rome
For the people who support and inspire me the people who always welcome me home.
eat | trastevere & largo argentina
Pizzeria Nerone If you walk down the narrow Via del Moro in Trastevere, keep your eyes peeled for Nerone, a Neapolitan style pizza place. Most of the pizza you get in Rome has a crispy, thin crust. If you prefer thicker, chewier crust, this is a good place to get it. The locals who shared our courtyard recommended this spot to us, and told us that we should go at “real dinner time” (10 pm), so I’ll pass that advice on to you. Rivendita (Cioccolato e Vino). This is a shop the size of a closet that offers books and chocolate shots in the same venue. There’s no place to sit, but it’s a good place to step into while you’re checking out the street artists in Trastevere. Hostaria Pizzeria il Vicolo di Caruso. This place is right down the street from Rivendita. They have this signature bread they make that is sort of like the Italian version of naan – it’s so tasty. If you encounter the owner/manager, Alex (a slender, tan man with dark curly hair and a lovely smile), tell him you’re travelling with a big group, and that you will recommend his place to everyone else. If he believes you, he will shower you with complimentary limoncello until you are walking sideways. Beware. Antica Gelateria del Viale. This is the best gelato place in Rome, especially if you can get there just as the gelato is fresh out of the machine. (If you’re just wandering around Trastevere, stop in and ask when the next batch is due out of the machine, and make it back in time for that.) I highly recommend the Fragola. A sweet lady named Maria Grazia, whose family has been in the gelato business since the 1800s, runs the shop.
Ivo a Trastevere This pizzeria is considered by the locals to be one of the best pizzerias in Trastevere, so if you go around 10 or 11 on a weekend, it will be packed full of people from the neighborhood. It will likely take you a million years to get served here but the wait is so worth it. This is one of the places where they serve caprese salads with mozzarella di bufala, which is the best kind of mozzarella you can get. This mozzarella is the primary reason I gained 20 pounds when I was there. Please, eat this in remembrance of me. Il Bacocco Enoteca. This place is certainly more upscale than Ivos, and it’s even further away from the tourist district. This is also one of those places where you order a $15 dish that consists of 4 olives, but those olives were hand picked by the gods. When I was there, the appetizer of the day was this little ball of something that tasted like delicious campfire smoke, in the best way possible. Carlo Menta If you want more bang for your buck so you can afford more wine later spend money more responsibly, Carlo Menta is the place to be. You can get a whole pizza (not a personal pizza, a real pizza) for as little as 4 euro. The pizza is good, but if I were you, I would avoid the tripe. Rossopomodoro & Rossosapore Rossopomodoro is a chain restaurant, but the food is actually good! (I recommend the buffala pizza, which features my beloved mozzarella di bufala, no meat.) The thing I love most about the Largo di Terre Argentia location is that it features a tiny hole in the side of the restaurant where you can walk up and little personal pizzas handed to you for 2 euro!
absorb | architecture & museums
Borghese Museum Hands down the best sculpture museum in Rome. One of the first things you will see in the gallery is Bernini’s Ratto di Proserpina, which is the most spellbinding sculpture in Rome, and possibly in the world. Bernini somehow managed to make rocks look like skin… No picture will ever do it justice. You need a reservation to get into the gallery, and it is on the edge of the city, but it is 100% worth the effort. San Ivo alla Sapienza This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful Baroque church in Rome, but sadly, most people visiting Rome walk right past it because it’s so tucked away. The only way to see the inside is to go during Sunday mass (I think you can get in starting at 9). If you want to experience mass in Rome, this is the place to do it. MAXXI Museum This museum designed by Zaha Hadid is one of the few pieces of contemporary architecture in Rome. My studio professor worked with her on the project, and he claimed that she flew into a rage when the engineers told her she could not achieve the design unless it was made of reinforced concrete. She told them, “That concrete better be as smooth as a baby’s ass!!” So if you visit the MAXXI, be sure to admire the flatwork, because a lot of architects and contractors spent months slaving away on that one finish. Palazzetto dello Sport The outside of this structure is really quite heinous (it looks like one of those shower caps for babies that prevent them from getting soap in their eyes), but the inside definitely compensates for the ugly façade. Engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi designed it in the 1960s. The interior structure is beautiful, and not at all what you would expect to see above a basketball court. Don’t Google it. Surprise yourself.
Ostia Antica This is off the map, but Ostia Antica is about a 45 minute train ride to the coast. This place used to be Rome’s ancient port city, and it is way cooler than Pompeii, in my opinion. There are less people there, less annoying tour groups, and all the ruins are pretty accessible. (At Pompeii, everything is “forbidden” to touch or climb on.) At Ostia, you can actually climb up to the rooftop of an ancient apartment, and walk into just about every structure. If you’re interested in archeology, make a day trip to Ostia. (If you think that’s boring, there is also a beach… Beware the beach gypsies.) Auditorium Parco della Musica This is a multi-purpose facility for all things art. It has everything from photography exhibits, to dance performances to concerts. It also has an archeological site on the campus, much to the dismay of its architect, Renzo Piano. When they started excavating for the foundation, the crew exposed some ruins, and locals threw a fit at the idea of building something on top of them. Piano was forced to twist his entire campus around to give access to the ruins. Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri If you were to study architecture in Rome, your professors would take you into so many churches that eventually the thought of walking into a church would make you sick. During the last week in Rome, I gagged a little when it was announced that we were going to study yet another church. Thankfully, this church is really weird and interesting! The structure was originally a piece of the Baths of Diocletian, but at some point they decided to turn the ruins into a church. (Don’t ask me why.) When you walk in the door, you’re standing in just a fraction of what was the frigidarium, and finally you begin to understand just how much Romans revered bath time.
chill | centro storico, gianicolo & testaccio
Fandango Incontro This place is a bookstore and coffee shop, but more importantly, Fandango has a secret glass-covered courtyard inside it, with a living wall!! I fell in love with this place instantly, because the courtyard is so peaceful, and it provides the exact type of escape an introvert needs. Just when you think the place can’t get any better, look toward the back of the courtyard and you’ll see a set of stairs. These stairs take you up to a quiet photo gallery (you do need to pay to see the exhibits, but it’s worth it if you’re interested in photography). Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi Walk up to the top of the Gianicolo and you’ll have a nice view of the city. Make sure you’re there by noon if you want a big surprise. Don’t ask Google about the surprise; you’ll ruin it. Sant’ Eustachio This place is considered by our professors (and a handful of other locals I’ve met) to be the best place for a cappuccino in the city center… Since I wasn’t there long enough to try every caffe in Rome, I’ll take their word for it. The place is usually pretty busy, but at least you have a nice view of the cupola of the aforementioned San Ivo if the line is out the door. Campagna Amica Market Campagna Amica is harder to find than most of the other markets in Rome, because it is tucked away in an unassuming building. There are a lot fewer tourists that visit this market, so the prices are a little lower. Unlike most of the other markets, this one has meats, fish, dairy, oils and sometimes craft beers. According to my professor, everything at this market was grown in Lazio, so the produce is really fresh. Unfortunately this market is only held on Saturdays and Sundays – try not to miss it!
Giardino degli Aranci This park is a good place to get free oranges, and a nice view of the city. It’s usually a pretty quiet spot – a good place for reading. (If you’re not in the mood to be trampled by sightseers, avoid the famous keyhole nearby that frames St. Peter’s.) Depending on the time of year, an orange from the trees here will have a surprising sweet sort of floral taste, or it will be so bitter you won’t be able to take another bite. La Casetta La Casetta is probably one of the smallest coffee shops you will ever find. Because it’s so small, it has a minimalist aesthetic on the inside, which is unexpected behind a quaint ivy-covered exterior. This little building is notable because it is the only freestanding “casa” left in Rome. If you visit, be sure to note the wooden shutter doors on the side (the owner is very proud of them; according to him, they are the oldest doors you will see). Porta Portese Market On Sunday mornings until about 2:00 there is a sort of bohemian flea market starting at the Porta Portese. This market isn’t focused on food, although there are some stands that do sell sausage links, spices, etc. Porta Portese is a really weird mix of things – kitchenware, leather coats and bags, vintage telephones, books, mirrors… It’s like an enormous garage sale every Sunday. Monte Testaccio (or Monte dei Cocci) Supposedly this was the landfill of ancient Rome (the hill is a giant mound of broken pottery), but today it’s the backdrop for the nightlife of Testaccio, Rome’s working class neighborhood. There is a ring of buildings all around the hill, and all of them open in the evening. Our favorites were the Latin club, Caffe Latino, and Akab, the electronica club.
Caffé Doria This place is unusual, in a really nice way. One wall is full of perfumes and scented oils, and the other side is a cafe. Caffe Doria has an upscale vibe to it, but the customer service is generally exceptional. Once one of the architecture kids knocked his coffee off the edge of the bar, and the cup exploded on the tiles. The barista came over and cleaned up the mess and gave him a new cappuccino for free, all the while smiling and assuring him that it was ok. If you’ve already had too many cappuccini, ask for a “spremuta” – fresh orange juice that they squeeze right in front of you (it’s pulpy)! Campo di Fiori Market This is a good outdoor market to get reasonably priced fruits and veggies. For a treat, visit one of the dried fruit stands and get some dried cherries (my mouth waters just thinking of them). The market goes until the afternoon every day but Sunday. The locals use Campo mainly as a produce market, but you can also buy plates, cutting boards, little espresso makers and things of that nature. Though I’m sure this must top the list of every cheesy tourist manual, campo is a fun experience (but if you want to be in the real, dirty Rome, walk down Via dei Cappellari – a super thin street shooting off from the piazza, where some of the furniture and glass makers work.) Caffé Peru The walls of the place are covered in hand-painted tiles, and they are usually playing American disco. Caffe Peru is right around the corner from Campo di Fiori, past a few woodworking shops. I have no idea how or why this is, but cappuccini at Caffe Peru are really strong. It’s like getting a colon cleanse for one euro.
1. MAXXI 2. Parco della Musica & Palazzetto dello Sport 3. Borghese Museum 4. Santa Maria degli Angeli 5. La Casetta 6. Campagna Amica Market 7. Centro Storico Fandango Incontro San Ivo alla Sapienza Sant Eustachio Caffe Doria Campo di Fiori Market Rossosapore
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Caffe Peru
8. Trastevere
Pizzeria Nerone Rivendita Antica Gelateria del Viale Ivo a Trastevere Carlo Menta Il Bacocco Enoteca Hostaria Pizzeria Il Vicolo di Caruso
9. Giardino degli Aranci 10. Monte Testaccio 11. Porta Portese Market 12. Gianicolo/Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi
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