Rome is full of very rich museums and beautiful exhibitions but, from last October and until the beginning of March, there is a new extraordinary place to visit. For the beauty and the history of the palace that is opened to the public for the first time, the Bonaparte Palace built buy Govanni De Rossi between 1657 and 1677 in an elegant mixture of Renaissance and Baroque style where Maria Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte, Napoleon’s mother, lived for long years, from 1818 to her death in 1836.  But also and mostly for the magic of the colours and the lights of the fifty Impressionist’s and post-impressionist’s masterpieces that are exhibited in the splendidly decorated Letizia’s drawing rooms.

Most of them for the first and, perhaps, the last time. In fact, they all belong to private collections and are just loaned for a few month.  That is why they are “secret” even if they are all great name’s paintings - Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, Gauguin, Seurat, Berthe Morisot, Caillebotte, Pissaro, Sisley…

They are all recognizable of course. The Renoir young girls beautiful portraits, the vibration of Gauguin or Pissaro landscapes, the warm atmosphere of Caillebotte’s little French towns etc... But they are also, in a certain sense, new for us. And discovering something new of a beauty that we already know is very pleasant. This splendid exhibition confirms that impressionism was, without any doubt, one of the greatest periods in the history of painting. And, even if it was built much earlier, the Bonaparte palace appears just the right place to admire these “secret impressionists”.

The visit of the palace offers also many other surprises. The beautiful fresco with a predominance of 2 colours, red and gold, a Canova’s sculpture (a copy, the original was taken by Wellington and can be admired in Apsley House in London) representing Napoleon as  “Mars the peacemaker”.

A contradiction in terms! And a delicious “secret” place:  a very curious balcony, or more exactly a closed loggia, on the corner of the first floor. It is there that Napoleon’ s mother, Letizia, used to stay for hours, watching what happened in the hearth of Rome, in the central Via Del Corso and Piazza Venezia in a complete incognito, nobody could see her.

We are a small family company and we are glad to share our local knowledge about our City with all the people interested in Rome.
Our team has been looking for the best places in the centre of Rome and neighbouring, where to eat, drink, enjoy a nice aperitif but also useful places like pharmacies, laundries, supermarkets and much more.
The results of this research combined with our local experience and our friend’s advices have been published on an interactive Google Maps tool where to discover about hundreds of places that will make your stay in Rome more authentic and amusing.

​If you were looking for insider’s tips for Rome touring you found what you need!

​Our map is divided into categories. Each icon indicates a type of service like the pizza icon indicates a pizzeria, the cart icon a supermarket, the cocktail glass a Wine bar/Cocktail bar and so on.
By clicking on the icon that interests you, you will see the information about the location, the kind of offer, the exact address etc…
Just turn on the location mode on your mobile phone and start your Journey to Rome thanks to our tips!

Just to let you have an idea, here are some of the locations we suggest on the Map:
Are you a meat lover? Do you want to cook at home? Angelo Feroci’s delicious butchery is waiting for you.

What about adding to it some fresh delicious fruit or vegetables in one of the fabulous Rome Markets?

Or maybe you prefer some Pasta alla Carbonara made by Egg’s Restaurant or some more sophisticated fusion cuisine in Casa Coppelle?

Tired after the lunch? Enjoy one of the best coffees in Caffè Greco close to Spanish Steps...

...or buy some exotic Teas in Castroni.

We really hope you will appreciate our tips map! Have a nice tour!

Do you want to discover strange but extraordinary places to visit in Rome concerning Vatican City?
Listing all the curious, hidden corners, not touristy in Rome is an endless enterprise.
Here you will not find the usual monuments, tourist attractions and discounted places for tourists, but a careful and entertaining selection of the most unusual 4 places to see, at least once in a lifetime, worth visiting in the Capital.

1. “The Keyhole Of The Door Of The Priory Of The Knights Of Malta” 
​
If you want to spend a day surrounded by greenery, but also in culture you can walk in the magnificent setting of the Aventino hill, where you get out of the hustle and bustle that surrounds Rome daily, the area is in fact very quiet and silent. There is a small ‘surprise’ for those who want to enjoy a suggestive panorama : the keyhole of the door of the Priory of the Knights of Malta, next to the “Giardino degli Aranci”.

2. “The Cannon of the Gianicolo” 

Climbing the Gianicolo Hill to witness the unusual rite of the cannon shot is a way to fully penetrate the skin and history of Rome.
This is where the magic begins: the terrace offers a spectacular view of the historic centre of Rome, one of the most romantic of the city.

3. “I Centri del Colonnato” 
​
The main square of Vatican city, St Peter’s Square, has not always been as we know it today. Between 1656 and 1667 Gian Lorenzo Bernini created, for the Pope Alessandro VII Chigi, the grandiose portico that delimits the square of San Pietro.
After several destructions of pre-existing structures, a new project was reached with many difficulties, which initially aroused fierce criticism but which later became a key reference point for modern architecture worldwide.

«Our olives and vegetables are grown by human hand, they are salted by the sea and dew, nourished and strengthened by the sun, cooled by the mistral, invigorated by the river Cetina, and pampered by the mild summer rain. They grow with the sound of crickets and blackbirds, buzzing bees and bumble bees. Sometimes they are shaken by summer storms and thunders from Biokovo and Vidova Gora mountains. On a clear day, the evening dresses them in a festive purple colour and leaves are adorned with the fireflies as if they are going out for the evening, to the stellar performance of beautiful Brac sky. Dreams sneak into our garden on the silver snail trace with the sound of the sea and quiet lullaby of crickets.»

You can buy also some of those products in a little shop  at the entrance of the restaurant that sells olive oil from Brac, local wines, soaps made with oil and herbs from the island etc…. 
If you are in Brac you cannot miss this high quality and incredibly good restaurant that has also a swimming pool in the middle of the nature, between Sutivan and Mirca, 200 meters from the coast, just a few km. from Supetar.

The restaurant is opened from 12h to 23h. 
The address is :  Plitivine 30   21403 Sutivan 
Better to make a reservation. Tel:  00385996066067

Have you ever been in a restaurant that has 500 years? More or less the same age as Leonardo Da Vinci, just to give an example.
The first time you enter in that historical place, La Campana (the bell), in a little street that has the same name, “Vicolo Della Campana”, in the very hearth of Rome, between via della Scrofa and piazza Nicosia, you are a bit impressed and intimidated.  If you know the history  of that “trattoria romana” , of course.

Probably a lot of tourist that walking in front of the restaurant open the door because they see through the glass that there is a beautiful buffet don’ t know where they are. They ‘ll understand  very quickly that it is a special place with a long history discovering paintings and drawings of past centuries on the walls and the image of an old carriage with horses on the menu.

Once, the clients of the Campana travelled like that and when they arrived in Rome, that was a place to eat and rest before going on in their “grand tour” of Italy. But there were also al lot of habitués that lived in Rome, some of them very near the restaurant. Like the marvellous painter Il Caravaggio who lived in another little street two minutes from the campana, the  “Vicolo del Divino Amore” (Divine Love), in the beginning of the 17th century. After him, Goethe who spent a long period in Rome between 1786 and 1788 and lived also in the neighbourhood, via del Corso, was also one of the clients of the Campana.

At the time of the Dolce Vita (in the fifties and sixties of last century), Federico Fellini and Alberto Sordi went often there for lunch says Paolo, the owner of the restaurant that was of his great grandmother.
The menu didn’t change from that time. You can still eat all the specialities of the traditional roman cuisine. Artichokes (carciofi) , porcini mushrooms and many other vegetables. Home made ravioli and gnocchi. Saltimbocca veal, straccetti beef, tripe, etc…everything “alla romana”.  And for the dessert, magnificent home made “torta di visciole”, sour cherries tart.

An important detail of this especially pleasing restaurant: the servers are extremely nice as if they all participate to the unique secular experience of La Campana.

There are two exhibitions that you cannot miss if you are discovering Rome or if you are in Rome and you want to know better this unique city, eternal inspiration for so many artists, not only painters but also photographers.
Two extraordinary exhibitions of Rome photos are on in the Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi.
“Roma Nella Camera Oscura” (Rome In The Dark Room) celebrates the 180 th anniversary of the invention of photography gathering 320 photos of Rome from the middle of the 19th century, the time of the daguerreotypes (invented in 1839) and the last years of the papal Rome followed, in the 1870, by the beginning of a new page in the history of Rome, capital of Italy.

Then, half a century later, another drastic architectural transformation during the twenty years of Fascism.
​And, finally, the nowadays Rome with new suburbs but also with a lot of green areas remained from the centuries when the ruins of the ancient Rome were henceforth surrounded by a rural landscape.
The exhibition will be opened until the 22 of September but consider that the photos are part of the Museo di Roma’s archives.

Certainly one of the most beautiful cities of the world, but not only that. Rome has a very strong and very diversified personality so that every artist can find so many different treasures. In fact, every one made his very personal “grand tour”. 

One of the roman “must” is certainly the “Caffe Greco”, the oldest coffee shop in Italy after the mythical Florian in Venice. Founded in 1760 by some Greek that was called Nicola Greco (the Greek), this marvellous caffe is still in the same place, via dei Condotti, the street of the most luxury shops like Bulgari, Gucci or Tiffany, near the famous Spanish steps, in the hearth of Rome.

But the Caffe Greco is not just a very “chic” place to have a nice coffee and delicious pastries, it is a piece of history, a jump in the past. When you enter in a row of little drawing rooms with comfortable armchairs and the walls covered by 19th century paintings, you have a strange impression of being transported in the past. You can almost feel the presence of poets like Byron, or Shelley and Keats that lived in the neighbourhood (on the piazza di Spagna) and use to come often to the Caffe Greco.  Before them Casanova was already a regular. And later, Goethe, Chateaubriand, Stendhal, Wagner, Ingres, Corot, Henry James…The Caffe Greco was a part of the “grand tour “.

Nicola Gogol who lived for years in Rome wrote on one of the marble table of the Caffe his masterpiece, “The dead souls”. 
This artistic- intellectual tradition went on during the 20th century. Giorgio De Chirico, for example, had his table. And even now, amongst the tourist, it is always possible to find some painter sitting and working in one of the drawing rooms that look like the compartments of a an extraordinary train, even more beautiful than the Orient Express.

In these days, unfortunately, the future of the Caffe Greco is in danger because the owner wants more money from the “Antico   Caffe Greco Srl company” that already pays a very big rent. Probably he had received some extraordinary offer from an important label.  Fortunately, from the fifties, the Caffe Greco is officially considered as a “national monument” and should be protected by the ministry of Culture. Let’s hope! The lost of such a treasure is unimaginable.

If you are in Rome, even for a brief period, you cannot miss a magic place, in the very heart of the eternal city. Between the Piazza Farnese, where you’ll discover the most impressive and magnificent Renaissance palace in Rome (headquarter of the French Embassy) and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, not far from the Piazza Navona: “Campo dei Fiori”. Literally, “the flower’s square” or even better “the flower’s field”, as it was probably once, a long time ago… Now the square it is still filled with colours and perfumes thanks to the flowers and the plants you can buy on the most famous and probably one of the oldest  (from 1869, when Rome wasn’t yet the capital of Italy) roman market.

Splendidly coloured also with mountains of fruits and vegetables, spices that look like contemporary art installations, all types of pasta etc… And if you need some meat, or fish, or cheese, you’ll find it in high quality little shops all around the square, between two bars, or attached to a restaurant. For example, the famous bakery  “Forno di Campo dei Fiori”  (the oven of Campo dei Fiori) where you can find delicious bread, pizza, torta rustica (vegetable pie) and also marvellous crostate (sweet pies), still warm, with home made jams.  It is just next door (number 22 and 23 of the Campo) of a historical “trattoria ”, La Carbonara, well known for her old roman receipts.

In the sixties, it was a gathering place for the roman artists. Pier Paolo Pasolini, for example, was one of the permanent clients. Today, perhaps, you’ll find even a better “pasta alla Carbonara” walking just two minutes to get to via dei Giubbonari,  at “ Roscioli , Salumeria con Cucina”  that has both a marvellous delicatessen shop and a little restaurant.

Going a bit more back in time, in the forties of last century, one of the most popular “commedia all’ Italiana” with Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi took place on that square and the title was, of course, “Campo dei Fiori”.
But it was not a very nice place a few centuries ago. During the Counter Reform, in the 15th century, the executions took place on the Campo. In the middle of the square, there is a statue of the Dominican father and philosopher Giordano Bruno that reminds us that this marvellous man, opened to the revolutionary scientifically discoveries of that time about the infinity of the universe, was burned alive, there, on the 17th February 1600. Just because he pretended freedom of thinking for the human beings! Perhaps it is that spirit of freedom, still present, that gives to Campo dei Fiori his unique magical atmosphere.

Having a walk in the center of Rome, between the Pantheon and the Parliament, you cannot miss one of the most attractive and coloured shop window.
 
Not one of some luxury clothing shop, neither of a jewellery, even if there are many in the neighbourhood. No, the most spectacular shop front you’ll discover, at a few steps from the Pantheon, is that of Angelo Feroci. One of the best and the oldest roman butcher, since 1885 at the 15, via della Maddalena.

Called the “Bulgari of the meat “, he won, already in 1924, the gold medal at the International Exhibition of London for his  “fresh meat of fine quality”.
 
Italian and also Danish meat (beef, veal, lamb…) you can see on the beautiful marble counters that have more or less a century, is still of great quality. But that is only a little part of that amazing and beautiful shop where you can find much more.

So many masterpieces of cooked food or prepared to be put just in oven for a few minutes.  A lot of roman specialities as the polpette (meatballs) alla Romana, or Polpettone (big polpetta) stuffed with truffles, chestnuts, artichokes, ham and mozzarella, apples and prunes…  A very large assortment of vegetables is at your disposition too.
 
The best artichokes “alla romana” or fried” alla giudia” (an old roman jewish receipt). Even the mashed potatoes prepared with Parmesan is a masterpiece. As so many “antipasti”, to start with as broccoli’ pie, grilled eggplants or zucchini, stuffed with prosciutto, olives, mozzarella etc…

The family Polzella continued the tradition and, as in the shops of Castroni, another historical roman food store, you will be served by the brothers Polzella who will give you very kindly their advises and their receipts.
 
The only think that you will not find at Feroci is a dessert. No problem, you have to walk just for two minutes to the via degli Uffici del Vicario and take some marvellous ice cream or pastries in another historical place, Giolitti, the oldest ice cream parlour of Rome.

If you want to buy a good quality coffee, in beans, powder or capsules, or just to drink one of the best espressos in town, you have to go to one of the eleven “Castroni” shops that you can find in different parts of Rome. It is not a coffee shop (and in some of them you cannot even drink a coffee, just buy it) but much more than that: a sort of “épicerie fine” as would say the French. An even more for the Romans:  An institution.

The first shop of the Castroni group that was founded in 1932 by Umberto and his wife Augusta, was the one of via Cola di Rienzo that remains, even today, the best stocked one.
You can find in all shops of the group marvellous teas, spices, salts and many other very sophisticated specialities from all around the world. But also many Italian traditional high quality food as jams, honeys, pasta of all types and colours, chocolate, biscuits, wine, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegars, truffle sauces etc… etc…

If you want to try to cook Italian during your staying in Rome, Castroni is the best place to go because you will not only find  the best food but also good advices. The fourth generation of the family Castroni has a rule: in every shop it has to be at least one member of the family. And that makes the difference. Even if the shops are huge, they have nothing to do with anonymous super markets but still have the humanity of little family groceries that are disappearing.

A visit to one of the Castroni shops is a must if you are in Rome also because it is the best place to find big or little gifts to bring home to your friends and parents . In these days especially, Castroni offers so many delicious Christmas traditional specialities, coming from the whole Italy, as torroncini, panettoni, amaretti, full of colours and joy.

If you are in Rome and you want to have a lunch or a dinner in a sumptuous and, in the same time, romantic dining room full of ancestries portraits, books shelters and soft lightening, you have to go  to “Casa Coppelle”.

In the very centre of Rome, on a little square, Piazza delle Coppelle, between the Pantheon and the Parliament, you’ll find a sort of magic oasis, decorated by one of the best interior designer in this moment, Jacques Garcia. The same of the famous  hotel Danieli in Venice and other beautiful and luxury hotels all around the world.

A very sophisticated and excellent roman- French cuisine is absolutely worthy of the marvellous 19th century atmosphere.  The menu is a sort of poem: 
“ Cod chaud froid served with aubergine caviar, pesto cream Mediterranean jelly and cherry tomatoes air. 
Port wine and Madeira marinated foie gras cooked in torchon and served with toasted brioche.
Beef tournedos with rose pepper flambé with cognac and matches of potatoes. Etc…Etc..

The choice of wines is very good and, before the coffee, you can’t miss the dessert. A typical French Profiteroles, an excellent Crème brulée or a home made ice cream.
And, if it is not too late, during the day, on the little square outside you can find fruits and vegetables from the roman country on a little market where a family sells her own products, already for decades. Piazza delle Coppelle is a must if you are in Rome!

In Via Veneto, very close to Piazza Barberini and Piazza Di Spagna, in the Capuccini church dedicated to Santa Maria Della Concezione, the picture of the first altar on the right is a representation of the Archangel Michael who kills the devil. The work is by Guido Reni. The artist surpassed himself: he painted the Archangel Michael so beautifully that many compared him to the Apollo of the Belvedere. But the best part was the defeated devil, whose evil ugliness emerged in every detail. The painting obtained unanimous consensus, a true masterpiece. 

The only discordant voice was that of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Pamphili, the future Pope Innocent X, who had already reserved disapproving words for the artist in the past. The noble cardinal complained of the incredible similarity between the dying devil and him. Reni defended himself frankly:"I could not see the angel and I had to paint it according to my imagination. The demon, on the other hand, I met him several times, I looked at him carefully and I painted his features just as they are".

Who knows if Pope Innocent X learned the lesson: never speak bad of an artist, his revenge can be eternal ...

In the Pigna area, behind Piazza Della Minerva (Pantheon), there is a street that takes its name from a famous tavern that lasted until the beginning of 1900.
The Palombella tavern was the meeting point of Roman bullies. Here was born the so-called "cicciata", or "the baptism of the knife" for all the bad guys of the city. The cicciata was a real initiation for anyone who wanted to be respected and welcomed among the bullies.

The neophyte had to challenge an experienced bully with a knife. The target to hit was not a vital point, but the "ciccia", that is the belly of the rival: from there comes obviously the name "cicciata".

If the new arrived bully won the duel he was admitted in the bullies association and the initiation rite ended with a solemn drunkenness with all the members. When visiting the Pantheon have a look at Via Della Palombella and try to imagine what was going on there centuries ago!

The history of Carbonara is uncertain, mysterious and debated. There is not an official version recognized by all but many and various hypotheses about the birth of this delicious dish of the gastronomic tradition of Lazio Region, like the Amatriciana and Gricia.
 
There is a nationalist hypothesis that says that the birth of the Carbonara is related to the woodsmen who were producing charcoal during their seasonal migrations to the Apennines between Lazio and Abruzzo. They would bring saddlebags with eggs, pecorino cheese and pork cheek and they would prepare the pasta on open fires. In this case the recipe would be the evolution of the "cacio e ova" typically consumed by the farmers and by the woodsmen of these lands.

There is another (interesting) version that says that the recipe was born by chance during the occupation by the American troops in Italy, around 1944 with the introduction of bacon and lyophilized eggs. The legend says that American soldiers added their ration composed of bacon, cream and powdered eggs to spaghettis.
 
After the liberation of Rome, the dish became increasingly part of the menu of Roman taverns from 1946 onwards.

Carbonara’s history is complicated and uncertain while present-day Carbonara’s offer is much more clear and definite! That is why we want to present you a guide of the top 7 Carbonara’s in some of the best Roman restaurants.
Have a look to the Puntarella Rossa article from last year (still up to date) clicking here.

If you are in Rome before the 19th of August, you can also make a “ grand tour”, as it was called in the 18th century , in Venice (and even in London!) without leaving Rome, thanks to a magnificent exhibition that opened a few days ago in the Museo di Roma,  Palazzo Braschi (with a view on the beautiful piazza Navona) : “Canaletto 1697-1768”, commemorating  the 250th anniversary of the artist’s death.

With 42 paintings, 9 drawings and 16 books and documents, it is the largest exhibition ever held in Italy of Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, and especially beloved by the curious British travellers of his time.

Symbol of the 18th century, the venetian painter was a genius of the “vedutismo”, the painting of urban landscapes, at the same time realistic, with a lot of very precise details, and full of dreams and imaginations. Some of those “vedute”, when mostly invented by the painter, were called  “Capriccio”. Canaletto whose father was a theatrical scene painter, was particularly inspired by the roman ruins that are the subject of many of his  “capricci” painted when he was staying in Rome.

Nevertheless, his most beloved “model” was his native Venice, with his canals and palaces, the Ponte Rialto, the Piazza San Marco, the famous celebrations of the wedding of Venice with the sea on the boat Bucintoro etc…
But he painted also a lot of “vedute” of London and the Thames. And, thanks to this roman exhibition, it is possible, for the first time, to see a huge painting of Chelsea on the Tames that was cut in two pieces by Canaletto himself, probably to earn more money.
The left side, with the Chelsea College is exposed in Blicking Hall (National trust) in Norfolk and the right side, with the Ranelagh House, in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes” in La Habana, Cuba. Now they are together again, for the first time, in Rome.

The exhibited paintings and other peaces are from museums all around the world (National Gallery of London, Kunsthistorishes Museum of Vienna, Pushkin museum of Moscow, the Budapest Museum etc… ) and also from many private collections. But some of those are missing. For example, the Canaletto’s of a very special collectionist: the queen Elisabeth II. To see them you’ll have to go to Buckingham Palace!
 
The Museum of Rome, Palazzo Braschi is opened every day, except Mondays, from 10h to 19h.
Entrance: Piazza San Pantaleo, 2.

There are at least tree or four reasons to visit in these months the Ara Pacis Museum, along the Tiber embankment, on the western edge of the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, in the hearth of Rome.

First to admire the marvellous roman bas relief, more than 2 thousand years old, that decorates the monumental alter called “Ara Pacis Augustae” build in 9 AD to celebrate the victories of the first roman emperor, Augustus (from 27 BC to 14 AD) in Spain and Gaul.

Second, to get a close look on the very controversial glass and travertine construction of a great American contemporary architect, Richard Meier that protects the alter. The Ara Pacis Museum is, in fact, the only modern construction that exists in the central part of Rome so that the contrasts could be disturbing.

Third, to see “The Ara as it was”. That means, first of all, full of colours, like all the roman monuments.  Every Friday and Saturday evening, from 7h30 to 11 pm (last entrance at 10pm) the visitors can, with AR visors (Samsung GearVR) and the cameras that have been built into them,  have a fully immersion in the antique Rome and assist with Emperor August and his family (that are represented on the altar, amongst other bas relief) at a sacrificial ritual through a film with actors, a 3d reconstruction of the Ara Pacis and computer graphics. 

But that is not all. From the 7th of February until the 3rd of June, in the lower part of the Ara Pacis Museum, there is a very precious exhibition: “Magnum Manifesto”, that celebrates the seventy anniversary of the foundation of the famous photographical agency Magnum, in New York in 1947.
 
The exhibition has 3 parts: 
Part 1: 1947- 1968 Human Rights and Wrongs.
Part 2: 1969-1989 An Inventory of Differences.
Part 3:  1990- 2017 Stories about Endings

It is possible to understand by these titles that the exhibition offers to the visitors an accurate and not at all trite historical documentation of the second part of the 20th century and the first years of the 21st. The Magnum members where always very concerned about what happened in the world and their watchful eyes certainly played a very important role in the recent History. 
 
Museo dell’Ara Pacis
Lungotevere Augusta
00186 Roma
Tel 0039 060608
Opened from 9h30 to 18h30.
THE ARA AS IT WAS  Friday and Saturday 19H30-  23h00