Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Why is 17 unlucky in Italy? Blame Roman numerals
In many parts of the world, people think the number 13 is unlucky.
But in Italy, the number that scares people is 17.
This idea may come from ancient Rome, a very long time ago.
The Romans wrote numbers using letters, and 17 was written as XVII.
If you rearrange those letters, you can spell the word VIXI.
VIXI means "I have lived," which sounds like saying "my life is over."
Because of that, Italians linked 17 to death and bad luck.
That is why some Italians call Friday the 17th a "black day," and why many hotels skip room numbers that begin with 17.
Experts are not completely sure the belief started with the Romans, so the exact reason may never be clear.
Number 13 is seen as unlucky worldwide, but in Italy the number linked to misfortune is 17.
The superstition is traced to Roman numerals, where XVII can be rearranged as VIXI, meaning "I have lived" or "my life is over."
Italians associate Friday the 17th with bad things, calling it un giorno nero, or "black day."
Many Italian hotels do not have room numbers starting with 17, and football clubs avoid playing on the 17th.
Romans themselves may not have avoided 17, as texts used 17th chapters and Julius Caesar's and Caesar Augustus' armies had a 17th legion, so the exact origin may never be clear.
- Who
- Italians, who associate misfortune with 17, and experts tracing the belief to ancient Rome.
- What
- The number 17 is considered unlucky in Italy, with roots possibly in Roman numerals: XVII can be rearranged as VIXI, meaning "I have lived" or "my life is over."
- When
- The belief likely dates to ancient Roman times; today it persists, with Friday the 17th called un giorno nero.
- Where
- Italy.
- Why
- Because XVII in Latin numerals can be rearranged to read VIXI, which translates to "I have lived" or "my life is over," linking 17 to death.
Roman Origin Theory
Uncertain Origin
Origin of 17's bad luck in Italy
Roman Origin Theory
The superstition traces to ancient Rome, where XVII could be rearranged as VIXI, meaning "I have lived" or "my life is over," marking 17 as a number of death.
Uncertain Origin
Romans themselves apparently used 17 freely, writing 17th chapters in ancient texts and fielding a 17th legion, so the belief may not have begun with them, and the exact reason might never be clear.
- Unlucky number in Italy
- 17 (not 13)
- Roman numeral for 17
- XVII
- Rearranged Latin word
- VIXI
- Meaning of VIXI
- "I have lived" / "my life is over"
- Name for Friday the 17th
- un giorno nero ("black day")
- Hotels
- Many Italian hotels do not have room numbers starting with 17
- Football clubs
- Avoid playing on the 17th
- Linked battle
- Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where Caesar Augustus' 17th legion was defeated by Germanic tribes