Among all genres of photography, street photography has perhaps the highest capability of giving true job satisfaction. Street photography is the art of capturing life, culture, and humanity, in a candid manner. Especially, when it’s done in the eternal city of Rome, it opens up certain aspects of life that you might have never thought of and will be amazed to get a glance of. Let’s discover them.

Walking Back in Time

Street photography involves capturing moments of life. When it comes to Rome street photography, however, you not only capture the current life but also the quaint ancient life as you’re constantly surrounded by the history wherever you go. You can say that exploring the Italian capital is like entering back in time. And you can realize that this is what makes Rome so special and why you wish so much to capture it in your camera.

Piazza Venezia

You can’t think of Rome without Piazza Venezia. It’s the heart of this ancient city and a point where four major roads cross each other. You will find a chaotic traffic here, but the ambiance has more to do with the street photography here than the square itself.

You have the Palazzo Venezia, Altare della Patria and the Via dei Fori Imperiali here, which are some of the most sought-after places for tourists. Some nearby streets and alleys too have a lot of character. This square is the best starting point for Rome street photography.

Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps (Italian name Scalinata di Trinita dei Monti) with their 174 steps link the Piazza di Spagna to the Piazza dei Monti. A Roman Catholic Church from the late Renaissance period, the Trinita dei Monti Church marks the top while a baroque-style fountain, the Fontana della Bacaccia, adorns its downside. Capturing the beauty in the camera of the scenery with its several pots of azaleas during April and May is sheer joy.

Streets of Rome and Amazing Photo Galleries

As a street photographer, what you’ll be attracted to the most in Rome is the streets of Rome where you can find exciting scenes, surprising interactions and amazing colors of life, even during these days of COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, the city has several places to conduct a great number of photographic exhibitions year round. Plus there four street photo galleries which you should see to know what kind of visual poetry and inspiration Rome has to offer.

The four galleries are:

Museo di Roma in Trastevere: Formerly the monastery of Sant’Egidio, this building was converted in 1976 to a museum of Roman poetry and folklore. The themes of exhibitions held here are everyday Roman life, festivals, crafts, costumes and dances.

Leica Store Roma: This unique gallery, sharing its name with the famous camera brand, holds temporary exhibitions of modern photography. It’s located at a thoughtfully chosen spot i.e. in the heart of Rome, adjacent to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.

Il Museo del Louvre: This museum is entirely dedicated to photography and is located in the Jewish Ghetto area and consists of a library and gallery for street photography enthusiasts.

Palazzo delle Esposizioni: This neoclassical cultural center and museum consists of many exhibitions, such as a large collection of black-and-white photos of Hollywood stars. Temporary exhibitions of Rome street photography are also present in the palazzo, which consist of a library, an auditorium and a cinema.

Roman Markets

Markets are some of the best places for street photography and Roman markets are not an exception. A major market to check out is Campo de’ Fiori which literally means “field of flowers” because it was set up on a meadow. The specialty of this market is that its personality changes with the time of the day. During the day, it’s a popular open air market whereas at night, it changes to a hotspot for nightlife when all bars in the area become alive. Both these times are perfect for capturing some outstanding shots of the life in Rome.

So, have you started planning to visit the eternal city to capture some amazing street photography shots?