Dear 4A class,
I believe that every Rome term should be more than excellent: every Rome term should be better than the last.
(The Eternal City)
I am being quite literal here. My class had an amazing time in the eternal city, and I am openly inviting you to one up us. Learn from our mistakes, build on what we found, and subsequently beat us at Rome.
To that end, I have prepared the following incomplete list of absolute, unequivocal, 100% objective “best-ofs”. This is powerful knowledge that I, (and my class) took the whole term to learn, and it’s all laid bare for you a week in.
You’ll find it’s mostly about food, occasionally about obscure sites, with the odd tip or two for general purposes. Use it as you see fit.
(Fatamorgana’s gelato. Image courtesy of RomeWise.)
The Best Gelato
Fatamorgana Gelato is the best gelato, due to the trifecta of high quality, sheer variety of excellent flavours, and proximity to the school. In all honesty, it’s pretty difficult to go wrong with most gelato: if you keep in mind some easy rules, you’ll be pretty good no matter where you are. (Fatamorgana is still really solid, though. Try the Basil, Walnuts and Honey, because several people told me it changed their lives, and you can’t get it anywhere else.)
The Best Kebab Place
There are many doner kebab places near the school, and they’re all generally good: you’ll find they produce kebabs of varying heat, from “not spicy” all the way over to “less not spicy”, as is apparently typical in Italy. However, the best I had was a late-night deadline kebab from the friendly people over at Istanbul Kebab.
(The Via Appia. Image courtesy Allison Suffel.)
The Best Thing To Do (Next Weekend)
A trip down the Via Appia will take you through the heart of the greater archaeological park. It’s a beautiful walk, but I’ve also heard great things about the organized bike tours. For a thematic soundtrack, check out Respighi’s Pini di Roma.
The Best Thing To Do (Right Now)
There are people who go all term without ever setting foot in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, despite it being as close as possible, and open every day. This is regrettable. It’s a beautiful church, and you should go right now.
(so badass. Image courtesy Atlas Obscura)
The Best Weird Church (that I Never Got Into)
Santa Maria dell’Orazione e Morte (Santa Maria of Prayer and Death) is a strange little church on Via Giulia, largely notable for being an architectural memento mori. A small, dark chamber in the depths of the church is decorated with human bones, or so I’ve heard, because the church was closed for restoration during my term. If the church is open, try getting inside. If not, make plans to visit the Capuchin Crypt or, if you have time and can swing it, the Vatican Crypts. In the meantime enjoy the facade: what is at first glance an innocuous facade is, up close, covered with winged skulls, whaaat?
The Best Janiculum
The best Janiculum is, coincidentally, the closest Janiculum to the campus! It is now home to the best views of the city, and a promenade among old and new monuments. The Blue Guide has an outline of this precise walk, for your reference. At the end of the walk, you’ll find yourself in the vicinity of the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo. (As I understand it, you’ve likely walked this already as a part of studio, but it’s worthwhile to visit it as the season turns to fall, to see how the sunset light up the city.)
(Borrominian Crypt: Image courtesy Allison Suffel)
The Best Hard-To-Find Borrominean Crypt
At the other end of Via Giulia is San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, which marks the final resting place of Francesco Borromini, whose works you will, undoubtedly, become familiar with. The church is also home to a small, hidden crypt of his own design that took me three or four separate visits and a google search to actually find, despite the fact that there were signs pointing to it. Could you ask one of the attendants? There’s no fun in that.
The Best Pizza
Ok there’s maybe better pizza elsewhere, but if you’re looking for lunch near the studio, check out Forno la Renella. Not only for their pizzas: also their pastries and, of course, their delicious calzone-style pizza-pastries. If dinner rolls around and a bunch of you collectively decide you could all eat a whole pizza each, head to the south side of Piazza San Callisto to Cave Canem, where they have a wide selection and space for large groups. And when you get tired of pizza, (and you will, one day) there’s a Mexican place north of the Vatican that serves churros.
(The head of St. Valentine.)
The Best Skull of St. Valentine
Ignore the hordes of tourists getting their photo taken with their hands in the Bocca della Verita, the real treasure of Santa Maria in Cosmedin is inside, where you’ll find not only beautiful cosmetesque paving, a fascinating medieval interior, and an 8th century crypt but also the reputed skull of Saint Valentine himself. Why, there’s only five of those in the entire world!
The Best Statue Of Pope John Paul II and Bruce Willis
If you’re ever visiting the Terme di Diocleziano, the National Museum of Rome or Termini Station (fairly standard fare, of course, but if you haven’t paid a visit to the area yet, you absolutely should) make sure to stop by this notorious piece of public art depicting either Pope John Paul II, Mussolini, or Bruce Willis (your call).
The Best Seafood (For Your Money)
It’s a little tricky to find, and the interior is likely a bit tackier than you’re used to, but La Piemontese will supply you with more seafood than you thought possible for 35 Euro. If that sounds pricey, it’s because you aren’t quite comprehending the quantities of seafood I’m talking about.
(Il Ciak on the left, tourists on the right)
The Best Place To Not Be A Vegetarian
Il Ciak has a veritable rainbow of northern game meat available for you, from wild boar to deer. Sometimes both at once. Plus, they’re a fairly lively place once they get going some nights (I used to live above their courtyard patio- if you look up, you can see into our old bathroom). As a vegetarian option, they have plain pasta with some seasonal vegetables and I’m very sorry about that.
A Suggestion For Apertivo
Tastevere! We all know Tastevere. It’s run by Lorenzo. You know, Lorenzo, from Tastevere! No, not that Lorenzo. I guess you don’t know Lorenzo. Anyway, I never actually went to Tastevere (in fact, I’m a little fuzzy on its precise location) but I’ve heard it’s so good it’ll make you want to go back every night.
(Sketching in Pienza.)
The Best Way To Deal With This Whole Sketchbook Thing
Sketch constantly. Make a habit of it. Don’t not draw because you think it will turn out poorly: it really doesn’t matter. You don’t always need to draw one perfect view; you’re learning through drawing, and this often involves sketching elevations, plans, and sections. If you find your sketches normally take an hour or more, try forcing yourself to complete a drawing of a building or facade in a very short period of time, like a couple minutes at most. Doing this can help you to evaluate what you’re looking at in a different way, on top of demonstrating that you don’t need to spend your whole day on a single sketch.
The Best Drinking Fountain
It’s the one immediately uphill from the entrance to Trajan’s Market. You cannot argue with me on this. Also, Roman tap water is safe to drink. You don’t need to boil it, and you don’t need to live off bottled water, so please don’t feel you need to.
The Best Non-Florence Day Trip
Definitively the best Non-Florence day trip involves a simple train trip south of the city to Ostia Antica. An immense archaeological site that doesn’t see nearly as many tourists as other areas, it is worth seeing for the extent of its preservation and the fact that if you luck out, you’ll be alone among the ruins.
(An unplanned adventure. Image courtesy of Simon McKenzie)
Another Best Non-Florence Day Trip
I’ve heard you can get a last minute flight to Tunisia for pretty cheap.
