (until someone goes to live on a smaller islet).
Probably the number of road chasms and that of buses that catch fire spontaneously (amicably nicknamed flame-buses) lead us to the top of some rankings, but we don't want to know which one.
It is the only city in the world that contains a state (the Vatican).
The Appia Antica Regional Park is the largest urban park in Europe.
The Tiber Island would seem to be the smallest inhabited island in the world (until someone goes to live on a smaller islet).
Probably the number of road chasms and that of buses that catch fire spontaneously (amicably nicknamed flame-buses) lead us to the top of some rankings, but we don't want to know which one.
