111 places rome

1__ The AcquaMadre Bathing culture – ancient Roman style Think of Rome and it probably isn’t only the Colosseum, St Peter’s Square and the Spanish Steps that you remember: there is also that incomparably blue and sunny sky. However, a visit in late autumn or winter can leave you with a very different impression of the Eternal City. At that time of year it often rains so heavily and consistently that parts of the city are flooded, Metro tunnels and subways are impassable and the pavements lie under several centimeters of water. Sad days like these are a good opportunity to try an old Roman ritual.

In classical times the proper way to look after your body was to go to a public bath. However, there was more to this than mere washing.

For ordinary citizens, the local bath-house also provided a temporary escape from their constricted homes, while the monumental imperial baths were important centers of public life, where people came to socialize, discuss, engage in political activities, teach, exercise, eat and read.

The baths were heated by an underfloor system, the hypocaust, and bathers moved unhurriedly through a series of rooms and pools, from the hottest to the coolest.

Rome’s bathing culture ceased abruptly in 537 AD, when the Goths besieged the city and destroyed the entire water supply.

The AquaMadre has taken up the old tradition and is in fact located close to its classical predecessors. Its vaulted ceilings may be modest compared to those of the gigantic Baths of Caracalla or Diocletian, but a visit there – which must be booked in advance by telephone, fax or email – is a thoroughly relaxing experience. Reservations can usually be made on short notice and massages can be booked in the same way. Take note: At AquaMadre bathing suits are obligatory.

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Address Via di S. Ambrogio, 17 − 00186 Rome, Tel. +39/06-6864272, E-Mail: info@acquamadre.it | Public transport Tram 8 to Argentina, all buses via Argentina, e.g. Bus 30, 40, 46, 62, 64, 70 | Opening times Ladies’ days: Weds and Fri 11am – 9pm, mixed: Tues 2pm – 9pm, Thurs, Sat, Sun 11am – 9pm, last admission: 7pm | Tip For a fruity “energy bomb” after your bath try Pascucci, a small shop in the Via di Torre Argentina, 20, that serves freshly-pressed juices and shakes daily from 6am – 11pm.

3__ The Arco degli Acetari A medieval oasis Hidden a few steps from the Campo di Fiori is a picturesque courtyard. Its unusual name may stem either from the acetari, who sold a mixture of water, sugar and vinegar, or perhaps from the dealers in acqua acetato, a mineral water from a spring to the north of Rome which was popular for hundreds of years.

If you pass through a dark archway in the Via del Pellegrino, you arrive in a small square where time seems to have stood still for the last five hundred years.

It is enclosed on all four sides by picturesque houses that, despite some alterations in the 16th century, have kept their late medieval character, thanks to their outside staircases and overhanging roofs.

Inside the archway are obvious spolia: parts of classical buildings that were discovered in the Middle Ages and used as quarries for new constructions.

Later, the houses were fitted with small balconies, where lethargic, overfed cats prowl among luxuriant blooms. There is greenery everywhere you look, and even the streams of tourists on the nearby squares and the traffic on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele seem lightyears away.

Until the end of the 19th century there were many such courtyards in Rome. Far more people lived in the historical center then, and despite all the antique structures – the grand villas, palaces, churches and squares, the city retained the feel of a village for a long time.

It was not until 1871, when it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, that its rapid growth began. Since then, the population has shot up from 220,000 to 2.7 million, and many buildings and courtyards in the central area have been demolished.

Yet, so far, the charming Arco degli Acetari has managed to survive.

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Address Via del Pellegrino, near house number 19, 00186 Rome | Public transport Bus 40, 62, 64, 70, 87, 492 to Navona | Tip A few houses further on, at Via del Pellegrino, 78, is the small, friendly Libreria del Viaggiatore (Traveller’s Bookshop). Along with up-to-date tourist guides it stocks current and historical plans, maps, prints and antiquarian curios (open Mon 4pm – 8pm, Tues – Sat 10am – 2pm and 4pm – 8pm).

5__ Babette Artichoke packets and wild boar ravioli At the end of the 1980s a book by the Danish author Karen Blixen was made into a film. It ran in the cinemas under the title of “Babette’s Feast.” The plot: the cheerless and ascetic inhabitants of a village are invited to a gala dinner by a French cook named Babette. Although the guests do their utmost to resist, they finally give in, and relax and enjoy the delicious dishes and warmhearted atmosphere.

A place that would pamper all the senses: that was the dream of the Sallorenzo sisters, Silvia and Flora. The realization of that dream was Babette, just a few paces from the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo, but appealingly different from all the tourist trattorias in the city center.

Warm colors, niches, metal lamps and the large tiles behind the bar give the restaurant its cozy ambience, which is made even more pleasant by the dependably good service, the cheerful acquiescence to little extra requests, and the friendly touches. For example, when the manager hears that it is a guest’s birthday, nothing will prevent her from congratulating them personally and topping their celebratory dessert with a candle.

On the menu are typical Italian dishes, exchanged and refined according to the season. Instead of the usual “Spaghetti Bolognese” Babette serves fettuccine with a ragout of finely chopped Argentine beef. Other pasta dishes also come in creative variations, and the juniper rabbit is fantastic.

Lunchtime guests can choose between the buffet and à la carte.

In the small interior courtyard (reached through a gateway next to the restaurant) meals are served under white parasols – a perfect spot for summer evenings and candlelit dinners.

Reservations are recommended, particulary for the courtyard in warm weather months.

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Address Via Margutta, 1 – 3 − 00187 Rome; Tel. +39/06-3211559 | Public transport Metro A to Flaminio | Opening times Tues – Sun 12.30pm – 3pm and 8pm – 11.30pm.

Closed on the evening of 6 Jan, from 7 – 16 Jan and for two weeks in August. | Tip There is another friendly restaurant nearby at Via Della Fontanella, 12. Il Brillo Parlante is not as hidden away as Babette and is more “country style,” but the quality is consistently good. It serves Roman dishes and pizzas, and has a large, well-chosen wine list. Tel. +39/06-3243334

7__ The Biscottificio Innocenti The retro bakery The charming thing about this shop is the feeling it evokes of a time long gone – when, even in the big city, life was more leisurely, the bakery was a central meeting point for the people of the quarter, and customers enjoyed a few friendly words along with their purchases.

Although the Biscottificio Innocenti is situated on one of the most popular streets in the trendy Trastevere district, many people rush past it. After all, there is no inviting sign hanging above the door and no reason to expect anything unusual behind the steamed up window. But then there is that seductive smell of sugar and vanilla, and on a second, more careful look, you notice the numerous large trays of tarts, biscuits and small slices of pizza.

The interior of the shop is dominated by a large pale yellow oven.

It is eleven meters long and dates from the 1950s. It has been in action for many hours a day since it was first installed and looks every bit its age. One end is in the bakery, the other is in the shop itself.

Everything for sale is fresh out of the oven. The big scale on which the biscuits and pizza discs (the thin, crispy kind) are weighed is also a collector’s piece.

The business is run by Stefania Innocenti, a small delicate woman with closely cropped hair who smiles frequently and clearly enjoys her work.

She took the bakery over from her mother years ago, just as her mother did from her father before that. The family has been baking here for over 100 years. Aside from a door plastered with pictures of cats, the walls are bare, which makes the merchandise look even more attractive. Especially good: fave dei morte (beans of the dead), brutti ma buoni (ugly but good) and torta di mele (apple cake).

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Address Via della Luce, 21 − 00153 Rome | Public transport Two stops from Argentina with Tram 8 to Belli | Opening times Mon – Sat 8am – 8pm; Sun 9.30am – 2pm | Tip The Museo di Roma at the Piazza Sant’Egidio, 1b, in Trastevere has many genre paintings of the town and its inhabitants between the 16th and 19th centuries (open Tues – Sun 10am – 8pm).

10__ The Bottega Mortet Where gold and silver are transformed A hundred years ago, craftsmen could still be found all over the center of Rome. Innumerable shoemakers, tailors, carpenters and goldsmiths labored in small workshops that could be seen from the lanes and served as shops as well.

Today nearly all of them have vanished or been transformed into expensive design stores.

Step through the gate of the medieval “Chimpanzee Tower” (see p. 46) in the Via dei Portoghesi, 18, and you’ll find not only the tower staircase but also a picturesque, recently-restored courtyard. This is the home of the Bottega Mortet, which is dedicated to the rare, old craft of the gold and silver smith.

This traditional business dates back to 1890, when the Frenchman Aurelio Mortet settled in Rome and two of his five sons founded engraving workshops. They were evidently good at what they did since they were soon carrying out commissions for the rich and mighty, creating – among other objects – King Victor Emmanuel III’s “Victory Sword” and lamps for his mother Margarethe’s tomb in the Pantheon.

In 1943 one of the two firms moved into its present quarters and is still operating there as a family business. Master Aurelio, his nephew Paolo and grandsons Dante and Andrea produce medals, jewelry, religious utensils and art objects. Among their most important assignments was to fashion a golden cross for the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, which he wore around his neck on special occasions, and a silver stand on which his white zucchetto (skullcap) and the Ring of the Fisherman were placed when he took them off. But the Bottega Mortet also makes “worldly” objects, such as reproductions of the best-known sights of Rome. If you are looking for a special gift or want to have something made to your own design, this is the place to go.

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Address Via dei Portoghesi, 18 – 00186 Rome | Public transport Bus 30 to Corso del Rinascimento; Bus C3, 70, 87, 116, 116T, 186, 492 to Zanardelli; Bus 46, 62, 64, 70 to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II/Navona | Opening times Mon – Fri 9am – 1pm and 3pm – 6pm | Tip Directly opposite the entrance in the same courtyard is an interesting fountain: a group sculpture of a mother, child and dog guarding an original 3rd-century Roman sarcophagus that was once the resting place of a married couple.

34__ Death Behind Bars Not alive here, not dead there Visitors to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo usually want to see something particular, such as the Chigi chapel, which was designed by Raphael and plays a key role in Dan Brown’s bestselling novel Angels and Demons, or the two Caravaggios (“The Crucifixion of St Peter” and the “The Conversion of St Paul”), which are protected by wardens to ensure that they are not photographed. Hardly anybody notices the skeleton huddled behind bars on the back wall.

According to the legend, some members of the Confraternità della Buona Morte (Brotherhood of the Good Death) were walking along the Via Flaminia in the 17th century when they came across a dead body at the side of the road. One of their duties was to collect such corpses and bury them in the nearest church. But when they arrived at Santa Maria del Popolo it was already dark, and the monks didn’t open the door. The newcomers had no wish to spend the night there so they broke the door open, laid the body down and disappeared. The next morning the monks complained to the pope.

When he asked who was responsible for the break-in, they answered, “It was Death.” The pope replied, “Then Death must be locked up.” So they made a cage and set a skeleton in there as a symbol.

It’s an entertaining anecdote, even if it is untrue. In fact, the Roman architect Giovanni Battista Gisleni designed the memorial for himself in 1670, two years before his death. Above it is his portrait and an inscription that reads “Not alive here,” and below that a white marble bust of a skeleton and the words “Not dead there.” Between them are a coat of arms and two bronze plaques. The one on the left shows new branches sprouting from a withered tree; on the right is a caterpillar that is changing into a butterfly. These double symbols for death and new life represent Gisleni’s hope of a resurrection.

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Address Piazza del Popolo – 00187 Rome | Public transport Metro A to Flaminio | Opening times Mon – Sat 7am – 12 noon and 4pm – 7pm; Sun 8am – 1.30pm and 4.30pm – 7.30pm | Tip At the side of the church is the entrance to the permanent exhibition, “The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci,” which focuses on the artist’s constructions and machines (open daily 9.30am – 8.30pm).

73__ The Necropolis under St Peter’s The tomb of the leading apostle Many Catholics are convinced that the remains of the Apostle Peter lie below St Peter’s Basilica. According to tradition, he came to Rome as an elderly man in 60 AD, was crucified in Circus of Nero and buried somewhere nearby. Since burials were not permitted inside the city at that time, there were necropolises on many of the roads beyond the walls. One of them was close to the presumed site of Peter’s martyrdom; it is now the location of the Vatican Gardens.

In the 4th century AD, the Emperor Constantine decided to build a basilica over the apostle’s grave. To make room for it he had part of the Vatican hill removed and the catacombs filled in with the soil from the diggings.

It was in 1939 that archaeologists working in the grottoes below St Peter’s came upon a wall beyond which stretched an ancient world of the dead: cloisters, mausoleums, a wall with Latin graffiti, gravestones and sculptures. For ten years during the pontificate of Pius XII there were feverish attempts to find the apostle’s mortal remains. Finally the pope gave permission for an excavation below the High Altar, and there, in a niche with a decorated facade, there really was a small box. Inside it (together with the complete skeleton of a mouse) were the bones of a powerfully built man of sixty or seventy years of age. In mid-1968, Pope Paul VI declared that they were the remains of St Peter. Various scientists dissociated themselves from this view.

Nevertheless, the little niche is just where Christians have believed since the 2nd century that Peter was buried. The catacomb can be visited, however, only 250 people (over 15 years old) are allowed a day, so it is necessary to book an official tour in advance at the excavation office. People who suffer form claustrophobia or are sensitive to changes in the temperature should avoid the tour.

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Address Via Paolo VI – 00193 Rome (iron gate on the left outside the colonnade). | Public transport Metro A to Ottaviano; Bus 64 to Cavalleggeri/S. Pietro; Bus 62 to Piazza Pia; Tram 19 to Piazza Risorgimento | Opening times Register at (email) scavi@fsp.va or fax: +39/06-69873017 (with date, name and age of visitor, tour language preferred and contact details for confirmation). Office: Mon – Fri 9am – 6pm; Sat 9am – 5pm; closed Sun and Vatican holidays. | Tip Vatican postage stamps for postcards can be bought at the post office on the left of St Peter’s Square (the square is also part of the Vatican State). Post that is handed in there or placed in the box in front of it usually arrives more quickly. There is also a branch of the post office in the Vatican Museum in the Viale Vaticano.

79__ The Park of the Aqueducts Water for the “Caput Mundi” (Capital of the World) In classical times Rome was supplied with fresh spring water by eleven aqueducts. Some of them have since been totally destroyed, others have partially collapsed or can’t be found because they ran underground and no one knows any longer exactly where they were located. Some of them, however, still supply the Eternal City with excellent drinking water.

The Aqua Virgo, for instance, has functioned continuously since antiquity and feeds the most famous Roman fountains, such as the Trevi Fountain, the Fountain of the Four Rivers on the Piazza Navona, the Barcaccia in front of the Spanish Steps and the two “bathtub” fountains on the Piazza Farnese, which were taken from the Baths of Caracalla. But all that can now be seen of this important conduit are three arches in the Via del Nazareno near the Trevi Fountain, and a couple of excavations that can be visited in the Città dell’Acqua at the Via del Puttarello no. 25.

You can get a sense of the impressive scale of Roman water engineering at the Park of the Aqueducts. The water from six inflows came together here and was channeled onwards. The Anio Vetus runs underground, but striding along one side of this green landscape are 154 imposing stone arches of the Aqua Claudia, which was built in 52 AD during the reign of the Emperor Claudius and supplied Nero’s gigantic Domus Aurea palace complex as well as several city districts. Another stone pipe was added to the top of the structure to take the flow of the Anio Novus. Winding along the other side is the Aqua Marcia, which also transported the Aquae Tepula and Julia. It was restored in 1869 and is once again one of Rome’s principal sources of water. Halfway across the park it vanishes into the ground but its onward course is marked.

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Address Via Lemonia – 00174 Rome | Public transport Metro A to Giulio Agricola. Get out at Viale Giulio Agricola and walk up the road as far as the church of San Policarpo on the Via Lemonia. The park is next to the church. Alternatively, Metro A to Subaugusta, then walk up the Viale Tito Labieno to the crossroads with Via Lemonia, where there is another entrance to the park. | Tip The arches of the Aqua Claudia reach their highest point (27 to 28 meters) at the Via del Quadraro.

86__ The Purgatory Museum Where lost souls send up smoke signals In 1893 Father Victor Jouet bought a piece of land on the banks of the Tiber in order to build the church of Sacro Cuore del Suffragio there. The neo-Gothic facade soon caught the attention of the Romans, who dubbed it “Little Milan Cathedral.”

But on 15 September 1897 there was an accident. For reasons that are still not clear, a fire broke out in a chapel, destroying weeks of work.

When it had been extinguished, Father Jouet noticed something strange. The fire had left traces of soot on the wall that looked like a sad, life-size face.

The priest was certain that this was not just chance and suspected that a lost soul in Purgatory had tried to contact the living by this means and ask for their help. Convinced by his theory the pastor began a feverish search for reports of similar phenomena. Nuns described hauntings by their deceased fellow-sisters; distressed citizens claimed they had spoken with dead mothers-in-law or godfathers.

The objects that Father Jouet collected from across Europe are now on exhibition in the church – Giuseppe Stitz’s prayer book, for instance. Stitz had just been reading it when he suddenly felt a cold draught and sensed that he was not alone in the room. All of a sudden an unseen hand placed itself on the book, leaving a sooty imprint on the page. At the same time the voice of his brother, who had died only a short time before, begged him to have a mass said for his soul so that he would not have to burn in Limbo for so long.

Also exhibited in the museum are clothing and books, as well as photos purporting to show traces of ghostly visitations. It is open at the same times as the church, and is in a corridor off the right-hand side of the nave.

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Address Lungotevere Prati, 12 – 00193 Rome | Public transport Metro A to Lepanto; Bus 70, 81, 87, 186, 224, 280, 492, 913, 926 to Piazza Cavour | Opening times Mon – Sat 7.15am – 11.30am and 4.30pm – 7.30pm, Sun 8am – 1pm and 4.30pm – 8pm | Tip A few meters further on, between the Piazza dei Tribunali and the Tiber, is the Palace of Justice, built between 1888 and 1910. The massive architecture was heavily criticized from the start, and the Romans labeled it “Palazzaccio” (Ugly Palace). When it became apparent that the ground under the foundations was giving way, the architect Guglielmo Calderini committed suicide.

93__ Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza The most original church in Rome Look over the panorama of Rome from a central point (such as the Capitol or the Terrazza delle Quadrighe at the Piazza Venezia) and there, close to the magnificent dome of the Pantheon, is a delicate white tower that elegantly winds and spirals its way up. It is topped by an ornamental golden cross, which reveals its purpose. It belongs to Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, one of the loveliest churches in Rome – and certainly the most original.

Although this Baroque gem is only a stone’s throw from the Piazza Navona, it is rarely visited by tourists because it is only open for three hours on Sundays.

Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza’s history is closely linked to the La Sapienza University, which was founded by Pope Boniface VIII in 1303 to train future priests near the Vatican.

At the beginning of the 15th century the university moved from its original location in Trastevere to the Sant’Eustachio district and remained there until it was relocated to the University City in 1932.

Numerous popes had the palace built, altered, extended and restored, and the rectangular arcaded courtyard installed.

The complex included a chapel, which was demolished at the end of the 16th century and provisionally rebuilt later.

Finally, in 1632, the 31-year-old Francesco Borromini was appointed official architect of the Palazzo Sapienza. He completed the building work and drew up the plans for a new church, which was completed in 1666 and dedicated to St. Ivo, the patron saint of lawyers.

It was his most impressive work. Both the interior and the facade are full of symbolism, with ingenious sequences of concave and convex architectural forms. The fascinating spiral lantern once even contained a beacon.

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Address Archivio di Stato di Roma, Corso del Rinascimento, 40 – 00186 Rome | Public transport Tram 8 or Bus 70, 81 to Argentina; Bus 87, 116 to Rinascimento | Opening times Sun 9am−12 noon; Mass 9.30am | Tip On the external facade (in the Via degli Straderari) is a relic of the former university: the Book Fountain (Fontana dei Libri).

A stag’s head, the symbol of the S. Eustachio district, is framed by four books and five balls. The travertine limestone fountain was created in 1927 by Pietro Lombardi.

103__ Tram Jazz Music on wheels There are several ways to see the most important sights of Rome that don’t wear your feet out: in open-top double-decker tour buses (Bus 110 Open, Archeobus, Roma Christiana; all from Termini main station), ordinary buses or taxis, riverboats on the Tiber (from the Castel Sant’Angelo), and rented bicycles.

The most extravagant way, however, is the nocturnal culinary tour on the musical tram. You meet at 9pm in the center of a square in front of a well-known city gate, the double-arched Porta Maggiore, and are welcomed with a glass of prosecco. You then climb into a historic tramcar dating from 1928, and enjoy a short melodic warmup.

As the tram gets going you are served the first course of a fivecourse dinner, which is supplied by a well-known Roman wine bar.

All the ingredients come from the Latium region and anyone with food allergies or other special requirements can inform the organizers when making their reservation.

During the meal the tram rattles through the lively San Lorenzo quarter, past the Early Christian basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura and La Sapienza, Rome’s biggest university, as it heads for Valle Giulia.

There is a half-hour jazz concert in front of the National Gallery of Modern Art on the Piazza Thorwaldsen, and then it’s back on the tram again for the main course and off in the other direction past – among other things – the magnificent church of San Croce in Gerusalemme, the papal arch-basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano and the Forum Romanum. The floodlit Colosseum makes a perfect setting not only for photos but also for the main part of the concert.

During dessert, the tram rolls slowly back to the Piazza di Porta Maggiore, where the impressive tour ends around midnight.

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Address Piazza di Porta Maggiore – 00185 Rome (programme and tickets: www.tramjazz.com | Public transport Tram 2, 3, 5, 8, 14, 19 to Porta Maggiore; Metro A to Manzoni | Opening times There are tours most days from 9pm – midnight; reservation essential | Tip On some days the jazz tour is replaced by TRAMbelcanto, classical concerts with arias by Mozart, Vivaldi, Rossini, Donizetti and many others.

Note: Taxis are not always available at the Porta Maggiore at midnight. They can be ordered on the official number of the Commune Roma: +39 06 060609.

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The author Annett Klingner was born in 1966 and studied Art History, Literature and Medieval Studies in Berlin and Rome. She has regularly spent long periods living and working in the Eternal City. Her areas of research are the reception of ancient pagan customs in the Renaissance, mythological and cosmological themes in art, and the history of the city of Rome.