castroni: the culture of food since many years in 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.