The comparison is even harsher when it comes to the public sector: hospitals, garbage disposal, transportation and infrastructure. Around 40 percent of Rome’s streets have major cracks and potholes; there are several blogs and Facebook pages devoted to the “buche di Roma” (“holes of Rome”). Milan, in contrast, does all these things right.

Exacerbating the difference is Rome’s indifference. A columnist wrote last week in Corriere della Sera: “Romans believe they know everything. They look down cynically at the world from what they call the Eternal City.” Maybe it’s a little harsh, but there’s some truth in it. The place is so beautiful that its residents think beauty alone is enough. When they realize that modern urban life needs more than that — efficient public transport and honest managers, for instance — they say they want to change things. But change is painful. And beautiful, seductive Rome is there to whisper: “Why bother? Don’t!”

In June, both cities will choose new mayors. In Milan the picture is clear. Two previous city managers, Beppe Sala and Stefano Parisi, represent left and right. Both are considered competent (Mr. Sala was the boss of the Expo). Either way, Milan will be fine.

In Rome, it’s a mess. The left is fielding a weak candidate and the right has three or four. It may all be decided by Silvio Berlusconi, who still controls the center right and last month dismissed a female candidate, Giorgia Meloni, because she was pregnant. Virginia Raggi, the youthful candidate from the populist Five Star Movement, may end up the winner and take the mayor’s seat in Campidoglio.



One thing is true of both cities: Whoever wins will have his or her work cut out. Rome must learn to combine its spectacular heritage with higher standards in daily life. La dolce vita must meet la vita pratica halfway. You don’t enjoy the Colosseum if you waste an hour waiting for a bus that never arrives.

Over the past hundred years, many of Italy’s pivotal changes — good and bad — began in Milan: socialism, Great War fever, Fascism, the resistance to Fascism, the economic boom of the ’60s, the political turmoil of the ’70s, the Clean Hands anti-corruption campaign, the populist Northern League. And now, this young, lively and colorful renaissance.

Milan’s challenge is to spread its current success to the rest of the country. Show that there’s an entrepreneurial spirit across Italy, and that the young people who flock to Milan to find it might be persuaded to stay at home, if they could find the same opportunities. Give a chance to the smart new Italians that fill the piazzas on these spring nights. They’ll take care of it.