Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno has announced the launch of Digit Roma, a network of over 700 free wi-fi hot-spots in 170 locations around the city.
The plan is to arrive at a thousand hot-spots in 300 locations by the end of 2013.

Romans and tourists can now surf all the internet with smartphones, tablets or notebook without charge for up to four hours daily, and with no time limit in the institutional sites of Roma Capitale offering information on public transport, traffic, events, limited traffic zones, bike-sharing and more.  The hot-spots are located in museums and libraries, in borough offices (municipalities) and local government department offices and schools, in major squares such as Piazza San Silvestro, around the Colosseum and Torre Argentina, in major shopping areas and in busy areas along the nearby coastlne.

The city council is also offering a free app to surf outside the areas covered by wi-fi.  Details of how to access the service, including obtaining the Digit Roma app, and an updated list of operative hot-spot locations are available on the city website.

Digit Roma comes shortly after outgoing Rome province chairman Nicola Zingaretti launched the province’s own free wi-fi network, Provincia Wi-Fi, with over a thousand hot-spots throughout the city and the surrounding province, reaching along the coast from Civitavecchia to Anzio, and inland as far as Nerola and Vallepietra in the Monti Simbruini national park. Commercial premises and non-profit organisations have been invited to join the network of access points. 

The province website carries an updated searchable map and list of the hot-spots.  Provincia Wi-Fi offers free navigation to registered users, with a daily limit of 300MB of traffic in up- and download.  The website also offeres instructions for the free registration.