Ten to fifteen minutes walk at a good pace to Piazza Navona. A quick hop over Ponte Sisto up Via Giulia and past Palazzo Farnese and Campo dei Fiori, then assorted streets that cross Corso Vittorio Emanuele and into P. Navona. A great walk every time. Vic. del Bologna is a relatively quiet loop in an otherwise busy and touristed zone of Trastevere. Good restaurants very nearby (Checco er Carrettiere, an old warhorse, and Enoteca Ferrara are a couple of very well known spots).The Almost Corner Bookshop is well almost around the corner. And a short stroll up Via della Lungaretta to the Via Corsini entrance to the Botanical Gardens or Villa Farnesina. This street is probably one of the best to be so close to the centro and yet get some of the best medieval atmosphere and overall amenities of Trastevere. There are more quiet and 'local' zones particularly around Piazza di San Cosimato and even across Viale di Trastevere but I would find fortune in locating here.
Posts: 51 | Location: Vancouver | Registered: 13 July 2003
from Massimo at Rome - is - home..referring to the location of his flat.
"People living here are Italians, you are not in an area like Trastevere, almost totally sublet to foreign tourists, noisy at any hour of the day or night."
I'm sure he's just being a good sales person for his own property or is there truth to this statement?
I'd say he's a good salesman. Vicolo del Bologna is as full of sublets and non-Italians as is any other part of Trastevere.
It's true that it's not quite so heavily trafficked as Via del Moro and Via della Scala nearby, but I'd certainly not expect it to be quiet and I'd expect to see tons of tourists and many many American students because John Cabot University is very nearby.
It is, however, a convenient and easy walk to the historic center. You can be at the Pantheon or Piazza Navona in less than 15 minutes.
We spent 10 days in Trastevere earlier this month on via della Luce. I had mixed feelings about the area. The area around Santa Maria in Trastevere is very crowded and touristy, especially at night. Where we were was much better but did get noisy at night due to the restaurants on the street below. It is very convenient - we walked to the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area almost every day and it took about 10 minutes through very pleasant areas. We also found it easy to walk to Testaccio, the Roman Forum and Colluseum. The Vatican, the Borghese and Piazza del Popolo are a little further but also pleasantly walkable if you like to walk. Overall I found it a very good area to stay in but don't think I'd stay in the more touristy part.
Don't forget about the tram that runs from Torre Argentina. It's crosses Ponte Garibaldi which is down a bit from your location, but might be a nice coming-home alternative if you've been on your feet all day. That, and Campo dei Fiori looks to be about five minutes away...
Having spent the last 9 months living in Trastevere, I would recommend it to anyone who decides to live in Rome.
While, like most of Rome, there are many tourists around, the shops, stores, buildings are really the homes of many Italians.
For some authentic Roman restaurants which are frequented by locals, I would try Capo de Fero just off of Piazza San Cosimoto [Via S. Cosimato 16](and order Rigatoni Democratici!) or the restaurant on Via Natale Grande (on the same side as the Panella supermarket).
A little more pricey, but delicious are La Botticella on Vicolo del Leopardo (which is parallel to Via della Scala) - Tell Julia Paul sent you or Romolo at the corner of Via Garibaldi and Via della Scala (Via Porta Settimiana 8)
Don't be too shy to roam the streets of Trastevere so that you get off the more popular, tourist sections and see the neighborhood.
Finally, a walk to the top of the Giancolo Hill, arriving by the Garibaldi monument just before noon, will be worth your while.
Originally posted by kikiluv: from Massimo at Rome - is - home..referring to the location of his flat.
"People living here are Italians, you are not in an area like Trastevere, almost totally sublet to foreign tourists, noisy at any hour of the day or night."
I'm sure he's just being a good sales person for his own property or is there truth to this statement?
Hello there
sincerely, I do not think that to lie about anything or diminishing the value of others would be a way to be "a good sales person".
Having lived in Rome for most of my (not so short) life and knowing this city's historical center extremely well, I can easily stand by what I wrote in my email to kikiluv without fearing to be called a liar.
For an Italian (and even more for a Roman) the differences between Trastevere and Via dei Chiavari are very clear. These two neighborhoods have always been very far from each other, even if only separated by a small stream of water. They do share Rome's history, but each in its own way and character.
Prices of property in Trastevere are different from those in Via dei Chiavari and their population differs as well.
In my humble opinion, Trastevere has become almost an extreme tourist attraction, very far from what it was in the late sixties and seventies. Via dei Chiavari has changed of course, but I believe that has retained its flavour and feeling. I don't think that Trastevere did, not as much at least.
More specifically, regarding my writing, Via dei Chiavari IS an extremely quiet little street compared to most places around the center. Why? Probably for the lack of major night life or clubs around. This because the people living in this street is mostly "normal" italians going to work the next day and not willing to put up with loud noise at night. Here the neighborhood has been very selective in what kind of activities were opening during these past years. A few were even quickly closed down because of neighbors' complaints.
In the Summer try to sleep with open windows in most flats in Trastevere and see how much you will sleep. You can still do that on Via dei Chiavari and only very seldom you'll be waken up in the middle of the night by a drunk youth shouting some silly stuff to his/her companions.
Yes, I do love our apartment and our street. My wife and I still consider it our home and our family often returns to it when we have no guests. We like Trastevere and go there now and then, but we would never live there. That's logically my own opinion, but that's the only one I can have and the reason why my home is in Via dei Chiavari and not in Trastevere as my sister's flat.
Enjoy your trip!
Massimo from Rome is Home
PS: My sister is seventy, lives in Trastevere since 1980 and she loves it. She's hard of hearing and loves air-conditioning in the Summer. She would never let her windows open on Vicolo del Cinque. :-)
Massimo, I wasn't trying to call you a liar and I apologize if that's what is sounded like..I only wanted to hear other's opinions of the area.
RE: Massimo's property/response in inquiring about his lodgings- He was very prompt in his reply and helpful. We chose not to stay there only due to budget considerations.
This is confusing. In the original post it appeared that kikiluv was asking for opinions about whether or not Vicolo del Bologna was quiet and untouristed.
When and how did Via dei Chiavari enter the discussion?
My comments above pertain only to Trastevere and to Vicolo del Bologna in particular - which I understood to be the topic of discussion.
Hopefully we can move on with no hard feelings. In exciting news for me I found a little B&B in what I consider to be slightly more central and only 100E/night (yippie)! I posted the link to a google map in one of my above posts in this thread. I'd love to know your thoughts of my choice in neighborhood. The B&B is on Via di Panico.
Thanks to everybody who responded to my orig post. Hopefully we'll find time to stroll through Trastevere. I just can't believe I have 5 nights in rome. I'm stoked!
From your new B&B, you might want to consider a visit to La Taverna da Giovanni, see http://www.restaurantsomh.com/r28.htm It is right in your neighborhood, and if you reserve, you can have one of the four (or was it six) tables outside with a stunning view of Castello Sant'Angelo. We've eaten there a few times, and it can be fun. And a good value. (Like Threadgill's in Austin, only without the musical heritage. ;-)
I posted the link to a google map in one of my above posts in this thread. I'd love to know your thoughts of my choice in neighborhood. The B&B is on Via di Panico.
This is what the google link shows when you click on it.
Posts: 3853 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
From your new B&B, you might want to consider a visit to La Taverna da Giovanni, see http://www.restaurantsomh.com/r28.htm I (Like Threadgill's in Austin, only without the musical heritage. ;-)
Thanks for the restaurant suggestion! We'll def swing by and check it out. I take it you've been to Austin
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