Up-Close with Graziella in Rome

Extra bonus if you are interested: Graziella is more than happy to teach you an hour's worth of Italian on her terrace overlooking Rome. Interested?

Itinerary 2:

GRAZIELLA’S TRASTEVERE

I will meet you at your hotel around 10 am before heading out in to the Trastevere district, showing you first the Santa Maria church with its Byzantine mosaics and Santa Cecilia church with the famous Bernini’s statue. Of course we will have to stop at one of my favorite cafés for coffee or cappuccino. Luca and Giampaolo at the Caffè I Dolci di Checco Er Carrettiere know I like it creamy and a little chat with Laura or Maria Grazia is in order.

Soon we continue our walk to Villa Farnesina to marvel at Raffaello’s and Baldassarre Peruzzi’s frescoes and paintings. We can make this a sweet day by stopping at the Antica Pasticceria Valzani. La Signora Virginia Valzani, well in her eighties, has worked in the shop forever. She and her son hand make the most exquisite chocolates and cakes in town. She loves being called “artist” rather than a pastry cook.

The “Forno La Renella” deserves another stop. They bake the best bread in town, and make excellent pizzas and “biscotti” nonstop from 7 am to 9 pm including holidays. Antonella serves you with a smile and Massimo, the young baker, is always interested in comparing his prices with the price-list of foreign bakeries. His delicious biscotti brutti ma buoni (ugly but good) deserve a taste.

Along the winding Trastevere lanes we stroll along many small shops that sell ethnic goods and small handmade ornaments.

It should be lunch time and we will visit one of Trastevere’s trattorias or restaurants that make this area Rome’s “big eatery.” Carciofi alla giudìa or alla romana (artichokes “Jewish style,”fried whole and served crisp and juicy; or cooked with olive oil, garlic and mint) appear in every menu together with spaghetti or rigatoni carbonara, cacio e pepe (romano cheese & pepper), or amatriciana (pasta sauce with pancetta, tomatoes and basil)

For our coffee I suggest we walk to my apartment. I invite you to take some photos from my panoramic terraces. If you are interested I begin to teach you an hour's worth of Italian. Later we will have an aperitif together before taking you back to your hotel.

Itinerary 3:

ACROSS THE RIVER TIBER

Today we will begin our walk to Campo de Fiori crossing the small pedestrian Ponte Sisto bridge over the Tiber. At the beginning of the elegant Via Giulia wanted by Pope Giulio Farnese at the main entrance of his Palazzo, we will say hello to Annamaria, Orazio or Margherita at the fascinating Antiquariato Valligiano shop. They specialize in painted furniture from northern Italy along with tasteful objets d’art.

Michelangelo’s Palazzo Farnese is just round the corner, few yards apart from Palazzo Spada, another Renaissance jewel. With our eyes full of beauty we get to the colorful Campo de Fiori fruit & vegetable market. It’s a joy to have a look at the stalls that sell among Rome’s best--and most expensive!--food products. Fabrizio & Mauro are busy selling their spices and dried fruit to tourists who know them by fame or to locals who are regular customers. Fabrizio loves to show the album where he collects all the newspaper clippings.

The market is just below the statue of Giordano Bruno, the heretic monk burnt alive by the Inquisition. His hooded head doesn’t seem to be impressed by the crowds that gather round its pedestal. I’m sure, instead, that he’d love to join us for coffee or cappuccino served by Betty at the Magnolia café facing his statue.

More sights await us with a little walk. Piazza Navona is only 10 minutes away and so is the Pantheon and San Luigi de’Francesi where stunning paintings by Caravaggio have decorated the Contarelli Chapel for 500 years. The area is also full of interesting shops where we can browse.

For lunch today I suggest a restaurant in the area, near the Pasquino statue. Romans used to attach their complaints to it, and they still do it today. It’s fun to stop and read some of them and get the humor they convey.

There's always a big crowd waiting in line for a coffee at the famous Sant’Eustachio Café; it's considered the best in town. We'll try it together!