Testaccio, Rome
 

This will be my 3rd trip to Rome (Oct) and I really would like to explore some areas I have not been to yet. Testaccio is one of those areas, but I really don't know much about it. It's not really highlighted in the guidebooks I have. We will be staying in an apt. in Trastevere. Is Testaccio within walking distance? Is anyone really familiar with this area and what I should look for, churches, sites, recommendations for places to eat, etc.?

Hi Barb

I got this from goeurope.about.com

Testaccio

Testaccio, a traditional working-class area, is a bit off the beaten tourist track but very popular with young Romans as the place to go for a choice, cheap meal.

Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

You won't find a noisier, more popular pizzeria in the city than Pizzeria Remo (tel 06 574 62 70, Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice 44). It's a lively place and the pizzas are some of Rome's best. They are huge but have a very thin crust. Place your order by ticking your choices on a sheet of paper the waiter gives you. Expect to queue if you arrive after 8.30pm. It is closed on Sunday.

Augustarello (tel 06 574 65 85, Via G Branca 98); off the square, specialises in offal. If sweetbreads and oxtail aren't your thing, then don't come here. Virtually every dish (other than the pasta) in this old-fashioned trattoria has some correlation to the innards of an animal. It is closed on Sunday.

Trattoria da Bucatino (tel 06 574 68 86, Via Luca della Robbia 84) is a popular Testaccio eating place, decorated with the ubiquitous garlands of garlic and empty chianti bottles. The extensive antipasto buffet is excellent, and there's a good variety of pasta and meat main dishes. Save room for the desserts which exceed normal trattoria standards. It is closed on Monday and all credit cards are accepted.

Da Felice (tel 06 574 68 00, Via Mastro Giorgio 29) is a local institution and is especially popular at lunchtime with shoppers and stallholders at the nearby Testaccio market. Ask nicely for a table as the proprietor will only let you sit down if he likes the look of you; he keeps reserved signs on all the tables to cover his tracks! If you're one of the privileged few, you'll enjoy true Roman fare, great pasta and lots of meat and offal, all for a bargain price. It is closed on Sunday.

Mid-Range Restaurants

Family-run Cecchino dal 1887 (tel 06 574 63 18, Vìa di Monte Testaccio 30) is a local institution and provides constant fodder for travel magazines seeking the best places for traditional Roman dining. Its location near the former abbatoir is appropriate, given that offal - from calf's head to pig's trotters and sweetbreads - is its trademark. The great wine cellar is a bonus. It is closed on Monday.


Vegetarian Restaurants

It's unusual to find a vegetarian restaurant in the heart of offal territory, but stranger things have happened. Il Canestro (tel 06 574 62 87, Via Luca della Robbia 47) is an informal eatery offering vegetarian food, with a health food shop attached to it. It is closed on Sunday.

Top-End Restaurants

Paris (tel 06 581 53 78, Piazza San Calisto 7) is the best place outside the Ghetto to sample true Roman-Jewish cuisine. The delicate fritto misto con baccalà (deep-fried vegetables with salt cod) is memorable, as are simpler dishes such as the pasta e ceci (a thick chickpea soup in which the pasta is cooked) and fresh grilled fish. It is closed Sunday evening and Monday.

My husband and I wandered into the Testaccio neighborhood by mistake, after taking a wrong turn from the Aventine Hill. We were walking down the Via Marmorata and came upon a huge pyramid, just sitting there at the curb in all its glory! Talk about coming upon the unexpected. Behind the pyramid is the Protestant Cemetery in which Keats and Shelley are buried. You might want to visit that, but take note that the gates close at about 5:30 pm. The Testaccio is walkable from Trastavere (we did it) but I'll have to warn you that my husband and I are marathon walkers! It's mostly a working class neighborhood and not as pretty as many others in Rome. Nonetheless, that pyramid is worth a look. The landlord at our Trastavere apartment joked to us that the Egyptians want it back but the Romans aren't budging about sending it back home!

I can second Pizzaria Remo, having eaten there a half dozen times. Its a neighborhood institution thats very lively nightly. Nearby, and on via Marmorata is Volpetti, arguably Rome's premier fine food store. Worth the diversion.

Testaccio is one of my favorite Roman neighborhoods. It is walkable from Trastevere but it's easier to hop on a tram at the intersection of Viale Trastevere and Via Induno. This will take you up Via Marmorata, through the heart of Trastevere. Besides the things already mentioned, the market is great to visit in the mornings and be sure to walk by the gate of the old stockyard. If you are in the neighborhood, the best restaurant in Rome is Checchino dal 1887. Chat Noir's list described it as moderate but I would describe it more as expensive. But it's well worth it to try some of Rome's most famous dishes: Saltimbocca alla Romana, Coda alla Vacinara, Abbachio cacciatore and Involtini alla Romana. For the more adventurous there is pajata. It has the best wine cellar in Rome and it's fun to take a tour because it's carved out of the hill made from pottery shards behind the restaurant. I love Da Felice, but I would make reservations rather than rely on Signor Felice's assessement of you. There is no menu, so try to catch what Felice Jr. rattles off as the day's specials. If you can't, just point to something that looks appetizing on another table. Other good restaurants are Tutti Frutti (dinner only and you need to fill out a membership application) and Perilli. Don't miss Volpetti for picking up some delicacies to take home and if you're hungry, around the corner is their little cafe, Volpetti Piu.

Wow, this is great - just the kind of info I was looking for.
ChatNoir: great ideas for eating - maybe we'll run into each other there.
Grinisa: did you mean the tram takes you through the heart of Testaccio? Do you know if the market is every day, or just certain days?
dln: thanks for the tip about Shelley and Keats.
DRJ: I will definitely try P. Remo and Volpetti - is this similar to Peck in Milan?
Again, many thanks! I can't wait -- I LOVE ROMA.

Yes, Via Marmorata runs through the middle of Testaccio so the tram will take you there. The market is open every morning except Sundays. BTW, Paris restaurant is in Trastevere (Piazza San Callisto) so don't wander around Testaccio looking for it :)

We also stay in apartment close to Trastevere and use the market in Testaccio as our usual shopping area. It is an easy walk there, maybe 20 mins but if you have bought alot, it is a quick 5 min bus ride back. I do believe that the market is everyday during the week, don't know about the weekends. They have absolutely everything you will need...produce, cheeses, meat, fish, toilet paper, dish soap,socks, ect! There is a large covered area and there are also stalls on the outside streets. There are bakeries around that sell the best slices of pizza and breads. HELPFUL TIP: it's a very busy market where the locals shop (in a hurry), so don't be shy, step up and tell them what you want, there are not alot of tourists buying so they might think that you are just looking and cut in front of you, or the vendors just assume the same and tend to help their regular customers first. This market is the non-touristy Campo dei fiore, prices though are not that much lower, but definately more local flavor. Have a great trip.

Susanna: Do you happen to know what bus to take, or is it the tram that Grinisa mentioned. Good tip about the market - I can see we will have to do some shopping there.

I'm sorry, I don't know which bus or tram you should take. I stay in an apartment across the river from Tesstacio by Teatro Marcello which has a bus stop that most busses seam to stop at. We just take anyone that goes there, which you could do too, and just walk across the bridge to your neighborbood, although Trastevere is pretty big too, so that might not be the best bet for you. Whom ever you rented your apartment from should be able to tell you which busses and trams work best. We often just take a bus to a major arterie, example, Piazza Venezia, which I think all busses run to, and walk from there. Maybe someone else (Grinisa) here will know which one works for you.

I can't give you the number of the tram because I don't recall it offhand, but if you go to the intersection of Viale Trastevere and Via Induno, you'll see the bus/tram stop. Look at the signs and you can take any bus or tram that says "Via Marmorata" on it. If you get off at Via Galvani, you'll be able to walk to everything described.

It looks like Tram 75 & 3 take that route according to my 'Roma Metro-Bus' map. Regards, Walter

Thanks to all for the great info.
ChatNoir - when will you be in Rome? I will be there 9/30 - 10/6.