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CULTURE

Life in Italy: ‘Why I left Rome for a small lakeside village and never looked back’

Author Judith Harris gave up life in central Rome for the enchanting village of Trevignano Romano. Here she tells The Local why small borghi like hers are so popular with Italy's foreign residents.

Life in Italy: 'Why I left Rome for a small lakeside village and never looked back'
Trevignano Romano, on the shore of Lake Bracciano. Photo: Giampiero Marricchi

Having lived for thirty-four years a few steps from Piazza Venezia in the heart of Rome, I was happy as a clam to stroll past the Pantheon every day, to see all the museum openings and to jog at 6am in Piazza Navona.

And then I discovered that extraordinary institution, the borgo, which translates into hamlet, usually meaning medieval. 

One autumn an American guidebook assigned me to devise driving tours outside of Rome proper. Requiring a long lead time for publication, I had to deliver the text by Christmas. The wintry days were cold and rainy, producing the sort of dull grey misery that makes you want to stay in bed until spring. It was no easy matter to rhapsodize about a tourist venue when you can barely see beyond the swishing windshield wipers.

And then, twenty-five miles north of Rome, I came upon Trevignano Romano, a village overlooking Lake Bracciano. The fog lifted, and with it my spirits.

No place struck me as comely as this one-time fishing village, whose medieval center — its borgo — was entered through an ancient gate, which survive at today's entrance. Beautifully maintained, clean, I could see traces in windows and walls of what it was like when constructed below a fortress, its ruins overlooking the town.

I am not alone: even before the Covid-19 crisis prompted a considerable number of lifelong city dwellers to begin looking for homes far from downtown, the borgo was already being rediscovered by Italians as well as by foreign home buyers and tourists too.

READ ALSO: Could Italy's abandoned villages be revived after the coronavirus crisis?

Of Trevigano's 6,000 inhabitants, 1,000 are foreigners from the USA, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, New Zealand, Finland, Germany and elsewhere.Shortly afterward I purchased an apartment that lay only a few steps away from the borgo. That was thirty years ago, and I have never looked back. 

Within a short drive is the  historic castle at Bracciano, which once belonged to the powerful Orsini family. All around are ancient Etruscan and Roman ruins, and the town vaunts its own delightful museum of Etruscan artifacts found locally. It is part of a vast regional park.

A summer evening in Trevignano Romano. Photo courtesy of Judith Harris

Daily life is enchanting in such small towns. Its 16th-century church, affrescoed, it is believed, by Giulio Romano, actually shows a scene of the lake with farmers and boats. Every summer there is a fashion show whose models are women with disabilities. At Ferragosto celebration in mid-August, children compete in a lake fishing contest. Summer concerts and dog shows take place close to the little harbor. Lectures are on offer in the town hall, including a number this writer has organized. A boat circles the lake regularly, carrying tourists.

Restaurants offer traditional dishes made with fish from the lake itself. There is even a local, mouth-watering pizza specialty topped with anchovies and onions. Needless to say, restaurant and cafe life is lively, and there is a biweekly craft market.

This cosmopolitan town has much to teach.

The first lesson is to encourage helpfulness to others, as in its center where dogs learn, among other things, to rescue people drowning. Second is to think of the disabled, who participate in lessons in the archery center. Third is that good administration is vital; this administration is motivated by genuine love and respect for the town rather than by any political alliance.

Next is to foster care for the cultural heritage, which means maintenance of its Etruscan museum and the new construction of stairs leading uphill to the ruins of its medieval fortress that overlooks the town. To foster care for the environment means daily, carefully divided recycling.

On the personal level it is clear that small-town life encourages consideration for one's neighbor; for instance, the man who drives the elderly when they are unable to do so. 

READ ALSO:

While those of us living in Trevignano will say, again and again, that the village is exceptional, it is not.

Photographs of Italy’s 300 historic towns with under 15,000 residents can be seen in the regularly updated book, I Borghi più belli d'Italia, which has sold almost half a million copies since the first edition in 2003.Throughout all of Italy its ancient borghi are being rediscovered, including for tourist excursions by hikers. Within the borghi are surprises; the town of Nicotera, near Naples, inspired a writer to promote the healthy Mediterranean diet, now popular worldwide, and now vaunting a museum dedicated to it.

Visitors interested in seeing these Italian borghi, and in hiking in nature parks, can contact the Associazione Italiana Guida Ambientale Escursionistiche, an association created in 1992 to promote walking tours. See their website here (in English).The towns photographed for the book are chosen by a committee of that name, on the basis of architecture, cuisine, history, panorama, culture.

About the author: Veteran freelance journalist Judith Harris is an honors graduate of Northwestern University. Her articles have appeared in Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters News Agency, ArtNews, Current World Archeology and elsewhere. She is the author of Pompeii Awakened, A Story of Rediscovery; The Monster in the Closet, a Bumpy Ride down the Genealogical Trail and Evelina, A Victorian Heroine in Venice. Learn more on her website.

About the book: Reflections from a Roman Lake: Trevignano Romano, a biography of an adoptive home, is an intimate and joyful portrait of an Italian village, whose history dates back some eight thousand years.

The village, an hour's drive north of Rome, lies on the northern shore of Lake Bracciano, whose clean and clear, deep waters fill the craters of several extinct volcanoes. The story told is about the people who have lived there as well as about the village itself, from its Etruscan origins to today's prize-winning town. The book can be purchased in Trevignano itself, on Amazon.co.uk and, after Dec. 22, on Amazon.com.

Member comments

  1. I believe this lake and town are on or near the medieval pilgrimage path, the Via Francigena, which goes all the way to St. Peter’s in Rome.

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MILAN

Six downsides to expect from life in Milan

Milan is popular among international residents thanks to its job market, nightlife and public transport. But what are the downsides of life in the northern Italian city, and how bad are they really?

Six downsides to expect from life in Milan

Milan is one of the most popular Italian cities among foreigners, with over 475,000 international residents (around 14.7 percent of the city’s total population).

After Rome, Milan is also the second-most popular Italian destination among native English speakers, with UK and US nationals leading the pack with 2,380 and 1,500 residents respectively.

READ ALSO: Ten things you need to know before moving to Italy

But, while life under la Madonnina comes with a number of attractive upsides, residents also have their share of complaints: in fact, the city is regularly voted one of the “worst” in the world for foreigners to move to.

So what are the potential negatives to know about if you’re planning a move to Milan?

Expensive accommodation

Whether you’re renting or buying, finding accommodation in Milan will not come cheap. 

According to the latest data from property market portal Wikicasa, monthly rent comes at an average of around €22 per square metre – that’s €6 over the regional average, and almost €10 higher than national average. 

READ ALSO: ‘It takes time’: Foreign residents on what it’s really like to live in Milan

According to Numbeo estimates, renting a one-bedroom flat in the city centre will set you back over €1,400 a month on average, while renting the same type of flat in the outskirts will come at an average monthly price of around €950. 

If you’re looking to purchase a property in the city, the average asking price is €5,470 per square metre – that’s more than €3,000 over the regional average, and over €3,500 above the national average (€1,910 per square metre).

Milan, view

A general view of Milan in April 2023 from the Foundazione Prada building. Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

High cost of living 

Over the past few years, Milan has consistently ranked amongst the Italian cities with the higher living costs (it took the title of most expensive Italian city to live in in 2022).

According to estimates from online investment advisor Moneyfarm, the average Milan family spends around €450 a month on groceries, €50 more than the average family in Rome.

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to live in Milan in 2024?

A restaurant meal in Milan will also generally cost you more than in most other Italian cities. For instance, a three-course meal for two in a mid-range city restaurant will set you back around €80 in Milan, while the national average stands at €50.

As for utility bills, monthly bollette for an 85-square-metre flat in Milan are estimated to add up to an average of €252.

Questionable driving 

If you have never driven in Milan before, it may take you some time to get accustomed to local driving habits. 

Milan is a bustling city where everyone seems to always be in a rush. This goes for motorists too, who tend to routinely neglect speed limits and traffic signs.

Overall, defensive driving is strongly advised for people that are new to the city.

Pollution

Though it slid down from second to tenth place in the latest ranking of the most polluted Italian cities by environmental watchdog Legambiente, Milan residents continue to breathe some of the most polluted air in the country.

The city’s population density, road traffic and heavily industrialised outskirts all contribute to poor air quality, with the situation generally being worse during the cold months due to dry spells.

READ ALSO: ‘I’ve lost hope’: What it’s like living in Italy’s most polluted cities

Anti-smog measures, including bans on high-emission vehicles, were introduced in late February in Milan after particulate matter (PM10) levels exceeded limits for a fourth day in a row. 

Smog, Milan

A blanket of smog covers Milan’s skyline on February 21st 2024. Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

Not-so-Mediterranean climate

Italy is generally known for its sunny and pleasantly warm weather conditions for the most part of a year, but Milan has little in the way of that. 

Summers in the city are hot (between 25C and 30C on average during the day) and very, very humid, while winters are fairly cold (temperatures range from -2C to 8C on average) and gloomy. 

READ ALSO: Six essential apps that make life in Milan easier

Also, Milan has between 80 to 90 rainy days a year, with May generally being the rainiest time of the year.

Critical taxi shortage 

This is an issue that is by no means specific to Milan alone, as most major cities in Italy have long been dealing with cab shortages. 

But to give you an idea of the scale of the problem, a recent report from Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera found that the Milan metropolitan area has around 500,000 “unresolved calls” – that is, people who try and fail to book a taxi – every month. 

READ ALSO: Italy’s taxis are often a nightmare, but will things ever change?

Normal Uber services are not available in the city; Uber Black services are, but a ride won’t come cheap (a ride from central Milan to Malpensa airport can cost between €170 and €305).

If you live in Milan, do the positives outweigh the negatives? Let us know in the comments below.

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