Hi, I'm looking for those secret spots of culture in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Tuscany. Not the places you'll see all the other tourists. The spots the locals know for the best secret treats or shopping. Some undiscovered food. The local bookstores. The fun cafe's. Mom and pop toy stores. Glassblowing shops. Starving artist galleries. Any great finds?

In Rome, we stayed in the Monti area, on the via serpenti off the via nazionale. It was very busy, but hardly any [foreign] tourists, though we met a few in the "Wanted " restaurant just off via Cavour [great pizzas and stuffed zucchini flowers].
THere were a lot of artisan shops, jewelry and clothes shops, little food shops and delis, a lovely square with a fountain, a gelati shop where the local cops stopped for huge bowls of their favourite flavours [don't know if they paid], bars, cafes, little restaurants; even if you didn't stay there, it would make a great day's exploring. Metro to Cavour, no 40/64 bus back to central rome from via nazzionale at the end of the day.

You may want to check out the Testaccio neighborhood in Rome. Its an interesting neighborhood that definitely felt quite void of tourists. There are some interesting restaurants and cafes, and one can visit the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius and walk inside a portion of the old Aurelian wall.

The neighborhood is fairly easy to get to; just hop on metro and get off at the "pyramide" stop.

Tracy

You'll be pleased in Venice. Rick Steves says it and it's true: if you go just a few streets off the path from St. Marks to the Rialto, you're out of "tourist territory." If you go to any of the churches (except St. Mark's of course), you will find kids playing in the piazza, adults sitting on benches, etc.

Mom - If you're interested in classical music or opera, check out:

ROME
- concerts in the presidential palace (- Quirinale).

VENICE
- La Traviata or Operatic Duets at the Palazzo BARBARIGO-MINOTTO.
www.musicapalazzo.com
www.aguestinvenice.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

In Florence, Oltrarno area:
http://www.tuscanweb.com/news/?ID=238

Do you speak/read Italian? This would make a difference in my reccos for things like bookstores and shops, as obviously a bookstore catering only to books written in Italian may not be of interest to you; and shops where the owner does not speak English may not be as helpful to you. Restaurants where the menu is not in English and waitstaff does not speak English can be a trying experience for both diner and waiter. Let me know. In Venice it is hard to escape tourists really, but that does not make it a bad thing at all; also remember that there are thousands of Italian tourists, so you may be in the midst of an Italian tourist trap and not know it....

bookmarking

In Florence, go to the San Ambrogio market. There won't be any tourists there. Or is there are, they are just like you and going out of their way to find untouristed spots.

But you are asking for untouristed spots in some of the world's busiest vacation destinations. Kind of tough...