Starbucks launched in Castel Romano earlier this year.

The American multinational coffee chain Starbucks is set to open its first outlet in the centre of Rome, near the city's Termini station, according to Italian news reports.

The coffee giant plans to open a 600-m outlet in the area between Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza dei Cinquecento, with an eye on the tourists and pilgrims set to arrive in Rome for the Vatican's Jubilee Year in 2025, reports La Repubblica.

The news comes about six months after Starbucks launched its first outlet in the greater Rome area, at the Castel Romano shopping mall to the south of the Italian capital.

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The 200-sqm venue, with indoor and outdoor seating, is run in partnership with Percassi, the sole licensee partner with Starbucks in Italy.

The chain had intended to launch near the Vatican in 2020, in the site of the former Maraldi bookshop on Via dei Bastioni di Michelangelo, however this plan was reportedly abandoned due to the covid pandemic.

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Then there were rumours that Starbucks would open in Rome's central Piazza S. Silvestro - another high-density tourist area - in the Palazzo Marignoli building that houses the new flagship Apple store. That too came to nothing.

Starbucks launched in Italy in 2018, opening at Piazza Cordusio in Milan, and last October it announced plans to open more than 20 new stores by the end of 2023.

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