Piazza de Popolo

In the evenings, the Romans enjoy a passeggiata or a stroll.

A popular stroll starts in Piazza del Popolo, which marks the northern entrance into Rome.

The obelisk in the center of the square once stood at the temple of Ramses II and then the Circus Maximus. It was brought here in 1589.

Two fountains mark the western and eastern border. Neptune on the west and Roma on the east.

At the southern end of the piazza, twin domed churches separate the 3 main boulevards which leave the square and form a trident. The central boulevard is Via del Corso.

The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo features works by Caravaggio and Bernini and it's worth a look inside.

The Chigi Chapel was designed by Rafael and features a statue of Daniel straddling a lion and raising his praying hands to God.

In the same chapel, an angel grabs the prophet Habakkuk's hair and tells him to take food to Daniel.

In the Cerasi Chapel (to the left of the altar), there are 2 Caravaggio paintings. This one is "Cruxifixion of St. Peter."

The other is "Conversion of St. Paul."

2019 04 09

Fior di Luna

Fior di Luna is one of the better known gelateria in Trastevere. It's located at Via della Lungaretta, 96.

They have metal canisters, a good sign of artisanal gelato. 

Pistacchio & Nocciola--€2.50 for small.

2019 04 09

Trastevere

After class ended at 3pm, we took a walking tour of Trastevere, courtesy of Rick Steves.

Church of Santa Cecilia. Cecilia was a pagan Roman from a wealthy family who converted to Christianity in a time when Christians were persecuted. She was beheaded after she failed to die after 3 days of suffocation.

A statue of Cecilia lies under the altar. Notice the gash in her neck.

The other notable church in Trastevere is the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. 

Statue of St. Anthony, a favorite of the poor.

The apse has beautiful mosaics. Bring binoculars to get a closer look.

2019 04 09

Cooking Classes in Rome

We signed up for a cooking class in Rome. After a lot of research, my husband chose Cooking Classes in Rome with Chef Andrea. The class was from 10am-3pm, we made 4 courses and it cost €75. There is a maximum of 12 students--on our day we had 10. It was hands on but you didn't get to make all the courses.

The class is located in Trastevere.

We started by making a vegetable stock--celery, carrots and whole onions (with skin) are thrown into a pot, filled with water and boiled.

The first course was Carciofi alla Romana. We each got to trim our own artichokes.

Someone cleaned the parsley while another chopped them with garlic. We then each stuffed our artichoke with the mixture. The artichokes were placed in a pan, fried with olive oil then stock was added.

We made a base of creamed sautéed zucchini with Stracchino cheese.

The primi was Spaghetti alla Chitarra (guitar) alla Carbonara. We made the pasta from scratch and used a machine with strings to hand cut the pasta.

The finished product. The key was using guanciale (cured pork cheek) and frying it until it was crispy.

The secondi was Sugo di Carne--meat sauce with pork ribs and sausages.

Dessert was Tiramisu.

After we prepared the dishes, we sat down to enjoy them. You can choose a wine pairing with each course for  €20. 

The class was a lot of fun and I learned quite a bit.

2019 04 09

Kosher Cakes

Kosher Cakes is located in the Jewish Ghetto at Piazza Costaguti, 21

They're known for pastries filled with ricotta e visciola (wild cherry) or ricotta e cioccolate. They taste like cheesecake inside but the pastry is too dry. They're expensive at €5 each and in my opinion not worth it. 

2019 04 09

Pompi

Pompi is known as the "King of Tiramisu." They have several locations all over town.

One of their locations is near the Spanish Steps, at Villa de la Croce, 82.

There are several flavors of tiramisu. We got the Classico and the Strawberry. Each was €4. We tried several tiramisu places in town and liked Pompi the best.

2019 04 08

Rome by Night

I love walking around Rome at night. The buildings are so beautiful.

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

2019 04 08