Mar 15, 2024
Rome is the third most visited city in Europe. Around ten million tourists visit it every year. This is understandable, historical monuments such as the Colosseum, the Patreon, the Vatican or the fountains typical of Rome are attractive to people. That is, until you have to weave through a cluster of people trying to do the same. Then the magic is gone. When Baccio Pontelli and Giovaninno de'Dolci were working on the design of the Sistine Chapel, they could hardly have anticipated that there would be crowds and crowds of people circulating daily, with security shouting at them to hide their phones and not try to take photos of Michelangelo's Birth of Adam, which they then planned to share on Instagram.
If you get away from the tourist core, you might be enchanted by one of the peripheries, where you'll find apartment buildings with large terraces full of olive trees, ficus, orange trees and other slightly exotic greenery. Lively, perhaps a little dirty streets with the ubiquitous scooters and their alternative electric mini cars forming a practical solution to getting around the crowded city. Worth mentioning are the Roman parks with their mature pine trees (pinus pinea). You can't go wrong buying wine, a baguette, some stracciatella, prosciutto and fresh fruit at the local markets along the way.
It's also interesting to note that most of the businesses here, cafes, restaurants or bakeries, are often handed down from generation to generation. That said, they're all very cosy and the quality is more or less on a similar level - the pasta and tiramisu is good everywhere. But I haven't seen the desire to "do top gastro" that I observe in cities where people had to start building from scratch after emerging from the socialist grip. For example, in my country, the so-called third wave of coffee is often referred to as the art of coffee making, and for example, coffee in Rome is more seen as an efficient tool: "One espresso, chop chop, and I'm on my way."
Here is a list and map of places of interest:
Park of the Aqueducts
Villa Doria Pamphili
Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria
Forno Monteforte
Romanè
Mercato Trionfale
Mille viae ducunt hominem per saecula Roman
KR
