9 PICTURES OF ROME - MUSEUM OF THE AURELIAN WALLS

Aurelian Walls

Just walk few minutes from the St. John Villa and you will find, at Porta San Sebastiano at the beginning of the Appian Way, a small and free museum, the Museum of the Aurelian Walls.


Just walk over the wall, the largest and best preserved monument from ancient Rome, and look at the green landscape south of Rome.

Do you want to discover the hidden Rome? Just reserve your room at the St. John Villa Bed & Breakfast

Vincenzo

PICK OF THE DAY - SUPPLI' IN ROME

Nowadays every traveler wants to "live as a local". In my opinion, at the very end, because of their choices that are strongly influenced by the hype that is created by strong marketing campaigns, they end up knowing very little of the place they visit, especially in a city like Rome.
Staying in some specific areas of the historical center means not seeing some of those things that made Rome what it is and not really knowing a key element of the local culture, that is the cuisine.
In every city of the world, eating in the center means having "touristic food" or spending a lot of money.

As we wrote here, Rome has a long tradition for the street food. Even if pizza is the most common stree food, in Rome there is only one king

SUPPLI' - THE KING OF THE ROMAN STREET FOOD

What is supplì? They are balls of rice cooked in tomato sauce, filled with a small piece of mozzarella chees and then deep fried in olive oil. Here it is possible to find a possible recipe.I would recommend a small variation, as taken by an Italian recipe. After cooking the rice and before it cools down, add some butter and beaten eggs; the rice will stick together even better.

The nice thing of home made supplì is that one can prepare 20, 30, 40 of them in the same time, more or less, that is required to prepare few ot them. Then, they can be frozen and cooked according to the needs in few minutes. So they can be a great resource for those having young kids coming back home very hungry.

And now, where to eat the best supplì in Rome. Next map shows one the latest recommendations found on the web. As it happens for all those recommendations, it is not the Truth and the ranking might change every day.

Anyhow most of the best places are out of the center. And that is the same for any type of food you are looking for in Rome 

By the way, supplì is my favourite street food and my son, that is a professional cook, prepares some of the best home made ones. But he is going to take a long vacation starting next week.

Vincenzo

OUTLET SHOPPING IN ROME

Italian fashion brands are at the top level of appreciation all around the world. When in Italy, going for shopping is a must do for many travelers.
Outlets provide an excellent combination among variaty of choice of top brands and convenint prices.
Close to Rome there are two well know outlets, one in Valmontone and one in Castel Romano.

PICK OF THE DAY - ROME RESTAURANTS MAP

 

In a city like Rome there are thousands of restaurants of every type for all pockets.
And there are a lot of websites where one can find the ranking of their top restaurants.
Obviously the rankings are not always the same but some restaurants can be found in several of them.
But, in most of the cases, their location is not whown on a map. Once entered in those websites, the visitor will have to start huntng to find the closest place.
Well, I took one of those rankings, click here to see the full details, and placed all of them on a map of Rome. It contains 38 restaurants of all types and for all pockets. Just open the map and give a look.



And, don't forget to book your room at our properties.

Villa Borghese Guest House
St. John Villa

ROME HISTORICAL CENTER - WHERE WE ARE

Talking with our guests, I have realized that several people believe we are not central in Rome.
Well, that is not true, even if the 3 Bed and Rome and Breakfast properties are located out of the official border of the historical center of Rome. Well, let's see some facts, those facts that all well known to a Roman

ROMAN WALKS - 1 - NORTH OF THE CENTER

As well as every city, and even more, Rome is a city that must be discovered walking. There are so many places to be seen, such a long history and so much art that, jumping from one of the main spots to the other does not allow to understand it fully.
We have already prepared and presented some walking tour and we have presented those in the series One week in Rome.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 15

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 14

Tramway Lines in Rome

While writing Part 10 of this diary, I mentioned that combining the use of tramway lines 3 and 19 allows the visitor to see several important sites as well as  hop oon - hop off bus.
Indeed that is true in general when considering the entire tramway network of Rome.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 14

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 13

From St. Peter to Porta Portese

I will tell you the full truth and that is that I did not enter in the St. Peter's Basilica or in the Vatican Museums.
Even if that was my original idea when, in the morning, I left San Lorenzo Guest House, once I got there I changed my schedule. Weather was so nice, indeed bad weather is not a very usual event in Rome, that I thought that staying inside was not the best idea.
The lesson I got in the previous days was that, when in Rome, first of all, before visiting museum and sites, one must feel the ideal that is behind this unique city. The best way to get it is to walk around.

ONE WEEK IN ROME -PART 13

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 12

Going down for the Capitol Hill and proceeding along Via del Teatro Marcello, on the right one can see the Theater of Marcellus, one of the living monuments of Rome. It is dedicated to the nephew of Augustus and it was the biggest theater in ancient Rome. After falling out of use it has been transformed, along the centuries, in a residential building.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 12

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 11

Sitting and drinkinga coffee at the corner with Via del Corso, I looked at Piazza Venezia.
The square is dominated by the white Vittoriano, the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy. It' is one of the landmarks of Rome but most of the Romans do not like it, being sometging completely out of the normal style of the city. Many people call it the Typewriter. Color is different but the shape, indeed, is similar.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 11

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Go back to part 10 if you missed it.

During my stay in Rome, I heard that many Romans complain about the poor efficiency of public transportation?
Is that a problem for a traveler? Indeed yes, if one is visiting Rome with a tourist mentality, so focusing on the main spots. Once one enters into the point of view of a real traveler, it becomes an opportunity because, when walking, there is the possibility to see a lot of things that otherwise would remain unknown.
With the help of the staff of San Lorenzo Guest House I planned my next march (after the training I had during the week I beleive to be ready for the Olympics)

Santa Maria Maggiore

The final destination was the Caius Cestius pyramid and I got there through a long tour.
Walking along the Aurelian Walls, where you can see houses in the walls (it's Villa Gentili-Dominici, the biggest villa inside the center of Rome) and then along the Termini station I reached Piazza dei Cinquecento, in front of the station. Then I walked to reach the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four main basilicas in Rome along with St. Peter, St. John Lateran and St. Paul.

Moses by Michelangelo

According to the tradition, it has been built on the place where it snowed in August during the IV century AD. From Santa Maria Maggiore I walked to Colle Oppio, keeping aside od the Beths of Trajan, to reach the Basilica of San Pietro in vincoli to admire the Moses by Michelangelo Buonarroti. It's woth to enter to the faculty of Engineering, junt aside of  the church, to see the kloster and the well in the middle of it.
Going down though the Scalinata dei Borgia (Borgia's Stairs), I reached Via Cavour and the Via dei Fori Imperiali. What could I say about this street that connects the Colosseum with Piazza Venezia? Simply you walk across the history because the Forums were the center of the political life in ancient Rome.

Via dei Fori Imperiali

Piazza Venezia is the crucial point of the traffic in the center of Rome . I was told that, at the beginning of Via del Corso, there is a retractable footboard, but it is currently not working, from where a traffic policeman attempts to keep evereything in order. He must be a real artist.

But now is time for a break.

THE FAN

Link to part 10

ROMAN(TIC) HOLIDAY

Spring has come, it's time for traveling. What's nicer of a romantic holiday?
When thinking about romantic cities, the mind often goes to Paris, Venice, Prague.
Well, that's because, simply, Rome is out of category as for many other things. There are so many romantic sites that it is even difficult to remind all of them.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 10

Circus Maximus and the Imperial Palaces on the Palatine Hill

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Did you read part 9? If not click here

Visiting Rome requires good legs and good shoes. Ponits of interest are so many and so diffused that the best way to see them is to walk.
San Lorenzo Guest House is an excellent starting point for walks. I already did one going north to Villa Borghese, the nex one was on the opposite direction, with the final destination at the Circus Maximus.

SAN GIOVANNI - IL QUARTIERE CHE NON C'E' - 1

"San Giovanni è uno dei quartieri più popolati di Roma, caratterizzato dal Palazzo Laterano e dalla famosa Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano."
Così è scritto sul sito turistico ufficiale del Comune di Roma.
Ma, in realtà, San Giovanni è un quartiere che non esiste. Se date un'occhiata alla suddivisione di Roma, sia che si parli di toponomastica cioè di quartieri, di municipi o di zone urbanistiche, ebbene San Giovanni non ci sta proprio. Non è neanche una porzione definita di un quartiere più grande come ad esempio lo è il Coppedè del quartiere Trieste. Eppure, per tutti i romani, San Giovanni è un quartiere che esiste, eccome.
E non potrebbe essere altrimenti considerando che la Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, madre di tutte le chiese del mondo, è la cattedrale di Roma e quindi sede ufficiale del vescovo di Roma, cioè del Papa. E in effetti, nella Basilica di San Giovanni si trova la Santa Sede, cioè il trono simbolo del papato. E quindi San Giovanni è il vero cuore della Roma di oggi.
Non essendo un quartiere ufficialmente esistente, non ha confini definiti; ognuno li definirà a propria discrezione. La mappa mostra la mia personalissima opinione, liberissimo ogni lettore di esprimere la propria. La mia tracciatura include parte di Monti, Celio, Esquilino, Appio-Latino e Tuscolano.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 7

Temple of Aesculapius - Villa Borghese

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Bioparco

Entering to the Borghese Gallery was not possible so we walked through the villa during the afternoon. In reality one could dedicate a full day to the visit, especially when having kids. We passed in front of the Bioparco, the zoo. Then we went to the little lake with the Temple of Aesculapius and later to Piazza di Siena, the place where, on May, a famous international equestrian jumping competition (CSIO) takes place. I learned a funny story by the Romans.

Piazza di Sinea

According to them when it comes the time of "Piazza di Siena", that's the way they name the competition, one can be sure it will rain. Maybe that happens because all the ladies of the jet set are attending to the competition showing off the latest creations of the haute couture.

Anyhow I and Janet spent a delightful afternoon walking among the green.  As it happens every day to may Romans, it was during that walk that we realized that we could have a lot in common. And that is a story that now is going to a new start.

THE FAN

P.S. Later I was looking back to the notes I took during those first tow days, one and half more correctly, and I understood How much there is to see in Rome. I hadn't yest visited the most famous sites, just gave a brief look during the hop on - hop off tour, and I had already filled pages; that's really amazing. 

Link to part 6

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 6

Palazzo Barberini

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Fontana del Tritone - Piazza Barberini

Piazza Barberini is named after the palace of the aristocratic family Barberini that is overlooking the square. Actually the entrance is on Via delle Quattro Fontane. The National Gallery of Anciet Art is located in the palace. At teh center of the square you can see the Fontana del Tritone (Fountain of the Triton), one of the famous Rome's fountains.
Leaving Piazza Barberini, I started to go uphill aloong Via Veneto, the street of La Dolce Vita.
Nowadays the glamour of the street is not the same as it was in the early Sixties of the XX century.

Via Venetto - Lower part

USA Embassy

Still, it mantains its fascination. Halfway betwwen Piazza Barberini and Porta Pinciana you will find the USA embassy.
Continuing to go uphill I reached Porta Pinciana, one of the several gates along the Aurelian Walls.

Via Veneto - Upper part

Porta Pinciana

Porta Pinciana is one of the few gates that has essentially mantained its original appereance although two new arches have been opened in the modern era to take into account the traffic,

Once crossed the gate I entered into Villa Borghese to reach the Borghese Gallery, to meet Janet.
We tried to buy a ticket, without any success: sold out.
Lesson learned: if you wish to visit the Borghese Gallery  during your stay in rome, book in advance.

Galleria Borghese

It was a pity not to visit it, but we had the opportunity to spend the afternoon of a marvellous sunny day walking inside Villa Borghese, the most famous of the villas of Rome. And that was the place where we realized that we could have something in common. We discovered later that is something occurring rather often among the Roman people.

THE FAN

Link to part 5

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 5

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

I came out of the Galleria Esedra and I had in fornt of me the complex of the Baths of Diocletian.
They overlook what officialy is Piazza della Repubblica but that, for most of the Romans, is still Piazza Esedra. That was the name till 1960. It comes from the exedra of the baths; the sqare has been built following exactly its limits. It is one of the most famous and beautiful squares of Rome, a city that is certainly not missing beautiful squares.

Baths of Diocletian

The Baths of Diocletian are really impressive. They were the greatest imperial baths in the ancient Rome, so wisely built that a large part of the buildings are still existing and in use, even if for different purposes. In past centuries the baths were used as a quarry for building materials for the construction of other buildings. A part of the complex was instead demolished in the late nineteenth century to allow the construction of the adjacent Piazza dei Cinquecento and Termini railway station.

Santa Maria degli Angeli

Many people may think that the word Termini has something to do with "teminal". Indeed it comes from thermae, baths. 

Interior view of Santa Maria degli Angeli

What has remained, and it is a lot, is nowadays used as museum space or, in other cases, transformed to churches. Among those, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli is particularly notable. It has been designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti, and later modified by Luigi Vanvitelli, using the tepidarium. it is the church used for the official ceremonies of the Italian state.
Once left Piazza dell Repubblica I walked down along Via Nazionale, one of the shopping streets in Rome to turn right to Via delle Quattro Fontane.

San Carlino and one fountain

This street is named after the four fountains  that are placed at the cross with Via XX Settembre and Via del Quiranale. Just at the corner you may see the church of San Carlo (better known as San Carlino) alle Quattro Fontane, one of the masterpieces of Francesco Borromini. This swiss archietct, along with his fierce rival Gian Lorenzo Bernini, characterized the baroque period in Rome.
In fornt of San Carlino there is the back corner of the Quirinale, the presidential palace that was previously the residence of the Pope and later of the Savoia royal family.
Going down from the four fountains cross to Piazza Barberini, you will leave on your left Via Rasella, sadly famous because it was the place where, during the German occupation in World War II, occurred an attack to the German troops that led to the horrible reprisals known as Fosse Ardeatine, from the name of the quarry where 335 comon and political prisoners were killed by the nazists.
Well, once reached Piazza Barberini it's time for another stop for a coffee.

THE FAN

Link to part 4

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 4

Porta Pia

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

The day after I was ready for a full immersion in Rome. And especially I was ready to walk, because that was what I understood the day before during the sightseeing tour. Rome is so full of things to see, almost at every corner, that the only way to go into depth is to walk. It is not a case that all the historical center of Rome is in the UNESCO World Heritage List with something like 25000 places of interest.
My new friend Janet was busy on the morning, as she was in Rome mostly for business purposes.
We were appointed in front of the Borghese Gallery in the early afternoon. Although she did not have a reserved ticket, she hoped to find one on sale. Therefore I decided to arrive there walking.
I followed the direction I was given in San Lorenzo Guest House for my itinerary.
So I walked first to Viale Castro Pretorio, taking the name by the Castrum Pretorium, the barracks of the Praetrorian Guard, that was the elite corp of the ancient Roman army, providing personal security to the Emperor. It has to be said that was not alway the case, sometimes the Praetorian Guard was at the center of rebellions againt the reigning emperor.
The area of the Castrum is now moltly occupied by the National Library. Anyhow the walls, that were incorporated into the Aurelian Walss, are clearly visible.
Short after I reached Porta Pia. Among Italians ,Porta Pia is probably the most well known gate of Rome from an historical point of view, because it is where, in 1870, took a short battle against the papal army after which the Italian army entered Rome, bringing an end to the temporal power of the Pope. A monument dedicated to the bersaglieri, the infantry cosp that took part to the battle is located in front of Porta Pia. But Porta Pia is also an important architectonical piece, being one of the last works of Michelangelo Buonarroti. 

The British Embassy

Just behind it, one can see the Embassy of the United Kingdom, a contemporary architecture work by Sir Basil Spence.The previousl building had been destroyed in 1946 by a terrorist attack related to the coflict in Palestine that was rising just in those years. Actually that is not the best part of the british history.
I walked along Via XX Settembre, a street that is named after the day of the battle of Porta Pia, passed the cross with Via Pastrengo, a curious street where circulation as in UK on the left side, and then turned to left to get to Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, just after admiring the fountain at the cross, the Fontana dell'Acqua Felice. then I stopped inside the Galleria Esedra, to taste one cannolo alla siciliana of the famous pastry shop Dagnino, to drink a coffe and to write the notes of my first hour of walk.


THE FAN

Link to part 3