City Stories Index · Italy · 2026 edition
Florence vs Rome
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Rome leads 4–2. Character is a different question: Florence is the renaissance cradle; Rome is the city of popes and squares.
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| What we measure | Florence | Rome | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 71 | 150 | Rome |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 222 | 287 | Florence |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 9 | 41 | Rome |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 18 | 23 | Rome |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 17 | 12 | Florence |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 85 | 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: Florence in orange, Rome in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
FlorenceRome
18 places
royalty & nobility48 places
24 places
faith & churches40 places
16 places
arts & culture38 places
19 places
crime & dark history27 places
13 places
legends & myths21 places
9 places
guilds & trade7 places
Florence scorecard →
The Renaissance cradle
Rome scorecard →
The city of popes and squares