Hotelrome.net Blog : A guide to news and events in Rome

As you probably know football is the most popular sport in Italy and also Rome goes crazy about it.
A magical way to start a conversation with a Roman or an Italian is talking about football. They’ll give you their insights, and will ask about your own national team, and don’t be surprised if they know the name and reputation of many of your players: almost every Italian is a soccer expert.

Rome has two football teams, and of course they’re each other’s worst enemy. Lazio is the oldest one. The team takes its name from the geographical region where Rome is located. It was founded in 1900 and its colors are pale blue and white, and from the beginning didn’t seem to like its “sister”. In fact, as we’ll see, Roma, the other team in the city was created from the union of all the soccer clubs in the capital –well, all but Lazio whose president rejected the idea, stating that Lazio was more a “moral institution” than a mere football club.

As we’ve seen before, Roma was founded in 1927 with the union of three football teams: Roman, Fortitudo and Alba Audace. The idea was to put together the best Roman talents in football to compete with the powerful northern teams (like Juventus or Inter) that, to this day, win almost every championship.

If you are an observer keep your eyes open when you walk in Rome: you’re very likely to see murals and the yellow-red crest of the team painted everywhere. That’s because Roma won its third championship in 2001 and Romans took the streets in ecstasy celebrating for days, painting the streets and participating in a huge concert in the Circus Maximus.

Nowadays the symbol of Roma is its capitan, Francesco Totti. Check him very well, because if you come to Rome you’ll see his photograph everywhere!
Lazio and Roma share the same stadium: the Stadio Olimpico. To get there is very easy if you’re staying in a well-located hotel like the Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes. All you have to do is take the A subway line from termini, get off at Flaminio Station (Piazza del popolo) , and there take the tram 225.

Of course feeling in person the experience of a football game would be very interesting if you want to understand the Italians, but if you’re planning to attend a match it would be wise to ask a local first: there are certain games outright dangerous because of the rivalries between teams (and i mean real danger) and besides buying a ticket isn’t so easy because of the Italian laws, so is better to get some help.