IN THIS GUIDE
The magazine gathers six reads: art, food, history, monuments, sunsets, and Rome now. It is most useful before departure, while the itinerary can still change: the Galleria Borghese must be booked weeks in advance, not days; many neighborhood trattorias close the kitchen in the early afternoon; September and January are two different cities. Deciding on arrival is too late.
There are also the distances, which are hard to guess from afar. From the Lilium, at Porta Pia: Villa Borghese 1,6 km, Trevi Fountain 1.4 km, Colosseum 1.9 km. From the Imperial, at Pinciano: Villa Borghese 400 m, Termini station 1.6 km. How much of Rome you can cover on foot depends on where you sleep.
ART
In three churches in the historic center, free and with no booking required, there is Caravaggio and Bernini.
Two things to do before departure. First: book the Galleria Borghese slot on the official website, weeks ahead rather than days. Second: set aside a weekday for the museums, mid-morning or early afternoon, and leave the weekend for the churches, which open early and charge no admission. Before nine, the naves are nearly empty.
Bernini and Caravaggio in the same rooms. Booking is mandatory and admissions are capped: the rooms stay comfortable, but the slot must be reserved from home, weeks in advance.
A palazzo still inhabited by the family. Velázquez, Titian, Caravaggio, in rooms that remain rooms rather than exhibition halls. No booking required.
Santa Maria della Vittoria, Sant'Ignazio, San Luigi dei Francesi: free admission, open every day. Bring coins: the light on Caravaggio's canvases runs on a meter.
Zaha Hadid's MAXXI at Flaminio and the MACRO at Salario. Two museums of twentieth-century and contemporary art, in neighborhoods no one visits by accident: you get there because you planned to.
FOOD
Cacio e pepe is eaten at one o'clock. Not at noon, not at three.
Neighbourhood trattorias keep the kitchen open twice a day, and no more. Arrive at 3pm and the dining room is emptying out; arrive at 7pm and it has not yet opened. It is not rigidity: it is the cook's shift. Knowing the hours before you leave is worth more than any list of addresses.
The neighborhood markets open early in the morning and close at lunchtime: Campo de' Fiori, the Testaccio Market, the Trionfale. They are the city's pantry, and they only reveal themselves to early risers. Putting them on the schedule the day before is the only way not to miss them.
Hours worth noting
NEIGHBOURHOODS
Five zones, five different rhythms. From outside they all look like "the center"; from within, the hour the bars open, the noise in the evening, and the minutes to allow for every outing all change. The two Civis properties in the city sit in two of these zones; distances are listed below.
HISTORIC CENTER
Pantheon, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Navona: each is a short walk from the next. At seven in the morning they are empty; at noon there is no walking through. Same stones, two cities: it is only a matter of the alarm clock.
PINCIANO
Tree-lined avenues and residential buildings along the Aurelian Walls. Here, at Corso d'Italia 92, is Imperial Suite Rome: a smart property with digital check-in and independent access, entry by personal code at any hour. Villa Borghese 400 m, Termini station 1.6 km.
Imperial Suite Rome · Corso d'Italia 92
PORTA PIA
Liberty-style buildings, a neighborhood market, bars open from seven. Here is Lilium Boutique Hotel: 14 rooms, Italian breakfast, concierge, and a 24-hour airport transfer. Villa Borghese 1,6 km, Trevi Fountain 1.4 km, Colosseum 1.9 km.
Lilium Boutique Hotel · Porta Pia
TRASTEVERE
Fills up until late in the evening. Before nine, what remains is the cobblestones, the bakeries, and no queues.
MONTI
Artisan workshops, wine bars, narrow lanes. You reach the Forum without taking any transport.
HOURS AND SEASONS
Morning
Before nine, the markets are at their best, the churches are empty, and breakfast is taken standing at the bar. This is the window for walking: from Trastevere to the Gianicolo, from the Pincio into Villa Borghese. From the Pinciano the park is 400 meters away, from Porta Pia 950: either way, you arrive before breakfast.
Summer
July and August: full heat, Romans out of town, tourists at capacity: go out early in the morning and after six in the evening. September is the most balanced month: still summer temperatures, shorter queues, the city back to its normal rhythm.
Evening
After six the queues thin out. This is the hour for the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the illuminated Campidoglio: the same places as the morning, with fewer people. Then aperitivo happens in the neighborhood where you sleep, not downtown, and dinner follows at eight.
Winter
December and January: shorter queues than in spring. Rain is the risk, and should be budgeted for; the two weeks of Christmas are a story of their own. Build the day around indoor visits and keep walks as a backup. A Roman Christmas belongs to the neighborhoods, not to stage sets.
MORE TO READ
The Roman Forum was paved in the 7th century BC, after a marsh was drained: the city reads from top to bottom.
The Pantheon's oculus is about nine meters wide: when it rains, the water falls in and drains away through holes in the floor.
From the Gianicolo, the sun stays at your back: you don't see the disc set, but the city lighting up.
Monti, Pigneto, Ostiense, Garbatella, Testaccio: on weekends, the Mercato Monti fills a former garage on Via Leonina.
TWO ADDRESSES IN ROME
Lilium Boutique Hotel, at Porta Pia: 14 rooms, Italian breakfast, concierge, 24-hour airport transfer. Imperial Suite Rome, on Corso d'Italia 92: a smart property with digital check-in and independent access. Booking through the official channel means no portal commission and direct contact with the team who runs the property. Civis Passport is free, with no membership card: two completed stays at any property earn a night on the next trip, even at the same one. The next stop is Puglia: Trullux in the countryside and Il Mulino in the center, in Ceglie Messapica.
