Prati

Rome is Italy's second most expensive city for rent after Milan, with the historic centre and adjacent districts clearly pricier than the rest. Public transport, by contrast, is among the cheapest of the large European cities. The gap between zones is very wide: for the same floor area you save by moving along the metro lines.

Five- or six-storey Umbertine and Liberty buildings with porter, lift and high ceilings; large flats, often subdivided or used as professional offices. Many home-offices, few short lets compared with the historic centre. No daytime car ZTL but paid parking everywhere and the Fascia Verde.

Two covered markets: the Prati neighbourhood market in piazza dell'Unità (1928) and the Mercato Trionfale on via Andrea Doria, among the largest in Rome. Normal-sized supermarkets, pharmacies, the Santo Spirito hospital in Borgo. Little green space: Parco Adriano at Castel Sant'Angelo and the riverside. Low-key evenings on via Cola di Rienzo and via dei Gracchi.

112 is the single emergency number; 113, 115 and 118 remain active. Low violent crime, frequent pickpocketing and tourist scams in big cities. Civil Protection weather and seismic alerts and IT-alert messages on mobile phones.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

Metro A at Ottaviano and Lepanto (Cipro on the northern edge): Termini in six stops. Tram 19 from piazza Risorgimento, many buses on via Crescenzio and viale Giulio Cesare. Roma San Pietro station (FL3, FL5) ten minutes on foot. The historic centre is reachable on foot over the bridges.

The city is split among three ASLs: Roma 2's districts match municipi IV–IX, Roma 3 covers municipi X, XI and XII plus Fiumicino, and the remaining municipi belong to Roma 1. Besides the big teaching hospitals, the ASLs run local hospitals; choose your GP via Salute Lazio or at your district desk; out-of-hours care on 116117.

Rome's economy is dominated by services: central public administration, international organisations and embassies, tourism and hospitality, film and television, health, universities and research. Industry is concentrated in aerospace and electronics in the metropolitan area. Coworking is widespread in the centre, Prati, Ostiense and EUR.

Rome has three large state universities (Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Roma Tre), the sports university (Foro Italico) and many private and pontifical institutions. Student support (grants, housing, canteens) is run by DiSCo Lazio. San Lorenzo is the student district par excellence, next to Sapienza's campus.

Mediterranean climate: long, hot, dry summers and mild winters with rain concentrated between October and December. Snow is rare. Air quality is a city issue: exceedances of the daily PM10 limit at some stations and an environmental limited-traffic zone (Fascia Verde) that excludes the oldest vehicles.

A country of strong local identities: dialects still spoken at home, cuisines and festivals that differ from region to region. Formality with 'Lei', rigid meal times, slow paper-based bureaucracy. Non-EU citizens with a long-stay permit sign an integration agreement with credits.