Safety seems to be an issue many visitors are concerned about. Headlines about riots, violence and racism can make fans understandably cautious, and people have asked
Football in Rome's advice.
It's a difficult issue, and it's not really possible to make sweeping statements. Here's a personal view:
Most importantly, it is highly unlikely that you will have any problems. Football matches are passionate affairs for all the family; you'll see everyone from tiny children to elegant grannies. There is no culture of drunkenness, and very few people are looking for any kind of trouble.
The Stadium page has advice on different seating areas.
Away fans are in the Distinti Sud. The areas around them are kept clear by police, although a few missiles might fly, the fans are usually too far apart to damage each other. The only other potentially risky areas are outside the stadium (where opposing groups of fans may conceivably wait for each other). Very occasionally fans will argue with each other (e.g. why are you cheering, they're playing badly) and this can lead to blows. Fairly easy to avoid. The front rows of seats around the running track, generally fairly empty, can be less pleasant. Fans with grievances to voice or fireworks to throw sometimes gather here. Anyway, you have a better view of the match from higher in the stands.
Use your common sense. Expect to be searched by police and to have any potential weapons (including bottle tops) confiscated. Don't wear the colours of the away team. If you find yourself sitting next to away fans (most unlikely, but very occasionally it happens) consider moving a few seats if possible. This happened to us once at a match against Juventus. Juve have lots of fans in Rome, a group sat behind us in the Tribuna Tevere. They made the mistake of cheering a goal, whereupon the rest of the crowd rounded on them. Words and one punch were thrown.
How about the Derby?
Again, you are unlikely to experience any nastiness.
But I would advise being alert, keeping your eyes open, and wearing sensible -and neutral- clothing.
80,000 people attend the derby and only a very few are involved in serious trouble.
While you should be aware of the level of passion felt by fans, and the extremes it can occasionally lead them to,
remember that the fans all live together and all have friends who support the other team. You'll see several couples arriving together wearing opposing colours. There are very few who are looking for trouble, and most battles involve willing participants. (and more often involve fans against the police, rather than fans against other fans). If you stay alert, and keep away from any aggression, you should be ok. Note that the presence of the police - fully armed with riot gear - can be a trigger for violence rather than a preventative; if they appear to be squaring up to fans, leave the area rapidly.
The ends of the stadium (Distinti and Curve) will be packed with season ticket holders - Lazio in the north, Roma to the south. You'll be very unlikely to get a ticket for these areas, and while the fans inside them will be united, these are also the areas where there could be trouble outside the stadium.
The more expensive seats are generally where you'll find the calmer atmosphere, but at the derby there's not really such a thing as calm. These are areas where the Roma and Lazio fans will be mixed together so confrontations can occur. But these expensive seats (especially in the central zones) are the ones you're most likely to obtain, and really you should be ok there. If anyone near you is causing trouble, try to move away or wait for others to calm them down. There are thousands of people there, men and women, who just want to enjoy the game and support their team.
Oh, and get there early. The atmosphere starts building hours before kick off. So get there, get your seats, and enjoy the atmosphere. Expect to be searched by the police. Items like bottle tops may be confiscated (full bottles can make weapons).
A fan's personal experience: "I've been to a season's worth of home matches, and to one derby, and I've not had any problems. I've seen police cars on fire, a few minor fights (between fellow-fans) in the Distinti and the Curve. Once we had to run when there were explosions behind us as we left the stadium.
At the derby we sat in the Tribuna Tevere Centrale. There was a mixture of fans, although our immediate neighbours were all Roma supporters. That didn't intimidate us from joining in the Lazio anthems, and although a few comments were made there was no aggression. Below us in the front rows of seats there were some fights, principally between fans and police, I think, with seats being thrown. In the VIP area, where fans were also mixed, apparently police had to break up fights. Outside the stadium there were apparently pitched battles between fans and police, and several cars were set on fire. However this was while the match was in progress so didn't affect fans. A friend called my mobile and warned me to stay in the stadium, we just saw the smoke and then suffered from clouds of tear gas that drifted into the stadium. The match was actually stopped for a few minutes so the players could wipe their eyes. We left a few minutes before the end of the game, everything seemed quiet outside (obviously we didn't linger). So we were fine. Next time I'll be in the Distinti, again I'll keep alert but I'm not too worried".