20) the weather.
What's not to love about almost year long mild weather? The coldest months are January and February. The hottest months are July and August. Anything in between is pleasant. This doesn't stop Romans from moaning about the lack of seasons, about it being too hot, too wet... Nor does it seem to stop condominium administrators from imposing six months of heating, which really isn't necessary.
19) the open air museum
Walking the streets there is something to see on every corner. At least,if you live in the historic centre or within the city walls, that is. Away from the centre it's a different story, there are eyesores aplenty. Having said that, even in peripheral areas, there has been an effort to beautify areas with street art projects. Check Out: Big city life Project, on Viale di Tor Marancia.
My niece, on a visit from Finland, could but marvel at the colours: siena oranges, ochres, salmons, pinks, cream.... Buildings are rarely dull. Balconies are often covered in plants and colourful flowers. Awnings go from soft browns, to lush greens via oranges and burgundys. Forget the dull greys and browns of Northern cities. Less pleasing, are the colourful, plentiful and messy graffiti which unfortunately can be found everywhere.
17) the quality of the light
This one is difficult to describe. Claude Monet, the French impressionist painter, chose to paint all over Normandy because of the quality of the light. He gave us the lily pads of Giverny, the cathedral of Rouen, the cliffs at Etretat... I wonder what he would have made of Rome? Mind you, come August when the sun is at its zenith, the heat brings an unpleasant shimmer which spoils any picture. And when the scirocco blows or afa looms it's best to stay indoors.
16) the river and its bridges
A caveat, for rivers and bridges, my award goes to Paris. However Rome comes in a good second. This is thanks to Bernini, and the incomparable 'Bridge of Angels', set in one of the most historically evocative areas of the city. Other bridges are symbols of their time. A stroll along the banks of the Tiber is a walk through history. It's all there from the ancient at Ponte Rotto, near the Tiber island, to the fascist by Mussolini's Olympic stadium.
I thought they could be found all over Italy. I was wrong. It's very much a Roman take on pizza. All over the city there are shops with large trays of freshly made pizza ready to slice per the customers' requests at any time of the day. No one knows which is the best pizza or the best place to get some. But any hunger pang can quickly be calmed with a slice of heaven: from the margherita, the bianca , the rossa to more elaborately topped pizzas, the choice is yours! Try Bonci Pizzarium on Via della Melaria. Or the pizza chain, Alice, now all over the city which boasts a wide selection of toppings including the infamous Nutella pizza.
14) the fabulous mercati rionali
Each district of Rome (rione) has its own outdoors and nowadays increasingly indoors market. These have stalls heaped with mounds of fresh produce set closely side by side and stall keepers shouting to attract attention in enclosed halls or in competition with heavily trafficked roads and honking drivers. The most famous outdoor market may be that on Campo dei Fiori, as it's in the centre of the city, but being in tourist land it sells a lot of tourist tat and at a price. A 20-minute tram ride away, round the back of Monteverde, is the large noisy market of San Giovanni di Dio. Both the prices and the atmosphere are more genuine. Other markets of note are the second largest in Rome,of the Tuscolana, on Via Satrico or the ethnic market, known as the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino on Via Alberto Filiberto where you'll find Indian spices, fresh coriander, tofu, rice vinegar and other hard to find food or the distinctly posher and grander Mercato Trionfale near the Vatican. Many areas also have weekend farmers' markets, try the one in Garbatella.
If you're in Rome in the winter try the puntarelle, they're a type of chicory, usually served in an anchovy and lemon emulsion. Making them is finicky but many grocery stores and supermarkets sell them ready prepared, all they need is their dressing. They are a Roman speciality and difficult to find in other regions of Italy. Other bitter leaves such as chicory, chards and broccoletti are good too. In different seasons it's not unusual to find elderly locals foraging for bitter leaves in the large tracts of wild land which can be found between the various areas of the city.
12) Once-sumptuous parks
Sadly, I have to refer to them as once-sumptuous due to the continuing rot in the city administration that has led to their extensive neglect. Unlike many other capital cities Rome has a lot of large parks: Villa Ada, Villa Borghese and Villa Pamphili are the largest and most well-known. Indeed, Villa Borghese holds the Galleria Borghese, home to works of art by Caravaggio and Bernini, to name but two. It also houses the biopark, a zoo with a difference which takes on animals in need of succour and has a successful breeding programme but suffers from a lack of funding and resources. Each year the city is supposed to give funds to the park but payments are often tardy.
Further away from the centre lies the park of the Caffarella. It is wedged between the Appia Antica and the Appio Latino districts, both well-to-do areas of the city. This abuts onto the
regional Park of the Appia Antica which runs almost all the way almost to the foot of the Castelli Romani. Less prominent is the wild volcanic Tenuta di Tor Marancia which edges the working class district of the same name and extends to the Ardeatina. The park of the Aqueducts down by cinecittà is worth some time if just to marvel at the sheer feat of ancient Roman engineering, put even more into context when a 30-year-old motorway bridge collapses in the North. Smaller parks as well such as Villa Sciarra (in Monteverde) or the park of the EUR with its famous laghetto are also popular though maybe more among Romans than among tourists. These days a lot of these parks are neglected and untidy. Villa Sciarra was vandalised with statues thrown into dried up ponds and graffiti scrawled over benches.
Each area has a distinct atmosphere, almost as if they were separate villages within the larger city. Trastevere, across the Tiber was once a working class neighbourhood. Today it is jam packed full of restaurants and trattorie along its narrow alleyways and characteristic piazzas. Just a hop and a skip across the Tiber is Testaccio with its tight grid of streets ending up at Monte Testaccio and Monte dei Cocci, an ancient Roman rubbish tip. Recent gentrification has seen the market moved to a modern indoor structure and the central piazza restyled. It is increasingly trendy. It also is home to one of the best pizzerie in Rome 'Da Remo', and to one of the best cheese salumerie shops 'Volpetti', on Via Marmorata. And even though the old slaughterhouse closed down many years ago, it is the last remaining bastion of the true cucina povera, the fifth quarter, that is tripe, oxtail, offal. Like Trastevere, it has become in recent years a go to destination for groups of foodies on their food tour of Rome.
10) the banks of the Tiber
Impressive in their own right, a walk along the banks of the Tiber, when the water is low, is de rigueur. If the water is high the steep stairs that give access to the banks are bared with unattractive orange and white police hazard tape. The walls tower high above you as you walk all the way from Ponte Marconi, following the cycle lane, to the other side of Rome, at Ponte Milvio.
(Reasons: to be continued)
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