65+ Dreamy Rome Captions & Quotes to Capture Your Heart

Are you looking for a quote about Rome to use as a photo caption for your Instagram feed? Or perhaps you are simply seeking inspiration to book your next trip to Italy?

Well, you’re in luck. Over the millennia, the Eternal City has inspired poets, authors and thinkers to produce a vast number of memorable sayings about Rome.

From witty puns to profound quotes, here is my pick of the best Rome captions. Simply copy your favourite Rome quote and paste it into your Twitter, Instagram or Facebook post.   

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Famous Quotes about Rome

Let’s start with some of the best-known Rome quotes. From sayings by medieval monks to thoughts from world-famous writers, there is something to inspire everyone.

1. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. – St. Ambrose

2. All roads lead to Rome. – Alain de Lille

3. Rome is a place almost worn out by being looked at, a city collapsing under the weight of reference. – Graham Joyce

4. From the dome of St. Peter’s one can see every notable object in Rome. He can see a panorama that is varied, extensive, beautiful to the eye, and more illustrious in history than any other in Europe. – Mark Twain

5. Oh Rome! my country! city of the soul! – Lord Byron

6. I love Rome and the way that you can wander around and find something interesting around every street corner. You can smell the history.  – Jonathan Agnew

7. Rome is one enormous mausoleum. There, the past lies visibly stretched upon his bier. There is no today or tomorrow in Rome; it is perpetual yesterday.  – Thomas Bailey Aldrich

8. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.  – William Shakespeare, Brutus from Julius Caesar

9. Methinks I will not die quite happy without having seen something of that Rome. – Sir Walter Scott

10. Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does; when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome; when Rome falls, so will the world. – Saint Venerable Bede

Best Rome Quotes from the Movies

From Audrey Hepburn circling the Colosseum on a Vespa to Anita Ekberg frolicking in the Trevi Fountain, movies are a rich source of memorable quotes about Rome.

Here are a few of my favourites.

11. Rome is simply marvellous. A kind of jungle – humid and beautiful, loud at times, peaceful at others. It’s a place where you can hide behind the foliage. – La Dolce Vita

12. Each, in its own way, was unforgettable. It would be difficult to – Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.  – Roman Holiday

13. In ‘Roma,’ I wanted to get across the idea that underneath Rome today is ancient Rome. So close. I am always conscious of that, and it thrills me. Imagine being in a traffic jam at the Coliseum! Rome is the most wonderful movie set in the world… As was the case with many of my film ideas, it was inspired by a dream. – Federico Fellini

14. Marcus Aurelius: What is Rome, Maximus? Maximus: I’ve seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light. – Gladiator

Inspirational Rome Captions

I have chosen the next bunch of Rome captions to inspire you to visit the Eternal City. These words have been uttered and written down by those from all walks of life including novelists, celebrity chefs and even a famous England football manager.

15. In Rome one had simply to sit still and feel.  – E. M. Forster

16. Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city.  – Anatole Broyard

17. Rome holds my psyche in balance. Whenever I’m there, it’s like a holiday.  – Giambattista Valli

18. Rome is the capital of Europe, it’s as simple as that. – Gino D’Acampo

19. There’s one thing that I like about Rome that was stated by Napoleon: that from sublime to pathetic is only one step away. And in Rome there’s a constant shifting between sublime and pathetic.  – Paolo Sorrentino

20. They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I wasn’t on that particular job.  – Brian Clough

21. There’s one thing that I like about Rome that was stated by Napoleon: that from sublime to pathetic is only one step away. And in Rome there’s a constant shifting between sublime and pathetic.  – Paolo Sorrentino

22. Going around Rome, you can find beauty because, quite simply, Rome is very beautiful. But the beauty of the people is sometimes harder to discover. – Paolo Sorrentino

23. I am a sucker for those old traditional places, and Rome is as good as it gets, particularly when you throw in Italian food.  – Roger Federer

24. Rome, the city where memories were chiselled in marble. – Elif Shafak

25. Rome – the city of visible history, where the past of a whole hemisphere see moving in funeral procession with strange ancestral images and trophies gathered from afar. – George Eliot

26. Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice. – Matteo Renzi

27. Here was Rome indeed at last; and such a Rome as no one imagine in its full and awful grandeur! – Charles Dickens

28. The thing I love about Rome is that it has so many layers. In it, you can follow anything that interests you: town planning, architecture, churches, or culture. It’s a city rich in antiquity and early Christian treasures, and just endlessly fascinating. There’s nowhere else like it. – Claire Tomalin

29. Rome has not seen a modern building in more than half a century. It is a city frozen in time. – Richard Meier

30. I wanted to get across the idea that underneath Rome today is ancient Rome. So close. I am always conscious of that, and it thrills me. – Federico Fellini

Ancient Rome Captions

Today’s Romans walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. The Roman Empire started with Augustus Caesar in 27 BC and ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. 

The Ancient Romans were formidable philosophers and left behind some of the most memorable quotes about Rome.

31. I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. – Augustus

32. Ancient Rome was as confident of the immutability of its world and the continual expansion and improvement of the human lot as we are today.  – Arthur Erickson

33. The fall of Rome seemed unthinkable to people at the time but inevitable to historians reflecting upon it with the benefit of context.  – Mary Pilon

34. Rome knew love, better than I ever could, so I let the city take her hand, and followed close behind, picking up the pieces of her melting heart. – Atticus

35. Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness. – Titus Livius

36. The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture, their amphitheatres, for wild beasts to fight in. – Voltaire

37. I had rather be first in a village than second at Rome. – Julius Caesar

Quotes About the Trevi Fountain

Rome is known as much for its fountains as for its ancient ruins and Baroque churches. It is home to more than 300 monumental fountains, the most famous of which is the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi).

Completed in 1762, the Trevi Fountain had been in the making as early as 1453, planned to commemorate the restoration of Agrippa’s aqueduct by Nicholas V. It should be high up on your list of things to see in Rome.

Famously, it is said that if you throw a coin in the fountain, this will guarantee your return trip to Rome. All that I can say is that it has worked for me.

And you’ll be pleased to know that these coins are donated to Caritas, a Catholic charity based in Rome.

38. In Rome, I particularly love the history, churches, sculptures and architecture and the fact that you can walk along a tiny cobbled street and turn the corner to find the Trevi Fountain. London is evocative of other eras and full of history.  – Philip Treacy

39. I’m having Trevi saying ‘goodbye’ to Rome (groan)

Rib-tickling Rome Puns for Photo Captions

Let’s lighten things up further with a few more corny Rome captions.

There are times when only a pun will do. Here’s my pick of the best humorous Rome captions.

40. Home sweet Rome.

41. Toga-ther we can rule the world.

42. Italy has Agrippa my heart.

43. Rome more, worry less.

44. Arch you glad you’re in Rome?

45. Just Roman around Italy

46. Italy is so Rome-antic

47. There’s no place like Rome

Rome Instagram Captions

Finally, if you are looking for short Rome quotes for Instagram, take a look at the selection below. Perfect for a caption for your Rome photo.

47. La dolce vita! (The sweet life)

48. La vita è bella (Life is beautiful)

49. Ciao bella (Hello beautiful)

50. Came to Rome for the sights, stayed for the gelato

51. Rome wasn’t built in a day

52. Italy has changed. But Rome is Rome.  – Robert De Niro

53. I am walking through Rome. With my heart on a string. Dear God, please help me. – Morrissey

54. Rome is not like any other city. It’s a big museum, a living room that shall be crossed on one’s toes. – Alberto Sordi

55. I thought I knew everything when I came to Rome, but I soon found I had everything to learn. – Edmonia Lewis

56. I’m sure when they partied when Rome was burning, that was a really great party. – Adam McKay

57. A fool is one who admires other cities without visiting Rome. – Francesco Petrarca

58. Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning. – Giotto

60. If we could be reborn wherever we chose, how crowded Rome would be.  – Francine Prose

61. In Rome, one had simply to sit still and feel. – E.M. Forster

62. To Rome, for everything. – Miguel de Cervantes

63. My happy place is anywhere with pizza and wine.

64. Only in Rome is it possible to understand Rome. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

65. You fall in love with Rome very slowly, little by little, but if it happens, it’ll be for a lifetime. – Nikolaj Gogol

66. Veni, Vidi, Vici. ― Julius Caesar

67. Rome is magic. – Maria Grazia Cucinotta

By Bridget

Bridget Coleman is an award-winning travel blogger who is an incurable Italy addict and has travelled its length & breadth on multiple occasions. Find out more here.

To get in touch, email her at hello@flashpackingitaly.com