Rome is a city known for its glory. The city has undeniable beauty – history and culture can be felt and appreciated literally at every corner. Its ancient monuments such as the Colosseum are visited by thousands of people every year.

Though tourists may still cherish the attractions of a once glorious city, local residents are noticing some imperfections, like garbage left on street corners, buildings sprayed with graffiti and neglected roadways.

Many locals also feel the effect. “Even the trees that fell in the last days due to lack of maintenance, the garbage, the streets are not clean. We cannot compare ourselves with any other European capital,” one local man said. Another woman said that even though some services “are short in supply, or late buses and metro stops closed,” Rome is always Rome and she feels good there.

But some locals in Rome are so fed up with seeing their hometown, a city they love, rotting away, they decided to take matters into their own hands. A non-government organization was launched by such citizens with a title matching their cause, “Retake Rome.” They hope to boost civic action and support the city once again returning to its days of splendor.  

Retake Rome was founded by Rebecca Spitzmiller and has since formed 90 neighborhood groups in Rome. Spitzmiller explained their philosophy: “Our motto is speak up, clean up, grow up, but first you have to wake up, so we try to raise awareness about the problem of living in a city that is slowly decaying because nobody cares. And once you notice that – wake up – then you start talking about it, because it's not something you should ignore, it's not normal.”

Members of the group handle all kinds of jobs – they collect trash, clean graffiti, remove illegal banners off building walls and clean the streets. The group has also started school outreach educational programs for future generations. Spitzmiller said they talk to students about responsibility and civic action. “We teach them the difference between art and vandalism, the main difference being – art is legal! If you get permission to paint a wall, fantastic, if you don't – it's a crime!”

One of the volunteers, Melissa, said she's passionate about the work that they do. She explained that nowadays, she always carries a craft knife in her belt bag, and scraping illegal banners has become a sort of habit she does even while waiting for a bus. She says being part of Retake Rome is fulfilling for her. “I feel happy, I feel that I have the right to keep my place nice, and I contribute to its beauty, and its security as well, because a place that looks tidy and a place that looks cared for is a place where you walk and you feel safer.”

The NGO wants to send a message to Italian institutions, that civilians are “doing our part, but the institutions also have to do their part – because they are complacent” in what Rome has become. Spitzmiller hopes that their movement can increase community action and community awareness which would result in community development. Retake Rome has been so successful it has expanded to 40 other cities in Italy with 50,000 members on their social media platforms.