Lovely Via Savoia is situated between two gardens, Villa Borghese and Villa Ada, and is is home to the Goethe Institute, the Cervantes Institute, and Villa Albani. It is definitely a street of quiet elegance, as is common in the Parioli district. Nearby one finds the MACRO (Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma), and Villa Torlonia.

Villa Albani was commissioned in 1745 by Cardinal Alessandro Albani to house his ancient Roman sculpture collection. Unfortunately, it has been allowed to fall into ruins and most of the sarcophagi, columns and sculptures have been removed. Albani was nephew to Pope Clement XI Albani and became famous for his constantly growing collection of antiquities. These were catalogued by the Cardinal’s secretary, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, considered to be the first professional art historian.

Peeking through the fence off Viale Regina Margherita, or from Via Savoia, or looking in through the main gate off Via Salaria, one can imagine the Villa and its garden in its former glory. 

Part II coming soon…

The term “Hokey Pokey” presumably evolved from the Italian cry that the Italian vendors used as they hawked their cheap ice cream. “Ecco un poco” they’d cry (that’s Italian for “here’s a little”), or “O che poco” (Oh, how cheap). Hokey-pokey actually referred to cheap ice cream or ice milk.

Today in Italy, although manufactured ice cream is served at every local bar, artisans abound who produce their very own blends of gelato artigianale. With ice cream available year round, you’re never far from an exquisite treat, something to yearn for.

Every area has its favorite artisan. Here, Walter is the local king at Caffè Gelateria di Walter. He has turned out daily mixtures of the freshest fruit and cream for devotees for the past thirty years. We’ve tasted gelato all over Italy and we think “our” king is the real deal.

But perhaps more than the neighborhoods themselves, the many staircases connecting the two are exquisite. The staircases contain their own stories and are filled with secrets.

For example, a plaque next to the Scalea del Tamburino bears a quote by the spaghetti western film director Sergio Leone, who grew up here, which states, “The way I see things is naïve, a little infantile but sincere, like the children on the staircase of Viale Glorioso.”

These scale (staircases) bind the two contrasting communities of Monteverde and Trastevere together and are a joy to explore. Although perhaps it is best to walk DOWN from one to the other unless you’re hoping to get some serious exercise in!

If you’re ever near this valley you must come to Sant’Antimo. Its majestic silence has the ability to refresh the spirit and the
gentle chanting of the monks fill the heart with peace. Even once you’re far away from these tranquil vineyards and olive groves, your soul will return to this magical place nestled so quietly in its sunlit valley, filling you again with memories of its peaceful rhythm.

Visit once – but allow your soul to come often.

One very scenographic bakery is Andrea Perino (via Cavour 10). Situated in the historic center, this bakery allows a view of its ovens and its freshly baked breads laid out on boards, right from the street. Go in and you will find a vast assortment of breads, fresh pizza and focaccia, breadsticks, rolls of many sizes and shapes, rustic cakes…

Continue through a passageway (lined with cookies!) to the room in the back: it is a café. There you will find more ovens and an array of pastries and sandwiches. Don’t see a sandwich you want? They will make one to your specifications. If you are there for breakfast there will be the morning papers and luscious rolls. It’s not a bad alternative to the cafes!

The garden’s rows of cypresses and geometrical flowerbeds are enhanced by sculpture and fountains. You can try your skill in the hedgerow maze. If you look around you will also find a grotto, an abandoned chapel and a great view of the city of Verona. You will see, as visitors from all over the world have, a marvel of profound beauty and design. It still stands today as one of the most magnificent gardens in Europe.

Sacred for religious reasons, it is also important, historically speaking, for its artistic and architectural influence. This is due in part to the message of peace, simplicity, ecology, and tolerance at the heart of Saint Francis’ doctrine, later communicated and spread by his many followers.

Passing through the narrow streets lined with stone buildings, two churches immediately arrest the visitor’s attention: the Romanesque Basilica of St. Francis with mystical charm—it is possible to visit his tomb in the crypt—and the Church of Saint Chiara, adorned on the exterior with striped buttresses. In a side chapel inside the Basilica, hangs the famous cross of Saint Damian. It is reported that Saint Francis received his vocation praying before it. In the main nave, colorful frescoes by Giotto depict scenes from the life of this courageous man who chose poverty and charity as a means to teach Christ’s mercy.

Strong magic indeed to tunnel from the eastern entrance of the Crypta Neapolitana in Piedigrotta (literally, foot of the grotto), to the western one in Fuorigrotta (beyond the grotto). Actually, the tunnel was devised by the Roman architect Cocceius around 37BC, but since nothing in Naples is so dull, let’s add that he used 100,000 slaves who accomplished the work in merely 15 days.

Yet Virgil haunts this place. The tomb at Piedigrotta was reputed to hold his ashes and it was here that Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante came to pay their respects. An inscription quotes the master:

“Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope.”
(Mantua bore me, Calabria snatched me away, now Naples holds me.)

Over the centuries the chapel expanded; the buildings seem to have grown directly from the stone face of the cliff. Santa Caterina is said to have performed at least two other miracles here, the evidence of one from the 17th century is still visible in a small chapel, where a large boulder hangs dangerously over the alter, lodged there (or stopped by Santa Caterina) during a rockslide.

Inside, the monastery has recently been restored. Fragments of frescoes have been revealed. The beautiful arches and vaulted ceilings have been cleaned. Outside, fig trees, geranium, and oleander grow. Below, the blue waters of Lago Maggiore wash up against the rocks. And far off in the distance is the snow-capped peak of Monte Rosa.

Questa e’ la rara bellezza che c’e’ nel Santuario di Santa Caterina. (This is the rare beauty that is Santa Caterina.)

One Sunday however, the nobility of Travaglino decided to open their doors for a degustazione (a tasting), free no less. This at least meant you could enter unnoticed among the many other visitors of the day and wouldn’t feel obliged to really buy wine. Fancy! You just came out of curiosity.

The wine cellar looked interesting nonetheless and you were lured in. You sat down and six wines were offered to you, by the Lady of the Cantina. Very polite, the lady, so refusal was out of the question. Mmm, quite special, that wine. The idea is to taste and spit the wine in a bowl. Such a waste, you think, so no spitting for you. The wine did contain alcohol, so far became clear. Each glass became tastier. The lady was smart and saved the best wine for last. A little tipsy, you bought six bottles of this most expensive wine and still felt strangely satisfied.

Strolling through the sun burnt vineyards, the same where the grapes of your dear wine were grown, you walked home. Not a gate to be seen. Paradise, not hell.

-Contributed by Stef Smulders – mathematician, travel writer, owner of Villa I Due Padroni, a B&B that recently opened its doors in the undiscovered area of the Oltrepo Pavese.