A Mid-week Jaunt Down to Rome
I know many people fantasize about Roman summer holidays, espadrilled and astride a Vespa, zipping from a lovely pasta lunch to Spritzs in a little piazza café, but the sad reality is summer is overrun by teaming hordes of ugly tourists that ruin your magical trip at every turn.
I’d argue for going totally off-season and shooting down mid-week. Instead of planning a week-long holiday here, focus either on the Italian countryside or just somewhere else in Europe altogether where the concentration of ambulating assholes isn’t quite as dense, and then zip over to the capital for a Tuesday-Friday escapade, eschewing the Vatican and Coliseum for Villa Medici and the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. It’s barely an hour flight from Paris, and airfares are under a hundred bucks from London.
HOTELS
The hotel scene in Rome is out of control. On a recent visit the only decent hotel offering for under a nine hundred dollars a night was the too-far-flung Soho House. Most hotels’ basic rooms hovered in the $1,200 range, and this was on a weekend in October. Another reason why I suggest mid-week in February as an alternative.
I would highly recommend looking into an Airbnb as there are no shortages of options, some truly palatial and a fraction of the cost. And honestly, if you are only coming for 2-3 days, you will be spending 90% of your time racing around town.
But if room service and a massage after a long day of walking is what you’re after, you’d be hard-pressed to find a spot as impeccably-appointed as the new Bulgari Hotel, just one block off the main thoroughfare which keeps it a convenient oasis of calm (it’s also a block from the river, allowing for beautiful evening strolls).
Another option—and a great spot to grab a drink—is the Locarno Hotel. But beware: the hotel side has two wings, one recently renovated, the other quaintly dilapidated. The new side feels like your average business hotel in Wichita but is also a fraction the price of the old-world style rooms. Your choice.
Lastly, the Hotel de Russie’s outdoor gardens and patio make for the most splendid breakfast option I’ve ever seen (and a great late-afternoon aperitivo) and the recently renovated rooms feel modern yet classic at once.
FOOD
Antico Forno Roscioli This should be your first stop and last stop when you touch down. Roscoli has 3-4 stores a block away from each other but the Forno (bakery) is where you want to head. Get a slice of their tomato pizza (Roman pizzas come in long strips that are hacked down to custom sizes by machete-wielding bakers). For something sweet the caprese chocolate almond cake will do the trick, as well as the ricotta and cherry tart.
Pizzarium Bonci Okay, your real first stop should be here as it’s in the middle of nowhere though surely en route from the airport to wherever you may be staying. This dude is the modern upstart, the disrupter of the centuries-old Roman pizza scene and his flavors are unorthodox but damn tasty.
Piperno The most beautiful dining room in Rome, hands down (cosy and elegant in the winter, while the outside is idyllic in warmer weather). An iconic classic in the old Jewish ghetto it weirdly doesn’t get overly busy. Don’t miss out on their fried artichokes to start, or the pasta vongole as a primi. Pure magic.
Da Enzo A more “local” place to eat in Trastevere, somewhat far from the maddening crowds, it’s super simple, classic Roman fare. A few recent articles have made it tougher to score a table but if you need to wait twenty minutes, after you put your name down head two blocks away to Biscottificio Artigiano Innocenti, a beautiful little bakery with great cookies.
Dal Bolognese The ultimate see-and-be-seen terrace come springtime, the name does not disappoint when it comes to the meat sauce or any of the other dishes. Still as great as it was sixty years ago.
Armando Al Pantheon This is Alice Waters’ favorite restaurant in town, just a half block away from the Pantheon. Get there early for dinner and walk through the stunning space when the crowds have thinned out, it’s one of the more remarkable structures in town.
Retrobottega If you’re in the mood for a restaurant that hasn’t been opened over 78 years, this is the spot. A revolving seasonal menu, a slightly more punk attitude, it’s the best of the new generation.
La Casa Del Caffè Tazza D’oro This small standing-room-only coffee shop has THE GREATEST COFFEE DRINK YOU WILL EVER HAVE EVER. Their shakerato (ask for it sweetened) will put to shame any Frappuccino or pumpkin spice latte (or even another shakerato). It’s deceptively simple, a shot of espresso poured over ice, tossed in a 1950s-style milkshake blender, and then strained into a small shot glass. Even as I write this I realize that words don’t do it justice, and that I’m simply sounding like a crazy person, BUT IT IS THE GREATEST THING EVER. EVER EVER. Okay, that’s it.
Gilotti and Ciampini Blocks away from each other are the two best places for a gelato. Hard to choose a winner between the two but luckily you don’t have to, just go to both. If Gilotti has the riso flavor, take it, it’s like frozen rice pudding and pairs really well with caramel gelato.
SIGHTSEEING
The crowds of the Vatican and Colosseum can be overwhelming and ruin otherwise spiritual experiences. I suppose if you are the first one in in the morning it can be special but recently the Vatican has made their earliest summer visiting time slot 6am which is not exactly ideal. However, I can’t vouch for them, but I’ve been told that Carolina Vincenti and Francesca Corsi are two guides can arrange for a private tour.
Galleria Borghese My favorite space in the city, this museum is the perfect scale, you can walk through it all in less than an hour, and features all the greatest hits: some Caravaggios, plenty of stunning Bernini sculptures, and breathtaking ceiling frescoes.
If you only visit one church while in Rome, make it San Luigi dei Francesi, right in the center of town and boasting three exceptional Caravaggio paintings. Then again, the ceiling of the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola is pretty impressive too.
Villa Medici This sleepy compound is home to the French Academy HQ. The shows are often uninteresting but the grounds make for a beautiful stroll, often in peaceful tranquility as few people bother venturing here.
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana aka Fendi HQ Okay, this one is a bit random but it’s my favorite destination in town. Originally built as part of a Fascist World’s Fair that never took place during WWII, it went unfinished for decades and then only partially used until Fendi took it over ten years ago as their HQ. It is a temple of neo-classical architecture and draws a perfect line from the ancient Colosseum (a fun thing to do is drive past the Colosseum in the morning and then visit this in the afternoon to compare/contrast). You sadly can’t visit the interior (aside from the lobby which offers an awesome vending machine which sells a beautiful coffee-table book about the history of the space along with other Fendi tchotchkes), but there is plenty to marvel at on the outside. It’s a real shlep out of town (about a 25 minute taxi ride) but there are a few other Mussolini-era structures nearby also worth perusing, including the city’s planetarium and Palazzo dei Congressi (both of which are more impressive on the outside than inside).
SHOPPING
Hidden on Via Monserrato and reachable only by appointment is the coolest, most elegant tailor shop in town, Giuliva Heritage. This isn’t an old hunch-backed grandpa teetering around and mumbling nonsensically in Italian, but rather a dashing young husband-and-wife team that have no qualms collaborating with H&M or offering their non-bespoke wears at Le Bon Marche and Net-a-Porter. This is where you want to get your next tweed jacket, corduroy suit, or shawl-collared camel-haired coat.
On the same street but definitely open to the public is Delfina Delettrez’s beautifully whimsical jewelry store. The daughter of the Fendi family, she has exceptional taste and a great sense of humor, offering jewel-encrusted sterling silver ice cream cones alongside sleek, modern rings and bracelets.
And one final stop on the street, Chez Dede offers a mish-mash of chic canvas tote bags, vintage ashtrays, limited edition art prints, and so much more.
Schostal If custom-embroidered tartan pajamas are your jam, this spot is for you. And if it’s more your partner’s jam, let them off here while you cross the street and enjoy a scoop of gelato at Giolotti.
Gammarelli If you’ve ever wanted to dress like the Pope but were unsure where to begin, this place offers the most practical start: for over two hundred years they have been furnishing silk socks to local pontiffs. And let me tell you, Popes know socks.
Bomba A great spot for custom-made casual clothing (think cashmere loungewear jacket), it’s right around the corner from Dal Bolognese so book a table for lunch and stroll over for a fitting afterwards (they also have a few pieces of ready-to-wear and if you’re in luck, you’ll really be in luck!!!).
C.u.c.i.n.a If you’re looking for the right tools to replicate your favorite meals from this trip, be it a solid brass pasta extruder or simple wooden gnocchi board, this is the place for you.
