Overloaded by Airbnbs and mass tourism, Rome fears its historic centre will be emptied out of locals

Open this photo in gallery: At her apartment in the Monti neighbourhood of Rome, Chiara Rapaccini sits on the mattress in her kitchen where she sometimes goes to avoid the noise of busy nightlife. ‘The worst are the Americans,’ she says of the tourists. ‘They get drunk outside and make a lot of noise.’Photography by Fabrizio Troccoli/The Globe and Mail The second-floor apartment of Italian artist and author Chiara Rapaccini faces what used to be a tranquil street in the heart of Monti, a bewitching little quarter near the Roman Forum and Colosseum that has existed since ancient times and,…