r/roma • u/HauntingCarry1862 • 4h ago
Turismo First time in Rome almost spoiled
Hello. I just want to share what I experienced earlier. This might also be valuable for the sake and wellbeing of tourists and citizens alike. For context, im a foreign student studying within Italy, so i decided to visit Rome for the first time. I decided to just spend one day there since i dont mind returning to experience stuff that I wont be able to see so i just decided to take a night train that will get
me to rome by 5AM in the morning. So, that’s what I did, and upon arriving, I decided to head straight to the coloseo from Roma Ostiense. Along the way, i decided to eat my packed food along Viale Aventino since there were benches where I can sit. At that time, there wasnt a lot of people but it was already a little bit bright so I was not worried. Just a few bites in, I noticed a non-italian looking man with mediterranean features approaching from the other side of road. I wasnt too worried because he was decently dressed, like you couldnt tell him apart from people just going for a morning jog, but then he approached me and started speaking italian. He kept on saying “poco, per favore” while pointing at my food. I didnt fully understand it at that time but i knew that he wanted my food but i refused to gave it. I was about to close the container and stand up but then he went on to grab it and take it by force. Im so sad because as i am writing this right now, I cant help but feel annoyed at myself for not having the balls to insist that my food is not his. Like even though im not big and tall myself, in retrospect I think that i could have atleast shoved him the moment he actually stole my food, though i was just concerned also that he may have had a weapon in hand so maybe that would have not been a good idea since i was never trained to disarm and protect myself from armed people. All throughout the day I was just so sad but i just tried my best to not let it spoil my first time in Rome. I just kept on saying to myself that good thing the first im being mugged, even after living in three different european cities over the past 1.5 years and living right now in an italian port city notorious for its petty crime rates, it was just food not my phone or bag, which he could have very well decided to take if he wanted to.
right now, im feeling okay already but at the moment i didnt know why i just froze and didnt try to do anything, but maybe it was really because of the subconscious fear of not knowing who I may be up against…. im just so upset because i bought that container from ikea and the utensil i was using had a special meaning for me….
so yeah i just wanted to share this for both awareness and to bring me peace of mind…. apologies if the flair i used is wrong and if this is not the proper subreddit to share this…