EAT
Salumeria Volpetti in Testaccio is Italian gastronomic heaven, with hundreds of cheeses, incredible selection of cured meats, oils, vinegars, etc.
Ristorante L'Arcangelo very creative take on traditional Roman dishes in a small and charming restaurant.
Armando al Pantheon well executed traditional Roman fare in a small, narrow room with old-school ambiance & full of charm.
Salumeria-Vineria Roscioli has a salumeria in front and restaurant in the back; I don’t even know how many times I have used the word charming to describe Italy, but this place, here we go again, is so full of charm. Make reservations ahead of time.
Pizzarium is the place to go for a slice of pizza (we did not get to go though). We had pizza instead at Emma Pizzeria and it was quite good.
Testaccio Food Market - Mordi e Vai where Sergio Esposito, a retired butcher, serves sandwiches and side dishes made from family recipes.
GELATO - needs its own category - Grom [chain of gelato stores, but still serves very high quality gelati]; Gelateria del Teatro [unique flavours of gelati]; Fior di Luna [very good gelateria in Trastevere]; Carapina [another great option]
SLEEP Hotel Martis Palace is where we stayed. Near Piazza Navona, this hotel is at a great central location, walkable to most of the main touristic attractions in Rome. G Rough is where we would have liked to stay. Same area, the design and style of this small hotel is incredible, but it is pretty costly. Another option, closer to the Spanish Steps, is Margutta 54.
TO DO
This was not our first time in Rome, so we did not feel the need to cover the famous sites, and decided to explore less known areas & museums.
Panoramic Electric Bike Tour will take you to 6 of the 7 hills in Rome, allowing for amazing panoramic views of the city. We got to see most of the well-known areas and monuments, giving us a great perspective of Rome. We did it through Top Bike Rentals and Tours and they were great.
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is a small museum that holds a great collection of Ancient Roman works of art, including incredible mosaics. Off the beaten path, it’s worth a visit (thank you Laurie for the recommendation).
Basilica di San Clemente - Rome has over 900 churches, so you will get to see a church every two blocks or so, and this is not an exaggeration! Of all these churches, we got to visit Basilica di San Clemente, again thanks to Laurie’s recommendation, and it was the right choice. We peaked into many other churches, but this one is worth a longer visit.
Food Tour of Testaccio/Trastevere neighborhoods through KatieParla.com – Testaccio used to be a blue-collar residential neighborhood outside of City limits, where the main slaughterhouse for the area was based. Today it is part of Rome, and a sought after neighborhood for its proximity to the City center and at the same time its small town feel. There’s a nice food market “Nuovo mercato di Testaccio” to visit close to the contemporary art museum MACRO on the site of the now deactivated slaughterhouse. One of the nice surprises on this tour was the Protestant Cemetery located in this same neighborhood. Very small with beautiful well-maintained grounds and fascinating tombstones. Trastevere is a very charming neighborhood in Rome that has become quite popular for it’s cobblestone streets, beautiful piazzas, plenty of restaurant & bar options. Some think it is loosing a bit of its character and I would agree if you are strolling along the main streets and piazza. But if you explore the small side streets and get deep into the neighborhood, the experience will be very different & more authentic.
