Tips when in Rome, restaurants, neighbourhoods and parks
This year we are going away en masse during the May holiday and Rome is one of our favorite destinations for a long weekend or a week away. If you've been to Rome before like I have, you've probably checked off the tourist bingo card. Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Borgo Egnazia, and the Vatican.
But a bit of an Italy lover wants more. I once had the pleasure, oh how I long for that again, to stay in Rome for six months and roamed through alleys and streets. As long as you share it only with nice people, I'll tell you where you need to be.
Garbatella
You probably know Testaccio, the meatpacking district of Rome. Just like in its New York counterpart (these are our just-a-little-different-tips for New York by the way), the slaughterhouses were located here and one cool club after another is rising. It's not as high-end as in New York, but definitely cool and hip. Anyway, if you go a bit further down to Garbatella, you really enter a neighborhood where you want to live. We found it because we went on a pilgrimage to all the locations that Nanni Moretti features in his film Caro Diario. It's a bit of a village in the city. Green, low, parks, and restaurants where, if there is a tourist, they are disguised as un vero italiano.
Gianicolo
Unfortunately, it is not one of the seven hills of Rome, as they are all located on the left bank of the Tiber and Gianicolo is on the right side. Not that Gianicolo will feel like an outsider. It lies beautifully in the extension of the ever-bubbling Trastevere and offers the most beautiful view over Rome. At moments when the clouds of life turned dark, we always went ‘on Vespa’ to Gianicolo. The problems may not have disappeared immediately, but our mood was sunny again. I prefer Gianicolo, but there is also a diet that helps against depression.
Monti
On Via Giovanni Lanza, we were allowed to reside for six months. With “view” (in quotes because you can't actually see it) of the Domus Aurea and a flake of Colosseum, we learned what happiness feels like. We chose the Monti neighborhood because it is the last neighborhood before the Centro Storico where you can still come by car, where you stumble over the typical Roman water pumps, you can't choose from the cafes and small squares, and where you can't possibly visit all the galleries. When you're there, go to Trattoria Monti and eat what mothers (by the way, you should especially not do this with your Italian mother-in-law) found and prepared that day at the market. And yes, we indeed named our dog after this neighborhood.
Villa Doria Pamphili
The largest park in Rome, by the Gianicolo hill, is a place where Romans picnic, exercise, or maybe grab a guitar and sing a little together. Because if there's one thing you can learn from Italians, it's how to celebrate life. I previously wrote about the 9 things you can learn from an Italian woman, also very funny if I may say so. I cherish the finest memories of this park. Just rolling out a blanket one afternoon with our friends Mick and Helena and enjoying all the divine things that Mick (once a chef, now a furniture maker) had prepared in his small kitchen in Trastevere while my love opened a bottle, is better than the best dream.
Divertiti!
Rome anticipation
To get in the mood, I recommend some nice Netflix series set in Rome. In the category of better anticipation, you can watch:
- Suburra: Blood on Rome (Netflix)
A raw, intense series about the underworld of Rome. Power, church, mafia, and politics come together. Addictive. - Rome (HBO, 2005–2007)
Historical epic about Julius Caesar, emperors, and the lives of ordinary Romans. Grand, bloody, but all beautifully filmed. - Luna Park (Netflix, 2021)
An Italian coming-of-age series about two girls in the Rome of the 1960s. - Medici: Masters of Florence (Netflix) – partly in Rome
Although it mainly takes place in Florence (also not unpleasant to watch), there are scenes set in papal Rome. If you love intrigues, this series is perfect for you. - Borgia (Netflix)
More power and scandals? Here you have them. This series is about Pope Alexander VI and his notorious children. You see Rome in all its decadence and excess. And of course, you can always watch the latest season of Emily in Paris for a contemporary dash of Rome.
And I love to share many tips about Italy, besides Rome also a lot about the heel of Italy, Puglia, where we now have a house that we also rent outand other fun things, so welcome on my insta.
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Image: /villa-doria-pamphili
