Student Life

RILA students will be residing in apartments in Trastevere. The neighborhood is in the city center, right next to the Vatican, with most of Rome’s major attractions easy to reach on foot or by public transportation.

All apartments have wi-fi and are fully furnished; they include fully equipped kitchens with silverware, pots/pans, and cooking utensils, as well as a washing machine, linens and towels.

Apart from providing more personal space and freedom, being in an apartment allows students to save money on food while learning to cook Italian dishes.

Apartments are for three to six students, and bedrooms are shared by two or three students. We do our best to make sure that all apartments are at walking distance apart.

For more details on the accommodation, and to get a better idea of RILA’s apartments and classroom locations, please check the locations page.

RILA housing arrangement is intended to be a source of camaraderie, allowing students from different institutions to get to know each other, and facilitating group bonding. At the same time, living together with other students, in accommodations carefully selected by RILA, represent the safest alternative for students. Thus students are required to use the accommodations provided by RILA.

Students will be responsible for their own accommodation for any extension of their stay, before or after the RILA program. RILA cannot take any responsibility for the consequences of such arrangements.
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Needless to say, it’s hard to go wrong when it comes to food in Italy. No matter if you opt for grocery shopping and eating in or if you enjoy a dinner out, food quality is usually very high.

To buy food in Italy, the cheapest and easiest solution is the supermarket, which is generally much smaller than American supermarkets, but still very well furnished, and food quality is generally high. An alternative is presented by the “Alimentari”, which are traditional small food stores still present all over Rome. They represent a more characteristic alternative, although generally also a more expensive one.
During orientation, soon after your arrival in Rome, you will be given a list of supermarkets, as well as other facilities, in the area around your apartment.

For eating out, Rome offers a fantastic variety of restaurants, “trattoria” which are small eateries usually not too expensive,  “pizzeria” (generally for pizza or pasta only), “pizza a taglio” (small shops that sell pizza by the slice), cafés, pubs, fast food, etc. for all kind of tastes and budgets. Food is generally very good, so do not be afraid to try new dishes and places, although we recommend that you avoid the most touristic locations, where the food is usually less good and more expensive; usually walking just a couple of blocks away from a major tourist attraction will be enough to enjoy a better meal at a more reasonable price. Two useful notes if you eat out: a service charge is always included in your bill; Italians usually leave just a small symbolic tip for the waiter in coins (about 5%). Also, the American “doggy bag” tradition is not always available in Italy, although more and more restaurants are starting to get organized to provide it; it’s always worth asking!

As you will certainly notice soon, alcoholic beverages are sold everywhere in Italy to customers 18 years old or older, and there is little or no restriction for public consumption.  Nevertheless, it’s pretty rare to see drunken Italians: we warmly invite you to follow the local example.
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RILA is committed to its students’ safety and security, so we require each student to have a functioning cell phone while enrolled in our courses. You will be required to have your cell phone turned on, charged, and with you at all times in order to enable RILA staff to reach you for everyday communications pertaining your classes and trips, as well as in the event of an emergency. In order to guarantee fast and inexpensive communications between staff and students, as well as between students, we will use WhatsApp, a free app. Make sure you download it on your cell phone before you arrive in Italy. You will be required to send us a message before you leave, and we will use it to contact you at your arrival in Rome. (You will be able to connect to the airport’s free wi-fi to send/receive messages on WhatsApp.)

Please note that almost all US cell phones will work in Italy. To make sure, check to see if your cell phone supports GSM 900 and GSM 1800 frequencies. In order to use your cell phone in Italy, you can either ask your provider to activate an international data plan before you leave (check with your telephone company for fees), or you can purchase an Italian SIM card once in Rome. The second option is a lot cheaper, but it needs for your cell phone to be unlocked. Most American cell phones are locked, which means they only work with their provider’s SIM card. If you are planning to purchase an Italian SIM card once you are in Rome, contact your provider and make sure to have your cell phone unlocked before you leave the US. (It may require several weeks.)

If you choose to bring a laptop, you will only need a simple adapter to plug it in. All RILA apartments offer Wi-Fi service free of charge. While on the go, you can also easily connect your laptop or other device to one of the many Wi-Fi hot spots in Rome. Laptops have their own transformer, so you won’t need one, but you may need a transformer and an adapter for other electric items you bring with you (i.e.; electric toothbrush, hair dryers, etc.). You can easily buy one at Radio Shack or any other similar store. You will not need a printer in Rome; electronic submission of essays will be acceptable.
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For your safety, RILA requires that you have health insurance during your stay in Rome. For your convenience, we established group coverage with an insurance company as part of our registration process. This solution allows us to help you get health coverage in Italy at a reasonable price and with no effort on your side.

Please note that the health plan provided will cover you for the sole period of the program, so if you arrive in Italy or leave it beyond the dates indicated for our program, you will not be covered in those extra days.

Even if you have health insurance that covers you during your stay in Italy, it’s very important that you bring with you any prescription drugs that you are currently taking or which you might need in the coming months. Please make sure to bring a supply big enough to cover (or better still, to exceed) your maximum need for the period you will be in Italy. Some American drugs are not available in Italy in the same forms as in the U.S., thus it could be very difficult, and certainly pretty expensive, for you to purchase such medicines while there.
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RILA students are required to organize their trip and buy their airline ticket on their own. You are required to arrive in Rome by 6 pm on the Saturday before the beginning of classes, and leave your apartment by 10 am the Saturday after the end of classes.

Flights from the US to Europe usually leave the US the night of the day before their arrival date (so, to get to Rome on a Saturday you will have to leave the US on Friday evening/night). Please organize your trip in a way to get to your apartment between 8 am and 8 pm of the Saturday before the beginning of classes, and leave by 10 am on the Saturday after the end of classes. Allow 2 hours to get to your apartment from the airport by car (from your arrival time) and 3 hours by public transportation. Please be aware that a late or early arrival could easily cause you a long wait before entering your place, and possibly an extra fee for checking-in out of the regular hours. If you find it impossible to arrive in that window of time, please let us know about it as soon as you can, so that we can try to arrange things in the best possible way for you.

When buying your ticket, keep in mind that many travel agencies offer special student discounts. You might start your search, but not limit it to, the following websites:
– www.onetravel.com
– www.StudentUniverse.com

In the past, some students have also found good deals on the following websites:
– www.kayak.com
– www.skyscanner.com
– www.cheapoair.com
– www.airlineconsolidator.com
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Your passport is your most valuable possession while abroad. Be sure to treat it with great care. Make a photocopy of the first page of your passport. Keep the copy with you at all times, preferably in something that can be concealed underneath your clothing. Leave the passport safely in your apartment. In any case, absolutely do not carry your passport in a backpack, a handbag or in the back pocket of your pants! These are easy targets for pickpockets, especially on buses or in crowded areas.

Due to recent official estimates, passport applications may now take up to six weeks to process. We strongly encourage you to start your application immediately and to pay an additional fee for expedited processing, if you are starting your application less than two months before your trip. Please note that expedited service can still take up to three weeks. If you are applying for a passport for the first time, you’ll need to appear in person at a U.S. Post Office or Passport Agency to submit your application. You will also need to provide proof of citizenship such as an original birth certificate, proof of identity, and passport photos.

If you already have a passport, please be sure to check that it is still valid, and remember that upon your arrival in Italy you may be required to have a passport valid three months after the program end date. If you need to renew your passport, you may have the option to do so by mail. Even in the case of renewal, we strongly encourage expedited processing.

FOR SUMMER PROGRAM STUDENTS.  American citizens do not need a VISA to visit Italy for up to 90 days. However, their passport must be valid at least three months after the intended day of departure from Europe. RILA Summer Programs are only 42 days long; therefore, you will not need a VISA unless you extend your stay in Italy before or after the program. In case you plan to be in Italy for more than 90 days, you will be responsible to obtain a tourist VISA for yourself. (RILA’s Summer Programs are too short to justify a VISA request, thus RILA must not be indicated on VISA applications). Students who plan to extend their stay in Italy, as well as all international students, should check whether they need a VISA, and find information on how to obtain one, on the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en.

FOR SEMESTER PROGRAM STUDENTS. Students who are applying for a VISA can find information on how to obtain one on the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en. For further information, students can contact the Study Abroad Office at their home institution.

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Public transport in Rome is run by “ATAC”. All public transportation (bus, subway, and tram) is on one ticket. You can even use the ticket on some regional trains. For your time in Rome, you might consider getting a monthly tickets. Monthly tickets cost 35 euros (each) and offer unlimited travel during the calendar month in which you buy the ticket. That might in fact be the least expensive option, at least in case you are planning to use public transportation daily.

Otherwise, individual tickets (BIT) are valid for 100 minutes, and cost 1.50 euro each, tickets for one, two, or three days (ROMA 24H, ROMA 48H, and ROMA 72H) cost respectively 7, 12.50, and 18 euros. Finally, weekly tickets (CIS) are 24 euros. Unfortunately, foreign students are not eligible for the student discount offered by ATAC.

Every ticket must be stamped, at the beginning of your trip, in the validation machine in the bus/station/tram where you use it. For weekly and monthly passes, you only validate the first time you use them. Tickets of any kind can be bought at any “Tobacco shop”, easily recognizable by the big “T” on the sign, or at any Newspaper stand or Info point for tourist. You will find one or more of those on any block, as well as in train stations. Only very few buses have a ticket purchasing machine on board, so please be sure to get your ticket before you get on a bus. The fine for a missing ticket is 50 euros. Once in Rome, to calculate a route, go to the English version on the ATAC website at http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?lingua=ENG.

To reach your apartment in Rome from/to Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) airport:

By car

If you choose to book RILA suggested car service from the airport to your apartment, you will find the car driver at the exit of the luggage area.  He will hold a “RILA” sign and will have your name and flight info, as well as your address in Rome. In case your flight is late, the driver will wait for you or he will warn us before leaving the airport so that we will be able to rearrange an alternative pick-up service for you.  If you choose to be part of a group transport you might have to wait for your fellow students (you will receive an e-mail with detailed information about it before you leave the US).  The cost for this option is indicated on the registration “Travel info” form.

If you prefer to take a public cab, please be aware that we don’t recommend it. Taxi drivers in Rome are notorious for giving long unnecessary rides to tourists, charging very expensive fares (up to three times the regular price). If you should want/need to take a public taxi anyway, please try following these precautions: only take an official taxi (you can recognize the car from the sign on top of it) and absolutely refuse the services of any unauthorized car driver hanging out at the airport, no matter how low a fare they promise; be aware that the city has imposed a fixed fare of 48 euros from Fiumicino airport to the historic center. Although the Trastevere neighborhoods is technically out of the historic center (for a couple of blocks), it is actually closer to the airport than most part of the center, so the fare shouldn’t be much higher than 48 euros in any case.

By public transportation

Once you leave the luggage area follow the signs for the train station (=”stazione”) that is inside the airport.
The easiest option is to take the direct train to Termini station; the train is called “Leonardo Express” and leaves from track #1. The train is very easily recognizable (it’s actually impossible to be mistaken), and it’s guaranteed even on a strike day. The price of the ticket is 14 euros; you can purchase the ticket at the desk in the train station, at the newspaper stand or at the automatic ticket machine. The ticket must be stamped with your trip’s date and time at one of the small orange machines in the train station. (Failing to stamp your ticket will get you a fee, even if you have the ticket). The train leaves every 15-30 minutes from 6:20am to 11:20pm, and it takes 32 minutes to get to Termini, Rome central station. Once at Termini, purchase a bus ticket at the news stand (see above for info on public transportation in Rome). To go to the Garbatella area, use the escalator in the middle of the train station hall to get to the subway, that you will take to the “Garbatella” station. Once off the subway or bus, you will be just a short walk (about 6 minutes) away from the dorm. Your exact address in Rome will be communicated to you by e-mail during the week before your arrival.
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A good way to start planning your time in Rome is getting to know the city a little bit, before you actually get there. Look at a map of Rome and try to familiarize yourself with your neighborhood and the historic center in general. Simply having an idea of the more noticeable landmarks (i.e.: some monuments like the Pantheon, or bigger squares like Piazza Venezia) will help you to feel more comfortable once you are there.

We strongly recommend that you make a plan about things you’d like to do and places you’d like to see while you are in Rome.

The city is so full of monuments, churches, museums, historic buildings and archeological sites that it can actually become overwhelming. You could end up not seeing much because there is too much to see! Plan ahead and make a list of at least eight or nine places to see/things to do in Rome. To help you pick up your favorites, here are a couple of guidebooks that will give you at least a general idea of your main options:

• Rome from the Ground Up, by James H.S. McGregor. A history of Rome that describes the palimpsest of art and architecture, literally from the ground up, period by period.
• Ancient Rome: Oxford Archeological Guide, by Amanda Claridge, Judith Toms, Tony Cubberly. In-depth, quasi-scholarly accounts of the ancient sites.
• Rome: Blue Guide, by Alta MacAdam. A tourist guide, with a focus on art. Doesn’t attempt to be interesting, but tries to identify all the major things.
• Key to Rome, by Frederick Vreeland and Vanessa Vreeland. A tourist guide, well written and well focused.

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In general, Rome is an extremely safe city. Crime levels are far lower in Rome than in any U.S. metropolitan area. You will probably not encounter any problems with crime in Rome. However, there are certain kinds of crime you should be especially careful of. Students, and especially female students, should be careful about coming home alone late at night, just as they would in any city. College students become targets if they drink too much and walk home alone. So, if you are staying out late, keep alert, and always plan out a way to return home with other students.

Also, one kind of crime that is bound to be more common in Rome than in the U.S. is pick-pocketing. Be careful about bags you can’t see (like back-packs), and avoid putting valuables in back-pockets. Pickpockets tend to operate in crowds and in and around buses and trains, so be especially careful when riding, or getting on/off those. Be especially careful around Rome main train station, Termini, and on bus that run between the station, the historic center, and the Vatican.

We will discuss this and other issues more in depth with you at orientation when you arrive, but feel free to ask us questions if you have any. We recommend that you look over a guidebook before coming. The Blue Guide to Rome and Key to Rome are a couple of good guides to the city that specialize in information on art and architecture. Numerous other guides provide general and practical information about the city.
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Avoid Tourist Traps

Eat like locals where the locals eat! Venturing off the beaten path and choosing the simple “trattoria” in a hidden alley over the more polished place in front of the famous monument can save you dozens of euros.

Cook and Share Your Meals

If possible, cook meals and eat together with your fellow students. The proximity of all the apartments allow you to do so, it will make your meals more pleasant and cheaper.

Take Advantage of Student Discounts

Every museum offers special group fare, but even when moving by yourself you can find some student discounts for museums, cinemas, theaters and concerts. It’s always worth trying to ask. Having an international student card or other id that proves that you are a student might be helpful.

Get Skype and Research Phone Cards

Download free software for Skype and talk to your family and friends online for free, or research prepaid international phone cards (available at any tobacco shop); they are always cheaper than using your cell phone or any public phone to make international calls.

Plan Trips Ahead of Time

Plan ahead for trips you may take (for travel reservations, etc.) before or after RILA classes. Look into travel times at odd hours and/or for specific student travel deals (on specific trains, for example.) Dozens of low-cost air companies offer incredibly low fares to travel in Europe. Be also sure to compare special train fares for students (like the InterRail pass) to low-cost flights.

Travel $mart

Only carry small amounts of cash, so you won’t spend more than you can afford. Take with you a credit card for emergencies, but leave it in your apartment (that will save you from accidental loss and pick-pocketing; using the local currency will also save you the unfavorable exchange rate and high fee for international operations applied by most credit cards).

Compare Prices

For souvenirs or anything else, wait before you buy. Remember that the historic center, especially close to the main touristic attraction, has the highest prices in town. Compare prices before buying at markets, learn local bartering customs, and ask locals where to get better deals.

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