Our French Roads Lead to Rome

Rome is a city made for wander and wonder. Busloads of French students on spring break were doing just that. It had been almost four decades since our last visit. The lovely thing was that so little had changed. Rome is still a feast for the eyes, the spirit and the stomach. It was a gift to wander The Forum on a sunny, warm day even if fees have been imposed, remains have been fenced in and maintenance crews took a laissez faire approach to the weeds. Today we tourists are more casual, too. Once, I wouldn’t have appeared on the Via Condotti without high heels, a proper dress, scarf, handbag and jewelry. Now I look as scruffy as anyone springing the doors of shops where goods of lesser quality command higher prices. Fortunately, shopping wasn’t what lured us back to this city of great art, beautiful spaces, satisfying food and welcoming people. The ancient Gaul is still dying magnificently in Rome’s Capitoline Museum where Marcus Aurelius now sits astride his horse in a specially built room, but it was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio who drew the crowds this spring to an extraordinary exhibit. It was delightful to see a pint-sized teacher squat on the floor before a group of 9- or 10-year-olds actually interested in her animated explanations as they moved from painting to painting and nearby to hear a French father lovingly translate the descriptions to his young son as they viewed the works. At the 16th-century St. Luigi dei Francesci, the official French Church in Rome near the Piazza Navona, Caravaggio’s splendid Saint Matthew triptych hung in the chapel to the left of the main altar. Exhibition goers were urged to see it, and they did. It’s easy to spend weeks in Rome’s museums and we did, becoming so sated by Roman, Greek and Etruscan art in the Palazzos Altemps, Massimo, Giulia and others that we welcomed long lunches in what’s left of some of the city’s traditional trattorias and small restaurants. Giggetto made edible still lifes out of carciofi alla giudia, flattened and deep-fried whole artichoke globes. Matricianella’s homey atmosphere was suited to its pasta dishes such as fettuccine alla romana with chicken livers and carciofi alla romana, artichokes in a mint and lemony sauce. Roscioli made one of the great spaghetti carbonaras—silky with egg and studded with guanciale (pig cheeks). Trattoria Dei Monti produced a memorable duck in a deeply flavorful orange sauce with crunch and bite and a red-onion tortini with gorgonzola sauce that deserved its reputation. Legend has not served Tre Scalini well. The tartufo ice cream ball rolled in chocolate shavings and topped with cream, which seemed so decadent decades ago, still draws in Piazza Navona, but it’s no longer very good anymore. The lover of sweets would do better to find Moriondo & Gariglio on Via del Pie near the Pantheon, where the polished wood and deep red decor were as much a confection as the sugared almonds (mandarole), which stood the test of memory. The handmade jellies and chocolates were a treat. Time also has not been kind to the four fountains at the intersection of Strada Pia and Strada Felice from which the Borromeo’s undulating San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane draws its name. The church is an exquisite and complex example of the Baroque and well seen with Bernini’s San Andrea just down the block. Rome, of course, has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to churches and their art, be it the trompe l’oeil ceiling at Gesu, the Byzantine-style mosaics at Santa Maria in Trastevere or Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with Bernini’s wonderful elephant bearing an Egyptian obelisk in front. No trip to Rome is complete without a visit to the Vatican. St. Peter’s may not be the most beautiful ecclesiastical building, but its setting compels as do its riches and Sistine Chapel. Memory can be faulty, but it seemed that Michelangelo’s masterpiece, wonderful as it is, had lost some of its mystery in its bright restoration. Late winter is not the best time to wander Villa D’Este’s gardens in Tivoli or to climb the long hill to nearby Villa Adriana, where the remains are on a grand scale and the wind chills the bones. A pleasant Sunday drive through the nearby countryside from Castel Gondolfo where the pope takes his leisure above Lake Albano, down to Ariccia and up to Velletri yielded a serendipitous feast at Benito al Bosco. The restaurant’s pretty and slightly formal dining room was more than full and had a waiting list by the time we left after having spaghetti with seafood, a lasagna with artichoke and a fritto misto of scampi, baby octopus and calamari so large that we took a doggy bag. The only disappointment was the contorni of grilled vegetables, which were undercooked and cold. The 47€ bill was a bargain. We would like to have strolled through waterside Nemi and an antiques market at Frascati, but both were so crowded that we couldn’t find a parking space on a glorious afternoon with a foretaste of spring. The French hotel group Accor is debuting an apartment hotel in Rome: Adagio Roma Garden in the “Mussolini modern” EUR zone. For the traveler who can read a map of the city’s excellent bus system, is willing to be 20 to 30 minutes from the center and captures a good rate on the internet, the Roma Garden can be an excellent choice. We had a duplex so commodious and comfortably fitted for 69 € a night off-season in March that we stayed nine days longer than planned. Copyright © 2010 Jean and Peter Richards Create your own Roman touring holiday with a car rental from our partner, Auto Europe . For hotel reservations in Rome, Paris or all over the world, we recommend Booking.com.