The short answer is no, it doesn’t snow in Rome, or at least it hadn’t for 6 years prior to February 26th 2018 and then before that it hadn’t seen snow for 26 years! In a stroke of pure serendipity we happened to be in Rome on this exact day.
Continue reading for my story of our extraordinary day in the eternal city complete with 20+ photos of the spectacular day!
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| A powdered view of the Colosseum |
I woke early on Monday 26th February and snuck a peek out of the window as I do every morning when I’m on holiday, a quick look at the sky to check the weather. What I saw filled me with joy and excitement and the undeniable urge to get outside immediately.
Snow! At least a couple of inches lay on the pipes outside our window and the thick snowflakes were falling heavily. I checked online for a live webcam of the colosseum, just a 5 min walk from our hotel, obsessing that any second the snow would turn to rain and it would all disappear. We were ready, let’s go!
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| Left: 6:30am in Monti Right: Cars struggling outside the Colosseum |
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| The historic Roman Forum with a view of the Colloseum dating back to 72AD |
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Left: A snowman in front of a Roman statue by the steps of the 15th century Capotoline museum
Right: Walking back to the hotel in the heavy snow |
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| The Colosseum at 6:30am under heavy snowfall |
We skipped around in the fresh virgin snow at 6:30am on the streets of Monti heading swiftly towards the colosseum. As we approached we saw a handful of other tourists and locals experiencing the same extraordinary sense of joy that we did. We knew that it was rare to see snow in Rome, but we hadn’t realised just how rare it was until later that day when we saw a series of news reports that had made it back to the UK media. In my lifetime (27 years) this is only the second time it has snowed in Rome and we were there! At that moment, I knew, I didn’t want to be anywhere else in the whole world.
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| Left: A powdery view up to the Arch of Titus Right: On the steps of the Santi Luca e Martina church |
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| Heavy snow in front of the Colosseum |
To see such history blanketed in thick white powder is a view I will never forget. And for us to have been just a five minute walk from our hotel sent chills down my already very chilly spine! I wanted to stay and play in the snow all day I didn’t want to leave. But then I remembered we hadn’t had breakfast and that there was an ice cold puddle starting to seep inside my shoes. However much I wanted to explore, my toes and stomach had to take priority. We tore ourselves away from the spectacular views of the roman forum knowing we would be back prepared for an entire day of exploring.
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| Left: A snowman perched in front of the Roman Forum Right: Statue of Caesar Augusta (Octavian) in the Via dei Fori Imperiali Rome covered in snow |
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| My Joy of seeing Rome in the snow! |
As we ate our breakfast we looked around the room wondering how many of the people in their pyjamas and fresh out of the shower had actually seen the snow outside like we had. We suspected at least a couple of them didn’t even know that it had snowed. We filled ourselves up for a day of exploration and head out, this time my shoes becoming fully soaked within about 30 seconds. Every tourist shop we passed we popped our heads in and glanced to see if they sold shoes, nowhere did, and it wasn’t until several hours later that I would actually find a new pair of shoes. We had more pressing matters than my potential loss of toes to attend to. Like taking 1,000s of photographs of the snow!
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| Rooftops and Roman temples dusted with snow at the Forum |
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| A stunning Panorama of the Forum in the snow |
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| Snow covers the Foro di Ceasare with a view of the Alter of the Fatherland |
We spent all morning climbing up and around the several vantage points of the Roman forum glancing down on the spectacular snow covered ruins magically glistening in the sun. As the snow melted on the roads the rivers and waterfalls that ran down the cobbled streets seemed almost apocalyptic reminding me of the film the day after tomorrow. By the time we ventured into town the snow had almost completely melted on the roads, and the edges of the streets were a minefield of pouring gutters where the snow was rapidly melting on the rooftops.
We explored the Spanish steps and the pizza del popolo for a view over the snowy rooftops of Rome at this point the thick blanket of snow we had witnessed just that morning a mere memory, only shady dustings and a few sprinkles remained. We wondered how many people had woken up too late and entirely missed the surreal beauty of the snow in the eternal city. A day I will always remember as the most extraordinary snow day in the world.
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| Snowy roads by the Mamertinum prison |
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| Stunning Panorama of the Foro di Ceasare |
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| The colosseum at sunset as the snow starts to melt |
What would you do if it snowed in Rome?
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