Did you know there’s a massive Roman amphitheater in Croatia? Technically, there are three Roman amphitheaters still standing in Croatia, but the one in Pula, on the Istrian Peninsula, is the largest and best preserved. Last year, while scouting around Trieste with my friend Elisa Valeria Bove, CEO of Roma Experience, for a special project for Condé Nast Traveler, we decided to take a day trip to see it.

We hopped in her car and about an hour and a half later, after briefly passing through Slovenia, pulled up right in front of the amphitheater. Elisa, who often gives tours of the Colosseum, couldn’t believe that she was able to park within view of the ancient monument, which she gleefully dubbed “the Croatian Colosseum.” It was massive and gave quite an impression with the Adriatic Sea peeking through the arches. We walked down the hill to the main entrance to meet the local guide that Elisa found to give us a tour.

We entered through a stone corridor and emerged into the arena, the vast open space where spectacles were held. Originally built during the reign of Augustus (31 B.C.E. - 14 C.E.), it was enlarged during the reign of Claudius (41-56 C.E.) and finished during the Flavian period (69-96 C.E.), which is when the Colosseum was built.

It was constructed almost entirely using Istrian limestone and could hold more than 20,000 spectators. As our guide explained, they don’t have much in terms of written records, but they know that the amphitheater hosted gladiator fights, games involving wild animals, executions, and other public spectacles—you know, the usual stuff.

Back then, Pula was home to an important Roman colony called Pietus Iulia Pola. The amphitheater was built into the hill on the landward side, with a monumental outer wall looking toward the sea. Standing there on the inner flank of the arena, looking out, we couldn’t believe how well preserved it was—and how empty. There were only a handful of other people visiting it—a stark contrast to the Colosseum, which receives an average of 30,000 visitors per day.

We climbed up to the area where the spectators would have watched the games before heading inside to visit the underground chambers where animals were kept. We admired the amphorae, presses, and mills on display as part of an exhibition about Roman viticulture and olive oil production in Istria.

Afterwards, we continued our walk through the center of Pula to see some more Roman ruins scattered amid the urban fabric of the modern city. We passed by the Twin Gates that date back to the 2nd or 3rd century and walked under the magnificent Arch of the Sergii built in the late 1st century B.C.E. in honor of the powerful Sergii family, whose members held prominent positions. I couldn’t help admiring the Corinthian columns, winged victories, and sculpted floral motifs.

Our guide then led us down a side street to show us some beautiful Roman mosaics featuring geometric patterns and a scene depicting the mythological story of Dirce, who was tied to a wild bull by her stepsons and dragged to death as punishment for mistreating their mother (her husband’s former wife). Apparently, the mosaic once stood in a private Roman house. Perhaps a warning for second wives?

Finally, we emerged at Forum Square, where the city’s Roman forum once stood. Today the large square bustles with people dining at the outdoor cafes. On one side is the city hall, which incorporates a wall from the ancient Temple of Diana. Just next to it stands the Temple of Augustus, which was once one of two or possibly three major temples, including the aforementioned temple dedicated to Diana. After admiring it from the outside, we climbed up to the portico, with its elegant Corinthian columns, and went inside, where ancient statues and funerary monuments are displayed.

Like so many structures built during the Roman Empire, it lived multiple lives. It was converted into an early Christian church, suffered a fire during the administration of the Venetian Republic, was restored in the 1700s and used to store grain before becoming part of the city’s municipal archives. The ancient statues we saw inside were put there during Napoleon’s rule. An Allied bomb caused major damage to the façade in 1945, but the temple was restored once again from 1946-47.

Before returning to Trieste, we stopped in Piran, Slovenia and did a walking tour focused on the city’s Venetian past, but that’s a story for another day. Have you ever been to Pula or elsewhere in Istria? Are you curious to learn more about this peninsula where three countries meet?

Further Reading

• If you’re planning a trip to the area, you might also want to read this issue from the archives about Castello di Miramare in Trieste.

• Curious to learn about other places in Europe that were once part of the Roman Empire? Check out this issue about finding Roman ruins in Córdoba, Spain.

• You can find all of the New Roman Times’ coverage of under-the-radar destinations here.

Welcome to the New Roman Times’ neighborhood guide series! Every now and then, I spotlight a specific neighborhood that I think is worth a deeper exploration for paid subscribers. Have a neighborhood you’d like a guide to? Email newromantimes@substack.com or leave a comment here!

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Close your eyes and imagine the postcard version of Rome. Do you see ivy-draped weathered buildings on narrow cobblestone streets lined with family-run bakeries, cheese shops, and salumerie? What about trattorie with red checkered tablecloths draped across tables that spill out onto the piazze? If so, you’re probably picturing Trastevere, a neighborhood so quintessentially Roman that it sometimes veers into stereotypes.

Located across the Tiber from the centro storico—in particular Campo de’ Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto—Trastevere developed as a working class neighborhood full of merchants and craftsmen. Augustus Caesar officially incorporated it into the city of Rome and Aurelian later built the Aurelian Walls around it, ensuring its protection, but Trastevere retained its own unique identity. The local residents came to be known as Trasteverini and there are still some left, but unfortunately many have been displaced by Airbnbs and tourist traps.

Trastevere is a major hub for dining and nightlife, so on nights and weekends it gets crowded—too crowded, if you ask me. If you’re looking for lively bars and restaurants, by all means, go. But if you’d rather see the neighborhood when it’s a bit calmer, plan your visit for the daytime hours and book a table for lunch instead of dinner.

There’s no metro stop nearby, but there are buses and trams that will bring you to the Lungotevere and Viale Trastevere, the wide avenue that divides the neighborhood in two. If you’re coming from the centro storico, walk across Ponte Sisto and you’ll be in Piazza Trilussa, the boisterous gateway to Trastevere, where street performers entertain the crowds. Much of the neighborhood is part of a limited traffic zone, so it’s easy to explore on foot. Just watch out for pickpockets and bag snatchers.

I’ve gotten to know the neighborhood over the years, thanks in part to my dear friend Maria Pasquale, who lived there for a decade and brought me to some of her favorite spots. Read on for my guide to the best restaurants, bars, things to do, places to shop, and hotels in Trastevere.

Where to Eat

Trastevere is home to so many restaurants, you might think you can simply stumble into any of them and they’ll be more or less the same. That, however, is a common misconception. Even if the menu looks the same, the quality varies a lot. Believe me, it’s worth seeking out the genuinely good places.

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You might have heard of Sperlonga, a little beach town beloved by Romans. It’s certainly not as famous as the Amalfi Coast, but it’s not exactly a secret either. Located about an hour and a half south of Rome on a part of the coast sometimes called the Ulysses Riviera, Sperlonga has been drawing sun-seekers to its shores since before the Roman Empire.

Legend has it Odysseus (Ulysses is the Latin version of his name) washed up somewhere around the nearby Monte Circeo, the mountain named for the sorceress Circe, who turned Odysseus’s sailors into swine before taking him as her lover. And pretty much ever since then, Sperlonga and the neighboring towns have been tied up in myths and legends.

I remember hearing about Sperlonga when I moved to Rome the first time 15 years ago and my landlord would talk wistfully about his time there. Following his advice, I took the train down from Rome to visit the town with friends. I’ve been back a few times since then, most recently this summer: for an overnight stay in June and again in July for a day trip. I recently included Sperlonga in a couple of articles tied to Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film, The Odyssey, but I think the town deserves a closer look.

Sperlonga is designated one of the Borghi Più Belli d’Italia (Most Beautiful Villages in Italy) and it’s easy to see why. The centro storico is a maze of whitewashed buildings and narrow lanes that open onto charming squares and belvederes with sweeping views of the Mediterranean coast.

Its name derives from the Latin word speluncae, grottoes, of which there are many. The upper town developed during the Middle Ages, when people sought higher ground in order to protect themselves from Saracen pirate attacks.

Below the centro storico, miles of pristine golden sand beaches stretch out along the coast. Sperlonga is home to four Blue Flag beaches prized for their cleanliness and excellent water quality. So when the temperature hit the upper 80s in June, I decided it was time for the first beach escape of the season.

Marco and I drove down on a Sunday and checked into Hotel La Nave, a retro family-run hotel with clean, simple rooms and a beach club. We grabbed sandwiches and beers at the beach club’s kiosk and settled into our lounge chairs on the sand.

That evening, we walked to the centro storico and climbed up to the top to admire the views and have an aperitivo before dinner. On the way up, I noticed that there’s now a series of street art-style murals depicting Odysseus and his adventures with QR codes that you can scan to find more information, so it seems the town decided to pay homage to Homer’s hero.

The main square was buzzing with people sipping spritzes at the outdoor cafés or shopping at the little boutiques surrounding them. On a previous trip, we had enjoyed creative Mediterranean cuisine at Mudejar Spiriti e Cucina near the main square, but this time we decided to have pizza at Pizzeria Acqua e Farina, which makes delicious Neapolitan-style pies.

The next morning, after breakfast in Hotel La Nave’s wood-paneled dining room overlooking the beach, we drove over to Bazzano Beach on the other side of town. It was a Monday in June and we practically had the place to ourselves, with lounge chairs in the second row and an excellent fritto misto at the restaurant. It was one of those perfect, easy beach days with swims in the Mediterranean that restore you.

The only problem was that I didn’t make it to the Villa di Tiberio before it closed on Sunday. On Monday it was closed, as most museums in Italy are. So when I confirmed an assignment for Condé Nast Traveller about the Ulysses Riviera, I had to go back.

This time, though, we went on a Saturday in July and the beach club was packed, the waiters running around trying to keep up with the lunch orders. Marco started arguing with the guys renting the lounge chairs because they insisted on charging us full price even though it was late afternoon.

At that point, I left him there to nap on the beach and hiked up to the Villa di Tiberio, hellbent on finally visiting it. Built by the emperor Tiberius, the villa was rediscovered in 1957, during construction work on the new Via Flacca that runs along the coast.

There, in a grotto where Tiberius once hosted lavish banquets, archeologists found a group of ancient marble sculptures depicting characters from The Odyssey. After visiting the ruins of the villa, I went inside the attached Museo Archeologico di Sperlonga to see the statues and was blown away.

A huge statue depicting Scylla and Odysseus’s ship in the middle of the museum is meant to draw your attention, but it was the hulking figure of the cyclops Polyphemus that stopped me in my tracks. It depicts the giant sleeping just as Odysseus is about to blind him with a sharpened pole. The episode is one of the most famous from The Odyssey.

Imagine Tiberius recounting the story to his dinner guests as they gazed upon the enormous sculpture. When the statues were discovered, the townspeople protested against their transfer to Rome, blocking the vehicles that would have carried them away. Thanks to their uprising, these extraordinary artworks stayed and a new archeological museum was built to house them.

I think it’s worth going to Sperlonga to see the Villa di Tiberio, wander the lanes of the centro storico, and relax on the pristine beaches, but it’s probably best to avoid summer weekends, when Romans descend on the town.

What do you think? Have you been to Sperlonga? If so, share your experience with me and other readers in the comments. If not, do you want to go?

Further Reading

• You can read my aforementioned article about the Ulysses Riviera for Condé Nast Traveller here.

• I also mentioned Sperlonga and the Ulysses Riviera in this article for Italy Magazine about 5 places in Italy where you can trace Odysseus’s steps.

• Last month I was featured on ’s podcast episode “Sirens, Shipwrecks, and the Real Ulysses Coast.”

• Looking for more tips about the area? Check out my very subjective list of the best beach towns near Rome.

• You can find all of the New Roman Times’ coverage of under-the-radar destinations here.

The island of Capri needs little introduction. Practically synonymous with la dolce vita, it has been luring elite travelers to its rocky shores since antiquity. Rising dramatically out of the Bay of Naples, it’s tied to ancient myths of the sirens in The Odyssey, famously drew celebrities like Jackie O. and Elizabeth Taylor in the 1960s, and continues to enchant travelers today.

I’ve visited the island three times, most recently this April, so while I can’t claim to be a Capri expert, I’ve spent a decent amount of time on the island. I’ve also been there in three different seasons: spring, summer, and fall. I love Capri for many reasons, most of which have nothing to do with its glamorous reputation.

But before I dive into my opinionated list of the best things to do in Capri, I want to share a few tips on what not to do—because there are a lot of misconceptions and bad travel advice out there. Please, I beg of you, don’t try to visit Capri as a day trip. That’s exactly how you end up swept up in the crowds of tourists who come off cruise ships or ferries from the mainland and clog up the narrow streets. If you want to enjoy the island, you need to spend at least a night or two.

Which brings me to my next tip: don’t think that Capri is exclusively for high spenders. Yes, there are a disproportionate amount of luxury five-star hotels, designer stores, and overpriced restaurants, but you can still find small, modest hotels, family-run restaurants, and independent boutiques. Plus, many of the places worth visiting cost only a few euros or are free. So without further ado, here are my picks for the best things to do in Capri.

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It’s nearly noon in Sardinia and my husband, Marco, is suddenly gripped by anxiety. “It’s getting late. How will we find parking?”

Ahh, the Italian beachgoer’s eternal dilemma: where to park the car. When planning our beach days around Rome, I’ve grown accustomed to sussing out the parking situation before we head out the door. When making reservations at a new-to-me beach club, the phone call goes something like this:

“Buongiorno, is there room for two people tomorrow?”

“At the restaurant or the beach?”

“Both.”

After the guy on the other end of the line confirms and takes my name and phone number, I nervously ask: “But... is there parking?”

That day in Sardinia, though, we weren’t going to a beach club. We were going to the spiaggia libera (the free beach), so there was no one to call.

Just then we ran into a couple of the girls who work at the agriturismo where we were staying. “We want to go to the beach now, but it’s getting late. What do you think? Can we still find parking?”

“Ma sì, daiiiiiii, today is Wednesday. You’ll be fine,” they reassured us.

Fortunately, they were right. We had no problem finding a spot at the big parking lot that serves Su Giudeu and Cala Cipolla, where we were headed. If it had been a weekend, we might not have been so lucky.

Is there anything more quintessentially Italian than spending a summer day at the beach? The sun beating down on your skin, the waxy scent of sunscreen, the salty taste of the sea as it wets your lips, the sound of kids shrieking in the waves, the sight of the endless blue sea stretching as far as the horizon—a day at the beach is a full sensory experience. And, like so many facets of life in Italy, it can be fraught with pitfalls.

Let me set the record straight: I love Italian beaches. I didn’t grow up a beach person, but since moving to Rome seven years ago, I have fully embraced the Italian love of the beach. When I first started frequenting Italian beaches, I was pleasantly surprised to see people of all ages, shapes, and sizes wearing bikinis or speedos seemingly without a shred of self-consciousness. And I quickly grew to love the beach clubs with their loungers and umbrellas in neat rows.

That said, Italian beaches are full of unspoken rules and if you don’t know them, it would be easy to make a mistake, like showing up to a busy beach club without reservations and being turned away or driving around and around searching in vain for a place to park. There’s also a lot more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye, as local municipalities crack down on bad behavior and the EU attempts to shake up the system by which Italy grants beach clubs concessions to set up shop on public land.

Spiaggia libera vs. stabilimento

Italian beaches are divided between the spiaggia libera and beach clubs, called stabilimenti balneari or lidi. Most beaches have both options, but the amount of space dedicated to each one varies. In some places, beach clubs dominate the shore and there’s only a tiny patch of spiaggia libera crowded with towels and littered with cigarette butts. At others, there might be no beach club at all.

The services and amenities at Italian beach clubs vary enormously, but in general they have loungers (lettini) and umbrellas (ombrelloni) available to rent for the day, bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, a lifeguard, and at the very least a bar where you can get espresso, soft drinks, beer, and ice cream. Many beach clubs serve sandwiches and salads and some have full-service restaurants where you can savor dishes like raw platters, spaghetti with clams, and fried calamari.

The cost of these services also varies wildly. When I first moved to Rome, I remember paying €26 for two loungers and an umbrella. Now I routinely have to shell out €45-50. And that’s at normal beach clubs in areas frequented mostly by locals. In places like Positano and Capri, you might pay anywhere from €100-250.

Upon arriving, you check in and pay for your loungers and umbrellas. Then you’re either escorted to your spot or told your assigned number so you can find it on your own. At some beach clubs, you get to choose which row you want to be in—and you can expect to pay more for the rows closer to the water.

Under no circumstances should you just plop yourself down on the loungers of your choosing, even if they’re empty. The first row is often reserved for people who pay for a season pass and keep the same assigned spot for the whole summer. And if they show up and find you in their spot, there will be hell to pay.

What to Bring

If you’re going to a beach club, you don’t need to schlep a whole lot of stuff: just your towel, sunscreen, a cover-up to wear to the restaurant, and a book or magazine. Some people—my husband included—bring floaties, though there may or may not be a pump you can use to inflate them.

“What about food and drinks?” you might ask. This can be a bit of a touchy subject. Many Italians, especially in southern Italy, consider it their god-given right to pack a picnic lunch and bring it to the beach, but in recent years more and more beach clubs have started frowning upon people bringing outside food, with some outright banning it.

At the spiaggia libera, on the other hand, don’t be surprised to see families with coolers (a.k.a. the iconic borsa frigo) stocked for multi-course meals. Sometimes Marco and I make sandwiches at home or stop at a nearby grocery store for provisions, but some people bring pasta, frittatas, salads, or even trays of eggplant parmigiana to the beach.

Serious beachgoers who frequent Italy’s spiagge libere often come with carts fully loaded with gear—umbrellas, beach chairs, towels, and coolers full of food and drinks. Families set up their own area with several umbrellas joined together, towels, picnic blankets, chairs—the works.

Depending on where in Italy you are, you might hear cries of “cocco bello, cocco fresco” from vendors hawking fresh pieces of coconut. In Sicily, you’ll often find carts or little trucks selling granita by the beach. You might even encounter one of the legendary ice cream boats that cater to people boating around Sicily and Sardinia. So it’s crucial to always keep some cash and coins on hand.

Do you need a reservation?

If you plan to visit trendy beach clubs like Le Sirenuse Mare (the new beach club by the owners of Positano’s iconic Hotel Le Sirenuse) or La Fontelina in Capri, you definitely need a reservation. And if you’re planning to go to popular beaches within day-tripping distance of a major city, you should make a reservation, especially on weekends.

Keep in mind that you’ll need reservations both for the loungers and for a table at the restaurant. Some beach clubs have enabled online reservations; at others, the only way to book ahead is to call. On weekdays in June, July, or September, you might be able to get in without a reservation, depending on where you’re going.

If you’re going to the spiaggia libera, you can generally just rock up to the beach without booking in advance. There are exceptions, though. At Tuerredda, a popular beach in southern Sardinia, the town has limited the number of beachgoers to 1,100 per day in order to preserve the beach, so you need to book online in advance and pay €3 to access the spiaggia libera via QR code.

How to get to the beach

Some beaches, like Santa Marinella and Santa Severa near Rome, are easy to reach by train. In my experience, though, the best beaches are usually only reachable by car. Plan to arrive early (by 10 a.m.) in order to find parking.

As a general rule of thumb, the easier a beach is to reach, the more crowded it will be. So if your goal is to find a near-empty beach, be prepared to hike there—literally. Some of Italy’s most pristine beaches can be found in nature reserves and are only accessible on foot or by boat.

What’s your beach style? Do you prefer the spiaggia libera or beach clubs? If you pack your own lunch, what do you bring? Share your experience at Italian beaches with me and other readers in the comments!

Further Reading

• In case you missed it, last month I joined my friend Elizabeth Heath for a live webcast about summer in Italy and we had a lively discussion about Italian beaches. You can catch the replay here.

• You might also want to read this issue from the archives with some advice for traveling in Italy in the summer.

• The issue of beach clubs vs. spiaggia libera has become quite contentious over the past few years, as reported by the Guardian.

• The hottest new beach club of the summer is no doubt Le Sirenuse Mare, which I wrote about for Travel + Leisure’s June issue. You can read my article here.

• Want to know where to go? Check out my very subjective list of the best under-the-radar beaches in Italy and my very subjective list of the best beach towns near Rome.

• You can find all the issues in the New Roman Times’ archives here.

Welcome to the New Roman Times’ neighborhood guide series! Every now and then, I’ll spotlight a specific neighborhood that I think is worth a deeper exploration for paid subscribers. Have a neighborhood you’d like a guide to? Email newromantimes@substack.com or leave a comment here!

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A few blocks west of Piazza della Repubblica and uphill from Piazza Barberini is the Quirinale, one of Rome’s seven hills. During antiquity, the hill was home to the Baths of Constantine and the Temple of Serapis, which no longer exist, as well as the sculptural group of the Dioscuri, which still stands at the center of Piazza del Quirinale. It was also home to some luxurious villas owned by Roman aristocrats, including the poet Martial.

The Palazzo della Quirinale on the piazza traces its roots back to the 16th century, when Cardinal Oliviero Carafa built a small villa that Cardinal Ippolito d’Este (the man behind the beautiful Villa d’Este in Tivoli) later rented and expanded, creating a magnificent garden decorated with fountains and ancient sculptures. Over the course of the centuries, the palazzo underwent many changes, becoming the papal palace before being seized by Napoleon, then becoming the royal palace of the Savoys, and finally home to the president of Italy.

Today the surrounding area buzzes with government activity and is home to a few upscale restaurants that cater to that crowd. The piazza has fantastic views stretching to St. Peter’s Dome—especially enchanting at sunset. Piazza del Quirinale gets less foot traffic than Piazza Barberini and Piazza della Repubblica, which each have a metro stop on Line A, but the area is worth exploring if you want to get a bit off the beaten path and see some of Rome’s under-the-radar palaces and churches.

Every year, I update the chapter of Fodor’s Rome that covers the area, so I’ve gotten to know the neighborhood over the years. Here are my favorite places to eat, things to do, and places to stay.

Where to Eat

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Most people who go to Sicily fly into either Palermo or Catania, but did you know that you can also get there aboard a train that gets loaded onto a ferry? That’s right, you can board the train in Rome and ride it all the way down the Italian peninsula to Calabria, where the entire train rolls onto a ferry and crosses the Strait of Messina. It’s a feat of engineering the likes of which most people never see in their lifetime.

I’ve been to Sicily numerous times, both via plane and by ferry, but until last September, I had only ever brought a car onto the ferry. Curious to experience the unique train-ferry crossing, and with an assignment to write about what to do in and around Messina, I booked a ticket on this very special route. Afterwards, I also wrote about the controversial bridge that Meloni’s government announced it will build to connect Sicily with mainland Italy, but I think the train-ferry deserves a more in depth feature of its own, especially as more people embrace slow travel and train travel in particular.

According to the Maritime Archeology Trust, the world’s first train-ferry was built in Scotland in 1850. Worldwide, there were at least 127 train-ferries operating in 23 countries, but many of the old routes became obsolete when bridges and tunnels were built. The train-ferry connecting Sicily with mainland Italy is one of only two such remaining routes left in Europe.

Personally, I found the journey to be quite seamless, but I know others that have run into delays, so if you only have a limited amount of time in Sicily, it might not make sense to go this route. I boarded the train at Termini Station at 7:26 a.m. and arrived in Messina at 3:52 p.m., only a few minutes behind schedule.

Naturally, the amount of time it will take you to get there depends on where you board the train. If you board in Rome, like I did, you should expect the journey to take around eight hours. Alternatively, you could get on in Naples, Salerno, Lamezia Terme, or a handful of other stops along the route.

I love trains, so I didn’t mind the long ride. I was able to work on my laptop and enjoyed seeing the scenery through the window. As the train rolled through Calabria, there was a long stretch of tracks with views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. I gazed longingly out the window as we passed quiet beaches in Diamante and Belvedere Marittimo.

Upon reaching Villa San Giovanni, where all the ferries depart for Sicily, I jumped up and stood by the window in anticipation, eager to see what would happen next. We waited about 20 minutes before the train was slowly loaded onto special tracks built into the lower deck of the ferry, the whole operation supervised by workers in hard hats and yellow vests.

Once the train was safely in place, everyone got off and went to the upper deck. My friend Luisa, who joined me on the train in Lamezia Terme after flying there from Pisa, bought us refreshments at the onboard café (tonic water for her and an espresso for me). Then we headed out onto the external deck to watch the crossing.

The Strait of Messina is known for having some rough currents—this is the mythological home of Scylla and Charybdis from The Odyssey, after all. As the legend would have it, Scylla was a monster with dogs’ heads that would lunge down and gobble sailors up, while Charybdis was a whirlpool that sucked ships into its depths. Luckily for us, though, there was smooth sailing that day.

It’s important to note that only the Intercity train makes this journey; the high-speed Frecciarossa trains do not. Tickets from Rome start at €36.90 each way. I took the normal Intercity, but you could also take the Intercity Notte, which departs Rome in the evening, and wake up in Sicily. In Messina, where we disembarked, the train split off into two, with half going west to Palermo and the other section going south to Siracusa.

For the return journey back to Rome, I decided to go the faster route, so I bought separate tickets for the ferry and the Frecciarossa, which shaved about three hours off the total travel time. I don’t know if I would take the train-ferry again, but I’m glad I got to experience this unique mode of transportation.

Have you ever taken the train-ferry to Sicily? If so, what did you think? If not, do you want to try it?

Further Reading

• You can check out my aforementioned article for Afar about the proposed bridge that could potentially render this unique train-ferry route obsolete here.

• You can find the article I cited by the Maritime Archeology Trust here.

• Want to know what to do when you get across the Strait? Check out this issue of the New Roman Times about why you should plan a trip to Sicily.

• Curious about the difference between the Intercity and Frecciarossa? Read this issue from the archives about how to navigate Italy’s trains like a pro.

• You can find all of the New Roman Times’ issues about under-the-radar destinations (and how to get to them) here.

One of the things I love most about Rome is how green it is. It might not seem that way at first, but look around the centro storico and you’ll notice ivy-covered buildings, bougainvillea sprouting in giant bushes, and jasmine-covered walls that emanate the most incredible scent in the spring and summer. I love the way verdant plants make up part of the urban fabric here.

When you want an even deeper immersion into the city’s greenery, it’s nice to spend some time in one of the many parks and gardens spread around Rome. Some are right in the middle of the action, while others take a bit more effort to reach. Some are planted with blossoming flowers, while others are dotted with ancient ruins. The best part? Most of them are completely free to visit. These are my favorites.

Villa Borghese

The most famous and emblematic of Rome’s parks is also the easiest to reach. Just a few minutes north of Piazza del Popolo, Villa Borghese is the large heart-shaped park that once formed the estate of the noble Borghese family.

Within it you’ll find a handful of museums, including the inimitable Galleria Borghese, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, and the Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia. There’s an artificial lake where you can rent rowboats, a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (currently closed for repairs), and kiosks where you can sit and sip an espresso. Bring a picnic, rent a bike, or just wander and take in the beauty.

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Last Thursday, as I was wandering around the Spanish Steps with a bit of time to kill before an appointment, I decided to stop by Marella to see if there was anything I should return for when the saldi start. To my surprise, as soon as I entered, a shop assistant told me that the summer collection was already 30% off, even though the signs weren’t up yet. I walked out with a new navy blue blazer, glad that I had snagged it before someone else snatched it up.

If you live in or visit Italy often, you likely know about the saldi, i.e. the big semi-annual sales. Did you know that the dates are regulated by each region? Throughout Italy, the saldi officially kicked off on July 4 this year, though their end date varies. In Lazio, the saldi will last for six weeks, until August 16. And, yes, the New Roman Times is on sale too!

Upgrade anytime between now and August 16 and you’ll get 30% off the price of a paid subscription. No special code or link necessary.

That means that all new yearly subscriptions cost $49 instead of $70. Or you can lock in a monthly subscription price of $4.90 instead of $7. So if you’ve been thinking about upgrading, now is the time to do so.

Why upgrade?

By upgrading to a paid subscription, you’ll unlock current and future paywalled issues that contain the insider intel I’ve worked so hard to gather over years of living in and traveling around Italy. Highlights include my popular curated lists such as these:

• 26 Places in Italy to Inspire Your 2026 Travels

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• A Very Subjective List of the Best Pizzerias in Rome (2026 Update)

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• 72 Hours in Florence

• 72 Hours in Perugia

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• Rome Neighborhood Guide: Monti

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• Rome Neighborhood Guide: the Jewish Ghetto

• Rome Neighborhood Guide: The Spanish Steps

• Rome Neighborhood Guide: Borgo & Prati

• Rome Neighborhood Guide: Trevi

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• Rome Neighborhood Guide: Piazza del Popolo & Flaminio

• Rome Neighborhood Guide: Repubblica

• Rome Neighborhood Guide: Trastevere (coming soon!)

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Further Reading

• Wanted in Rome has the official dates for the summer sales in all of Italy’s 20 regions.

• Are you in Italy and want to know where to shop this month? Check out my very subjective guide to the best places to shop in Rome (2026 update).

• If you’re new around here and are curious to learn more about me, I would encourage you to read my Letter from the Editor and the About page.

Welcome to the New Roman Times’ neighborhood guide series! Every now and then, I’ll spotlight a specific neighborhood that I think is worth a deeper exploration for paid subscribers. Have a neighborhood you’d like a guide to? Email newromantimes@substack.com or leave a comment here!

Leave a comment

For visitors just spending a few days in Rome, it’s easy to skip over Piazza della Repubblica and the surrounding area—not because they aren’t worth seeing but because they’re just slightly off the tourist path. It’s a bit ironic because the piazza is a five-minute walk from Termini Station, but many people who arrive in Rome by train immediately hop in a taxi or on the metro and head off to the city’s more picturesque neighborhoods.

The large round piazza with the monumental Fountain of the Naiads in the middle was created on top of the ancient Baths of Diocletian in the 1880s, shortly after Rome became the capital of the unified country of Italy. Two semi-circular Neoclassical buildings with elegant arcades frame the square. On one side, there’s the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and on the other there’s Via Nazionale, the long, wide boulevard that leads down to the Roman Forum. Though it’s not the quaintest area in Rome, it has a certain majestic grandeur. It’s also full of shops and is well connected to the rest of the city by metro.

The area north of Piazza della Repubblica, including the streets leading up to Piazza Fiume, are even less touristy. It’s not exactly a business district, but there are lots of offices, so it tends to be frequented by Romans. There you’ll find some cool cafés that mostly cater to locals on their lunch breaks.

When I moved back to Rome in 2019, I rented an apartment right around the corner from Piazza della Repubblica and every year I update the chapter of the Fodor’s Rome guidebook focused on the neighborhood, so I’ve gotten to know it well over the years. Read on for my favorite restaurants, cafés, things to do, places to shop, and hotels in the area.

Where to Eat

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For a little village with a year-round population of less than 400 people, Portofino has an outsized reputation. Once a humble fishing village on Liguria’s Riviera di Levante, Portofino began to attract English and Northern European travelers on the Grand Tour in the late 1800s and cemented its reputation as a hotspot for wealthy aristocrats and celebrities in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Attracted by the town’s picturesque port lined by brightly colored houses, mild climate, and natural beauty, movie stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, and Grace Kelly vacationed there, making the town a symbol of la dolce vita. Since then, its reputation never really faded. In more recent times, Kate Moss, Leonardo Di Caprio, George Clooney, Madonna, and Jennifer Lopez have all been photographed in and around Portofino (often on yachts that moor in or near the marina). But for mere mortals without access to a yacht, is Portofino worth the trip?

I visited Portofino twice in the last few years and had two completely different experiences. The first time, my husband Marco and I were staying in the nearby town of Rapallo and went to Portofino for dinner. Walking through the town, we passed designer stores by Pucci, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Dolce & Gabbana.

After strolling around the marina, we had dinner at Ristorante Puny, a historic family-run restaurant on the Piazzetta where a plate of trofie al pesto costs €24 and to be honest, we left feeling a bit ripped off. The food was okay, but not good enough to justify the high prices. I remember leaving Portofino feeling utterly disappointed.

Then last summer, one of my editors at Robb Report asked me to go to Portofino to review the Hotel Splendido, a Belmond Hotel, so I returned. As I relaxed on a lounge chair by the pool with its jaunty red-orange umbrellas, sipped a craft cocktail at the new Baratta Seidici bar, and savored trofie al pesto made with DOP basil from Pra on the restaurant terrace, it clicked: This is why people go to Portofino.

The dolce vita fantasy is still alive and well at the Hotel Splendido. Opened in 1901 in a former monastery on a cliff overlooking the harbor, the Splendido is fresh off a renovation by renowned designer Martin Brudnizki. The hotel’s historic heritage has been preserved—and Elizabeth Taylor’s favorite spaghetti al pomodoro is still on the menu—but it’s been jazzed up and is ready to accommodate a new cohort of deep-pocketed travelers.

With the Splendido as my perch, I took the time to explore a bit more of the town. I took a ride on a traditional gozzo along the Riviera to Santa Margherita Ligure as the captain regaled me with tales of the rich and famous people who own villas along the coast.

I hiked up the hill to Castello Brown, the medieval castle bought and restored by the English consul Montague Yeats Brown in 1870. Up there, I gained a whole new perspective on Portofino—literally, as I looked down at the colorful buildings lining the marina and figuratively, as I read about the history of the town and how the Nazis intended to bomb it, even placing mines in the harbor, until a Scottish baroness convinced the German general to spare Portofino and its residents.

Before returning to the hotel, I bought a linen shirt for Marco from L’Ancora, a historic family-run shop hidden amid all the designer boutiques and stopped for a gelato at Gelateria San Giorgio. Back at the Splendido, I had a relaxing massage at the Dior Spa before dinner at the casual Splendido Grill. I left the next day feeling like I had cracked the town’s code.

So, is Portofino worth the trip? Maybe... depending on your budget and how much time you have. With rates starting at more than $3,000 per night in high season, the Splendido may be out of reach for the average traveler, but if you want to indulge in the dolce vita dream, you can always go for a meal on the terrace.

Are there more authentic, down-to-earth towns in Liguria? Absolutely—and I would encourage you to explore them. Portofino isn’t for everyone, but if you want to pretend to be rich and famous for a day, Portofino is a good place to do so.

What do you think? Have you been to Portofino? If so, what did you think? If not, do you want to go? Share your thoughts with me and other readers in the comments.

Further Reading

• My write-up of Hotel Splendido, a Belmond Hotel, is out now in Robb Report’s Best of the Best Awards.

• You can also read my more in depth, tongue-in-cheek review of the hotel for Robb Report here.

• After my first trip to Portofino, I shared a recipe for traditional pesto genovese with green beans and potatoes.

• You can see all the New Roman Times’ coverage of under-the-radar destinations here.

You probably don’t need me to tell you that Italians take their coffee seriously. Aside from espresso and cappuccino, there are myriad different ways you can have a coffee here. (Just don’t ask for a to-go cup; you won’t see Italians walking around with big cups of coffee.)

You might also know that when Italians just want a quick pick-me-up, they typically go to a bar and drink an espresso standing at the counter. A traditional Italian bar is essentially an all-day café that serves coffee, aperitivi, and light bites (panini, tramezzini, etc.). In Italy, the words bar and caffè are more or less interchangeable.

That’s the kind of place I’m writing about here: a casual bar/café where you can stop by for a quick espresso at the counter or grab a table and linger over a cappuccino. Because sometimes you need a little break or want to meet someone for a coffee in between meals. Just keep in mind that if you sit down, your bill will be slightly higher because you’re paying for table service. When I want a good coffee and an atmospheric place to sit, these are my go-to spots.

La Tazza d’Oro

Just steps from the Pantheon, La Tazza d’Oro still roasts its own beans on-site and the aroma is intoxicating. I love the art deco design—a real throwback to the 1940s, when it opened. When I’m in the neighborhood, I like to stop by for an espresso macchiato or a granita di caffè con panna; it’s the richest and most decadent version of the drink I’ve come across. Think of it as an espresso slushie with plenty of whipped cream—perfect in the summer heat.

Bar della Pace

Located a couple of blocks from Piazza Navona, this bar/café originally opened in 1891 and was a hotspot for movie stars like Sophia Loren, Alberto Sordi, and Marcello Mastroianni. It was closed for several years but reopened in 2024 with a slightly updated look and reclaimed its place as one of Rome’s best cafés for people watching. I love to settle into one of the bistro chairs on the cobblestone street and watch the world go by.

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So you know about Capri and Ischia, but what about Procida? The smallest of the three inhabited Phlegrean Islands in the Bay of Naples, Procida is popular among Neapolitans but flies under the radar when it comes to international tourism.

In 2022, it became the first island ever crowned Italy’s Capital of Culture, which created some buzz, but when my husband Marco and I visited last summer, it still felt charmingly authentic and down-to-earth. I included Procida in a recent article for Travel + Leisure about places where Italians actually vacation in summer, but I think it deserves a closer look.

Like Ischia and Capri, Procida is a volcanic island. According to legend, it was named after Prochyta, the nurse of Aeneas, who died at sea during his journey from Troy to Italy and was buried on the island. Though Prochyta is considered a minor character in the Aeneid, it was quite common for mythological figures’ names to be used for geographical mapping at the time.

Back when Ischia and the southern part of the Italian peninsula formed Magna Graecia, colonies settled by the Greeks before the Romans, the whole area was charged with myths and legends. The area off the Campanian coast was believed to be the realm of the Sirens, mythological creatures with female heads and torsos and birds’ wings and bodies, whose hauntingly beautiful songs lured sailors to their deaths.

More recently, the island appeared in Il Postino (The Postman), a 1994 Oscar-winning film starring Massimo Troisi as a postman who befriends poet Pablo Neruda during his exile on the island. It’s also the setting for L’Isola di Arturo, an award-winning novel written by Elsa Morante in 1957.

Procida has been continually inhabited for around 2,000 years, but the island as you see it today developed starting in the Middle Ages. During the 16th through 18th centuries, when the Kingdom of Naples was ruled by the Spaniards and Bourbons, Procida’s population grew and built the distinctive houses with external staircases, bright colors, and arches that are still characteristic of the island today. The best place to see the old fisherman’s houses is Marina di Corricella, which is lined with restaurants and shops.

Marco and I stayed in Marina di Corricella at San Michele Boutique Hotel, which has whitewashed rooms and a bohemian vibe. On our first evening there, we had dinner at Caracalè, a lovely little restaurant right on the bay that was recommended to me by Mariella Avino, owner and managing director of Palazzo Avino on the Amalfi Coast, followed by gelato at Chiaro di Luna, whose owners make lemon and mandarin sorbet using fruit from their garden, among other flavors.

The next day we hopped on one of the little buses that circle the island and spent the day relaxing at Chiaiolella Beach, the island’s longest beach, which has dark volcanic sand and is lined with no frills beach clubs.

In Marina di Corricella, I had seen a bunch of signs advertising boat tours and transfers, so I called the phone number on one of them and arranged a boat ride back from Chiaiolella to Corricella, which was a nice way to see more of the island from the sea. For the best views, though, you have to hike up the steep hill from Corricella to Terra Murata, the 16th-century fortified village built to protect residents from pirates and Saracen attacks. Up there you can see the Palazzo d’Avalos, which was built as a noble residence and later became a prison.

There are also great views of the Marina di Corricella from La Lampara, the restaurant where we had dinner on our second night on the island. If you want to go, be sure to book a table in advance, as it’s one of the most popular restaurants on the island, especially for dinner with sunset views.

Before catching the hydrofoil to Ischia the next day, we stopped at Bar Dal Cavaliere by the port to try a lingua, the local pastry made of puff pastry filled with vanilla or lemon-flavored pastry cream. (Lingua means tongue in Italian and these pastries are shaped vaguely like tongues.)

I would have liked to check out some of the shops near the port, but it was raining and we didn’t have much time anyway, so I’ll have to go back another time. During our brief stay on the island, I loved just wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere.

There are no five-star resorts, Michelin-starred restaurants, or designer boutiques in Procida. And while there is tourism, it’s mostly domestic, so don’t expect English to be as widely spoken as it is in nearby Capri and Ischia. The pace on the island is definitely slow and relaxed, and there’s no nightlife to speak of, so if you’re looking for a party island, Procida isn’t the place for you. In the evenings, Corricella is definitely lively, with plenty of people out enjoying an aperitivo and dinner—just don’t expect trendy bars or nightclubs.

A visit to Procida is ideal for travelers who are willing to trade Instagram-famous sites for a taste of an authentic Italian island composed of fisherman’s villages and laid-back beaches. Have you been to Procida? If so, share your experience with me and other readers in the comments. If not, do you want to go now?

Further Reading

• You can read my aforementioned article for Travel + Leisure about places where Italians actually vacation in summer here.

• Procida was on the New Roman Times’ list of 25 Places in Italy to Inspire Your 2025 Travels thanks to a nomination by Mariella Avino, who called it “lost in time.”

• Want to combine a couple of days in Procida with some time in Ischia, like Marco and I did last year? Check out my guide to 72 Hours in Ischia.

• You can see all of the New Roman Times’ coverage of under-the-radar destinations here.

Welcome to the New Roman Times’ 72 Hours series! Why 72 hours? Because the New York Times publishes a “36 Hours” series, but in my opinion, 36 hours isn’t nearly enough time to spend in Italy’s greatest cities and most compelling regions. From time to time, I’ll spotlight popular destinations like Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Lake Como for paid subscribers. Have a place you’d like a 72 hours guide to? Email newromantimes@substack.com or leave a comment here!

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If you haven’t been to Ischia yet, what are you waiting for? Only an hour from Naples by hydrofoil, this enchanting island is six times as large as Capri and feels more laid-back too. It’s been drawing travelers to soak in its thermal hot springs for more than 2,000 years. In fact, the Greeks colonized it before the Romans arrived. More recently, it was one of the settings in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels and a filming location for the 1999 movie The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

I visited Ischia for the first time 15 years ago, but it took a return visit to convince me of its charms. I’ve since been back a handful of times and every time I go, the island gets deeper under my skin. I’ve visited in the spring and fall, but it really comes alive in the summer. And it’s no wonder why—it’s the ideal spot for an Italian beach holiday. There are rocky coves, sandy bays dotted with umbrellas, and beach clubs that range from humble wooden decks to exclusive enclaves. Then of course there are the thermal parks, verdant gardens, and quaint towns full of restaurants, bars, and boutiques.

There are six main municipalities on the island, plus smaller villages, so while it gets busy in the summer, it never feels as crowded as Capri because there’s more space to roam around. If you’re planning a summer trip to Italy and want a well-rounded, authentic experience, go to Ischia. Once you arrive via hydrofoil from Naples, it’s easy to get around with taxis or buses. With 72 hours, you can get a taste of what the island has to offer, but you could easily stay a week, like my husband Marco and I did last summer.

DAY ONE

Arrive and check into your hotel before visiting one of the island’s most impressive gardens and spending some time exploring Forio, its largest town.

3 p.m. - Check in and get situated

Ischia has accommodations for every taste and budget. For pampering luxury, it’s hard to beat Mezzatorre, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World by the ultra-chic Pellicano Hotels group with rooms in a historic watchtower and a beach club on a private bay. Just up the hill, the family-run San Montano Resort & Spa perched on Monte Vico has unparalleled views and an enviable circuit of 11 thermal pools.

Another classic choice is the Albergo della Regina Isabella, whose retro vibes hark back to its heyday in the 1950s, when it was built by filmmaker and publisher Angelo Rizzoli, who invited his famous friends to stay there.

For a more budget-friendly option, I love Villa Ravino, which offers charmingly simple rooms and apartments on the grounds of the Giardini Ravino, a massive botanical garden filled with cacti and succulents.

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The commingling of art and fashion is nothing new, but lately it seems like more and more designers and jewelry houses are mounting exhibitions at Rome’s museums. Last year, everyone was talking about the Dolce & Gabbana show at the Palazzo degli Esposizioni. Earlier this year, I managed to catch the Cartier exhibition at the Musei Capitolini before it closed in March. But while those shows felt, to me at least, like glorified advertisements for the brands, the VENUS exhibition at PM23, the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti, is something else entirely.

VENUS opened in January, but it took me until this month to go see it. Unlike the Dolce & Gabbana and Cartier exhibitions, where the clothes and jewelry were presented as works of art on display, PM23 collaborated with contemporary Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos to create a show in which her art installations create a dialogue with clothes from Valentino’s archives. They gave her carte blanche to let her imagination run wild and the result is engaging and thought-provoking.

I first encountered Vasconcelos’s work at the Guggenheim Bilbao, where in 2018 she was the first Portuguese artist to mount an individual exhibition. It turned out to be one of the most visited shows in the museum’s history. Before that, she had already exhibited twice at the Venice Biennale and had become the first woman and the youngest artist to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles.

Her work critiques women’s role in society through subtle irony and humor. She uses mass produced household items to create sculptures and installations that encourage the viewer to reflect on consumerism and gender roles, as well as stereotypically feminine techniques like crocheting to create colorful, fantastical installations.

In VENUS, 15 major artworks by Vasconcelos are featured alongside Valentino’s dresses. Some have been created specifically for this exhibition, while others come from the artist’s archives. I think some of the pairings are more successful than others, but admire the concept overall.

The show opens with a black-and-white 3D crochet painting by Vasconcelos displayed opposite a black-and-white evening gown by Valentino that was inspired by Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann. Two classically-inspired sculptures covered in crochet elements usher you into the next room, where a monumental installation called “Valkyrie Venus” created for the exhibition hovers above and around ten of Valentino’s designs, creating a mesmerizing display of colors and forms.

Next, two installations are displayed in purple boxes. “Strangers in the Night” takes the form of a large booth open on one side, with tufted white leather interiors, a Taxi sign on top, and blinking headlights positioned all around that flicker in rhythm with Frank Sinatra’s song. Created in 2000, the work was inspired by the surroundings of Vasconcelos’s first studio, which was located near a street-prostitution area in Lisbon and reflects on the archetypes projected onto women in patriarchal culture. It’s displayed in a (perhaps somewhat uncomfortable) dialogue with a short evening dress from Valentino’s Fall/Winter 2007/2008 collection.

Adjacent to it is “Full Steam Ahead,” a kinetic sculpture representing a lotus made with 76 red Bosch steam irons that move in a synchronized motion, like a blossom opening and closing. The hard, industrial quality of the irons creates a striking tension with the delicate form of the flower.

In the next room is “Marilyn,” which at first glance appears to be a monumental sculpture of two idealized high-heeled shoes, the kind worn by the screen siren and other cultural icons like Cinderella and Betty Boop. Look closer, though, and you’ll see that they’re composed of pots and pans. Here, Vasconcelos is clearly playing around with ideas about feminine domesticity and glamour. Three silver evening gowns by Valentino seem to continue the conversation.

One of the most striking installations is located in the next room. “Red Independent Heart #3” resembles a traditional Portuguese Sacred Heart pendant, slowly rotating to the sound of Fado music. But take a closer look and you’ll see that the work is made up of nearly 4,000 pieces of red plastic cutlery that have been bent and assembled into the shape of a heart with a lace-like texture. Once again, Vasconcelos has transformed banal household objects into a cultural symbol, juxtaposed with a dramatic red dress by Valentino.

The exhibition culminates in “Garden of Eden,” an immersive installation that gathers multiple feminine archetypes in the form of eight mannequins wearing dresses from Valentino’s archives, surrounded by glowing artificial flowers that rotate, producing fiber-optic effects. In the center, a black embroidered snake slithers down the decolleté, side slit, and hem of a dress, implying that this Eden is not an idealized paradise but rather a place where femininity is enigmatic and charged with symbolism.

As part of the exhibition, two outdoor sculptures are on display in Rome. The first, “I’ll Be Your Mirror” is displayed outside the foundation on Piazza Mignanelli. Taking the form of a Carnival mask, it’s made of 510 overlapping mirrors and 255 baroque bronze moldings. The second, “Solitàrìo” takes the form of a giant diamond solitaire ring made of 110 gold wheel rims topped by 1,450 crystal classes and sits on the Pincio Terrace.

Aside from its beauty and symbolism, another reason why I love this exhibition is because the works in it were created through the collective efforts of art and fashion students at NABA, the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, the Accademia di Costume e Moda, and the Maiani Accademia Moda; patients at the Ospedale Bambino Gesù and the Gemelli Medical Center; women from the INTERSOS refugee shelters and the Differenza Donna shelter for victims of violence; and female inmates at the Casa Circondariale del Carcere di Rebibbia.

Over 200 participants of every age and from every corner of Rome worked to make over 200 kilos of crocheted pieces conceived by Vasconcelos and finished in her Lisbon studio.

The exhibition will be on display until July 19, 2026. If you happen to be in Rome before then, I highly recommend it.

Further Reading

• You can read more about the exhibition VENUS and book tickets on PM23’s official website.

• You can learn more about Joana Vasconcelos and her other exhibitions on her official website.

• Planning a trip to Rome and interested in art? Check out my list of 10 underrated museums in Rome.

• You can see all of the New Roman Times’ coverage of under-the-radar destinations here.

Rooftop season is back in Rome—and a charmed season it is. There’s something magical about sipping a spritz while watching the sunset over the terracotta rooftops of the Eternal City. On hot summer evenings, being up on a rooftop with a nice breeze can feel so much better than sweating down at street level. Every now and then, I like to dress up and go for an aperitivo on a rooftop—it just feels so glamorous.

Since I originally published this list in July 2024, it has shot up to the top of the New Roman Times’ most popular issues. Since then, some fabulous new rooftop bars have opened and some of the ones I previously wrote about have changed (some for the better, others not so much), so it seemed like a good time for an update. In addition to fact checking the entries on the list, I’ve added five additional rooftop bars that I think should be on your radar.

This list is far from exhaustive, and there are some more spots I plan to check out in the coming months, but if you’re looking for a curated roundup written by a local, this is the list for you.

Alto at the First Musica

The First Musica is a sleek, modern hotel in Prati and its two-tiered rooftop bar has seating under slanted beams on the lower level and is completely open on the upper level, with views of the Tiber and the buildings across the river. When I visited, it had a cocktail list inspired by different cities around the world, with tempting options like the Tokyo made with gin, honey and sichuan pepper, yuzu, sake, and Hinoki bitters.

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If you’ve ever been to Florence, you might have learned a bit about the city’s history with perfume making and perhaps encountered Santa Maria Novella, the heritage perfume house that dates back to the 12th century, when the friars who lived in the monastery made tinctures, medicines, and perfumes. What you might not know is that the city is quietly undergoing a perfume renaissance, thanks in part to Sileno Cheloni, a master perfumer who learned the secrets of scents from a Sufi master in Cyprus.

On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago, I went on an apothecary-themed tour that brought me to Aquaflor, a perfume house that Cheloni founded before leaving to create his own namesake brand and joining forces with Daniele Cavalli (son of the fashion designer Roberto Cavalli) to create Profumoir. During a stay at the new Collegio alla Querce hotel last year, I had the chance to do a perfume making workshop at Profumoir and took home my own bespoke fragrance.

I was so enchanted by the experience that I knew I wanted to meet the man behind it. So when my editor at Italy Magazine told me that for Bellissimo’s new city-focused theme, the first issue would be about Florence, I immediately pitched a feature about Cheloni and the perfume renaissance currently happening in Florence. This interview was conducted in connection with that feature. I’m thrilled to share it as part of my series of interviews with creatives and entrepreneurs making waves in Italy.

Can we start with a little background? You were born and raised here in Tuscany, right?

Yes, I was born in Barga, a remote village in the Garfagnana region. It’s a very beautiful place and, I must say, a lot of fun until you reach an age where you have to earn a living. Then it becomes very complicated and very restrictive, because the opportunities in that area are always limited. I felt this frenzy inside me to do something else, and I started studying art, design, and photography in England.

What does art have to do with what you do now?

It was an interesting transition, in my opinion, because every perfumer works in close contact with laboratories, which sometimes also belong to companies that sell fragrances. They make these fragrances for big brands. There are a lot of technical perfumers who are like truffle dogs, they know everything, but it’s always someone who has never studied chemistry or perfumery, because there’s always this creative approach that you have within this job.

If we take all the perfumers I know, they are all half musicians, half artists, photographers. Precisely because, first of all, perfumery as a means of artistic expression is not so easily accessible; it takes a bit of effort to get there. Secondly, because you start from what is closest to you creatively, so if you feel you are good at drawing, for example, you initially devote yourself to painting, visual composition, photography, whatever it may be.

Perhaps also because those subjects are taught more in school.

They are the most common ones you can find at school. It is not common to find a perfumery school or a perfumer who can teach you how to make a perfume. And in fact, this came a little later, when I was older, around 24, let’s say 30. Why? Because it was the moment when I needed to try something else. The medium I had initially chosen was no longer enough for me. And then, in the end, I met this master perfumer who began to teach me the craft, which one then refines basically on one’s own, working and collaborating with different companies.

And this was during a trip to Cyprus, right?

I had gone to Cyprus to meet a spiritual master. And as soon as I entered this place—his house, but it was also the ashram, the verga, as they say in Turkish—where you go to meet this master, (Or rather where you went because now he has passed into another dimension. And apart from that, he was already in another dimension...) And anyway, he’s there when I arrive at this place, and I’m almost overwhelmed by this olfactory aspect that was used to reach states of ecstasy. Along with other practices, certain perfumes and certain smells were also used.

So this is also closely linked to spirituality?

Actually, a little. My approach is also quite precise when it comes to certain perfumery ingredients. I mean, I’m not very good at composing the floral bouquets of French follies, for example. I like things a little more raw.

For example, using certain flowers almost in isolation, which doesn’t give the same effect as when you intertwine flowers together, creating this enormous bouquet that is very, very broad, sometimes heavy. I find that less successful than using, say, a certain rose, jasmine, a certain neroli, things that all together make a very, very rich bouquet. No, I prefer something divided, something that gives you that information linked to what the function is. That flower or that raw material inside. That is my technique, which is based on Middle Eastern perfume techniques.

And how long did you remain in Cyprus with this master?

I went several times. We usually stayed for a few weeks and then came back because we needed an update. Then, at a certain point, it was born in me. When I came back from my first trip, I brought back all these essences that I had bought from this master and, with the first tips on how to make perfume, I found myself in my little studio, which I had built for myself, creating my first perfume. And there, I had this revelation.

I was used to working in the applied arts, that is, I made installations inside apartments, paintings, large photographs mounted on the wall, like giant posters, so it was also physical work, there was a lot of effort involved in the material. And when I got to the composition of my first perfume, I realized this lightness, this absence of material that is the composition of the perfume.

Yes, you put in a few drops, but what you feel is on another level, another state of mind. You compose the mood, you go looking for this mood, and then you smell the scent, and that was the thing I fell in love with immediately. This must be my job.

So this was the reason why, when I found myself actually doing this job, I designed this organ, which is normally something professional, dedicated to perfumers, and decided to open it up to ordinary people who may not have any idea about doing this job, it’s not their profession, but they have the opportunity in some way to experience what I experienced, that moment when I composed my perfume. I wanted to share this creative experience, which is precisely the creation of one’s own perfume.

That’s what strikes you most about the experience, the fact that you sit there knowing nothing, but in the end you manage to compose something you never thought you could compose.

Before founding Profumoir, you were also involved with Aquaflor, right?

Yes, I was the founder, in fact. With some of my partners, of course. I did the product and perfumery part, but they also do some kind of real lab work.

And then there was a transition where I detached myself from what were my shares as owner and founded Sileno Cheloni, and then with Daniele Cavalli, Profumoir. That was pretty much the journey. Then, from the ashes of Sileno Cheloni, this thing was born that was already incubating: the concept of perfume.

Before, it was just that experience linked to the organ. Then it expanded, it became the whole concept of perfume, so from there we moved on to the art of layering, creating an entire ad hoc olfactory library with all the creative possibilities for interaction between the various perfumes. Then there was a very, very long study done together with the team, which led to the creation of all that stuff.

When did Profumoir open?

So Sileno Cheloni opened in 2018. Profumoir in September 2024.

And it initially began with the workshop?

Yes, it was initially conceived as the workshop.

And the Olfactory library has more than 200 notes?

There are 200 notes in the organ, but only around forty are needed for the composition as individual olfactory notes. There is a huge range of options. Our idea is that when you get there, you have everything you need. You can create whatever you want or buy the finished perfume. There are infinite creative possibilities.

I saw that there is an organ in the laboratory, there are shelves with all these little bottles, there is also the garden, and then there are rooms, right? A couple of rooms.

Yes, because I believe that what is fundamentally lacking today, in the whole world, including fashion and aesthetics, is culture, that is, knowledge, awareness. Through knowledge, you can then make choices. But we try to give people a little knowledge. Of course, we have to give what is important to us.

But then this culture, this knowledge that you were talking about, is disappearing a little.

Yes, because it’s knowledge that is no longer applied to products. Nowadays, products are sold in a very simplistic way, even on social media, and there is no longer any depth of knowledge. I remember when I was a boy and went with my mother and grandmother to buy clothes, we would go into these shops, and they would explain in detail the stitching, the material, where it was made, why it cost what it did. So they transmitted this knowledge to you.

Of course.

And now there’s some guy on social media who makes two graphics and you buy it for that. I mean, this paradigm has changed a lot, hasn’t it? And the idea is that we are lucky to be small, because a small brand can express itself for what it is, while the big brand, unfortunately, has now become a facade. And I see that people, especially very young people—even 13 and 14 year olds—willingly come to try to understand. I have mini influencers aged 12 and 13 who have a background in perfumery and fragrances, and that’s satisfying because you see these people who want to understand, to learn, to know.

I mean, once upon a time, people used to buy magazines. You used to learn a lot of things through magazines. And there was already a depth compared to today, when you might learn about the existence of a product or brand through much more basic, more commercial communications. And that’s kind of what initially threw a certain generation off balance, but I see that gen Z is instead returning to seek the truth, trying to learn something again.

It was a very interesting experience for me, because I had never seen a laboratory like that before. And then going into the garden, you can see exactly how it is extracted. There’s an important history here in Florence, with perfumes, with monks who cultivated plants and flowers to make perfume for the queen. But now if you visit Santa Maria Novella, it’s beautiful, but you don’t understand how it’s made.

That’s what I was saying earlier. I don’t mean to say that a product from Santa Maria Novella isn’t beautiful or authentic, but behind it there is no longer the possibility of knowing and understanding everything that it was.

I see that thanks to Profumoir and Aquaflor, there has been a bit of a renaissance in the world of perfume here, no?

When I came to Florence, I realized that there was a great opportunity at the time to open my own business in Grasse, but I realized that the story actually began in Florence. And I said, “Okay, I’ll get involved in this thing.” It’s not that I invented it, it was already there long before me. But here, in my own small way, I contributed to changing people’s minds about this thing. I simply opened the doors to a world that was a bit closed in terms of its background, what was behind it. And I did it with an aesthetic that perhaps also contributed a lot.

And so the workshop was your home? You chose all the furnishings?

Everything was reinterpreted a little bit, what my lifestyle was like there. I remember the shower in the garden that I took every morning outdoors, where people looked at me like I was crazy. It was a shower made with a plastic thing that I had more or less improvised. Now you go there, it’s very nice, but it’s a bit like reinterpreting a lifestyle, an authentic lifestyle that I lived because I was still there then and I’m still there today. Now I also have a workshop in the building because there’s always this sense that I have to live where I work. I’ve understood this since I was twenty.

Home and shop.

Just my home and workshop. Now I’ve removed the shop. Before there was a shop, now there’s just my home and workshop. And there, Profumoir. I lived in this house, which was connected to the workshop through the garden door, so at four in the morning, I would wake up and go out in my bathrobe to make a formula. I mean, this is my lifestyle. It’s always been that way. So I continue now, clearly reinterpreting this lifestyle.

What happened is that it became a space to welcome people who must enjoy it. And so I carved out another space for myself in the building where we live and work. And then when I have to do things, I also go to Profumoir. But I have to repeat, I have to get up in the morning if I feel like it, at any time, I have to go and do whatever inspires me. It’s kind of my prerogative.

Can you tell me a little about the inspiration, because I think that when you go in there, there’s this mood, right? I mean, everything is a little dark. Obviously, there are these oriental touches, furnishings, carpets. Then you see all these scents, but I imagine the scents also come from other parts of the world, from exotic flowers.

The visual and olfactory concept is about always choosing beauty. A beautiful flower. A beautiful perfume, a beautiful carpet, a beautiful lamp, a beautiful drawing, a painting, something beautiful. We chose the furniture to decorate Casa Profumoir without focusing too much on the style, whether it’s Western, Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, or Renaissance. It’s all intertwined.

But the trait d’union of all these things here is beauty, that is, choosing something that gives you an emotion. That’s what beauty is, the ability to stir up an emotion inside people, in my opinion. Precisely because it becomes a place where I have to stay and live and work, it must also be a place where you feel good, where you feel at home with your things, with your aesthetic references.

No, I could never work in a white, sterile laboratory, where everything is perfect and in its place. That’s not my thing, I wouldn’t feel comfortable, so much so that I’ve never done it, I mean in the sense of going to work for more industrial companies, where you can perhaps take a slightly broader approach. It’s never been my thing, honestly. I could do it for a period of time, but then I wouldn’t.

It’s better to create something of your own, isn’t it?

Yes, and then, in my opinion, ultimately, whether in Aquaflor or Profumoir, direct contact with the customer was fundamental for me, so learning from the customer, learning from those who come to learn for themselves. When you create a profile for someone, there is always an effort involved, sometimes even a tiring one.

But at the same time, it broadens your vision and your ability to do things. Because you connect with others, you open up. You have to get to know yourself. I’m just like everyone else, even artists. I mean, I could stay in my studio, doing my thing for days without seeing anyone, but then you close yourself off in your creativity, and I’ve always looked for opportunities not to stay closed off, but to open up to people who come in and don’t know anything, because those people give you important information.

For me, the interesting thing was also that you go in there and think you know what you like. For example, the scent of roses or jasmine. But then when you sit in front of that organ with all the bottles, with just the numbers, so you don’t know what’s in them, then you start to think, “This reminds me of something, but I don’t know what it is.” You have to go through the whole experience a bit blind, right?

This is intentional, because the only way to truly create your own personalized fragrance is to trust your nose. Your nose knows everything about you and everything that is good for you, what is bad for you, because it is programmed to be that way. So if you follow your nose, you can truly create your own personalized perfume, which then corresponds to a specific scent.

Beliefs may be wrong because someone might say, “I don’t like roses,” but there are 200 types of roses in the world, so I mean, you never know. Maybe you’ve never smelled a rose you like, but there’s rosewood, there’s rose that’s distilled with petals and other things. I mean, there are so many things that can be a mixture of rose, you know what I mean? Maybe what you have smelled is a mixture of rose, and you have never smelled the pure essence of rose.

The sense of smell is closely linked to memory, isn’t it? So maybe when you’re there, you smell something and it reminds you of something from your childhood that you hadn’t thought about for years.

That’s why I don’t give any reference on the notes except at the end, because the idea is that when you say “Yes, I like it,” it’s your connection to a memory or a positive experience in your life. When you mix all these yeses together, you create a bigger yes, which then gives you energy when you wear it.

The idea is to have a fragrance that is not just a good fragrance, but a perfume. It’s easy to do because when you take good things and put them together, you usually get a good fragrance. But it is the perfume that is connected to all of your yeses. You expressed that through the little research we ask you to do when you choose the notes to use in the perfume.

And then it comes out in the end. An almost Proustian feeling, if I may say so.

That’s why it manages to give this different feeling. Otherwise it’s easier to buy a perfume you find on the counter.

I mean, sometimes they’re even better, in the sense that this perfume has been tested and tried. I mean, I know many people who make their own perfume, but it doesn’t last long and you realize that after two hours you can no longer smell it. Because if you want a perfume that lasts, then go and buy one of those off-the-shelf perfumes that have been tested and that they tell you will last 48 hours.

A personalized one? It’s something that is created in the moment. No one knows if it will be a persistent perfume, if it will be volatile, it depends on the choices you make.

And then how does it change when you put it on your skin?

But here’s the thing: it’s built on your skin. So even there it’s interesting because it’s a perfume that’s truly built for you. When we test between the first formulation and the second one, we test it on your skin and we test it on clothing. Why? Because we want the reaction to be linked to your body, your temperature, your pH, your acidity.

Then the magical thing is that if you have followed our instructions perfectly and stick to the path, the perfume will be fine on the first try. Sometimes you may get distracted or lose concentration, or you may not follow the instructions. Then it becomes a little more difficult to do it. But if you are here and you are really attentive to the process, I’ve seen most people make a perfume on their first attempt, then maybe tweak it a little, but that’s also a matter of paying attention to the process.

Who is the typical customer who comes to enjoy this experience?

There many enthusiasts, people who come specifically because they’ve heard about it and are passionate about perfumes, but it also often happens that people who pass by and see this thing ask about it and are fascinated by it. This is a bit of a characteristic of the niche.

Maybe before, there were only perfume enthusiasts, but now more or less everyone is getting into it, because people are looking for something that breaks out of the everyday commercial routine. We are lucky to live in Florence, where there is still a little bit of this offer. In all areas, whether perfumery, jewelry, or leather goods, there is still this opportunity to step outside the norm for a moment.

Yes, these artisan businesses have remained, not only in the world of perfumes but also in fabrics, jewelry, and leather goods.

In short, there is an opening in the Florentine fabric, especially in terms of tourism, in the search for something different and unknown.

Do people ever come in pairs or small groups? Or always alone?

We offer both perfume workshops and the scent organ. The workshop is something with more people, whereas there are basically two people maximum in the organ because it is built for that. If there are five of them, we have to do something different.

What we call a workshop is something else, with limitations compared to the organ, because clearly there are fewer raw materials to work with, they are more select, there is a slightly different approach to the concept. But I see that even the workshop enters into other dynamics, which are sometimes family dynamics, where a family of five or six people have fun and find a common game. I always compare this thing to a game, because in any case we are there to do something beautiful and positive. I mean, we’re not there to have an MRI scan, right?

We don’t want to be so serious. I mean, we’re serious about the preparation, the choices, the creation of everything, but then a person also has to be willing to open up and question themselves. And we do it with a smile, we do it with the possibility of lightheartedness, we want to remove the pressure that is sometimes overwhelming when you sit down, if you feel a little embarrassed, especially in the shop.

I always say, the game must be serious, because when you play cards, people insult each other and start shouting because they take it seriously. If you don’t take it seriously, you don’t enjoy it. Then it ends there. They’re all friends, right? But during the game, it’s there. Understand? This is a serious game.

Are you working on other projects? The development of other perfumes, for example.

No, no. We conceived Profumoir this way precisely because there are no new features. Then maybe we’ll add a few more palettes to give more possibilities, but the idea is that the new feature must always be found by the person who comes here; it’s not the perfumer that comes out with something new. In fact, the figure of the perfumer is not highlighted as the one who is launching a new perfume tomorrow.

My idea has always been to create these layers so that the customer can choose whether to go deeper or stay more on the surface. Then you can simply come in and not buy anything, just smell the notes we offer you. That’s one thing, of course. You can buy one, you can buy two or three, or make a personalized perfume, or even have an experience with the perfumer, the olfactory portrait.

Then you go deeper and deeper until you get to the use of rare raw materials, which is a very, very, very olfactory thing. But here’s the thing: it’s useless for us to offer the deeper olfactory experience to someone who passes by and wants to smell Amber. You have to get there. It’s a bit like Dante’s journey, isn’t it? You start in paradise and you can end up in hell.

Further Reading

• My feature about Profumoir and Florence’s scent renaissance is out now in the current issue of Bellissimo, Italy Magazine’s quarterly e-magazine. Premium subscribers get access to Bellissimo as a perk of their subscription, but you can also buy a copy of the issue here.

• For more info about Profumoir’s scent library and perfume making workshops, check out the official website.

• Planning a trip to Florence? Check out my guide to 72 Hours in Florence, my very subjective list of the best places to eat in Florence, and my neighborhood guides to the Duomo and Santa Maria Novella.

• You can see all the interviews in this series here.

Welcome to the New Roman Times’ neighborhood guide series! Every now and then, I’ll spotlight a specific neighborhood that I think is worth a deeper exploration for paid subscribers. Have a neighborhood you’d like a guide to? Email newromantimes@substack.com or leave a comment here!

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For a small neighborhood within Rome’s centro storico, the Jewish Ghetto is nonetheless packed with history. Geographically, it’s located in the heart of the city, between Campo de’ Fiori, the Campidoglio, and the Tiber River. From 1555 until 1870, this is where Rome’s Jewish population lived under lock and key. At the time, it was far from a desirable area—the Tiber was prone to flooding, the terrain was swampy, and malaria was rampant (the word malaria comes from the Medieval Italian mala aria, meaning bad air).

Of course, Rome’s Jewish community predates that period by more than a thousand years. While most of the world’s Jews are either Ashkenazi (i.e. of Eastern European descent) or Sephardi (of Spanish or Portuguese origins), Rome’s Jewish population is its own thing entirely. Sadly, the neighborhood was raided by the Nazis in 1943 and more than a thousand of its residents were deported to Auschwitz. Only 16 of them ever returned.

Today Rome’s Jewish population is estimated at around 15,000. And though they’re no longer concentrated exclusively in the Jewish Ghetto, the neighborhood is still the spiritual and cultural heart of Rome’s Jewish community. It’s also home to some impressive Roman ruins, great restaurants, and charming piazzas.

If you plan to explore the Jewish Ghetto, it’s important to keep in mind that the kosher restaurants and traditional shops are closed on Saturdays for shabbat, so it’s best to go on Sunday or during the week. There’s no metro nearby, but you can take Tram 8 from Piazza Venezia to the Arenula/Cairoli stop. Much of the neighborhood is pedestrianized, so it’s pleasant to walk around.

Where to Eat & Drink

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Lazio (the central Italian region where Rome is located) may be known for its ancient ruins and Vatican treasures, but it also happens to be home to Italy’s historic wine-making traditions. With vineyards sprawling over 25,000 hectares, its diverse topography and soil types, as well as close proximity to the Mediterranean coastline make it the ideal spot for a rich history and promising present for wine production.

Life in this region during the 8th century BCE was largely rooted in agriculture. Small hilltop settlements were home to early Etruscan farmers laying the groundwork for the cultural patterns that Rome would later inherit. During this time we see wild grape gathering move to more intentional cultivation. As we enter the early Roman Empire we begin to see the wines of this area (then referred to as Latium) become some of the most celebrated in the Mediterranean, gaining fandom with legends like Emperor Augustus and the poet Virgil, who repeatedly frames viticulture as one of the most refined and demanding agricultural arts.

Moving into the 12th century we encounter one of Italy’s earliest wine tourism stories, a rare glimpse into the nascent period of “point scoring” wines. As legend goes, Johannes Defuk, a German bishop, made the journey to Rome for the coronation of Henry V. Before choosing where he would stay for the ceremony, he sent his servant ahead to investigate inns for ones that carried the best wine. The bishop’s instructions were simple: if the wine was good, the servant was to write “Est” (“It is” in Latin) on the door. When the servant reached northern Lazio he scribbled “Est! Est!! Est!!!” enthusiastically on the door of one particular inn. Eventually the bishop came across this inn, and never left. According to the tale, Defuk drank himself to death and was buried in Montefiascone with the epitaph: “Because of too much “Est! Est!! Est!!!” here lies my lord”.

In the 16th century, we began to see this history of agrarian expertise turn into wealth that funded the development of Renaissance villas on the outskirts of Rome. These villas became widely known for their manicured gardens, intellectual salons, and elite agriculture, which included vineyards. It was here that the famed Frascati DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) was established, and the high-quality white wines produced in this region became associated with the freshness and elegance they remain iconic for today.

Sadly the 19th century brought familiar woes in wine, including Phylloxera, a root-destroying aphid infestation, as well as a shift to mass production that deteriorated quality and trust in the region. Demand began to skyrocket leading to bulk production and a loss of terroir identity, but wine in decline isn’t the end of Lazio’s story.

Experimental Lazio

Slowly but surely, passionate locals launched a quality revolution, reducing yields, revitalizing indigenous grapes, and embracing organic farming. We are currently living alongside a growing number of experimental producers who are championing a return to sustainability and site expression across these historic volcanic hills and sun-soaked coastal plains. If your trip is too short for a detour to some of these wineries, you can still taste ‘local’ wine at VinoRoma, an intimate tasting room championing terroir-driven wines.

VinoRoma offers a variety of tasting experiences, but we would recommend the ‘My Lazio Wine Tasting,’ which focuses specifically on the natural wine renaissance currently taking place in the region. Group tastings are led in English, with private tastings available to book in Italian and Spanish. Maurizio DiFranco, owner of VinoRoma, has done an amazing job of curating an accessible and fun experience, featuring wines made by people he has personal relationships with.

A recent tasting featured a diverse rainbow of six wines from the region, starting with a beautiful Moscato Bianco from Sete (Thirst), with two days of skin contact and bubbles from a second fermentation in the bottle. Sete is the creation of lifelong friends Emiliano and Arcangelo, whose mission wasn’t simply to create a winery, but rather a social and cultural project to save abandoned vineyards and forgotten varieties.

In line with our favorite theme of the ancient brushing up against the modern, we tasted a golden, floral, and fruity Capolongo from Palazzo Tronconi, a state-of-the-art subterranean winery with a restaurant and guest rooms above ground. They have an official Demeter certification, following biodynamic principles guided by flora, fauna, and phases of the moon. Capolongo is an ancient, hyper-local, rare Italian grape only recently pulled back from the brink of disappearance. It perfectly represents the intersection of Lazio’s deep viticultural history and biodiversity revival.

Next we danced along with the Formica Gialla (yellow ant) composed of Malvasia di Candia and Trebbiano Toscano. This light bodied white with bright acidity was a perfect mid-flight wine that would be an excellent choice to pair with seafood or enjoy on its own. Producer Colleformica follows low-intervention practices, using indigenous yeasts, spontaneous fermentation, minimal sulfites, and lunar guided racking and bottling.

Next we sipped on an elegant rosé made of Sangiovese from La Regina Del Quartuccio. The most exciting thing about this wine, and what happens when you adhere to a ‘less is more’ approach, was how beautifully ‘Sangiovese’ it was. Sangiovese is a very distinct grape that we’re most commonly used to drinking via Chianti, but through this low-intervention rosé, you can taste Sangiovese in its purest rose, violet, and berry glory.

A Lazio tasting wouldn’t be complete with the Cesanese grape, so we tried the Ferrigno from Cantina Ribelà. There are only 1,000 bottles made of this 2022 vintage, which gives you an idea of the rare bottles you’re able to taste within the VinoRoma walls.

The final and oldest vintage we shared was a 2019 Syrah from Il Vecchio Poggio. While the focus of this tasting was on ancient indigenous varieties, this wine gave us the chance to try a familiar grape grown in a region we don’t typically associate it with.

Plan your trip

If the sneak peek into VinoRoma’s tasting piqued your interest, you can book one during your next trip to Rome. If you have a bit more time, we welcome you to visit some of these magical wineries just a volcanic stone’s throw away from the city.

Sete

About 80 minutes from Rome by car, this winery is located in the province of Latina in southern Lazio. They offer tours and tastings by appointment in English or Italian. The two-hour tour costs €40 per person and starts with a walk in the vineyard and the winery, a tasting of two wines, and a snack with local products. Or for €60 per person, the full experience includes three wines and lunch with a selection of artisanal charcuterie and cheeses, preserves, and other local products.

Palazzo Tronconi

Deep in Ciociaria, a rural region southeast of Rome, this winery is certified organic and biodynamic. Tours and tastings are available in English (€50) or Italian (€40) and can be upgraded to include lunch or dinner (€70). It takes about 90 minutes to get there from central Rome by car. Should you want to stay, you can book a room in the 18th-century palazzo, which has been restored and turned into a small agriturismo.

La Torretta

This family-run winery is located in Grotteferrata, one of the charming towns that make up the Castelli Romani on the southeastern outskirts of Rome, where noble families and popes built their summer homes in centuries past. The estate has been owned by the Magno family since 1864, back in the days when they distributed their wine in barrels by horse-drawn cart. These days, it’s a certified organic and biodynamic winery and farm that also produces honey, extra virgin olive oil, jams, and fruit. To book a tour and tasting, email info@latorretta.bio.

ICARO

This winery in Genzano, near Lake Nemi in the Castelli Romani, is run by four young guys on a mission to elevate the winemaking reputation of the region. They offer tailor made visits, bringing guests on a walk through the vineyards and into the winery, where they might offer you a sample directly from the fermentation tanks and open some bottles paired with local products like porchetta and pizza bianca.

Poggio Bbaranèllo

Located about an hour and 40 minutes north of Rome, this small winery near Lake Bolsena in the charming region of Tuscia is female-owned and run. They offer tours and tastings in Italian, English, or Spanish by appointment. The experience lasts an 1.5-2 hours and includes a walk through the vineyards, a tour of the winery, and a tasting of their labels.

Podere Orto Trivium

Also located in Tuscia, where Lazio meets Umbria and Tuscany, this small winery is run by a husband-and-wife team on land that once belonged to the Castle of Trevinano. Their wines are poured at some of Rome’s best restaurants and bars, such as Rimessa Roscioli, Latteria Trastevere, Armando al Pantheon, and Seu Pizza. You can visit the winery by appointment and taste their wines with or without food pairings. Tours are offered in Italian, English, and French.

Looking for advice about your next trip? Through Ella Travel, Lucy offers consultations focused on wine regions such as Lazio and Laura advises on all things Rome and Italy. Use the code LAZIO-WINE to get 10% off your next consultation with Laura or Lucy until the end of May.

Further Reading

• If you’re not already subscribed, be sure to sign up for by , who co-wrote this issue.

• You might also want to subscribe to for more travel tips and intel from ’s advisors.

• In case you missed it, read the issue about Tenuta di Fiorano, the late Prince Alessandrojacopo Boncompagni Ludovisi’s winery on the Appia Antica.

• You can see all of the New Roman Times’ coverage of under-the-radar destinations here.

Ever-enchanting and utterly magical, Venice has been luring travelers for centuries. Even if it’s your first visit, you likely don’t need me to tell you to stand in the middle of Saint Mark’s Square, tour the Doge’s Palace, and cross the iconic Rialto Bridge. But Venice is so much more than its most famous monuments and squares. The city is a labyrinth and many of its most incredible sights are hidden behind unremarkable doors. You just have to know where to look.

Though I live in Rome, I take every chance I can get to visit La Serenissima—luckily for me it’s just a four-hour train ride away. Every time I return, I seek out under-the-radar museums, artisans keeping centuries old traditions alive, and churches full of Renaissance masterpieces, both on the main island and the outer islands. Though this list is certainly not exhaustive, it contains some very special under-the-radar places you might want to save for your next trip to Venice.

Marvel at Tintoretto’s paintings in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco

In Renaissance-era Venice, a number of lay confraternities called scuole were established and you can still visit some of them today. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco was founded in 1478 and contains more than 60 paintings by Tintoretto, one of the foremost Venetian Renaissance masters. It’s more than worth the €10 ticket to marvel at his cycle of paintings depicting episodes from the Old and New Testament. The best part? You’ll likely be one of just a handful of visitors at this marvelous place in San Polo.

See modern and contemporary art at Palazzo Grassi

When in Venice, Renaissance art usually comes to mind, but the city also has a thriving contemporary art scene. Once you’ve attended the Biennale and ogled the 20th-century works at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, dig deeper into the city’s contemporary art scene at Palazzo Grassi, one of the seats of the Pinault Collection housed in an 18th century noble palace restored by award-winning architect Tadao Ando. During a previous visit, I saw archival photographs from Vogue, but the museum has also hosted exhibitions featuring the work of Marlene Dumas, Luc Tuymans, Julie Meheretu, and many others.

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