Three courses in Rome’s best restaurants

As Elizabeth Gilbert rightly points out in her book ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, Rome is a city renowned for its gastronomic delicacies and where neighbourhoods are lined with pasticcerias, pizzerias and gelaterias. When you’re visiting Rome, you most certainly won’t leave hungry and even if you try, it is hard to find a bad meal – though be careful, you can find an overpriced one. Whatever the premise of your trip to the Eternal City, make sure you allow yourself time to have a true taste of the Roman culture. To make it easier for you we’ve come up with a simple itinerary to experience the best of local delicacies and traditions, from starter through to desert. Freni e Frizione An old car part garage, Freni e Frizione (whose name actually means ‘brakes and clutches’) is the place to go for a true sense of young, vibrant Roman foodie life. Nestled in a cobbled corner of Trastevere, this bar isn’t just visited for its strong drinks as much as its legendary antipasti. The place attracts drives of locals to join the culture of ‘little nibbles’ that Italy is so famous for, so make sure you get there early. Doors open at 7pm and the rule is that when you buy a drink you are entitled to as much food from the antipasti selection as you can stomach. Well, within reason. Laid out like an artisan buffet, you’re invited to choose from plates of chickpea salads to fresh mozzarella and tomato, baked ‘zucchine’ and Moroccan inspired cous cous. It’s an antipasti tradition given a modern makeover. Freni e Frizione is the perfect excuse to indulge in some pre-dinner snacks and whet your hungry appetite, so go and sample some rustic Roman delicacies whilst sipping on a refreshing, well made, cocktail crafted by the talented Roman bar staff. Via del Politeama, 4/6, 00153 Rome, Italy L’Economica In the heart of local San Lorenzo, near the main La Sapienza University, L’Economica is an unassuming and uncomplicated pizzeria. To taste some of the best home-made pizza, San Lorenzo offers tourist-free restaurants and tourist-free prices to leave you both satisfied in stomach and in pocket. Served up in a small restaurant with a mezzanine and tables spilling into the street when it’s warm, there’s plenty of room to sit- providing you don’t mind knocking elbows with your neighbour. The pizza choice is varied and true to its Roman roots where you can choose from simple Margheritas to meat feasts of spiced pork and salsicce (sausage); opt for toppings of heart of artichoke, parmesan shavings with fresh rocket, or even try some deep-fried courgette flowers for a true delicacy. These pizzas are lovingly made in the one-man kitchen of L’Economica, where the restaurant staff are all related in some distant Italian way. Wash your dinner down with some house red and leave feeling pleasantly full. Via Tiburtina, 46 00185 Roma Palazzo del Freddo Giovanni Fassi Fassi, as it’s known locally, is one of the oldest and most famous gelaterias in Rome. Founded in 1880, as it proudly advertises, the shop is 700 square metres with 200 of them dedicated to ice-cream making workspace. The Italians love their gelato so what better way to taste some of the flavours of the Mediterranean tradition than by sampling some heaped scoops to cleanse the palette. Lined with glass cabinets and diner-style tables and chairs, Fassi is a proper old-school ice cream parlour and you can even see the vintage ice cream makers on display as well. Open all hours Fassi caters to only the most knowing of tourists and is a local hot spot serving a mix of unique and classic flavours. From traditional tiramisu and exotic fruits, dark chocolate, hazelnut and even rice, to name but a few, choose your serving style of heaped generous scoops, ‘semifreddo’ or ‘granita’ (sundae-style ice cream). Just south of the main train station Termini, it’s a short walk from Vittorio Emmanuele metro station so if you want to space out your meal and walk off a course or two, Fassi is well worth a visit. Via Principe Eugenio, 65, 00185 Roma Make your trip to Rome that extra bit easier and invest in a OMNIA Vatican & Rome Pass. Not only can you visit the top attractions and monumental landmarks for free and with discounted entry, but you can travel round the city with a Travelcard and experience the sites from the comfort of a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. To find out more about how the OMNIA Vatican & Rome Pass works, click here.

Go City Expert
Rome Travel Expert

Continue reading

Blog

Tour of Rome's Street Art and Graffiti

Although Rome’s Street Art scene is less renowned than say that of LA, London or Berlin, the alternative graffiti culture is growing year on year. In an emerging scene with new artists spreading their wings – or spraying their cans – across the city, Rome’s the one-to-watch. Walking through the streets of the city, from the historical centre to the student hub, there are colloquial murals everywhere from in-your-face takeovers to blink-and-you-miss-it icons. With a wealth of undiscovered and underappreciated artists, huge inroads have been made to legalise walls for people to practice their craft. Although some disapprove; you can’t deny that it’s a step in the right direction when it comes to embracing regulated new forms of expression. Although you won’t find much real street art in the tourist hubs in Rome (bored adolescent graffiti doesn’t count) you’ll be more successful widening your search out to the more local areas around railways lines and under bridges, in and around Trastevere, Pigneto and San Lorenzo districts. To get a flavour of what Rome has to offer, the MondoPop Gallery, near the Spanish Steps, exhibits some of the best street artists on the scene, both from Rome and internationally. You'll get a flavour of what the city has to offer and even spot some names you’ll recognise dotted around the streets afterwards. San Lorenzo, the student hub, is rife with impressive colourful murals and messages from the city’s creative undergraduates. It’s often the place artists start out before moving up to other districts. Walk under the Scalo di San Lorenzo and via dei Volsci for a look at Rome’s budding artists. Also, on Via dei Sabelli you’ll see Alice Pasquini’s work, too. Head to Volturno, near Termini station, if you want to get really involved and see how it’s done. Pigneto is the chosen area for many of Rome’s top artists. Walk through these cobbled streets and uncover the new world; Rome’s modern, urban undercurrent amidst the historical district. Look out for the signatures Hogre, Alt97, Uno, Hopnn and #cancelletto# as they take Pigneto as their turf, claiming walls and surfaces as their canvasses. Take it all in, the next time you visit they might not be there – not every Roman is as pro the urbanisation of their city as others. Check out the former cinemas Preneste for other spellbinding designs, too. Ostienese is now host to the Outdoor Festival and 999 Contemporary art shows which invite like-minded artists from around the world to show in their city. These shows encourage artists to share and paint legal walls to inspire the industry to grow. Blu is considered one of the most famous Italian artists in the world; and he can’t pass through the area without adorning it with one of his signature pieces. Look out for his Porto Fluviale, his most recent addition. Trastevere although both a local and tourist mecca, has recently become the host to new works by Omino71 and Mr. Klevra – so look out the next time you’re across the river. Whether you’re for or against Street Art, you should be able to appreciate Rome’s changing urban landscape. Street art and graffiti highlight the juxtaposition between the old and new so it's only fair that Rome is allowed to keep up with its capital counterparts in terms of artistic expression.
Go City Expert
Blog

Our Guide to the Borghese Gallery: Don't Miss Out

Feeling artsy? Check out our guide to the Borghese Gallery See some of the world's most significant pieces of art at Villa Borghese, where the family that the villa is named for cultivated one of the world's most impressive art collections. From early Caravaggios to Bernini's most breathtaking sculptures, there's lots to see here - make sure you see the highlights with our guide to the Borghese Gallery below. David with the Head of Goliath It should come as no surprise that this dark piece of work comes from the mind of Caravaggio, one of the greatest Baroque artists of all time. As with all of his works, the play of light and shadows is one of the most striking things about it. Beyond its biblical references to the story of David slaying the giant Goliath, it's also an allegory for Caravaggio himself who gifted this to Pope Borghese to ask for a murder pardon. Apollo and Daphne These gorgeous sculptures were crafted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a Baroque artist that grew to prominence in the 1600s. These mythological and romantic statues were actually crafted for Scipione Borghese, the founder of the Borghese Gallery - and Bernini was just 24 when he made them. Young Sick Bacchus While this portrait of the Greek god Bacchus has strong mythological ties, Caravaggio actually based it off of his own likeness and is one of his earliest self-portraits. Painted in the dark Baroque style the artist was renowned for, its said that it reflects Caravaggio's own illness for which he was hospitalised for several months. The Rape of Persephone The virtuoso sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini's work fills the halls of Galleria Borghese and The Rape of Persephone is perhaps one of his most visited. Crafted by the artist at just 23 years old, the work depicts the goddess Persephone fighting off the god Hades who eventually steals her away to the underworld to be his wife. It was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese and while it moved around a bit in its lifetime, it eventually found its way back to the Borghese family in the early 1900s. Venus Victrix It's hard to believe this sculpture is hewn out of marble, as the artist Antonio Canova's work seems as though it is set to take a deep breath and come to life any second. This is one of the most famous sculptures in the Borghese Gallery and has strong historical precedence as well, as the semi-nude was actually based on Pauline Bonaparte - yes, that Bonaparte. (She was Napoleon's sister.) Sacred and Profane Love When discussing the masters of the Borghese Gallery, it's impossible for Titian's name and this particular painting to come up. As one of his earliest outstanding pieces, the contrast between the two women - one clothed and one bare naked - has been highly debated and meaning read and reread into everything from their composition, to their posture, to even what they're holding in their hands. The Deposition Also known famously as The Entombment, this biblical work by a young Raphael exemplifies the best of his early training, including his skills gained from Florentine masters. While the subject matter - the entombment of Christ following his crucifixion - isn't particularly original or groundbreaking, the choice of scene was very left field at the time and proof of his originality.
Megan Hills
Blog

The history of the Roman Forum: the centre of the Ancient World

The Roman Forum was the hub of commerce and trade in the Ancient World and has been dubbed the most celebrated meeting place in the world – and indeed in all history. The Roman Forum developed over many centuries in the valley between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills and was originally a sodden marsh until it was drained into the River Tiber. Funny to think that one of the most important and powerful Empires was founded on swampland! According to tradition, the Forum was founded as a result of the conciliation of two rivals, Romulus (founder of Rome) who ruled the Palatine Hill, and his nemesis Titus Tatius, who controlled the Capitoline Hill. Their original Forum was used as an open air market place but it was the Comitium which later held public speeches, civic trials and assemblies; driving the Forum into a different politically charged space. Later, in the Republican era, the Senate wanted to expand the Forum's piazza and so purchased private property to turn it into public use. From the 5th century BC, the first temples were constructed – namely the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of Castor and Pollux, as well as the Temple of Concord in the century later, expanding the growing central hub of Ancient Rome. The earliest basilicas were introduced into the Forum in 184 BC which began the process of ‘monumentalizing’ the site. The first basilica to be added to the Roman Forum was the Basilica Fulvia at the north side of the square in 179 BC; nine years later the Basilica Sempronia was constructed on the south side. As the Forum developed with more public buildings and monuments, slowly the public gatherings and important political celebrations that were held in the Comitium moved into the Forum – such as the popular comitia tribute assemblies, funerals of Roman nobility and popular games. It was during the reign of Sulla that major work was undertaken on the Forum including the laying of marble stones – raising the plaza level by almost a metre – how we see it today. In 63 BC Cicero delivered his famous speech to the conspirator Catiline in the Forum. But it was the oration given at Caesar’s funeral – which you’ll recognise from Shakespeare’s play – delivered at the speaker’s podium, the New Rostra, that was probably the most significant and memorable event that has lived in history. The burning of Caesar’s body then took place in the site where the Temple to the Defied Caesar now stands, built by the Emperor’s great-nephew Octavius, aka, Augustus. It was Augustus who later gave the Roman Forum its final form; adding the Temple of Divus Iulius and the Arch of Augustus in 29 BC. Jumping ahead to the medieval era in the 6th century (AD), some of the monuments within the Roman Forum were turned into Christian churches. By the 8th century the whole Forum was filled with these new religious buildings, transforming abandoned and ruined temples into Christian shrines. It was during this time that travellers to Rome noted that the Roman Forum was already falling apart and although the memory of its former glory lasted, the once powerful imperial site was now referred to as Campo Vaccino – meaning cattle field – as it was falling into disuse, ruin and under layers of years of debris. It was also during this period that builders and architects dismantled the surviving buildings to use the original material for the construction of towers and castles in the local area. Later on in the 13th century, the Roman Forum was used as a dumping ground for old medieval buildings – and the Roman practice of building new neighbourhoods over old ruins meant the old Roman Forum was almost nowhere to be seen, with a significant rise in ground level. It wasn’t until the 18th century that any type of excavation work really began thanks to the early efforts to recreate the outline of the Roman Forum by artists in the late 15th century, later supported and completed by antiquaries. Excavation and restoration was only really first attempted in 1803 by Carlos Fea, who began clearing debris from the Arch of Septimus Severus. Archaelogists under Napoleon’s regime then helped carried on his work, but it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the Roman Forum was fully excavated! So when you know the history of the Roman Forum, you can appreciate the history and change that the Roman Forum has witnessed over these thousands of years. Just think about it, the marble and cobbled paths and streets that you walk through are at the real level at which it stood during the Imperial period - now that should make you stop and think. With the OMNIA Card you can discover the ancient world of the Roman Forum for free. You can even skip the queues and jump straight to the front and explore the centre of Empires past. If you want to visit the Forum Museum, to discover more of the ancient world and Roman Forum, including ancient artifacts and old sculptures,, show the OMNIA Card to the ticket staff and you can get free and fast track entry to the Coliseum and museum included as well. It’s your answer to the best sightseeing experience in Rome!
Go City Expert

Dreaming of that Rome city break?

Sign up to receive top travel tips

Thick check Icon