Meeting people in Rome

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

Harvard Club of Italy (Rome)

Via Bartolomeo Intieri, 3, 00191, Rome

hcitaly@post.harvard.edu

American Academy in Rome

Via Angelo Masina, 5, 00153, Rome

Tel: +39 06 58461

Fax: +39 06 5810788

Centro Studi Americani

Via Michelangelo Caetani, 32, 00186, Rome

Tel: +39 06.68.80.16.13

Fax: +39 06.68.30.72.56

Fondazione Italia/Usa

Via V. Veneto 108, 00187, Rome

info@italiausa.org

Republicans Abroad

Tel: +39 06.3213.437

Democrats Abroad

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

The Canadian Club of Rome

canadarome@gmail.com

Pax Romana Chapter – Italy

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

Welcome Neighbor Rome

Tel: +39 06.5880.729/+39 0630880024/+39 347/9313040

The Anglican Centre in Rome

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

Friends in Rome 

Internations worldwide (Rome)

Eurocircle

Expats living in Rome

The Commonwealth Club of Rome

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

The Church of Santa Susanna

Via Venti Settembre, 15, 00187, Rome

Tel: +39 064201.4554

Fax: +39 064740236

(from the USA: 011-3906-4201-4554)

Rome Baptist Church

Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina, 35, 00186, Rome

Tel: +39 06 687 6652

David

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