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For Romantics
The Centro Storico is the name given to Rome's central area of winding medieval streets, built over the Campo Marzo, which the ancient Romans used for military exercises.
The Centro Storico is the name given to Rome's central area of winding medieval streets, built over the Campo Marzo, which the ancient Romans used for military exercises. This is where you'll find Rome's most beautiful piazzas and fountains, including Piazza Navona. This area of Rome is packed with restaurants and bars, and is a lovely place to wander at any time of day or night. Piazza Navona and Campo dei' Fiori are both busy; popular with tourists as well as Romans, but within a few streets you will find a more tranquil brand of charm. If you want to wander back to your hotel on foot, clutching a bunch of roses, this is the area to choose. The streets surrounding Piazza Navona are full of interesting small boutiques and at night the area'srestaurants and bars are filled by a mix of all age groups enjoying the liveliness.  The area of Piazza Navona in Rome copies the dimensions and the form of the antique Stadium of Domiziano dating from the Roman times; an arena more than 270 metres long and roughly 55 meters large, built around 86 after Christ and able to welcome up to 33000 persons. After it has been restored by Alessandro Severo and it has found the actual arrangement thanks to the intervention of Pope Innocenzo X, in the square were organised until the 19th century various kinds of spectacles, celebrations and during the month of August, when the square was inundated by closing the flash rings of the fountains, even "naumachie" (naval fights inside an arena). The name "Piazza Navona" probably founds its origins in the competitions that were taking place in the area; from the Latin word "in agone" in fact, we would have passed during the time to the vulgar "nagone" and definitely to "navona". Piazza Navona is longitudinally marked by the presence of the three fountains; the lateral "Fountain of Neptune or of the Calderoni" and "Fountain of the Moro" are due to the designs of Giacomo della Porta, while the central "Fountain of the Rivers" was realised by Bernini between 1648 and 1651 after Christ. In front of this last one we find, on the ruins of the stadium of Domiziano and of an antique basilica which can still be visited from the undergrounds of the building, the church with Greek cross plan of Sant'Agnese in Agone, which, initially projected by G.Rinaldi, was achieved in 1652 by Borromini with the characteristic façade concave, the twin belfries and the cupola. Cafè: - Bar della Pace
Eternally à la mode, this bar has warm, antiques- and flower-filled rooms for the colder months and (pricey) pavement tables beneath the trademark ivy-clad façade.Info:Via della Pace 3-7 (06 686 1216). Open 4pm-2am Mon; 9am-2am Tue-Sun. Restaurants: - Da Passetto
Via Zanardelli 14, tel. 0668803696. Closed on Sunday. 35-60.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Air conditioning . Classic/ typical roman cuisine. Da Passetto is over 130 years old, with a glamorous list of ex-patron like Jean Cocteau or Elizabeth Taylor. - Taverna Parione
Via di Parione 38/39, tel. 066869545. 20-35.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Air conditioning. Classic cuisine. L’altro Mastai Via G. Giraud, 53, tel. 0668301296. Closed on Sunday and Monday. 75-100 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Air conditioning, candle-light. Mediterranean cuisine. L’Hostaria dell’Orso Via dei Soldati 25c, tel. 0668301192. Closed on Sunday. 35-50.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Air conditioning. Classic/typical roman cuisine. This restaurant is located in a 14th century building. via Governo Vecchio 114 - Piazza Navona
Famous pizzeria in Rome, often with queues waiting for tables, you're likely to be sitting with strangers at a large table, which although disconcerting for a minute, it's a lot of fun and the thin crust Roman Pizza is delicious. A wonderful Rome experience. |