Rome in words: a text walk for screen readers

This is Rome as a text adventure. It uses the same real, named places as the 3D version, and every building is described the way you'd find it inside. It works with any screen reader and keyboard, and you don't need graphics.

Play

Type a command and press Enter, or use the buttons. Try look, north, go to and a place name, enter, menu, order 1, sit, talk, leave or help.

🎮 Or walk Rome in 3D →

What the buildings of Rome look like inside

941 named places from the real map are in this walk. Here is what each kind is like when you step through the door, with real examples you can visit:

Shop — 351 in Rome

Shelves of goods run in rows toward the back, there's a display table near the door, and a register counter sits beside the entrance.

For example: Arco di Tito, Comunità Santa Maria Nova della Congregazione benedettina Olivetana, Centro Informazioni Turistiche Parco archeologico del Colosseo, Ninfeo della Pioggia.

Restaurant — 257 in Rome

Tables with paired chairs fill the room, and high-backed booths run down one wall. A chalkboard menu hangs over the kitchen counter at the back, where a server stands ready. Posters brighten the side wall.

For example: Squisito Cook, Iari the Vino, Caffeteria del Parco, il Girdiano ai fori.

Hotel — 71 in Rome

The lobby has a long front desk with a brass bell and a wall of key-card slots behind it. There's a red rug with a sofa and armchairs, tall potted plants, a brass luggage cart and two elevator doors. A chandelier glitters overhead. Past the lobby, a corridor leads to guest rooms, each with a bed, nightstands and lamps, a TV on the dresser and a window.

For example: Hotel Perugia, Hotel Richmond, Hotel Romano, Hotel de Rome.

Place of worship — 47 in Rome

Rows of pews split by a centre aisle lead to an altar at the front, with a plant standing on either side. It's calm and still.

For example: Santa Maria della neve al Colosseo, Santa Maria del Buon Consiglio, Il Tempio del Divo Claudio - The Temple of Claudius, Il Tempio di Fortuna Muliebre - The Temple of Fortuna Muliebris.

Office — 42 in Rome

Desks with chairs, a bookcase of files and a few plants. It's quiet apart from keyboards.

For example: Parco archeologico del Colosseo, Ufficio scolastico provinciale di Roma, Ufficio scolastico regionale per il Lazio, Save the Children Italia.

Civic building — 29 in Rome

A service counter faces a row of waiting chairs, and a flag stands in the corner. Offices open off a corridor.

For example: Antiquarium comunale del Celio, Poste Italiane – Roma 44, Biblioteca di Ingegneria dell'informazione, elettronica e telecomunicazioni, Biblioteca di Ingegneria meccanica e aerospaziale - sede principale.

School — 21 in Rome

A front office greets you. Down the corridor, classrooms have rows of small desks all facing a whiteboard, with the teacher's desk in the corner.

For example: Nobile Collegio Chimico Farmaceutico, Liceo scientifico Camillo Cavour, Istituto professionale Leonardo Da Vinci, Sapienza Università di Roma - Facoltà di Ingegneria.

Grocery store — 18 in Rome

Long shelf aisles run the length of the store, stocked with colourful goods. A glowing cooler wall lines the back, and checkout lanes wait near the front.

For example: La voglia, Monti & Dintorni Alimentari Enoteca, Carrefour Express, Mini Market.

Bar — 17 in Rome

It's dim and warm. A long wooden bar runs down one side with stools and a row of beer taps, and backlit shelves of bottles glow amber behind it. Neon strips glow on the back wall, a game plays on a TV, and there's a pool table with the balls racked. Booths fill the other wall.

For example: Shamrock Pub Roma, Ciardi Bar Ristorante, My Bar, Sapphire Bar Roma.

Clinic — 17 in Rome

A waiting room with chairs and a coffee table faces the reception desk. Down the hall, exam rooms each have a bed, a small desk and a chair.

For example: Enorfarm, Farmavitaesrl, ENORFARM di Enei Orsola e C., Bartoleschi Maria.

Pizzeria — 16 in Rome

It smells of wood smoke and baking dough. A brick dome oven glows orange at the back with a stack of split logs beside it. Pies sit under glass on the counter, a chalkboard menu hangs on the brick wall, and the tables have red-and-white checked cloths with shakers of chili flakes and parmesan.

For example: Pizzeria Imperiale, Pizzeria della Madonna dei Monti, Pizza e Mortadella, I Vaccinari | Ristorante Pizzeria Rione Monti.

Ice-cream shop — 11 in Rome

The floor is a black-and-white checkerboard. A blue counter holds the tubs, red stools line up in front of it, a freezer hums, and an arcade cabinet and a pinball machine blink in the corner.

For example: Flor Gelato, Gelateria, Gelateria Artigianale, Il gelato di Costanza.

Café — 6 in Rome

The espresso machine hisses behind a wooden counter, next to a grinder and a glass case of pastries. A chalkboard lists the drinks. Small round tables fill the room, and a sofa corner with a rug, a lamp and a bookcase sits by the window. Warm bulbs hang low over everything.

For example: Royal art café, Analemma Café Aperitivo, Art Cafe, Techi Bubble Tea.

Pharmacy — 6 in Rome

White aisles of boxes in blue, red and green run toward a pharmacy counter at the back under a big PHARMACY sign. Shelves of prescriptions sit behind the counter, and a blood-pressure chair waits near the front.

For example: Parafarmacia Iperfamily, Parafarmacia due EMME, Farmacia Savignoni, Farmacia Celimontana.

Convenience store — 4 in Rome

Fluorescent lights hum over narrow aisles packed floor to ceiling with snacks and drinks. Glass-door coolers glow along the back wall. By the register, hot dogs turn on a roller grill under a heat lamp, the slushie machine churns red and blue, and the coffee station smells burnt in the best way.

For example: Agip, Union - Valco S. Paolo, Union - Trionfale, Eni.

Bookstore — 4 in Rome

Tall wooden bookcases cover the walls, and tables of new releases are stacked with colourful spines. There's a reading nook with two armchairs, a rug and a standing lamp. The register is by the door, and warm pendant lights hang overhead.

For example: Libreria Caffè Bohemien, Libreria Libri Necessari, Libreria Panisperna 220, Libreria Esoterica Harmonia Mundi.

Salon — 4 in Rome

Styling chairs line one wall in front of mirrors, waiting chairs sit opposite, and the front counter is by the door.

For example: Estetica Nails, Frida nails, Make Nails And Beauty Studio, Saloni di Palazzo Brancaccio.

Fast food — 3 in Rome

A bright counter runs across the back with three registers, and lit menu screens hang above it. Behind the counter you can hear the fryers hiss and the grill sizzle. Two touch-screen kiosks stand near the door, a soda fountain hums along the right wall, and booths line the left wall, with small two-seat tables in the middle.

For example: T&C burgerlab, Shawarma Station, Pasta-Eat fast food.

Gym — 2 in Rome

Exercise mats, barbells and punching bags fill the floor. Dumbbells sit on a rack, and the front desk is by the door.

For example: Monti Fitness, Centro Yoga Spazio Vitale.

Clothing store — 2 in Rome

Rails of hanging clothes fill the floor, folded shirts line the wall shelves, and two mannequins stand near the door. Fitting rooms with curtains run along one side next to a tall mirror.

For example: 47 Boutique Hotel, Dharma Boutique Hotel & SPA.

Museum — 1 in Rome

Pedestals with artefacts stand in a grid across the gallery, with benches for resting and an information desk by the door.

For example: Vespa Museum.

Cinema — 1 in Rome

A huge screen fills the far wall, and tiered rows of red velvet seats face it. The popcorn counter is by the entrance.

For example: Isola del Cinema.