LowCountryIslander

My mom and I will be returning to Rome for a week at the end of November. Big surprise there, we love Rome!

Because we have been to the Eternal City 6 times in as many years, we have covered alot of the "blockbuster" attractions, and some lesser known ones too!

We are BIG into food and wine. Do we enjoy a Michelin starred place every once in a while? Yes, but we are really very happy to patronize the smaller family run trattorias.

We also enjoy meandering through the beautiful churhces that abound in Rome and have been to several smaller ones, which we prefer, although we seem to usually squeeze a visit to St. Peter's Basillica during most of our stays.

We have also been fortunate to catch a variety of temporary exhibits over the years, including a fashion exhibit with costumes from Italian designers from a variety of theater and opera productions (one of our favorites!)

Now my question is...do you have any recommendations for "off the beaten path" attractions or activites to do while in Rome? They don't have to be food/wine related, but that's always ok with us.

In the past we have done cooking lessons (in Bologna), wine education sessions (in Rome), day trips to Orvieto, Hadrian's Villa/Villa d'Este & the Castelli Romagni town of Ariccia. I have booked a food walking tour with Elizabeth Minchilli and we are considering a day trip to Spoleto (mostly as a fact-finding mission to see if we'd like to do a future trip to Umbria and use Spoleto as a base)

We are not adverse to using public transportation, we are getting quite good at it in Rome and the surrounding area.

Thanks for any suggestions you may provide.

PalenQ

Have you been to EUR, Mussolini's planned new town right outside Rome itself - it reeks of fascists' excesses architecture - I found it rather interesting in juxtaposition to ancient Rome itself. Short metro ride away.

pizzocchieri

Have you been to the Galleria Alberto Sordi, near the Trevi Fountain. You might find it a nice diversion, to escape from heat or on a rainy day.

There is also a restaurant inside called 'The Galleria'. I've never eaten there, but they offer big salad lunches for around 15 euros, and salad can sometimes be a nice change of pace.

If you have not gone to Settimio al Pellegrino on a Thursday for gnocchi, I highly recommend it. Also have an order of their MonteBianco chestnut dessert.

An excellent place for coffee and pastries is Caffee Camerino near the Largo Argentina cat sanctuary.

If you have never shopped for cheese at Beppe e i suoi Formaggio, near the Largo Argentina in the old Ghetto, you might really enjoy it. I believe you can get modest lunches there too. Consider going there for lunch, and Cafffe Camerino after for pastries.

pizzocchieri

If you end up going to E.U.R. as suggested above, you might want to eat lunch al Il Fungo

http://en.menudiroma.com/il-fungo-ristorante-pizzeria

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eur_il_fungo.jpg

laurie_ann

One of my all time favorite churches is in Rome -- St Peter in Chains (San Pietro in Vincoli) -- up the hill from the colloseum. The church is great alone but it also houses Michaelangelo's Moses. (If you have read the book "The Agony and the Ecstacy" he spends his whole life trying to get the chance to finish that statue.)

foodor

I love Rome. Everytime I go there, I always stay in hotel in the center, so I can always walk around late at night, when the little streets are deserted. It's so surreal. My favorite path is (as everyone else's) Piazza Navona --> Pantheon --> Trevi.

Have you been to Montemartini Museum?

pizzocchieri

yes, if you haven't been to Montemartini you should look it up online and see if you want to go. But first, go to Volpetti in Testaccio (they even have a tavola calda where you can have some lunch), and then take a taxi the rest of the way.

LowCountryIslander

Thanks for the great replies. EUR and the Galleria Alberto Sordi are good options, we haven't been to either yet.

We had dinner at Settimio al Pellegrino in March when we were last in Rome and enjoyed it very much. I've heard alot about Beppe's cheese place and that is on my "go to' list for this upcoming trip.

St. Peter in Chains is one of our favorite churches, haven't been there in a while, so a return visit might be in order.

Thanks again for the great suggestions...anyone else?

LowCountryIslander

Haven't been to Montemartini, I will definitely check it out online. We have visited Volpetti and agree, it's terrific.

We are also considering a visit to the recently opened Eataly in Rome...I've heard mixed reviews of the place, but we are curious since we've been to the NYC and Bologna locations.

Michael

Il Quartiere Coppede and Parco de la Musica for a different architecture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/5937437990/

pizzocchieri

The whole point of the Eataly operation is that they all look alike. "Branded." The one in Bologna is different because you can't put an artificial market like Eataly right in the middle of a real market and not have people notice how artificial Eataly is, and what they are trying to sell is "authentic Italy." Rome's real markets are pretty interesting (except I don't think much of Campo de'Fiori). But do go to Beppe i suoi Formaggio if food is your thing (unless you can't eat cheese).

pizzocchieri

I just realized I keep misspelling the name of Beppe e i suoi Formaggi. Don't want you to get it wrong too!

PalenQ

http://www.google.com/search?q=EUR+R...=1600&bih=1075

EUR in photos showing the various buildings of the so-called Fascist School, I believe, just like Rome's Termini train station is as is the main ones in Florence and Venice - no glorious old train sheds but sleek modernistic ones built I understand by Mussolini.

HowardR

Have you been to the Museo Nationale Romano at the Palazzo Mazzione alle Terme. This little gem has some beautiful classical antiquities including Augustian-age wall paintings, mosaics and statuary. I especially remember a mosaic from Livia's palace.

RMMR2

lowcountry,

The American Academy in Rome, atop the Gianiculum Hill, is stunning in its location and has interesting architecture (though probably most would not consider the architecture anything special compared to the rest of Rome). If you have the opportunity to see it--especially on a clear, sunny day--do it. It is not generally open to the public, however they sometimes have lectures or concerts there that are open to the public. I initially learned of it because I had the good fortune to be invited to a wedding in Rome, and the reception was held there. (I later found their website by Googling it). The view was spectacular, and, if I recall correctly, the building formed a U with a beautifully landscaped courtyard in the middle, and a loggia along the outside of the U from which to admire the view. Oddly, my memory of the actual rooms is foggy--probably because I just remember 200 wedding guests sitting down to a feast (and the food was incredible)! I do recall that at least one side of the U had a colonnaded wall that was interesting.

We tried to visit it the last time we were in Rome (2010), but there were no public events being held while we were there.

Other thoughts--you may have already visited these:

The Villa Pamphilij on the Via Del Corso--the in-town "apartment" of the Pamphilij noble family--it has amazing paintings by Italian masters, original furniture, and a great audio tour narrated by a surviving Pamphilij prince.

The French consulate at Villa Farnese, near the Borghese gardens. The tour is pretty much only the grounds, but they are beautiful--the gardens, the architecture, the sculpture and the view of the city. Despite the information I found ahead of time on numerous travel websites and guides, there is an English-speaking tour on a more or less daily basis, and we did not have to sign up for it in advance. We were walking by the gate one day and there was a sign posted with the times for their daily tours, including the English tour. So we just showed up the next day, a little bit in advance of the English tour, and purchased our tickets.

HowardR

Ooops, I misspelled one of the words. It's Museo Nazionale Romano.
Its address is Largo di Villa Peretti 1.

LowCountryIslander

Thanks for the links to the photos...I'll check them out tonight when I have more time.

We have been to the Museo Nazionale Romano and loved it.

I follow American ex-pat bloggers Elizabeth Minichilli who is a member of the American Academy in Rome & Katie Parla who conducts food-related events at the Academy on a limited basis, so, I have heard of it before. I believe they are operating a sustainable food program there in coordination with the Alice Waters foundation. I'll keep my eyes and ears open if there are any events going on there that we might be able to sign up for.

We have been to the Palazzo Pamphilij on the Via Del Corso mentioned above and loved it and the same with the Palazzo Farnese. The Palazzo Farnese now does an English tour, but it is only once a week on Wednesday. Mom and I did the tour in March but in French because all the spaces on the English tour the week we were there were booked solid.

Thanks everyone...all these recommendations are great & much appreciated!

pizzocchieri

Regarding train stations in Italy, Mussolini approved the design of the station in Florence, but it is actually not in what came to be regarded as the Fascist style. And while Rome's station and the station in Venice were built by the rationalist architect Mazzoni, who was very much in favor with Mussolini, the greatest example of a "Fascist" train station of the Mussolini-era is Milan's central train station, which was completed by Alberto Fava.

E.U.R. was very much intended to be an "ideal" city of the Fascist idea of Italy. While honoring the glory of Roman road building and classical style, it set out to bypass the tangled streets of medieval Rome (and assert secular power to rival that of Vatican, also outside of Rome's ancient city).

Most people don't go to Rome to see Fascist Rome -- and you can see a lot of it never leaving central Rome if you know what to look for. Go walk around Piazza Augusto Imperatore, which has an antiques and collectibles market every 1st and 3rd Sunday.

ticadonnita

Just curious "lowcountry" as I grew up on Sullivans Island in the 60's... and wondering if you are anywhere near there? I am now in Costa Rica and we are going to Italy for the first time this October. Very excited and following fodors for info .

Baudolino

I think RMMR2 means the Villa Medici, which is the French Academy near the Borghese Gardens.