Roman Snow

In the early hours of February 4th, 2012, Rome was hit with a storm resulting in the accumulation of several inches of snow on the ground, a phenomenon that had not taken place since 1986. Everything, including time, froze on that day. Appropriately deemed “Snowpocalypse” by a friend, the Romans reacted as if the world were about to end. Public transportation was shut down, schools were cancelled for days, and grocery store shelves were bare as families were “preparing for the worst.” I kid you not, my roommate’s mother called to make sure we had stockpiled our cupboards…perhaps the Mayans were onto something.

No panic attack for yours truly though; for me this day was simply magical. I was fortunate enough to wake up at 5 a.m. and discover that my favorite city in the world had transformed into a winter wonderland. I felt like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Except Christmas happens every year, this was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, I threw on every article of clothing I own, grabbed my camera and took off into the streets eager to capture and memorialize the beauty that is a Roman snow.

The following photos were taken between 5-8pm on Friday, February 3rd (round 1 of snow) and between 5am-2pm on Saturday, February 4th in the Centro Storico – historic center – of Rome. Enjoy!