In Trastevere

Trastevere.....wonderful Trastevere! From my earliest days in Rome I've always been fond of Trastevere.

Firstly, it was home to one of Rome's few original language cinemas, the Pasquino. It was on Piazza di Sant'Egidio, opposite the Museo di Roma in Trastevere and next to a bar called Ombre Rosse (named after the John Wayne film 'Stagecoach').We would sit on the narrow terrace at Ombre Rosse with a glass of white wine and a slice of New York cheese cake, either after a film or as we waited to go in. Back at the end of the nineties it was one of the few places in Rome which sold cheesecake, there and the Austrian bakery in the Ghetto. All good things come to an end and the Pasquino closed its doors. Now an art gallery stands on the premises.

Secondly Trastevere had one of the best bookshops in Rome, then known as the 'Corner Bookshop', a small cube set on the corner of two narrow alleys. It moved a few doors down to become the 'Almost Corner Bookshop', where you can still find it today on Via del Moro.

The second hand bookshop, on Via della Lungaretta, close to the tiny school I used to work in and where I found many cheap treasures is still there, as dusty and musty as ever. It recently celebrated 40 years in business.

Other than films and books, more than anything, it provides an endless stream of excellent, moderately priced restaurants, pizzerie, trattorie and wine bars. On Via San Francesco a Ripa there is Ivo's for pizzas, a little further down the street Cave Canem where one evening our limoncellos were served with our bill making it clear that we were to drink up and move as soon as we could to make way for an incoming wave of tourists. It marred what would have been a perfectly nice evening. Near Piazza della Scala there is the Trattoria della Scala where I first tried straccetti di manzo con rucola (thin strips of beef with rocket sprinkled on top).

Walking out of 'Cave Canem' and onto Piazza San Calisto, next to 'Paris' one of the best places to try Fiori di Zucca, is the infamous Bar San Callisto. Infamous because this was the bar which supplied all the low-lifes that clutter the streets with it was said more than just beer. It is still known as the bar with the cheapest beer in Trastevere. It's terrace is always packed.

From here, it's just a hop and a skip to the heart of the district on Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere with its magnificent basilica, the central fountain and terraces packed with tourists. Due to renovations the beautiful mosaic frontispiece is hidden behind scaffolding and a veil of fabric.

 There are two important basilicas in Trastevere: Santa Maria and Santa Cecilia. The former is a pre-Medieval Church, one of the oldest in Rome, with impressive mosaics whereas the latter is a Baroque Church dedicated to the martyrdom of Santa Cecilia. It was built over an earlier Roman Church.

Santa Cecilia

From Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, if you take a right down the little road beside the newsstand, you will find  yourself on Via della Lugaretta. It goes down towards Viale Trastevere, the large thouroughfare that bissects the area, and continues all the way over the other side to the Tiber past terrace after terrace of tables and bars.

The number 8 tram rattles up and down Viale Trastevere from Piazza Venezia to the top of the Circonvalazione Gianicolense at Casaletto.

Further on past the Island on the Tiber you will reach the city walls and Porta Portese. Every Sunday, Rome's largest flea market takes place at Porta Portese where among the usual rubbish it's possible to find some genuine antiques and vintage items. Beware the pickpockets! But this is the unfashionable side of Trastevere away from the bars and restaurants. and tourist masses.

If instead, back on Piazza Santa Maria you take a left, this will take you to Piazza Sant'Egidio, go through the square onto Via della Scala, stop at Caffe della Scala for a beer or a chilled white wine then continue through the Porta Settimiana onto Via della Lungara turn down Via Corsini at the end of which are the Botanical Gardens. The botanical gardens are well worth a visit and also a quiet respite from the crowds. Nearby are the museums of Palazzo Corsini and Palazzo Farnesina (which I haven't visited yet).

However, retracing our steps rather than taking Via della Scala on leaving Piazza St. Egidio you take Vicolo de' Cinque this will take you to Enoteca Ferrara and Via del Moro. As you're here might as well pop into the 'Almost Corner Bookshop'. Once that visit is over head towards Piazza Trilussa and the Tiber.

But today I'm in Rome's 13th district for the Festa dei Noantri.....