Neal Sanders

I’ve just returned from a vacation in Italy that included six days in Rome. Here are some notes from my stay for anyone headed for in that direction in the near future. <BR> <BR>Rome looks better than it has in memory. All of the polishing and cleaning done for the Jubilee still shows, the scaffolding is all gone – and so have the worst of the crowds. I would say that Rome has not been this enjoyable in decades. And, mid- to late September is an ideal time of year to enjoy Italy. <BR> <BR>Where we stayed: After pondering every guidebook available, we ended up choosing at a hotel that’s not yet in any of them, the four-star Hotel Dei Consoli. The hotel opened in 2000; it still looks new inside. With just 28 rooms, it is the kind of intimate place where the desk clerk quickly learns who you are and the breakfast room staff knows after a day what kind of beverage you prefer. We were attracted by the price (L470,000, or $225 a night inclusive of VAT and breakfast) and by the availability of non-smoking rooms. Our third-floor, corner room was indeed non-smoking, very attractively furnished, air-conditioned, and exceptionally quiet (thermal pane windows accounted for the last point). The bathrooms were marble, with all the right built-ins. <BR> <BR>The principal downside was room size. Our “superior” room was, frankly, tiny. Because of post-September 11 cancellations, we had our choice of rooms, but all were of comparable size. The bathroom was large enough only to fit a small stand-up shower. <BR> <BR>The location was near the Vatican on the Via Cola di Rienzo, (the shopping street that runs between the Vatican and the Piazza del Popolo), and about four short blocks from the Ottaviano subway station on the Red Line. That subway proximity proved important: my observation is that there is no hotel in Rome that qualifies as “centrally located.” What’s close to the Forum is a long hike from the Vatican and vice versa; and if a hotel is convenient to the Villa Borghese, it is very inconvenient to the Trastevere. We typically walked in the morning and took the subway back to our hotel in the evening. <BR> <BR>(continued in part 2) <BR> <BR>

Neal Sanders

Where we ate: The guidebooks warn you that the eating choices by the Vatican are slim and expensive. On this one, the guidebooks are right. Our one dinner experience in the vicinity was Dal Toscano on Via Germanico. As the name implies, its specialty is Tuscan dishes. We had better dinners in Rome, we had worse. On our first night in Rome after a very long day’s travel, it was a reasonable choice. Dinner with wine was about $60 for two. <BR> <BR>In my travels around the world I have always considered that there is an inverse square law that applies to restaurant menus. One language: good. Two languages: probably only half as good. Three languages: a quarter as good and four or more languages – don’t even bother. Rome is filled with four-language menus, especially around places like the Piazza del Popolo, Trevi fountain and Piazza Navona. Nothing on this trip altered that belief. However, until this trip, I also held as a basic tenet that to be handed a menu in English in a country where English is not the native tongue is a run-for-the-doors alarm bell. I now know this is not true. <BR> <BR>The Porto di Ripetta is on Via Ripetta, about two blocks south of the tourist haunts fronting on the Piazza del Populo, has no outdoor tables or garden. All it has is an inventive kitchen, wonderful seafood, a gracious owner, superb service, and very reasonable prices. This was a guidebook recommendation; when we were handed an English-language menu, we nearly bolted. When I commented aloud on the menu, the owner offered the Italian-language version, I demurred and stayed – two very good decisions. Porto di Ripetta served the best meals we had in Rome. Simple fare such as cod and artichoke were peerless; more adventuresome dishes pleased both the eye and the palate. We ordered from the menu the first night; we placed ourselves in the hands of the kitchen the second and were not disappointed. Most remarkably, both meals – for two, with wine, multiple courses, dessert, grappa, limoncello, and service – came in at about $90 (190,000 lire). The same meal in Boston or New York – if it could be duplicated, which is unlikely – would have been at least double that amount. <BR> <BR>(continued in part 3)

Neal Sanders

Museums: Rome is stiff with museums, but three of them stand out. In the Villa Borghese, the large park north of the Piazza di Spagna, the Borghese museum reopened in 2000 after a ten-year restoration with a demand for tickets that could not be satisfied. Timed tickets are still required via a web site, but we placed our order less than a week in advance and received our requested 9 a.m. entry (if you go without a reservation, you get in only if there is a no-show). The restoration of the Borghese is nothing short of stunning, and there are a pair of Bernini sculptures that are worth a visit to Rome all by themselves. The two-hour time block allowed by the tickets was barely sufficient to take in the beauty of the villa and its contents. If you go to Rome and don’t see the Borghese, you missed out on one of the truly great experiences of being in that city. <BR> <BR>Judging by the crowds, the Museo Nazionale di Roma has fallen out of favor among Rome visitors. That’s a shame, because the third floor of this museum is a knockout. The MDR houses the antiquities excavated from sites around Rome, and the first two floors are filled with a very good collection of statues and the like. The recently revised signage (in English and Italian) is first rate; the curator has put the museum’s collection into the context of its times. But the first two floor are just a warm-up for the main event. The third floor houses murals and mosaics. The murals are from the Villa of Livia which was built on the banks of the Tiber circa AD100 and abandoned after less than 30 years because of endemic flooding. The intact murals have been placed in rooms matching the originals and, while the lighting is kept low to preserve the painting, the effect is a “wow”. There are five such rooms. Then, you turn a corner and there are the mosaics. Over a 300-year period, the Romans raised mosaics to an art form of uncommon delicacy and, because of the materials used, the mosaics are as vivid today as they were 2000 years ago. Like the Berninis at the Borghese, they’re worth a trip to Rome all on their own. <BR> <BR>The third great museum was the Museo Estrusca (Etruscan Museum) at the Villa Guilia in the Villa Borghese park. I confess to a life-long fascination with the Etruscans, which are to the Italians what Native American cultures are to those of us in the United States. The Etruscans were building a fascinating advanced civilization when the first Romans were living in mud huts. Because the Etruscans has elaborate burial rituals, some of their imaginative and beautiful art has survived, even as the Romans ruthlessly eradicated all traces of Etruscan culture as the Empire rose. The Museo Etrusca is huge and houses more artifacts than every other Etruscan collection in the world combined. <BR>

dan woodlief

Enjoyed reading your report Neal. All these great reports on the Borghese are convincing me that I should move it from a maybe to a must on my list. I am going to be in Rome in two weeks. Could you comment on the atmosphere there right now? Of course, with the way things are going, it could be very different in two weeks. Also regarding the Borghese, from your observations would it work to just make a reservation by phone 2-4 days ahead?

pam

Neal, <BR>Thank you for your wonderful, evocative report. Glad to hear from you. <BR> <BR>Pam

Neal Sanders

Dan, the reservation process was painless through the official site, which is in English and can be found at http://www.goporta.com/tickets/Rome_tickets.htm. I received an email confirmation which I took with me to the museum (naturally, they didn't have us on the list, but honored the printout of the confirmation). Also, as no credit card was required to obtain the reservation, there's presumably no penalty for failing to show up. <BR> <BR>As to whether this is a good time to go; that's your decision. My wife and I were on one of the first planes out of Boston's Logan Airport and security was very tight at each connection. Conversely, crowds were thin; no doubt a product of cancellations by other visitors. Each person has to make his or her own decision as to whether to travel when the world is unsettled. <BR> <BR>But the opportunity to see masterpieces like 'Apollo and Daphne' and 'The Rape of Prosperine' comes along all too seldom. Even though I had seen these works in photos, I did not appreciate their delicacy and beauty until I saw them from inches away. <BR> <BR>Pam, thank you for the kind words!

dan woodlief

Thanks Neal. I'll go ahead and reserve via the Web.

carol

Neal, Thanks for takinig the time to write such a comprehensive report--Rome does look absolutely gorgeous, doesn't it?

Dayle

Neal, thanks for the great report. Can't wait to get back to Roma & see all I missed the first time. The Borghese was still under restoration when I was there 6 years ago....

Audrey

Neal, <BR> <BR>Wonderful report. I agree wholeheartedly with you about the Borghese, it is one of the most beautiful collections I have ever seen. I was there in June of 1999 and we were able to walk right in with no reservations as the renovations were not quite complete. How do the grounds look? When we were there it was very overgrown and the statues were covered in grafiti; I hope that they have been restored. <BR> <BR>Thanks for the report, <BR>Audrey

Ess

Neal, I'll add my compliments to those above. Thanks for a great report, detailed, lucid and interesting, as usual. I haven't yet been to Rome, but your description is mighty enticing!

Neal Sanders

Audrey, the Borghese complex was redone top to bottom for the Jubilee, including the extensive gardens and statuary, which are open for walking after you've seen the Borghese complex. What makes the museum so stunning is the work done on the building itself -- it has been restored back to its 17th century appearance, including the tromp l'oeil marble and ceiling paintings. Most museums fade into the background to show off their art... this one shares center stage.

Capo

Neal, I enjoyed your trip report about the Sorrentine peninsula and enjoyed this one as well...very well written! <BR> <BR>The Borghese museum was, without a doubt, one of our favorite things in Rome. From what we had read, we expected it to be great, but it surpassed our expectations; we especially loved the tromp l'oeil ceilings with their gorgeous colors. (Dan, yes, definitely move it from a maybe to a must-see.) We also enjoyed the park itself, a wonderful sanctuary of green in a bustling city. <BR> <BR>Our B&B was on the Via Cola di Rienzo, only about a block from the Tiber, and I wanted to add that there's a great food market (I forget the name) on the north side of that street as you approach the Vatican. <BR> <BR>

Capo

P.S. I wanted to add that I believe that most of the art in the Borghese museum was built specifically for that building, so you're seeing the art as it was intended to be displayed. As I recall, the statue of Apollo & Daphne is in the same room it was created for but it's been turned from the way it was originally displayed.

robin-k

Neal: <BR> <BR>Thanks for sharing your excellent report. I've been to Rome twice & have barely scratched the surface. Can't wait to see the place again without all the scaffolding. <BR> <BR>If I may raise an issue that frequently comes on this forum with regards to Rome & other big cities in Italy. The gypsy and pickpocket issue. On my first trip during a crowded subway ride (on way to St. Peter's, Sunday morning), I had an "almost" pickpocket experience. Since then, no problems. What about you? Any encounters? <BR> <BR>Also, where else did you go during your vacation in Italy? Or am I ahead of myself --- awaiting the next installment of trip report?

Neal Sanders

Robin, our trip also included Sorrento, which is covered under a different "One Traveler's Opinion" report. While it came after Rome, the Sorrentine peninsula part of the trip was easier to get down in words. <BR> <BR>After being harrassed by gypsies on earlier visits to Rome, we've learned some problem-avoiding techniques. First, we arranged for a private car service to take us from FCO to our hotel. The $43 cost (L90,000) was more than recouped by the fact that we saved over an hour in transit and bypassed the Termini Station area, which is where gypsy children congregate and target people with multiple suitcases. The two pickpocket heavens in the city are the Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain areas. We didn't avoid those areas, but just stayed especially aware of our surroundings. The subways, and especially the Red Line between Ottaviano and points in the Centro Storico which we used daily, were not a problem. This was a change for the better from our last visit, and I recall reading that the Rome police had made a special effort, as part of the Jubilee planning, to target the safety of the subways.