Tips for Rome Apartments
What can you expect to find in the Roman Apartment/Condominium?
Each apartment is equipped with basic Italian-style furnishings and supplies, including single beds, bed linens and towels, a closet/clothing storage space, typical Italian cookware and tableware, a table and chairs and a furnished sitting area. Desks, when available, are to be shared by all occupants. Each student is expected to provide his/her own paper and cleaning products as well as replace light bulbs. Most apartment units are provided with a washing machine.
It is anticipated most apartments will be equipped with a personal computer (PC) and have unlimited, no additional cost access the Internet. A landline phone will be provided which will provide unlimited calls to landlines with Italy. Calls to cellular phones and calls outside of Italy incur additional cost and can be effected with the use of a calling card. Unlimited incoming calls may be received without incurring any additional cost. In the event a particular unit is not equipped with internet/phone line, a cellular phone will be provided and a partial refund made. Computer and phone are shared among unit residents.
Not all apartments are the same
In Rome, not all apartments are created equal. Although the apartments vary in location, style and size, all of them provide the essentials. Please try to understand this fact and accept it as part of your experience in Rome. Do not immediately compare your apartment with those of other students.
Heating and air conditioning
The heat in the apartments generally operates from 6-9 a.m. and then again in the evening from 6-10 p.m. This means that the hours in between heating are what you could call “Roman room temperature”, which is slightly warmer than the temperature outside. By Roman ordinance, heating systems are turned on by November 15 and turned off on March 15 every year.
Apartments are not provided with air conditioning; instead, keep cool the Italian way – during the day, Italians traditionally keep their shutters and serrande closed against the heat of the sun. In order to cool the apartment you might also consider buying a fan.
Electric power
All household apartments in Rome operate with a 3 Kilowatt fuse box. This means that an overload of power will leave you in the dark. You should be careful when using American appliances with an adapter; that usually puts an extra load on the power supply. Also be careful of using many appliances simultaneously: the water heater, and another appliance (i.e., hair dryer, washing machine) will blow the fuse!! Should this happen, your power will be cut off – turn off any electrical appliance and light fixture you don’t truly need at the moment and check your fuse box to flip your apartment switch back on.
Hot water
Almost all Roman apartments are furnished with a water heating tank located either in the bathroom or the balcony. In the tank, there is generally enough hot water to last for one long shower. With roommates, however, that one shower must be divided into three or four short, but effective showers. Please expect about ten to fifteen minutes of hot water at a time allowing at least a couple of hours to replenish the supply.
Emergencies and regular maintenance
University assisted housing has managers who are available during normal office hours which you will find posted where you live. Also listed are emergency contact numbers for times outside office hours. Please call these numbers only in the case of a true emergency. For routine matters call your housing manager during the posted office hours. Routine maintenance can also be conveniently requested via the “Maintenance Request Link” found on every AUR Housing PC desktop.
Washing machines
You will immediately note a difference between American and European washing machines: the latter are “front loading”, i.e. there is no top lid but instead a front door. Because water can spill out and potentially cause damage, these front doors have a special timed lock and will not open when cycles are actively running. DO NOT force your washing machine open. (NB: Not all university facilitated housing comes with a washing machine.)
Keys
Lost keys are your responsibility. The University does not have copies of keys; therefore in case of a lockout, contact your roommate. If you are unable to locate a roommate, the agency emergency cell phone number can be called to have an agency staff person sent to let you in; in these cases, at the agency’s discretion and due upon arrival, an emergency lockout fee may be charged to you. For a replacement set of lost keys, contact the agency during their office hours. If you think changing the locks might be necessary, ask the agency to order a lock smith.
Leaving the apartment
You are to leave the apartments generally by noon on the day following the last day of final exams. The university cannot arrange to extend your lease or make arrangements to store your luggage after the lease expires. However, Student Life is happy to suggest available luggage storage or shipping services.
Respect your neighbor
Please be considerate of those living with and around you. Even though your walls may be between 5 and 20 inches thick, you can still hear most of what your neighbor is doing or saying, and vice versa. Most of your neighbors are normal Italian citizens with families and full-time jobs and they actually need 7-8 hours of sleep every night. By law, silence is requested between 9:30 or 10:00 pm and 8:00 am, and again between 12:30 or 1:00 pm and 3:30 or 4:00 pm; please respect this law by keeping noise to minimum. Because most floors are made of marble or ceramic and hence do not buffer the sounds coming from your apartment, wear slippers or soft sole shoes rather than hard sole or high heels. Also, most elevator doors in Italy are not electronic and have to be closed manually. Please remember to close them carefully every time you use the elevator; when you forget to do so, it can impact other residents for whom elevator unavailability is more than a mere inconvenience: the handicapped, elderly, mothers with infants and toddlers, as well as just about anyone with their shopping. For your own safety as well as that of others, be sure to respect the weight limits posted within the elevators (1 kilo is 2.2 pounds).
Apartment safety
Many of the housing rules are set in an effort to ensure student safety. In addition to the housing rules, please bear the following in mind:
In your apartment, keep your shutters and serrande closed at night and whenever you’re not home. Always speak to any person who has buzzed your apartment through the intercom system to make sure you know who it is before you buzz them into your building – never buzz in or hold the door open for someone you don’t know. If they have an honest reason for being there, there should be someone there to allow them in. Crimes in Italy are generally petty crimes of opportunity – just don’t leave that opportunity open!
Do not invite mere acquaintances into your apartment — Italians socialize in public places and no one expects you to invite them in. All students — but in particular females — should be aware of the social and potentially legal implications of inviting guests into their homes.
