City Stories Index · Italy · 2026 edition
Catania vs Rome
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Rome leads 2–1. Character is a different question: Catania is the black lava city; Rome is the city of popes and squares.
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| What we measure | Catania | Rome | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 25 | 150 | Rome |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 208 | 287 | Catania |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 4 | 41 | Rome |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | — | 23 | Rome |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | — | 12 | Rome |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | — | 92 | Rome |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Catania in orange, Rome in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
CataniaRome
9 places
royalty & nobility48 places
11 places
faith & churches40 places
8 places
arts & culture38 places
6 places
crime & dark history27 places
15 places
legends & myths21 places
3 places
parks & leisure11 places
4 places
guilds & trade7 places
Catania scorecard →
The black lava city
Rome scorecard →
The city of popes and squares