Pocket Rough Guide Rome (Rough Guide Pocket Guides)

210 Pages·2010·24.75 MB·English

by  Martin Dunford

POCKET ROUGH GUIDE
ROME
• ROME’S BEST RESTAURANTS, BARS, SHOPS AND HOTELS

Pocket Rough Guide
ROME
written and researched by
MARTIN DUNFORD NATASHA FOGES
AND

Contents
INTRODUCTION 4
Rome at a glance .......................7 Itineraries .................................8
Museums and galleries ............14 Churches .................................24
Viewpoints ..............................16 Ancient Rome ..........................26
Eating Out ...............................18 Baroque ..................................28
Shopping .................................20 Outdoor Rome ..........................30
Palaces ...................................22
PPLLAACCEESS 3322
1 The centro storico ..............34 7 The Celian Hill and
2 Campo de’ Fiori, the Ghetto San Giovanni .....................104
and around ........................50 8 The Aventine Hill and
3 Piazza Venezia and the south ...............................110
Capitoline Hill ....................60 9 Trastevere and the
4 Ancient Rome ....................66 Janiculum Hill ..................122
5 The Tridente, Trevi and 10 The Villa Borghese and
Quirinale ...........................74 north ................................132
6 The Esquiline, Monti and 11 The Vatican City ................140
Termini ..............................90 12 Day-trips ..........................154
ACCOMMODAAATION 162
ESSENTIALS 172
Arrival ....................................174 Chronology .............................184
Getting around ........................175 Italian ....................................187
Directory A-Z ..........................179 Index ......................................196
Festivals and events ................182
<< DOME OF SANTA MARIA DI LORETO
< VIEW OVER ST PETERS SQUARE 3
INTRODUCTION TO
ROME
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D Rome is the most fascinating city in Italy – you
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T could spend a month here and still only scratch the
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N surface. Yet it is so much more than an open-air
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O R museum: it has constantly reinvented itself over
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M the years, and its people, culture and food together
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make it a modern and vibrant city that would be
worthy of a visit irrespective of its incredible history.
As a historic place, it is special enough, but as a
contemporary European capital, it is utterly unique.
TREVI FOUNTAIN
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Best places for the perfect Roman pizza
There are loads of great pizzerias in Rome that serve up traditional thin,
crispy pizzas with the usual accompaniments of baccalà and fiori di
zucca. Most are open evenings only; if you want a lunchtime slice of
pizza – pizza al taglio – try Lo Zozzone (see p.46) or Il Forno (see p.57). THESE
ARE OUR OTHER FAVOURITES > Da Francesco p.47 > La Montecarlo p.48 > Ai
Marmi p.130 > Da Remo p.120
Rome’s eras crowd in on on a few key attractions
top of one another to a (check out our ideas in “Best
remarkable degree: there of…”) and see where your feet
are medieval churches atop take you. Above all, don’t be
ancient basilicas and palaces, afraid to just wander.
houses and apartment blocks You’d certainly be mad to
that incorporate fragments risk your blood pressure in
of Roman columns and any kind of vehicle, and the
inscriptions, and roads and best way of getting around
piazzas that follow the lines the city centre is to walk. The
of ancient amphitheatres and same goes for the ancient
stadiums. It’s not an easy sites, and probably the Vatican
place to absorb on one visit, and Trastevere quarter too
and you need to take things – although for these last two
slowly, even if you only have you might want to jump on a
a couple of days here. Most of bus or a tram going across the
the sights can be approached river. Keep public transport
from a number of directions, for longer hops – down to
and part of the allure of Rome Testaccio, Ostiense or EUR, or
is stumbling across things by to the catacombs and the Via
accident, gradually piecing Appia Antica, and of course
the city together, rather for trips outside the city: to
than marching around to a Ostia Antica, Tivoli or nearby
timetable. It’s best to decide beaches.
5
INTROD AL FRESCO EATING BY THE PANTHEON
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However you get around, be consumed by chainstores
the atmosphere is like no and multinational hotels.
other city – a monumental, Above all, there has perhaps
busy capital and yet an never been a better time to
appealingly relaxed one, visit. Rome has recently been
with a centre that has yet to hauled into the twenty-first
century: museums, churches
When to visit and other buildings that had
been “in restoration” as long
You can enjoy Rome at any time as anyone can remember
of year. However, you should, if have reopened, and some of
you can, avoid coming in July the city’s historic collections
and especially August, when it can have been re-housed. Plus,
be uncomfortably hot and most the city’s cultural life has
Romans are on holiday – indeed been enhanced, with frequent
open-air concerts and a
in August you may find many of
flourishing film festival in
the restaurants recommended
October. Transport, too,
in this book closed. May, June
is being tackled, with the
and September are the most construction of a third metro
comfortable months weather-wise line, although it may be some
– warm but not unbearably so, and time before this is finished.
not too humid. April and October Whether all this will
can be nice too – the city is less irrevocably alter the character
crowded, outside Easter, and days of the city remains to be
seen – the enhanced crowds
can still be warm and sunny. The
of visitors, spurred on by
winter months can be a good time
the growth of cheap flights
to visit, but bear in mind that the
in recent years, are certainly
weather is unpredictable and while having a go. But it’s a resilient
you’ll find everything pleasantly place, with a character like
uncrowded, a lot of attractions will no other, and for now at least
have reduced opening hours. there’s definitely no place like
Rome.
6
ROME
AT A GLANCE

>>EATING >>SHOPPING
R
Food is one of the highlights Fashion straight from the O
M
of any trip to Rome. You won’t catwalk is well represented on E
really eat badly anywhere: the streets close to the Spanish A
T
there are lots of good choices Steps – Via Condotti, Via A
in the centro storico; the Frattina and Via del Babuino G
Ghetto and Testaccio have a – where you’ll find the flagship L
A
large number of places serving stores of Prada, Valentino and N
traditional Roman food, while the like. Via del Corso caters C
E
the densest concentration of to young fashion and cheap
restaurants of all kinds can be clothing. There are lots of
found in Trastevere. There’s small, independent boutiques
also an abundance of good, around the Campo de' Fiori
honest pizzerias, churning and in Monti, and antique
out thin, crispy pizza from shops line Via dei Coronari
wood-fired ovens. Be wary of and the streets around. Food is
restaurants adjacent to some freshest and best in the markets
major monuments. Note that on Campo de’ Fiori and
many places are closed during Testaccio. The Porta Portese
August. flea market every Sunday
morning is a quintessentially
>>DRINKING
Roman experience.
Many Roman bars are  
traditionally daytime haunts, >>NIGHTLIFE
but nowadays there are also
plenty of bars and pubs There’s a concentration of clubs
conducive to an evening’s in Ostiense and Testaccio
drinking, and the city’s (especially lively in summer),
old-fashioned wine bars or while Trastevere, and the
enoteche have also become centro storico from the Jewish
more popular in recent years. Ghetto to the Pantheon, are
The Milanese tradition of good for bars, with the odd
aperitivi has taken off in bars backstreet club. The San
throughout the city; many Lorenzo area near Termini has
places put on a free buffet plenty of laid-back, studenty
at around 6–7pm to attract hangouts, often with live
pre-dinner drinkers. Wherever music. More alternative places
you are, you can drink late – are run as private clubs –
most places are open until at usually known as centri sociali,
least 1am – but Campo de’ a device that means you may
Fiori and the centro storico be stung for a membership fee,
near Piazza Navona, and the but entry will be free. Festivals
nightlife districts of Trastevere take place throughout the
and Testaccio, are the liveliest summer featuring concerts of
areas in the city centre.   every sort, many of them free.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHERE TO EAT, DRINK AND
SHOP ARE LISTED AT THE END OF EACH PLACES CHAPTER
7
Day One in Rome
1 Capitoline Hill > p.42. Rome
IT began here, and the two museums that
IN flank the elegant square are among
E
R the city’s key sights.
A
R
IE 2 Roman Forum > p.70. Some of
S the most ruined ruins you’ll see, but
also the most atmospheric.
3 Colosseum > p.68. The most
recognizable and perhaps the greatest
ancient Roman monument of them all.
(cid:2) 
Lunch > p.109. Enjoying the
good, traditional Roman food
at Luzzi, it’s hard to believe you’re just
five minutes from the Colosseum. 5
4 Fontana di Trevi > p.81. No trip to
the city could be complete without a
visit to this fountain.
5 Piazza di Spagna > p.74. The
Spanish Steps, Keats-Shelley House
and the square itself are among the
city’s most compelling attractions.
6 Ara Pacis > p.80. Enclosed in an
impressive purpose-built structure,
this amazing frieze displays the
imperial family during the time of
Augustus.
7 Galleria Borghese > p.133. The
Bernini sculptures here are the pure
essence of Rome (be sure to book in
advance).
(cid:2) 
Dinner > p.129. A meal in
lively Trastevere is a must –
and you can’t go wrong with a slap-up
dinner at La Gensola.
(cid:28) Ice cream > p.86. San
Crispino serves arguably the
city’s best ice cream.
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