Rome got its first snowfall in years and the photos are gorgeous

Rome just got covered in snow and that’s kind of a big deal.

For some of us, snow is nothing to get excited about. But for people in warm climate areas, a light dusting can be treated as an emergency. An amount of snow that wouldn’t even register in Chicago, for example, can be a major event when it happens in Atlanta. In, Rome, Italy, they don’t get much snow. In fact, the white blanket that covered the city on Feb. 26 was the first to hit Rome in six years.

Rome’s children enjoyed a rare snow day, and the city’s public transportation experienced a major slow-down. The snow was part of a storm system called the “Beast from the East” that has caused record-low temperatures throughout Europe. By noon, most of the snow had melted, but the forecast for freezing temperatures overnight has caused schools to once again cancel classes for Tuesday.

Even though the snow caused some inconveniences, some Rome residents were definitely taking it in stride. “Beautiful, beautiful!” Roman Ginevra Sciurpa told PBS of the winter weather. “Even though I’m not a child anymore, the enthusiasm for the snow is still the same. It is always beautiful, and above all I didn’t have to go to work.”

And the images of the iconic city covered in white are pretty striking! Check out this shot of the Colosseum posted to Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfq36v_BNux/?tagged=colosseum

This person got a chance to make a snow man:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfrVacEBATJ/?tagged=romesnow

This person took a video of people walking around in the snow outside the Vatican:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfp8VBwAzCB/

Sally Axworthy, the British Ambassador to the Holy See,  posted some images of the snowfall to Twitter and expressed appreciation for the rare occurrence, writing, “Snow in Rome this morning. Children are delighted. Very little traffic, hardly anyone able to get to work. A special day.”

It somehow makes the city look even more gorgeous. But is it quite as beautiful as when Disneyland Paris got covered in snow?

What’s your favorite snow-covered memory?