Meeting people in Rome and making friends may not be easy straightaway but there are many places to gather and friendships to be made. The clubs, associations, and churches listed below are good meeting points for people arriving in Rome who do not know the language and are not familiar with the city, but would like to meet people and make acquaintances while in town.
Meeting people in Rome
In Rome, as in many other Italian cities, it is not easy for newcomers to make new friends and acquaintances, especially for those who are not familiar with the city and perhaps do not even speak the language.
Despite the international atmosphere of the capital of Italy, the highly social nature of Italians makes it quite unusual to see young natives sitting by themselves at a restaurant table or entering a pub alone. What is more, most Italian clubs or eateries are not really “singles” friendly. There are still very few places in town where people sit alone at a bar to eat or drink something. That is likely why young Italians or foreigners who have just arrived in town often go to the Hard Rock Café in via Veneto or an English-style pub because these are the few places where you can pick up a conversation with a person sitting next to you at a bar.
It is certainly true that you need only to go to a pub or a club which is primarily frequented by foreigners or Erasmus exchange students in piazza Navona or Campo de’ Fiori on any given evening to see many groups of Italians or foreigners who are eating or drinking there. It may not, however, be easy to make friends and join one of these groups.
On the basis of experience gained by living in Rome, it can be said that young Romans (or Italians coming from other regions) tend to frequent groups of friends they have known for some time – maybe classmates from University or even childhood friends. These groups are certainly open to welcoming new people into their ranks. Italians in general are quite friendly and like talking to people who come from other places, but it is not always easy to become a member of a long-standing circle of friends.
It often happens that when people transfer to Rome, at first their social contacts are limited to people who live in the same building, to colleagues or, if they are in Italy on an Erasmus program, to other exchange students like themselves. However, as many of these people are only in Rome for a limited period of time, they are not very familiar with the city and may intend to return to their country of origin at the end of their Roman work or study experience. Generally, it is thanks to casual acquaintances made with local people that it is possible to form lasting relationships with bona fide Romans.
One thing leads to another, so in time it is possible to know a lot of people and form many friendships. The clubs, associations and churches listed below are good meeting points for people arriving in Rome who do not know the language and are not familiar with the city but would like to meet people and make acquaintances while in town.
Many of the clubs/associations are frequented mostly by foreigners who are in Rome on business or study programs or are simply on vacation and would like to meet people of similar religious, cultural or political backgrounds with whom they have something in common. This is often true of people on prolonged stays who like to meet compatriots as a way of warding off homesickness.
Other clubs/associations have a more international clientele. People who aggregate in these places may want to better their knowledge of the Italian language or meet people who know more about the city. By making friends with the “old-timers”, newcomers can get some useful insight into the Italian way of living. Furthermore, Italians who frequent such places, generally have a competent knowledge of English and are quite helpful in providing useful tips on how to get by in Rome. Sometimes, these casual encounters blossom into lasting, meaningful friendships.
Here below you can find a list of some of the English-speaking clubs and associations in Rome (more lists to come). We invite you to visit their websites to discover their activities, fees, admissions policies, etc..
ENGLISH SPEAKING CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS IN ROME
American International Club of Rome (AICR)
c/o Advicorp, via Parigi, 11, 6th floor, 00185, Rome
Tel: +39 06-4544-7625
Fax: +39 06-9725-4122
aicr@aicrome.org
American Chamber of Commerce in Italy
Via Cesare Cantù, 1, 20123, Milan
Tel: +39 (02) 86 90 661
Fax: +39 (02) 39 29 67 52
amcham@amcham.it / cefis.roma@amcham.it
PEC: amcham@pec.it
Via Bartolomeo Intieri, 3, 00191, Rome
hcitaly@post.harvard.edu
Via Angelo Masina, 5, 00153, Rome
Tel: +39 06 58461
Fax: +39 06 5810788
Via Michelangelo Caetani, 32, 00186, Rome
Tel: +39 06.68.80.16.13
Fax: +39 06.68.30.72.56
Via V. Veneto 108, 00187, Rome
info@italiausa.org
Tel: +39 06.3213.437
Tel: +39 06.4820.147
Association of British Ex-Pats in Italy
Via Campo Marzio, 69, 00186, Rome
britishexpatsinitaly@gmail.com
The American Women’s Association of Rome (AWAR)
Hotel Savoy, Via Ludovisi, 15, 00187, Rome
Tel: +39 06 482 5268
canadarome@gmail.com
cara.kavanaugh@icloud.com
Navy League of the United States
Tel: +39 06.5828.519
sailawaywind@yahoo.com
United States Organization (USO)
Via Vespasiano, 44, 00193, Rome
Tel: +39 06-397-27-419
Fax: +39 06-397-54-249
inforome@uso.org
Tel: +39 06.5880.729/+39 0630880024/+39 347/9313040
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj – Piazza del Collegio Romano, 2, 00186, Rome
Tel: +39 06 678 0302
administrator@anglicancentre.it
The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas
Largo della Sanità Militare, 60, 00184, Rome
Tel: +39 06 772 6761
Fax: +39 06 772 676 235
info@laycentre.org
Professional Women’s Association of Rome (Pwa)
Via Giovanni Giolitti, 210, 00185, Rome
Tel: 320.036.0911
info@pwarome.org
United Nations Women’s Guild of Rome (UNWG)
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Office B-050 bis, 00153, Rome
Tel: +39 06 57053628 / +39 06 57056503
Fax: +39 06 57053629
unwg@fao.org
Viale Aventino, 98, 00153, Rome
ccrome08@gmail.com
Association of American College and University Programs in Italy (AACUPI)
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 110, 00186, Rome
Tel: +39 0668804752
Fax: +39 066864852
aacupi@mclink.it
president@aacupi.org
Caravita (International Catholic Community in Rome)
via Caravita, 7, 00186, Rome
(Mass is celebrated, in English, at St. Francis Xavier del Caravita at 11:00 every Sunday morning)
Church St. Paul’s Within the Walls
(English Speaking Groups)
Via Napoli, 58, 00184, Rome
Tel: +39 06 4883339
Fax: +39 06 4814549
office@stpaulsrome.it
Via Venti Settembre, 15, 00187, Rome
Tel: +39 064201.4554
Fax: +39 064740236
(from the USA: 011-3906-4201-4554)
Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina, 35, 00186, Rome
Tel: +39 06 687 6652

David

David
I’ll be in Rome this autumn for work. I hope I’ll meet new friends!!!
I stumbled on this website by accident. It has tons of useful information for someone who just moved or in the process of moving. I had additional questions and decided to email them, I received a response within one day that had everything I wanted and more. Thank you, you guys are fabulous.
Dear Yana,
Thank you very much for your nice comment.
Please feel free to contact us anytime, if you need further assistance.
We look forward to hearing from you (or your husband) soon.
Regards,
VI.
I am arriving in Rome with my wife for a ten day vacation. We are older Americans, we love meeting new people. I am of Italian heritage so this trip is extra special to me. What area would be a good place to meet people to,chat with
Grazie
Jerry
Dear Jerry,
Unfortunately, there is no specific area where I can tell you to go to meet people. Rome is a very very big city. Obviously, the center of the city (piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona, piazza del popolo, via del corso, piazza venezia etc.) is full of tourists, while in other areas you will find more locals. It also depends on whether you speak Italian or not. In general, Italians are quite convivial so if you go to a bar, pub, park, or similar you can definitely get someone to talk to. It is not the same in classic Italian restaurants where there is generally not much interaction between people sitting at different tables. Thank you