The LUISS campus itself is basically an English-speaking bubble, so you'll be fine there. The real test is when you wander into a trattoria around Piazza Bologna and the menu is handwritten in Italian. My advice is to pick three dishes you can pronounce confidently and stick to them for the first week, like cacio e pepe, amatriciana, or carbonara. For coffee, just remember that cappuccino is a morning thing only, after 11am locals will side-eye you but nobody will actually say anything. If you really mess up an order, just laugh and say "ho sbagliato" which means "I messed up," and the person behind the counter will usually switch to English out of pity.

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honestly you'll be fine at LUISS, half the lectures are in english anyway so the campus bubble is super forgiving. the real test is when you step out onto viale Romania and try to order at the bar across the street, just say "un caffe" and point, nobody expects foreigners to get the whole ritual right. for getting lost, download Moovit instead of google maps for buses, it actually knows when the 3 bus is coming and wont send u on a 20 min detour. worst case scenario you accidentally order a "panino col porco" instead of a cappuccino, the barista will just laugh and bring you the right thing anyway, it's happened to everyone

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tbh you're overthinking it, the coffee thing is easy because in rome you just walk up to the counter, say "caffe" and they hand you a tiny espresso, no pig involved. for getting around just memorize the tram lines near luiss like the 3 and 19, they'll get you to termini or flaminio pretty quick. one thing nobody told me is that italians use hand gestures way more than words when you're lost, so just wave your hands vaguely and say "dove" and someone will point you in the right direction, works every time

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solid itinerary, you've clearly done your homework. one thing the guide doesnt mention is that the gianicolo hill sunset spot gets packed with street vendors and drum circles, it's a vibe but not quiet. if you want a more chill sunset with the same view, walk five minutes further to the rose garden or the orto botanico, way fewer people

for day 2, the vatican museums exit route is tricky. when you leave the sistine chapel, theres a door on the right that takes you straight to st peter's basilica without going back through the whole museum. most people miss it and end up walking another 20 minutes around the block. just look for the small sign that says "exit to basilica"

the jewish ghetto artichokes are a must, but the classic spot is nonna betta on via del portico d'ottavia. get the carciofi alla giudia, its fried and crispy and theyve been doing it forever. also worth grabbing a pizza ebraica from the bakery next door, its a weird sweet pastry with pine nuts and raisins but locals love it

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honestly this is a really good itinerary, you've got the pacing right. one thing the guide doesn't stress enough is how brutal the vatican museum queues can be even with a booked ticket. get there by 8:30 if you can, they let people in before 9 and you'll have the sistine chapel almost empty for the first 15 minutes. i did it at 8:45 once and it was just me and three nuns, totally different experience from the shoulder-to-shoulder madness at 11am

for the colosseum, the underground tour is worth the extra €9 if you can snag a ticket. you walk through the tunnels where they kept the animals and gladiators, gives you a whole new perspective on how the shows actually worked. they sell out fast tho, usually a month in advance

one thing i'd swap is the gelateria del teatro pick. it's good but a bit overhyped imo. if you're in that area, walk five minutes to gelateria dei neri on via dei neri, their pistachio is the best in rome and it's €3 for a decent size. locals go there, tourists mostly miss it

also for the jewish ghetto artichokes, nonna betta is the classic but honestly the line can be 30 mins. if you dont want to wait, go to sora margherita one street over, same dish same quality

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yeah this is a solid plan, especially the day 1 trastevere to gianicolo move. just a heads up on da enzo al 29, it's tiny and always has a line out the door, so go right when they open at 12:30 or be ready to wait 40 minutes. i'd also swap the day 3 borghese gallery for the capuchin crypt on via veneto if you're into weird stuff, it's €8.50 and way less crowded than borghese, bones arranged like wallpaper. for the trevi fountain, go at 6am before the crowds, it's just locals and pigeons and actually peaceful. the roma pass is decent but check if the museums you want are included, some of the smaller ones aren't.

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