Snow in Rome? As If! (But it's True!)
Absolutes in the world of personal preferences are a rare occurrence. Even when people say they “hate” something, they usually don’t truly hate it but more “passionately dislike”. It seems more frequent in today’s day and age that many people forget that the word “hate” is an absolute, meaning there is no wiggle room for a possible exception. When someone says they “hate flying”, they truly mean they hate flying, not just turbulence.
However, there is one social faux pas that remains shockingly accurate to this day — a Southern California (SoCal) resident’s hate or love for bad weather. Being from Los Angeles, I am that rare Angeleno who welcomes a rainy day in LA with open arms and a bouquet of flowers. Most others dread an incoming storm, and some would rather experience a dreadful bout of food poisoning over a dark cloud hovering above their head, subtly threatening to ruin their perfectly coiffed hair.
Since I am neither, nor have I ever had perfectly coiffed hair, I have little doubt in your ability to imagine my glee at the arrival of even a light dusting of glorious icy powder wherever I happen to be at that moment. You see, it’s nearly impossible for it to snow in LA. Even hail in LA could signify the incoming apocalypse to some.
Indeed, despite knowing the chaos that can stem from extreme weather events, I cannot help but be fascinated by them. Truly, it would not surprise me if, in another universe, there exists another me living as a sarcastic and witty meteorologist, sharing foreboding tales of incoming misery to my viewers. So, when I was studying abroad in Rome, Italy, during the Winter of 2012, I almost lost my mind with excitement when I learned of a potentially devastating snowstorm approaching the city.
I kept a daily journal of my experiences living in Rome and shared them on Facebook. Below is a collection of a few of those posts from early February, 2012.
A SoCal Girls Magical
Experience of Snow in Rome
Day 25: Snow baby, SNOW İN ROME!!! It’s been 26 years since there has been this much snow in Rome, and lucky me, it happens when I’m here!!! Wish I had my snow boots though; it makes walking around a little bit more difficult and, frankly, dangerous. 
Day 26: When in Rome and it snows more than it ever has in 26 years (some areas received five inches in just a few hours!!!) one is obligated to go for a stroll to Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Piazza Trilussa, Campo di Fiori, the Theatre of Pompey, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, la Fontana di Trevi, and then, of course, back to the Pantheon (because it’s so magical). One must also not forget to eat some pizza and sip some hot chocolate while gazing at la Fontana di Trevi outside of the window. One is also obligated to visit the church of Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi to listen to some Latin prayers sung and to make a miniature snowman overlooking the Tiber. This was a historic day in Rome to remember, in which not only did this measly SoCal girl have her camera out snapping photos of all the curious white powdery stuff on the Pantheon, but so did all the Romans.
This is Ponte Sisto, named after the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
Day 27: About three-quarters of the snow has melted and much of what snow is left has turned to ice. 
Therefore one will find it a bit more challenging to walk to Vatican City compared to if there was just fresh snow out, but go I went anyways since John Cabot University [where I was studying] had shut down due to the severe weather conditions (which it really isn’t; it’s just Rome has no ‘snow plan’ for the city like everywhere else north of Rome does) meaning that there was no way I could get access to a working computer and get some homework done. [My laptop screen had broken.] Needless to say, I got some lovely photos of the highly detailed statues at Vatican City wearing some charming fluffy white hats on their stone-cold heads.
Day 28: Class was cancelled due to the Mayor of Rome shutting down all the schools throughout the city because of the practically nonexistent snow. Fortunately, I was able to score a few hours of internet research in the one computer lab permitted to stay open, but not nearly as much as I needed. Looks like I’m going to have to wait another two or three weeks before my laptop is fixed. On a plus side I was finally able to pick up my Early Medieval Art book at the Anglo-American Bookstore, down side I had to trek through -5 °C temperatures and windchill for about two hours to find the bookstore, pick up the bloody book that I had waited three weeks for, and find my way back to the flat again via foot, a crammed bus, and a crammed tram. Well, it certainly was an adventure. On another plus side, I came across a friendly cat in need of some human interaction outside of Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere; it was a very lovely fifteen minutes for the both of us. 
Day 32: Umm yeah, that’s definitely snow I see outside of the window again (cue the sirens… wait for it… yup, there they go). Fortunately, I finished my grocery shopping (stocked up on four different kinds of juices!) earlier today and was able to pick up the laptop that SAI is so graciously allowing me to borrow until my own laptop is fixed. 
Unfortunately, I’m in the computer lab at the moment and will have to at some point trek through this snow/rain/ice to get back to the flat. Cheers to chilly weather!
Day 32 Part 2: Yeah, this is a lot more snow than I was anticipating… a lot, a lot, a lot more.
Day 33: Started off the day at 7.30 in the morning and was out and about in the blinding sun by 8.15 heading to the Colosseum to get some snow shots. There wasn’t as much snow as I was hoping, but still enough to have a bit of fun in. Got some photos of the cats in the snow and one cat in front of the Colosseum. Then headed back to the flat (somehow got lost on the way and ended up at the Pantheon though) to have one of the lovely SAI ladies help me with the laptop I am borrowing from them. Unfortunately, the laptop is still in Italian, so I guess that Italian/English pocket dictionary is going to be glued to me for the time being. Went back out at about 2.30 when I noticed that it was dumping more snow than I had ever seen before. I had never really known just how enjoyable it is to walk in freshly fallen snow before, much nicer than walking in slippery, slushy, icy snow. However, by the time I had reached the Colosseum again, it was hardly raining. On my way back to the flat got lost again and once again found my way back to the Pantheon without meaning to do so… I am beginning to think that there is something inate within me that is just drawn to the Pantheon.
Snow in Rome is not just rare. It feels almost impossible, like a quiet little miracle that settles over the city and changes everything for a moment. One minute, Rome was the Rome everyone knows. Timeless, golden, eternal. The next, it was hushed and glowing, wrapped in white, as if those who were there had stepped into a dream.
At the time, I was not trying to write anything lasting. I was simply sharing small pieces of joy on Facebook, capturing the feelings of living abroad before they diminished over time. I did not expect these fleeting moments to travel any further than my own Facebook circle.
And yet, they did!
John Cabot University somehow found out about my posts and asked to publish them, along with my photos, in their university newspaper, The Matthew. What began as something spontaneous and unpolished became something I could hold in my hands, something preserved long after the snow had melted.
So now, when I think back to those days, I remember not only the wonder of seeing Rome transformed, but also the happy surprise that followed — becoming a “staff wrtier” for a local newspaper. 😹 (Check the byline’s.)
Care to read further content from Italy? Check out this article about what it was like to climb the world-famous Mt. Etna in Sicily, just two days after it had a violent eruption.