The best way to discover Rome is not with a checklist.
It’s by walking.
Slowly.
Stopping for no apparent reason because a courtyard door is open, because jasmine perfumes an alley, because an antique bookshop seems to have been waiting for you for centuries.
This is one of my favorite walks through the Eternal City.
It begins above Piazza di Spagna and ends somewhere between Bernini’s revenge, a perfect espresso, and a plate of Roman food.
Above the Spanish Steps
Our virtual walk of Rome in pictures begins in Piazza della Trinità dei Monti. Take your time to admire Piazza di Spagna, the Spanish steps, and the beautiful terraces property of hotels, restaurants, and a few lucky ones.
The View from the Pincio
Next, walk north towards the Pincio. Take it slowly, you don’t want to miss the panoramic scenes of roofs and monuments: it’s breathtaking.
Via Margutta
From the Pincio take the stairs down to Piazza del Popolo to take via Via del Babuino, and then via Margutta, a charming little street, less chaotic than Via Del Corso. It is full of very high-end boutiques, but also enchanting antique shops and art galleries.
Galleria Sciarra
Before the street takes you to Piazza di Spagna, divert to Via Mario de’ Fiori. There is a pricey but delightful cookware shop worth a visit.
Continue on Via Mario de’ Fiori until you cross Via della Mercede, then turn right.
Zigzagging through the streets, you’ll come to Galleria Sciarra, an 1888 building in Liberty style. The paintings inside the central porch are a celebration of women: they illustrate the models of female virtues. Nose up: you will spot the prudish, the sober, the strong, the humble, the patient, the good-hearted, the lady, the faithful, the loving, and the merciful. It’s beautiful, little known, and fascinating.
A bookshop
Now head to Piazza della Minerva, but first…
There’s a beautiful antique bookshop, the Libreria Cesaretti: a concentration of decades of culture, information, and dedication.
More zigzagging through the streets, take in all the beauty, the sun, the heritage…
Bernini’s Revenge
Now that you’re in Piazza Minerva seek for the obelisk with a tiny elephant at the base. The elephant was sculptured by Bernini. Look at its bottom. Where is it pointing – with the tail on a side showing something else? To the monastery in the piazza: a rude salute sent by the artist to the Dominicans. Father Domenico Paglia, envious because his project had been rejected and the work assigned to Bernini, had interfered and influenced the papacy commissioner, ruining Bernini’s original project.
This was his quite artistic revenge.
The Pantheon’s Legend
Walk a few steps and stop for a coffee at the famous Cafè St. Eustachio: locals say they make the best coffee in Rome.
A few other steps, and you’ll be facing the Pantheon, now church, and once a temple dedicated to all the gods in Olympus.
Legend says although the dome has an oculus (eye), an opening 9 meters large, rain doesn’t enter the building. The truth is the floor has twenty-two holes, and it is convex, so no puddles form. Also, the dome has a chimney effect: rising air currents that shatter every drop!
Lunchtime
It’s lunchtime: there’s a spectacular restaurant nearby. They make Roman cuisine with Puglia ingredients: “puntarelle” salad with stracciatella cheese, carbonara, delicious fish plates, and gorgeous wines.
Rome is a city that rewards those who get lost.
So don’t follow this itinerary too strictly.
Turn into the alley that catches your eye.
Walk through the open gate.
Step inside the silent church.
Order another coffee.
That’s usually where the best memories begin.
And if you’d like to keep wandering once you’re back home, Rome’s Simposio continues the journey through recipes, stories, rituals, gardens, and hidden corners of the Eternal City.
Claudia