Sample One-Week Itinerary
Day 1: Florence – check out the key religious sites (especially the main cathedral – il duomo), visit a museum or art gallery (there are endless options!), and spend the evening piazza-hopping from Piazza della Signoria to Piazza della Repubblica listening to live music
Day 2: Tuscan countryside, Florence – Tuscan daytrip! Although we didn’t have the time to do this, many of my friends have taken daytrips to beautiful surrounding towns and highly recommended it. You can also check out Pisa, if you’re really craving a classic touristy Italian photoshoot
Day 3: Florence – enjoy the area around the mercato centrale, consider a free walking tour like through La Bussola (bring cash tips, of course), visit the sinagoga e museo ebraico (Jewish synagogue and museum), cross any one of the beautiful old bridges (don’t miss ponte vecchio) to get to Villa Bardini and watch sunset from the Piazzale Michelangelo
Day 4: Pompeii, Salerno – spend the morning and/or afternoon at Pompeii (easily accessible by train) before returning to Salerno, shopping and seeing its historical sites
Day 5: Amalfi Coast, Salerno – take the ferry to Maioiri, hike the “Lemon Trail” to Minori, take the ferry to Amalfi, consider bussing to Ravello (beware the crowds), walk over to Atrani, ferry back to Salerno taking in the beautiful Amalfi Coast sunset before strolling its pedestrian thoroughfare and walking by the seaside promenade
Day 6: Rome – spend the day exploring the Vatican City, both the surrounding areas and the museums (make sure to purchase the guided tour in advance!). Make the most of Roman nightlife in Trastevere
Day 7: Rome – cross through Isola Tiberina to explore the former Jewish ghetto and then the many historic sites Rome has to offer: Torre Argentina, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and finally a tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Check out what’s happening at Mattatoio, a former industrial complex, and dine at Testaccio Market across the street
Overall Tips
- Carry a pack of Kleenex wherever you go – many restrooms don’t have toilet paper, will charge you (so carry coins too!), and might not have a toilet seat either
- Don’t forget to get a travel charger and also an adaptor (or even a converter depending on the electronics you’re bringing)
- Bring cash and credit card, most places accepted either but it’s helpful to have a back up
- Consider purchasing an anti-theft purse or backpack as certain areas are extremely crowded with tourists and have become hotspots for pickpocketing
- Download a language-learning app like Duolingo in advance so that you can practice some common phrases like “grazie”, “prego”, etc.
- Always make sure you have the medications you’ll need, my seasonal allergies really flared up (for example) so I was glad to already have my pills on hand
- Confirm what Covid restrictions are still in place. As of June 2022, it was necessary to wear a KN95/FFP2 mask on all of the high speed trains and inside the Vatican City museums but no Covid testing was required
Where to Stay
- Florence: B&B Relais Tiffany – roughly $100/night, 10-minute walk to Florence S.M. Novella Train Station
- Salerno: B&B Il Reticolo – roughly $80/night, 10-minute walk to train station
- Rome: B&B Suites Trastevere – roughly $115/night, 10-minute walk to Trastevere train station
Where to Eat
Florence: All’antico Vinaio sandwiches; I Tarocchi pizza; Mercato Centrale for everything
- Gelato, ranked in order of deliciousness: GROM (their signature flavour) then Edoardo’s and finally Venchi (likely wouldn’t go back there)
Amalfi Coast: Divin Baguette in Maioiri for superb sandwiches; Pasticceria Sal de Riso in Minori for treats; Ristorante Cicirinella and Pizzeria Giagiu’ in Salerno (our favourite pizza on the trip!)
- Gelateria Giallo Limone and Zer0ttoNove Bar Caffetteria in Salerno both had fantastic sweets
Rome: Mercato di Testaccio (especially pizzeria Casa Manco); Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina and Pizzeria da Baffetto were both recommended by friends but were totally packed so we couldn’t try them
- Frigidarium (chocolate dipped gelato) and the Pasticceria Boccione (kosher bakery) were both delicious
How to Travel
Trains
-We took high speed Frecciarossa trains between our destinations – they go up to 300 km/hr. I booked all our tickets in advance using Trenitalia. The competitor company, Italo, would have been fine but I found the prices higher or the schedule less convenient for us. I spent some time calculating whether Eurail passes would be helpful, but in our case it was cheaper to buy each individual ticket.
-Always double check the stations you’ll travel to. For example, Pompeii Scavi is the closer train station to the ruins, not Pompeii, but we couldn’t get there (on time) from Salerno so we had to budget additional time.
-When you buy a train ticket you won’t know which direction the seat will face. Since there were two of us, we always bought seats facing each other so I could always take the seat facing forward (to avoid motion sickness). The trains have washrooms, in case of emergency.
-They provide complimentary snacks and drinks depending on the tickets you purchase; otherwise, you can purchase them on board for a small fee. We brought our own snacks.
-KN95 (FFP2) masks are required on board, unlike the American Airlines flight to and from Italy (with more than one maskless, coughing American). The conductors really take masking seriously in Italy as on more than one occasion I saw customers being reminded that cloth masks weren’t good enough and that they had to wear the FFP2 ones.
-The train platforms won’t necessarily show up on the screen until a few moments before departure, but you can ask a staff member where they’re more likely to depart from.
Ferries
-We bought all of our ferry tickets on the spot, rather than in advance. We never had to wait and were able to get on each ferry. That said, the ferry from Amalfi was chaotic and it was unclear where to wait or whether everyone would get on so try to get there early and consider buying those tickets online.
-There were restrooms on board but I saw one restroom out-of-order, so I’d recommend using the toilet while you’re still on land. And if you know you get motion sick, always carry a "barf bag" just in case.
Buses
-In Rome, we took a bus upon arrival. We purchased our tickets from a central booth and then had to validate the tickets once on the bus. I’ve heard stories about travelers not validating their tickets and then getting fined.
My Travel Diary
Despite visiting all of its neighbours, I had never become acquainted with Italy until this year. When I stumbled across roundtrip tickets for less than $500 each, I knew it was time. The only issue? (Aside from the ongoing pandemic…) We only had one week! For that reason, this blog entry will be more like the antipasti than the main meal – it’ll give you a taste of Italy, while leaving you (and me!) wanting more.
This was my first trans-Atlantic flight in over three years. Since the pandemic started I’ve become a nervous flyer, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of being trapped in a small space with so many strangers especially since there’s always a chance that my motion sickness may strike. So, even before boarding, I dreaded the thought of having to fly for ten hours each way. It helped me to think about everything I was excited for – the food, the hikes, the history – but, it helped me more to fall asleep after taking motion sickness medication. We arrived at Roma Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) airport and made it to the train station within half an hour or so of landing despite my groggy state. I was shocked by how easy it was! Then I noticed the chaos of the train ticketing area: a couple of long lines, some broken machines, and many confused tourists. We skipped the machines and went straight to the line for ticketing agents. The trains could go to either Roma Tiburtina or Roma Termini – make sure you catch the right one! We headed to Tiburtina and from there we caught a train to Firenze (Florence) Santa Maria Novella train station.
Upon arrival in Florence, I was instantly impressed. It’s bellisima! Across from the main train station, we stumbled upon the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella which is a Gothic church that’s hundreds of years old (like much of the city). The style, to me, looks similar to the famous Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as “il duomo”. Seeing Brunelleschi’s amazing approaches to art and architecture (including the world’s biggest masonry dome) made me better understand how Florence was the starting point of the Renaissance. Brunelleschi, Donatello, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo (among many other talented people) all lived in Italy during the 15th century – what a roster of genius.
To fuel our Florentine expedition, we needed plenty of food. Fortunately, in Italy, there’s never any shortage of gelato – in Florence alone, I tested GROM, Venchi, and Edoardo’s. As I learned in my college statistics classes: sample size matters! On our first day in Florence, after filling up on too many treats, our only meal was sandwiches at the famous All’antico Vinaio – I got vegetarian #2 with Stracciatella, pistachio cream, tomatoes and basil. On the second day, we ate a proper dinner at a nice patio on the other side of the river. The pizza took so long to arrive that I was tempted to offer my assistance in the kitchen, but it turned out to be well worth the wait. My favourite meal in Florence was actually at the Mercato Centrale where Dmitriy and I ate with my friend, Dave. The three of us split everything from liver on toast to pesto pasta. The only thing I didn’t try was the famous Florentine lampredotto (tripe sandwich) – weeks later, I still don’t regret not eating the fourth stomach of a cow. In addition to food, we made sure to quench our thirst with local drinks. Downstairs we purchased cappuccino at the Caffe del Mercato while upstairs we went for an Aperol Spritz, famous in that region. As a side note, you have to pay for water there, but at least, for once, the washrooms were free!
Florence, like many cities, offers fantastic free walking tours; the only caveat is that you should tip the guide for their expertise and time. Dmitriy, Dave, and I spent a couple of hours wandering the streets of Florence with our guide from La Bussola Tours who gave us a solid foundation in Renaissance architecture and insight into the incredible power of the Medici family in the 1400s. He explained that, in his opinion, the Renaissance started in 1401 and ended in the 1520s. It was the perfect storm: wealth in Florence, competition between rich families, and the prominence of religion and skilled artists. Wealthy people, in those days, would be patrons to artists like Donatello or Michelangelo and insist on religious art being displayed around their palaces to show their virtue. Doing terrible things and then hanging pious paintings sounded like my trick of eating three gelatos but following up with a salad and calling that healthy eating. Everything is a matter of perspective!
As we looked at the family coats of arms (like the 3 moons of the Strozzi family) on the palaces, we noticed how the buildings were built with bigger windows at the bottom and smaller windows on the highest floor to give the illusion of grandeur. All over Florence, we had to play with the illusion of reality: much of what you see is a replica, not an original. For example, outside of the Orsanmichele Church we saw a statue carved by Donatello… but not actually the one made by Donatello, just a copy. Regardless, the workmanship was incredible and we were fascinated to hear about how the church had been run by trade guilds like bankers, woolworkers, butchers, and sword makers, for example. I particularly liked the image of St. George made by Donatello, although every time I mentioned the artist’s name out loud my childhood obsession with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bumped up against my adult art sensibilities.
The tour ended at the Basilica di Santa Croce, where Michelangelo is buried (another great ninja turtle!). Apparently, it’s the largest Franciscan church in the world but it has a massive Star of David on the front façade in honour of the Jewish architect, Niccolo Matas. We took that as our sign to seek out the Jewish area of town, a short walk away (as most everything is in Florence). Sadly, the imposing Sinagoga e Museo Ebraico was closed by the time we arrived; however, we did bump into a nice American Jewish couple who highly recommend the Ba Ghetto kosher restaurant. Always good to get firsthand recommendations!
Throughout our trip, Dmitriy and I made time for romance - admittedly, a pretty easy feat in Italy. So, on our last evening in Florence, we crossed the picturesque medieval Ponte Vecchio (where we had seen a proposal the night prior) to climb up to Piazzale Michelangelo and watch the sun set over the city. We had anticipated a serene scene but were met instead with throngs of like-minded tourists and the constant shutter of camera phones.
So, our next stop, Salerno, came as a welcome respite with its local vibrancy complemented by quiet corners. Although it served as our base for a trip to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, Salerno is a beautiful city in its own right. Traces of human settlement in the area go back over 2,500 years and the city’s central cathedral hosts the tomb of St. Matthew. Since Salerno was the only city we visited where my friends and family hadn’t yet traveled, everything felt new to us. We opted to have dinner there both nights, wandering the wide pedestrian thoroughfare, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, to find the hidden restaurant Cicirinella and then the more prominent Pizzeria Giagiu’. In both cases, I enjoyed our dinners and also the subsequent treats at the delicious gelateria Giallo Limone and bar/café Zer0ttoNove Bar Caffetteria respectively. At the latter, Dmitriy ordered crema del nonno, which sounded slightly more questionable when translated into English: “grandfather’s cream”. Dmitriy, as always, was nonplussed and happily enjoyed his creamy iced coffee.
While Dmitriy is generally a very easy-going person, our afternoon at Pompeii managed to get under his skin. For anyone who’s not been, the site is expansive – we’re talking over 98 acres of potential walking. When we arrived in the town of Pompeii, we weren’t at the train station closest to the ruins (Pompeii Scavi) which meant that even prior to the tour we had already walked half an hour in the heat. It turns out, unsurprisingly, that there’s very little shade, very few restrooms, and a whole lot of space to wander. Our guide, Melania, worked with the company “Enjoy Pompeii” and was full of interesting information. She started by providing us with context and myth-busting facts like how lava wasn’t the killer, but rather asphyxiation from the gas and metres of volcanic dust shrouding the city. These people’s nightmarish deaths were helpful for historians as everything is incredibly well-preserved. That said, during WWII, Pompeii was bombed many times so some areas are more damaged from the recent past than the ancient tragedies.
Pompeii, like any contemporary city, went through different cultural transformations, but our guide talked to us most about who was living there in the first century AD. She talked to us about the earthquakes people experienced prior to the eruption and how the townspeople believed it was Bacchus (who they thought resided within Mt Vesuvius) sending them messages. Their main deity was Jupiter, and we saw evidence of this. Regardless, because Pompeii used to be a port city with people coming (and being forcefully brought) from all over, there were many languages and belief systems. For that reason, visuals were key to communication. For example, carved penises were used as street signs to advertise the 20+ brothels and within the brothels there were illustrated menus of sex positions with numbers underneath them. In fact, we saw phallic symbols all over the place. Apparently, horizontal penises were directional markers while etchings of vertical penises were actually symbols of prosperity.
The richer families also had some beautiful frescoes and mosaics with all kinds of vibrant, less sexual images. Melania emphasized that the incredible artwork and advanced systems like windows, geothermal heat, sliding doors, roadways and so on were mainly made by enslaved people. Another disturbing fact that she told us was that life expectancy was very short. Many of the 20,000+ residents would die in their 30s because of improper hygiene, lead pipes, and lack of medicine; even prior to that, babies were often killed if they weren’t considered “perfect”. Melania’s tour certainly wasn’t uplifting, but it was informative.
Our daytrip to Amalfi was a much gentler experience. We hadn’t bought ferry tickets in advance, so when we arrived at the dock at Salerno, we bought tickets for the next boat (regardless of where it was going!). After a very short 3-euro ferry ride, we got off at Maioiri. Because we knew we would be hiking the Sentiero dei Limone, Lemon Trail, we decided to stop and eat there first.
We got to Divin Baguette shortly after opening, so the server had lots of time for us. This came in handy not only for my many questions about which sandwich to get (the salmon one was excellent!), but also for the miscommunication surrounding my order of “lemon juice”. In my mind, lemon juice obviously meant lemonade; I couldn’t fathom someone opting to suck on liquid lemons. To the server, lemonade was not “naturale” enough to serve, so his “lemon juice” was obviously just freshly squeezed lemons – nothing more, nothing less. Suffice it to say, the drink left a sour taste in my mouth. We knew that the Amalfi Coast was famous for lemon everything, from alcohol to desserts; however, we weren’t expecting that level of immersion.
To access the trail, we began by climbing past the supermarket and up to Santuario Santa Maria e Mare with its beautiful green and yellow domes, preparing us for the many lemon orchards to come. The signs for the Lemon Trail were clearly marked, and truth be told it was mainly stair climbing past people’s homes and lemon trees – sometimes overhead, other times below us, but the plentiful lemons were always there. The views were stunning and we took about 45 minutes to walk (and photograph) it.
This wasn’t exactly wilderness, but we did meet a few stray dogs and some mules on route to Minori. Next time I wouldn’t mind staying at one of the many B&Bs, or stopping for limoncello, but we decided to keep going past the beautiful mosaics down the stairs to Minori and the Basilica I Santa Trofimena. We bought treats and boarded a ferry to Amalfi, savouring the sweet flavours and sights simultaneously.
Arriving in Amalfi your eyes feast on the cliffs and colours, and it’s clear that this town is much bigger (and busier) than the others along the southern coast.
The beaches were full of little pebbles, and all privatized so we set off instead for the central square: the Piazza Flavia Gioia. We appreciated the Fontana di Sant’Andrea and Cattedrale di Sant’Andrea, dating back to the 9th century. We then walked past famous fountains like the one devoted to donkeys, the Fontana “de Cape ‘e Ciucci”, built in the 18th century. I’m not sure how donkeys and dolls are connected, but this fountain has been decorated with dolls since the 1970s. Fortunately, they weren’t half as creepy as the dolls littering Xochimilco in Mexico City. Chucky couldn’t hold a candle to them. Following Lorenzo d’Amalfi, we arrived at Dalla Carta alla Cartolina/Scuderia del Duca – a casual postal museum and stationery store. I’m not quite sure what a postal museum is supposed to look like, but this one certainly surprised me. I had very little time to explore its contents before needing a washroom. This was an ongoing challenge in Italy. I’m not asking for a Tim Horton’s on each corner, but at least one public washroom for every few blocks would be helpful. Fortunately, there’s a public washroom near the Museu della Carta uphill from where all the tourism is, so I had access to a free toilet. It turns out there’s also a beautiful waterfall, gorgeous mountain views, and access to a hike up there.
Eventually, we made our way downhill to walk over to the neighbouring town of Atrani. It’s exceptionally narrow and tall. We didn’t stay long before heading back to Amalfi to catch our ferry. Unfortunately, the ride to Salerno was less than pleasant. Of all three ferries that day it was the ferry from Amalfi to Salerno which was, (1) the longest ride; and, (2) the bumpiest ride. It didn’t help that the washroom was broken. The views were still beautiful but I didn’t appreciate paying 9 euro for nausea. A man behind me paid to vomit. I got the better deal.
Speaking of transit, the trains were all wonderful – spacious and clean. I felt bad for the tourists with suitcases so large that they could barely fit in the overhead storage areas though. One woman looked about ready to leave the country and go home, cursing and muttering about the weight. The irony is that she wasn’t even doing any manual labour as a young Italian man had lifted her suitcase for her since she was blocking everyone from taking their seats. Because we never knew which direction the train would go, we had purchased seats across from each other. I knew it would be easier that way since my motion sickness won’t let me face backwards on a moving vehicle and I wasn’t sure how accommodating our train companions would be. I found out pretty quickly that not everyone takes the seats they pay for. On our journey from Salerno to Rome, we noticed an elderly Italian couple across the aisle who were seated beside the windows and had pulled out countless snacks. In Naples, a foreign couple got on and tried to kindly inform the old Italians that they were in their seats. After about five minutes of miscommunication and much huffing and puffing, the Italian man pretended to start gathering his goods but his wife stopped him. Dmitriy and I stared out the window, not daring to make eye contact with the naughty nonna. We got off at Roma Termini station and promptly our luck ended. We couldn’t figure out where to buy tickets for the train to Trastevere station which was leaving in a matter of minutes. Instead, we bought bus tickets, which turned out to be a blessing as it helped us situate where we were and how ancient this city really is. When we got to our B&B, we also quickly learned how prehistoric the elevator was. The doors had to be manually shut for it to work. We learned this when, approaching our floor, we excitedly started opening the inner door and the elevator abruptly came to a halt. We were stuck in the elevator a few inches below where the floor should have been. Fortunately, we’re good escape artists and we made our way back to solid ground within a matter of minutes. It’s a good thing too because no one responded to my cries for help; instead, an older Italian woman on the ground floor began yelling for us to hurry because she needed the elevator asap for her groceries. It’s a hectic city and this was just the beginning.
The day we arrived in Rome I had booked us a Vatican City Museums tour, so we had to hurriedly walk through Trastevere. We stopped along the way very briefly to take in sites like the 15th century Ponte Sisto and Castel Sant’Angelo (built BC by Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum). It’s impossible to capture just how much life is vibrantly on display in the streets of Rome, and Italy overall. There’s an incredible togetherness when cities are built for people, not cars. Our tour started at 3pm and we arrived early at the Basilica di San Pietro, the world’s largest church and supposedly where Peter the apostle is entombed. We realized fairly late that we were at the wrong spot and we had to rush to the other side of the city where the museums are located. Everywhere was packed, and I’d made the mistake of not eating a proper meal yet – relying on free snacks instead. The lack of sleep, water, and food combined with the heat and crowds wasn’t an ideal combination. I found it hard to take in everything the small guide was loudly lecturing about.
She started the tour by explaining the symbolism of the Sistine Chapel including the size of the books that captured details of who would go to heaven and who to hell. I found listening to her less important than actually being present in the chapel (after the tour had ended) and taking in the immensity of the artwork: from Jonah and the Whale to Moses parting the sea, I was amazed by the detail and beauty of the tableaus. The chapel itself is also home to many security guards whose job it is to keep the area quiet and keep people from taking photos. They failed over and over again, until finally one of them warmed up a microphone and in a tone and pace like that of a Gregorian chant, he began reciting his prayer for “silenzio” followed by “no fotos” and finishing with “no videos”. I was entranced; Dmitriy was irritated.
On the museums tour, we just scratched the surface of Vatican City's immeasurable wealth. But the guide never mentioned any of the controversies, like what's covered in articles like this: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/metis-researcher-counter-narrative-vatican-indigenous-1.6394948. We started the physical tour by walking through a courtyard with a giant pine cone and peaco*cks, which were originally built near the pantheon (decidedly not a monotheistic locale). We also saw Pomodoro’s sfera con sfera showing the dynamic and fragile nature of the world. The gravity of the work was lightened by the English translation of the artist’s name: Mr. Tomato. We kept exploring the endless museums like Pio-clementino with sculptures predating Christianity like Laocoon (40 BC) which tells the story of the Trojan War. Our guide talked about how the Romans imitated the Greeks, their styles and stories. She gave us a long lecture about it; my short attention span couldn't keep up.
One of my favourite rooms was actually the map room, which depicted the many areas of Italy in surprising orientations (by modern cartography standards). We also saw more recent works like in the Sala dell’Immacolata (19th to 21st centuries), the Rooms of Raphael, the Room of Eliodora and other modern art by Dali and Chagall; however, the guide was in such a rush that we couldn’t even stop to see these pieces. In her tour, she shared too many details but not enough foundational information. Bits and pieces stuck with me though like how often faces would be dedications in art. For example, the Pope’s face might be painted on a hero’s body. It was also curious how only living people would be painted looking directly at the audience. She also underscored trivia like how all of the guards in the Vatican City are Swiss, which dates back to the reputation of the Swiss as killer mercenaries. Apparently, it had nothing to do with their chocolate-making abilities or purported neutrality – I guess those aren’t skills you look for when hiring people to save your life. Overall, I felt destroyed by the time we finally entered the Sistine Chapel at the end. We took our time sitting on a bench staring up at the glorious artwork, but it was hard to fully absorb the magnitude of the magnificence. Regardless, my feet welcomed the rest. On our way out, we still had to pass by multiple stores, cafeterias, and myriad other museum exhibits about topics like coins and stamps. In fact, they have a Vatican post office where you can buy a special stamp and send your mail. Whether the secular system will deliver the holy mail is another story. Right before exiting the Vatican City, we saw a small stand with photos and quotes about Indigenous people like “Your culture… must not be allowed to disappear”. The irony was not lost on me.
Hungry and tired, Dmitriy and I wandered in circles until he found a restaurant he was confident in. I’m less bothered by reviews when hungry, but Dmitriy is a stickler for stars. We ordered immediately and were promptly brought a multitude of antipasti. My fried tempura zucchini tasted mediocre at first bite, but it was the second that surprised me. It turns out that the cook had run out of the cheese advertised in the menu so had substituted… anchovies! Suffice it to say I’d rather sip pure lemon juice than bite into something so fishy. Sadly, “Claps” is not a restaurant I’d recommend if you have dietary allergies, or preferences. Anyway, we made up for it later. After wandering the Mattatoio area, which used to be a slaughterhouse and industrial complex, we came across the open-air Mercato di Testaccio. It had live music, dancing, and (most importantly) tons of great food stalls. We tried four different types of pizza at Casa Manco before waddling our bloated bodies to the dance floor. They played English, Spanish and Italian music… and hosted a Zumba class! We had a great time and I loved that everywhere we went felt so safe, even in a big city like Rome. It was a welcome change. That said, it’s a fairly dirty city – there’s litter and graffiti all over!
Speaking of safety, a trend on this trip was people trying to enter our hotel rooms. In Rome, this meant that at 1 am we suddenly heard jangling on the door handle, while in Salerno it was the housekeeper entering before 9 am every day (which somehow felt less reasonable). Our first morning in Rome, we were awoken to knocking on the door because it turned out (for once) breakfast was included but we hadn’t indicated what we wanted to eat. We weren’t thrilled about being woken up like that, but the delicious breakfast in bed was worth it.
We still opted for a second breakfast – we didn’t want to repeat the mistake of undereating. I had read about Rome’s Jewish quarter and wanted to experience it for myself, whether we attended services at the synagogue, visited the museum or just ate some tasty kosher treats. In the end, we opted to pick up sour cherry ricotta cheesecake (crostata di ricotta e visciole) from Pasticceria Boccione – it was soft on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. Dmitriy and I shared a slice, but secretly wished we’d bought at least two.
We also wandered past the impressive Tempio Maggiore di Roma, built in the early 1900s after centuries of Jewish people being contained within the Jewish ghetto. The Jewish Museum is located within the temple building, while the powerful Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Holocaust Museum, can be found beside it. We wandered through the latter and learned more about the resilient Roman Jewish community. In fact, Italian Jewry date back over 2,000 years. A couple of friends had recommended going on one of the Jewish tours in Rome and Florence (the food tours looked especially great!), but we never found the time. As a side note, one of the companies that came recommended was: https://www.florence-jewish-tours.com.
The famous Arch of Titus tells some of the story of Jewish enslaved people being brought to Rome. With its implicit and explicit depictions of the Roman attack on Jerusalem, destruction of the sacred temple, murder and enslavement of Jews and pillaging of their treasures (like the famous menorah), it’s a harsh reminder of how Jewish life in Israel was drastically altered leading to thousands of years of diaspora living for so many Jews. I hated how this was being celebrated in this arch, which is, to so many tourists, seen as just another unique piece of ancient art on their trip to the imposing Colosseum. There's always a juxtaposition between recognizing the beauty of a place and reflecting on its bloody past, I suppose.
Before leaving for Italy, I was really torn about whether we should take tours at Pompeii and the Colosseum but after speaking to friends about it, it became clear that if you aren’t a historian or archeologist, you should probably take a tour. Our Roman guide was incredibly enthusiastic even when recounting gruesome details of the Colosseum’s construction. He discussed how macabre the Colosseum was: from the enslaved people who were made to fight (and die) as gladiators to how Romans killed so many lions that they became extinct in North Africa. The amphitheatre, though it may not look like it, was the largest ever built, yet it was built in eight years (in the first century AD). The guide facetiously pointed out that the metro stop there has been in a state of renovations and upgrades for over ten years already. He should try visiting cities like Toronto or Chicago where extreme weather means that transit expansion, let alone maintenance, feels like it takes millennia. Anyway, at its peak, the Colosseum could hold 50-80,000 people who were able to watch the performances free of charge. Apparently, this was (and still is) a popular political strategy: distract the populace with free entertainment so they won’t fight back against the squalor.
A lot of innovations went into making the Colosseum: they would flood the stage and host water shows or have set changes with exotic plants they’d pull up and down using lifts and underground tunnels. The roof itself was even retractable! I made a joke about the Toronto Skydome, but I think the guide’s laughter was an automatic response rather than actual acknowledgement. He lectured us about the many uses of the Colosseum: entertainment, housing, and even prayer. On site we saw a lot of original relics like graffiti from the stadium, seats, and mosaics. While wandering, we were fortunate enough to hear an Italian singer taking advantage of the acoustics – her striking sounds wafted up through the air lending us an impression of how exciting it must have been to see a performance of any kind in a structure so intentionally built to bring together tens of thousands. We also watched our guide’s flirting in action as he complimented the singer and invited her to join our group... as long as her boyfriend wouldn’t mind.
The Roman Forum was literal layers of history. Once again, it felt overwhelming trying to catch all the details spilling out. The guide picked ancient artefacts up off the ground and reminded us never to think of the past as just one static point in time because it’s a mishmash of so many cultures and civilizations coexisting, killing, and conquering. There are so many distinct periods of time with so many unique customs that he could never answer a question like “what was marriage like for the Romans?” without specifying which century he was considering for his response. He hurried us past the crowds and into a church that was unearthed after destroying the one on top of it – frescoes of sullen faces were still fresh after 1400 years. I can only imagine how humans would be perceived if the images unearthed thousands of years from now were of botox-infused duckfaces. The guide pointed out Basilica Giulia, the temple of Rumulus and other places frequented by emperors like Caesar. The Roman Forum was always a gathering area while the Palatine Hill was for the emperors. We were forced to explore that area ourselves as the tour abruptly ended after two hours (I thought it would last three). Based on the signage, we learned about the ruins of Temple of Vesta where the Vestal Virgins kept the flame burning to signify Rome as an eternal city – no men were allowed except one, and the women would be buried alive if they made a mistake. Linkedin would have trouble advertising that one. Meanwhile, the Imperial Palace took up the whole hill above and was split into three parts. We were exhausted by the time we made it up the hill so we quickly looked around the Farnese Gardens (named after the family that bought this land in the 16th century), took photos for a tall tourist and then headed to get our Covid testing done. At this point, the US was still requiring negative antigen or PCR tests for re-entry. I found it odd that people were forced to test before entering the country, but they weren’t required to wear masks on the 10+ hour flights. I’m not the one making the rules though, just abiding by them (with negative test in hand).
While in Rome it felt inappropriate not to visit the key tourist spots, so we made sure to snack in Piazza Navona, pose on the Spanish Steps (not sit though – that’s prohibited!), fill our water bottles outside the Pantheon, throw coins into the Trevi Fountain and stare in awe at the Piazza Venezia. I was most impressed by Trevi Fountain, much to my surprise. I couldn’t believe how huge it was! Neptune is incredibly detailed for his size and I can only imagine that even in the 18th century the crowds must have been huge. It’s an interesting spot too because on the one corner you have this fountain which is hundreds of years old and the other is a Benetton.
One of the older customs that some restaurants still honour is being closed on a Sunday. So, when it came time for our last supper we made our way to Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina, a place my friend Adrian had recommended, only to learn that it was not accepting new patrons and that many of the surrounding restaurants were closed. While frantically searching for an open, tasty restaurant, the tall red-headed man from the Colosseum strolled up. It turned out that he was from Amsterdam and was equally surprised by the coincidence of us running into each other again in such a large city. Fortunately for us he recommended Pizzeria da Baffetto and the Gelataria Frigidarium next door to it. We chose to eat at a restaurant in Piazza Camp de’ Fiori instead because of its phenomenal people-watching, including a very dramatic fight wherein a woman angrily crossed her arms, turned around, and then stormed off from a friend who promptly burst into tears. We couldn’t hear what transpired, but the stereotype was proven true: Italians really do talk with their hands.
Our last night ended with my sticky gelato hands meeting Dmitriy’s for a sweet slow dance on the Ponte Sisto footbridge to acoustic guitar music. We pulled ourselves away from the moonlit river and our private concert to wander the winding alleys of Trastevere, full of fun and mischief. Although it was hard to say "ciao Italia", I’m looking forward to sampling many more of its flavours in the future...
