Italy – Country #51 In My Mission to Visit All Countries in the World

In this latest series, I will be going through all the countries I’ve travelled to on my mission to visit every single country in the world. In this article, we will be covering country #51: Italy. If you haven’t gotten a chance already, read this story first to find out why I’m trying to visit all 193 UN-recognized countries.

VIDEO – Country #51: Italy

Blog post on Italy

• My Complete Italy, San Marino, and The Netherlands Spending Breakdown
• Many Italian People in Italy Are Racist Towards Asian Males
• How a Banana Saved Me From Getting Robbed in Italy
• How to See the Colosseum and Vatican City in 24 Hours (16 Pictures)

Racist Italian woman

I just crossed over from Switzerland to Italy and I was on my way to Rome. While looking for a place to seat, an Italian woman started giving me a dirty look. We got to a doorway leading to the next train car and she shoved me out of the way all of a sudden. Then, in a condescending tone, she started yelling “NI HA NI HA NI HA” to me. I mean, if she’s trying to be racist, at least say it right. It’s “Ni Hao” you stupid racist bitch.

My first impression of Italy isn’t good so far.

Racist in Rome’s metro

Upon arriving in Rome, I took the metro to go to my accommodation. While standing in the metro, an Italian man started giving me a dirty look. As soon as the metro door opens, he stands up, STOMPS on my foot, and started giving me the “suck it” sign while pointing at his crotch. My god, I never felt so pissed before. I’ve been in Italy for a few hours trying to reach my accommodation and it’s been on racist idiot after another.

I was seething in anger by the time I arrived at my accommodation. This was a big shocker to me that a lot of Italians in Rome are openly racist towards Asians in Italy.

Making friends outside the Colosseum

The next day, I woke up early and made my way towards the Colosseum. While lining up to buy tickets, I started chatting with a Japanese couple. We got along so well that we decided to explore the Colosseum and Palatine Hill together.

Exploring the Colosseum

The Colosseum was awesome. I love ancient Roman history and it was cool to be there in person to see it. There was a ton of tourist here even in the morning but I still had fun.

Palatine Hill

After checking out the Colosseum, we headed to Palatine Hill. Quite honestly, I thought the Palatine Hill was pretty cool also.

After exploring this historical site, I bid farewell to my Japanese friends. They invited me to come to visit them in Japan someday. Last I spoke to them, they told me that they have a kid together now. That’s super cool.

The Vatican Museum

After grabbing lunch, I headed over to the Vatican Museum. This place was packed to the max. You’re basically body to body with everyone because it was that crowded.

I think some people tried stealing from my bag also because I keep noticing that the zippers in my bag was constantly being opened even after I closed them already.

The Vatican Museum is huge and it’s full of historical artifacts from around the world.

Racist Italian kids in the Vatican

At one point, some racist Italian kids started mocking every Asian walking by. They would do a prayer bow at every Asian walking by and snicker afterward. I told them off and they stopped. When they saw I walked away, they started doing it to other Asians again. Sigh…why does Italy have so many racist people?

Sistine Chapel shortcut

After admiring the beautiful Sistine Chapel, I remember my Dutch friends telling me that there’s a shortcut here to reach St. Peter’s Basilica. I looked around and found it and went my way through there. After a short walk, I was now at the bottom of the Basilica.

I was presented with two options to scale to the top of the Basilica. I can pay a cheaper price to walk up the stairs or pay a bit more to take the elevator. Because I was a backpacker and an experienced hiker, I decided to walk to get some exercise and save money.

St. Peter’s Basilica

After the long walk up including traversing through narrow winding stairs, I finally made it to the top. The view was spectacular and I welcomed the fresh air after walking through stuffy claustrophobia-inducing stairways.

After enjoying the view at the top, I made my way down to enter the St. Peter’s Basilica itself.

This place is massive and beautiful. The catholic church must be filthy rich to construct and decorate this place.

Once I felt satisfied with my exploration of this site, I made my way back to my accommodation to relax and get ready for my journey to eastern Italy the next day.

Almost got robbed in Bologna

I took several trains as I made my way to Rimini, Italy. One of my stops was a city called Bologna. Little did I know that someone was setting up an ambush to rob me here.

I was standing on the train platform when an overweight Italian thug comes up to me and started hassling me. He wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave him something. I told him “no dinero”, and he kept saying “si dinero”. Eventually, I gave him a banana and he left.

As he was walking away, a bunch of thugs hiding behind pillars came out and followed him from behind. “Holy shit,” I said to myself. This guy is setting up to ambush anyone who opened their wallet to give him money. I feared for me life at that moment. The banana saved me from potentially getting harmed or robbed.

Friendly people in Rimini

After a nerve-wracking train ride from Rome to Rimini, I finally made it. I decided to travel to Rimini because I wanted to do a day trip to the country of San Marino.

As soon as I arrived, I made my way to my hostel and got settled in. Rimini has significantly more friendly people. I befriended some Italian travellers in the hostel. The locals were also really friendly. I bought some gelato nearby and the Italian people there were really warm and friendly.

It is true what they say that people tend to be friendlier in smaller cities and towns.

My only bad experience in Rimini was on my second night, some girls came back at 3 am after partying and started puking all over the washroom. That was pretty gross.

Journey to San Marino

The next day, I teamed up with a guy from New Zealand to explore San Marino. This was my last stop in Italy before wrapping up my trip in this country.

Conclusion

I wish I didn’t experience so much racism in Italy. I really wanted to enjoy my time in this country. Many people have reported to me that they have also experienced racism or attempted robbery while travelling in Rome and other big cities.

I think when you travel solo, you’re an easier target for racism or crime. It was a happy moment for me when I left this country. My next destination after Italy is Liechtenstein. I’d like to give Italy another chance someday in the distant future. I hope I can have a better experience there instead of experiencing racism and crime. Places I’d like to visit include Venice, Cinque Terre, and the Dolomites.

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