Erasmus in Italy: Beautiful Chaos

Fonte

HomeMade

Rome is magnificent, chaotic, and sometimes maddening — and the Erasmus experience reflects all three qualities simultaneously
There is a moment, described by nearly every Erasmus student who has lived in Rome, when the city tips from overwhelming to beloved. It tends to happen somewhere between week four and week eight. Before that point, the experience is frequently described in terms of bureaucratic warfare, unreliable public transport, overpriced rents, and rental scams. After it, the same people will tell you they would move back tomorrow.
"Rome is a chaotic city; living there for a year is a magical experience," wrote one Spanish student who did exactly a year at La Sapienza. "It's a city of contradictions, so sometimes you hate it and you'll go through some awful times there because of thefts, because of the bureaucracy, or the way people behave. But whenever I think of Rome, I can't help but smile."
That ambivalence is the dominant note of Rome reviews — and it is worth taking seriously, because it is not ambivalence born of confusion. It is the considered verdict of people who experienced both sides clearly.
The housing emergency
Rome's housing situation for Erasmus students is among the most difficult in Italy, combining high prices, a fragmented market, and a well-documented problem with rental fraud. The city's size and tourist economy have created a market in which landlords can choose short-term Airbnb lettings over student tenancies, and in which demand consistently exceeds supply in accessible, well-connected neighbourhoods.
Rents for a single room in a shared flat in desirable areas — Trastevere, Pigneto, Prati, San Lorenzo — range from €500 to €750 per month. Less central locations (EUR, Tiburtina corridor) can bring that figure down to €400–€500, but at a significant cost in commuting time. Rome's public transport — two metro lines, a network of buses — is frequently described by students as unreliable, particularly in the evenings.
The scam problem deserves explicit attention. A Dutch student, "Margaret," documented her near-miss in detail: she found what appeared to be a well-priced room near Piazza Bologna in the Erasmus Facebook group, received a professional eight-page English-language contract, and was offered airport collection by the landlord's driver. The landlord did not exist. The contract was fabricated. The money, had she sent it, would have been unrecoverable. The pattern — convincing presentation, English-language professionalism, pressure to pay before viewing — is consistent across numerous reported incidents.
Guidance from sources tracking Rome's housing market is uniform on this point: never transfer money to a landlord before viewing the property in person, or in a live video call. Erasmus Life Roma's WhatsApp groups are a legitimate channel for housing leads, but even within these spaces, caution is warranted.
La Sapienza maintains some student accommodation, and several religious-run colleges (case dello studente) offer subsidised places, but availability is heavily oversubscribed. The recommendation from students who found workable solutions most frequently involves arriving in Rome first, spending a week or two in temporary accommodation (a hostel or short-term rental), and then searching in person with the advantage of being able to view properties before committing.
The university: La Sapienza
La Sapienza is, by enrolment, one of the largest universities in Europe. The scale produces specific consequences. Administration is complex, faculty offices are spread across a large main campus and multiple satellite sites, and the bureaucracy — by virtually unanimous report — is formidable. "The university is good in general but the facilities are old, the organisation is bad, bureaucracy is everywhere," reads one review. Another: "Very very very disorganised!" A third, more generous: "It's a beautiful and unique university. It's packed with students from all walks of life which makes your day more interesting."
Teaching quality is more positively reviewed, particularly in humanities, law, architecture, and social sciences. One student noted that the teaching style at La Sapienza differed markedly from what she was used to: "The professors didn't give typical lectures for note-taking classes. The subjects were very interactive; they really value participation in the classes." English-language provision is more limited than at Milan's universities — many courses remain Italian-only — making at least an A2 level of Italian practically necessary for full participation.
The permesso di soggiorno process in Rome sends non-EU students to the Questura, accessed via the post office kit available at any Poste Italiane branch. The codice fiscale is obtained at the Agenzia delle Entrate on Via Ippolito Nievo (near Trastevere station), open mornings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The process, in bureaucratic terms, is the same as elsewhere in Italy; the waiting times and procedural unpredictability tend to be higher in a city of this size. "I have never been more stressed in my life than when I was trying to sort out my papers," recalled one student. "But after two months there, you chill out and you get used to it."
What Rome gives back
The counterweight to all of this is Rome itself. Villa Borghese, the Trastevere neighbourhood at night, the ESN events that bring students from across the city and across Europe, the food (notably, and genuinely), the aperitivo culture, the proximity to the coast, the cheap Ryanair connections from Ciampino. Rome does not reward impatience. It rewards duration. Students who stayed for a full academic year almost uniformly describe it as transformative.
Practical survival guide

Do not pay for accommodation without seeing it — in person or via a live, unscripted video call
Avoid all purely email-based rental agreements initiated through Facebook groups; use Spotahome, HousingAnywhere, or university-affiliated listings for remote booking
Obtain your codice fiscale at the Agenzia delle Entrate, Via Ippolito Nievo 36, as one of your first acts on arrival — it is required for everything including a SIM card
ESN Roma has three sections (ASE, LUISS, Roma Tre) — join via ESN Italia's national website (esn.it) and use the ESN card for transport and cultural discounts
Join the "Erasmus ROME [year]" Facebook group but apply independent judgement to every post — these groups are useful social hubs but also vectors for scam attempts