Romans will elect a new mayor in May and the first challenge for the new leader of one of the world's oldest cities will be to clean it up.

Rome is in danger of drowning in its own rubbish.

Beautiful old buildings in tourist and residential districts are covered in graffiti.

Earlier this month, the ticket office for a popular historic tourist site was closed temporarily after rat blood dropped onto a desk.

Officials played down the problem, but workers said they were being overwhelmed with rats now, as well as garbage.

Respected author and opinion writer Massimo Franco has despaired over Rome's disrepair.

"It is a wonderful city managed in a very bad way by public authorities," he said.

A newspaper poll recently showed a majority of Romans believe their city is in a state of decay, and its international prestige is being damaged.

Ten million tourists and pilgrims visit annually.

"The Romans care, but the fact is everyone tends to care but says someone else should do that," Mr Franco said.

Graffiti on buildings in the suburb of Trastevere, Rome. ( ABC News: Lisa Millar )

Residents 'frustrated' to see state of degradation

Paola Pesaresi has lived in Rome for decades and is not surprised that she passes three large potholes in one short block.

"I'm more than angry. I'm very frustrated because I love Rome and I know how beautiful it can be and I'm very frustrated to see this state of degradation," she said.

Another local resident, Bruno Settimi, walks by and shakes his head.

"Maybe tomorrow they fix it and two days after we will find another hole 20 metres along the street," he said on Saturday.

The president of the Rome Chamber of Commerce delivered a startling wake-up call when he was quoted as saying the city was on the verge of collapse.

"It is unacceptable that a major city, which calls itself developed, can find itself in such a state of decay," Giancarlo Cremonesi said.

RetakeRome volunteers scrubbing walls in Trastevere in Rome. ( ABC News: Lisa Millar )

A group of volunteers are taking matters into their own hands with cleaning products and scrubbing brushes.

Members of the Retake Rome movement got tired of seeing new graffiti appear overnight and rubbish lining the streets around sites like the Colosseum and the Vatican.

They have started transforming entire neighbourhoods, scraping walls clean and removing thick layers of posters.

The group used to bring their own supplies, but have now gained support from companies and residents.

They are working alongside the official rubbish collectors, who have been criticised in the past for not doing enough.

Waste collection company (AMA) employees, who struggle to even keep the graffiti off their own trucks, meet with the volunteers to pick up the rubbish they remove from walls.

Corruption, Mafia entities blamed for most of Rome's problems

Rubbish collectors struggle to keep the graffiti off their own trucks. ( ABC News: Lisa Millar )

Corruption and powerful Mafia entities have been blamed for much of Rome's problems.

The city's residents will vote for a new mayor in May.

It is a powerful position overseeing a population of almost three million.

Scandal forced the last mayor out and an administrator was put in charge.

Some have suggested it is the best thing that could have happened for the ancient city, which has long been neglected.

However, finding a way to return the Italian capital to its past glory will be a challenge for the new mayor.