1 month ago
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Davide Bertolino is an Italian travel expert who has lived in Rome for 15 years. He tells our Lifestyle Editor, Kristina Beanland, about the best underrated spots in his city.
There are two things I love most about living in Rome.
First, the people. Romans are open, warm and noisy. I’ve lost count of the conversations I’ve had at the supermarket checkout because someone commented on something in my trolley, what I was wearing, or my Northern Italian accent.
The same happens at events or anywhere people gather: it’s remarkably easy to start talking to someone, and I love that.
The second, is the city itself. After 15 years, I know which hidden backstreets lead to tiny squares with lovely little bars where you can stop, breathe and take in Rome’s eternal charm.
Even around major tourist sites, there are viewpoints, avenues and side streets where you can still find silence.
So, when friends and family visit (I recommend spring or autumn, when Rome is at its best), I’ll share a few of my secrets.
I’ve had a long career in PR, and founded my own PR consultancy, Press & Pillow, a year ago, so I’m nearly always surrounded by people on the phone — or I’m on it myself.
The tips I give tend to be for little spots a bit off the main tourist routes, where you can breathe, take things in and think (or maybe avoid thinking all together).
For wandering, getting lost down the backstreets, and mixing in with the locals, Rione Monti (Rome’s first historic district) is my happy place, no question.
It sits right between the Colosseum, the Imperial Forums and Termini station, so it’s easy to reach, and yet it still makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.
It’s all steps, climbing plants and little lanes that open out onto lovely small squares.
If it’s not too hot, grab a takeaway spritz and drink it on the steps of the Catecumeni Fountain in Piazza della Madonna dei Monti.
From about 7pm you’ll be surrounded by groups of friends, someone playing an instrument, and workmates meeting for a drink after the office.
It’s one of those places where Rome comes together, and you’ll almost certainly end up chatting to whoever’s sitting next to you. I’ve been doing it for years.
For another quiet spot in the heart of the city, I would choose the Giardino Grande at Palazzo Venezia.
It sits right where Via del Corso meets Piazza Venezia, one of the busiest and noisiest parts of Rome, but the moment you step inside you find yourself in a peaceful courtyard, surrounded by the architecture of the palazzo, lush greenery and a beautiful fountain by the sculptor Carlo Monaldi.
It never stops amazing me that all you have to do is cross that threshold to find almost complete peace.
Picking a restaurant is genuinely hard, but since I try my best to avoid generic menus, streets packed with tourists and food that’s come straight out of a freezer, I treat myself to dinner at least once a month at Lo Zozzone, in Via del Teatro Pace.
It’s a stone’s throw from Piazza Navona, but the street is quiet, the little tables outside are pretty, and most of the people eating there are locals who walk in, say hello to the owner, order their usual gricia and moan that there was nowhere to park the scooter outside their flat today.
The place is simple, wonderfully crammed with all sorts of bric-a-brac, and the classic Roman dishes come in portions that are almost too generous. You can’t book. First come, first served.
Alternatively, if the occasion’s a romantic one and the budget stretches a little further, for an after-dinner drink, Adèle Mixology Lounge, on the eighth floor of the Hotel Splendide Royal, is, hands down, my favourite terrace in Rome.
Ask for the corner table facing St Peter’s dome. At sunset, it does most of the work for you.
And, if I feel like treating myself which, unfortunately, happens every time I pass it (so perhaps treat isn’t the right word!) — I get a piece of pizza bianca filled with mortadella from Forno Campo de’ Fiori. It has to be eaten in the square, of course.
If you have time, head out of the city, to the Villa dei Quintili, a large and extremely well preserved Roman residential complex, dating back to 2AD.
Many people visit the Appia Antica (the Appian Way), one of the earliest roads of Ancient Rome. While it is indeed magnificent, hordes of tourists crowd here, on foot and on bikes.
But at Villa dei Quintili, just off the Appia Antica, there’s a park you can walk across in almost complete solitude, finding yourself among villas, cisterns and nymphaea along paths that cut through wheat fields.
It’s a year-round favourite of mine. The views are beautiful, the ruins are extraordinary, but what I still find hardest to believe is how quiet it can be.
There are so many places in and around Rome that are less well-known, but just as magnificent, and after almost two decades in the city, I’m still discovering them.
Rome is constantly changing, but its ruins and monuments are everywhere. They remind me that, however fast the world may be spinning, it is always possible to find your bearings again.
As told to Kristina Beanland.
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