The franchise's full commitment to Old World romance. An Italian-American with princely lineage takes the lead, and the season films in Rome with the kind of villas, vineyards, and cobblestone alleys the producers had clearly been waiting to use. The casting matches the setting, women polished enough to hold their own at a Roman dinner table. A direct sibling to the Paris season, slightly more theatrical in places, slightly less surprising for landing second in the international run.
Slot #05 of 28 in the The Bachelor Editor's Canon. The seasons on either side show what I ranked it against.