Two Days in Rome

Notes prepared for a friend who had two days in Rome -- 

Here’s what you have to do in Rome –  I’ve arranged the sights into chunks of time and neighborhoods so that you can walk from one thing to another – and have a little lunch in between –

You must see The Domus Aurea – which on and under the Esquilino hill overlooking the Coliseum and the Forum.  This was Nero's golden house (75,000 square  feet) which he built for himself by appropriating the land of the nobility. (Not a popular move.)  The house, most of it still underground (reason to follow) is filled with the most gorgeous mosaics and wall paintings in a style that Nero invented and which we now call the "grotesque."  (Those beautiful half animals half people that are on italian dishes and stationery....)  The rooms are huge - the “vaulted ceiling” that Severus invented for Nero allowed them to be so  -- and so the Domus was new and startling both in its architecture  and decoration.

After Nero's death, (the nobles gave him a choice: they would kill him or he could kill himself) Vespasian and then Trajan plowed under (literally) the Domus Aurea and built the Coliseum and public baths on the land. (A popular move.)

Then -- skip from 68 to 1490 -- Raphael and some of his buddies fall into a sink hole in the hillside and discover the Domus and its grotesques -- and then it's the style that Raphael uses to decorate the  Loggia in the Vatican and the Villa Madama.

When you go, call up and make a reservation for a tour – contrary to your instincts but you must go with one of the on site guides -- very informative and since what has been restored is fragmentary they can fill in the missing parts.

Near by is another favorite of ours -- in fact you can walk from one to the other -- San Clemente -- a church that has three layers that have been excavated.  The lowest down is a Mithraic temple from the 2nd or 3rd century.  Next, the lower church is I think from the 8th or 9th century and then on top of it all you have a medieval basilica.  As you go down through the layers, you feel that you're traveling back in time.  It's quite fabulous.

 You can do both San Clemente and the Domus Aurea in one afternoon, walking from one to the other (10-15 minutes) if you’re energetic.  If you have to chose take the Domus Aurea.

This next chunk is a whole bunch of smaller stuff all of which is wonderful and at which you could spend happily a whole day.  Around the Pantheon, there are several great, great things that it's possible to have missed.

 If you want a divine, small museum with a great collection, (think Frick) go to the Doria Pamphili on the Piazza Collegio Romano. Spend 45 minute there and make sure you see Velasquez’ portrait of Pope Innocent X – some think it’s the greatest single painting in Rome. 

 Walk from there to the west, down the via Pie di Marmo and see the big marble foot that’s been left out in the road. 

Continue west and at the Piazza della Minerva, go right and in the courtyard of the Santa Maria sopra Minerva see the Bernini elephant.  Inside the church, see the tombs of St. Catherine of Siena and Fra Angelico, the frescoes of Filippino Lippi in the Carafa Chapel and, most importantly, the Michelangelo statue of Christ carrying the cross that is as muscular and sexy as anything.  

Walk north and in one block you’re at the Pantheon.  Have a drink in the piazza.  It’s a great square – or go to Fortunato al Pantheon for lunch.  

Then go two steps north and take a left on the Via Giustiniani to S. Luigi dei Francesi -- there is the deservedly famous and absolutely stunning Caravaggio of the Calling of St. Matthew by the Angel -- bring coins for the light box -- the painting leaps out of the darkness.

Go west – for one block (past the Italian Senate) and you’re on the Corso del Rinascimento and a shopping opportunity.  Go to the divinely old fashioned store of Santa Maria Novella and buy some pasta di mandorle (almond paste cream) – the best hand cream ever made.

Then continue west one block and you’re at the Piazza Navona – bliss – but don’t eat anything there – expensive and awful.  Do go across the square to S. Agnese in Agone – Borromini’s wonderful baroque church and the weird and wonderful sculpture of St. Agnes in flames.

Continue west and on the next street over, the Hotel Raphael is to your right.  They have a nice outdoor space in front of the hotel for eating and a rooftop bar.  For something less expensive and still lovely go over one more block to the via dei Pace and to the Café della Pace – next to a charming church also of the same name.  The café is a quiet and tasty refuge from the gorgeous but bustling Navona.

Then go south, across the busy Corso Emanuele II, to the Camp dei Fiori – where there is a huge, wonderful open-air market (fruits, veg, wine, cheese) every morning.  IN FACT, IF YOU WANTED TO YOU COULD START IN THE MORNING AT THE MARKET AND MAKE YOUR WAY BACKWARDS THROUGH THIS LITTLE TOUR, ENDING UP AT THE DORIA PAMPHILI.

Past the Campo, in and around the old Jewish Ghetto, there are a few small charming places to see:

--The trompe l'oiel collonade in the courtyeard of Palazzo Spada – just east of the Piazza de Quercia –

--The Fontana delle Tartarughe in Piazza Mattei

And if you have any energy left, continue south, cross the Tiber at the Ponte Garibaldi and walk your up to Santa Maria in Trastevere – a beautiful church in a fun neighborhood.  And have a drink.                                                                                                                                                               

Eating --

Of the "big" places (Al Moro, Dal Bolognese) our favorite was Quinzi  & Gabrieli -- because we had the best oysters ever.

Of the smaller places, we loved Fortunato al Pantheon -- on the via del Pantheon -- a fave of the folks at the American Academy.

And for a really small, delicious, neighborhood place, Ditirambo - on the  Piazza della Cancelleria (near the Campo dei Fiori).  If you have only one night eat at Ditirambo – not open for lunch.