I went to Italy for the first time in 2003, Christmastime. That trip was with my family, and in about two weeks we crossed off a whole lot (as was our SOP in those days with Europe trips). We went to Rome, the Vatican, Naples, Florence, Milan and Venice. I'm sure that we saw each city to some good degree at the time, but given the amount of time we had, it must have been wall to wall crazy. Fifteen or so years later, I went back to Italy with friends for a week (I had a short trip to the Piedmont region with family in 2015 that was detailed on this blog).
Because I had been to the major cities, even with not remembering some of them too well, and two of the other four joiners on the trip had been to Italy's main hits, we decided to do just Rome, and then Amalfi Coast (staying in Positano) and Sicily (staying in Palermo). These were not exactly unknown destinations, but really opened up a side of Italy I hadn't seen, and didn't know, to some degree, existed.
I'm obviously not giving the day-by-day in this one that I have done on other trips, but I do want to give a few thoughts on each of the three main parts of the trip: Rome, Amalfi Coast and Sicily.
Rome (Day 1-3; Day 8-9)
We stayed in the heart of Rome, somewhat near the Coliseum in a bright, buzzed, but not overcrowded area. This allowed us quite easy access to most of Rome's main fares and sights. I had been to Rome long enough ago that I knew going in that most of the palces we visit I would have already been to at some point. Still, Rome proved a fascinating city both from the historical sites, which are still nearly unparalleled for such a contained area, and a atmosphere perspective, visiting a lot of interesting neighborhoods.
In the past, I've randomly given Rome the title of 'history's most famous city', being the center of the largest Empire the world ever saw, and then also becoming the center of the largest religious sect the world has today. Both of these competing histories are everpresent - and in some ways even mixed when we look at the first site we visited - the Vatican Musuem. Again, I did this tour in 2003, but had completely forgotten most of it aside from the Sistine Chapel, so it was interesting to learn that a lot of the early exhibits were various pope's collections of Roman Empire art.
The rest of hte Vatican was the hauntingly beautiful place I remembered it. Of course, there is a religious aspect to the visit. Seeing the center of my religion has a certain haunting element to it by itself. The whole area is pristine once you get to the front, with the backdrop of St. Peter's facade and the long string of columns and arches around it.
The other tourist sites were mostly classical Roman Empire fare and some key churches mixed it. For the churches, they were St. Ignatius Loyola, with resplendent gold everywhere, and endless paintings on the ceiling that truly rivals the sistine chapel (with the added benefit of being able to take pictures) and St. John in Lateran, probably the second most famous church in Rome, and given it's title as the seat of the Archbishop of Rome (aka, the Pope), the most important church. The ridiculous ornate marble sculptures on every column are mesmerizing. If there is any curch outside the Vatican to visit, it is probably this one.
The non-religious sites started on our second day with a tour of the Colosseum (again, something I did but only somewhat remembered in 2003). The tour allowed us to 'cut the line', but that only meant avoiding the huge line by paying double to get stuck in a still lengthy line preceding a security check. Our tour was led by an energetic storyteller with a really nice Italian accent. The colosseum is as I remember it, fairly overwhelming both from bottom and top.
The other sites mostly took place on my last day there, seeing the other two central Roman primary sites - the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, and then a long self-calculated walking tour of Central Rome to various churches, sites, piazzas and so many others. The Palatine Hill and Roman Forum are an incredibly sprawling series of ruins in various state of ruin, going form fairly old and 'ruin'-ed, like the early stadium and walls, to well kept, like the Roman Forum at the end of the walk.
The other sites were mostly seen from the outside, but provided a great show of how amazing the center of Rome is. There was the Pantheon - which honestly was a little underwhelming compared to the rest. The Trajan Column, the Temple of Hadrian, the Piazza of Lago Argentina (where Caeser was killed) and Venizia (a stunning white building that is nearly as dominant and everpresent as St. Peter's. Rome is such a treasure trove that these incredible architectural structures, all centuries to milennia old, are just standard fare while walking all around Rome.
What really drew me to Rome this time apart from the sites and history was the incredible combination of food we ate and neighborhoods we visited. The first neighborhood was Travestere, a trendy outpost across the River Tiber that comes alive at night, especially on a nice Saturdnay Night as was our first day. Streets and Alleys with open bars and tons of Italians (and some tourists; though less than Central). There was an energy I love to see in any city. This was matched, if not exceeded, by Milvio, a posh area littered with traditional restaurants and bars North of Rome that was somehow even more crowded the following Saturday, and even more filled with more locals. In these giant tourist destinations like a Rome, finding these areas that are largely unfettered by throngs or tourists is always the goal.
Finally, the food in Rome was excellent, if a bit more scattered than our time in Amalfi or Sicily. We ate various food scenes ranging from upscale tasting menus (Imago, the dinner our first day in Rome, a Michelin Star place) to low-country (simple trattatorias like Gli Specialisti in Milvio) to late night Rome staples (pizzeria Restaurant La Base). We even had a classic Rome-style three-hour lunch on Sunday at a restaurant in an upscale area of Rome, taking orders from the waiter on what to order (prawns, octopus, pasta, sea-bass big enough to share).
The best meal was probably Imago, which earned its Michelin Star reputation in terms of hte food - even if the service was a bit slow and inattentive at times. The view from the restaurant (the top florr of an upscale hotel) gives a clear view of St. Peter's. The food was great, the best dish maybe being a scampi risotto, or the incredible desert of a raspberry and strawberry dessert. Imago also gave us four friends who dont drink a lot of wine try a wine pairing as well.
The meal I may remember even more was my two dinner (one with the whole group, the other by myself as I stayed a day longer than everyone else), at a trattoria in Milvio called Gli Specialisti. it was low-key, a paper table covers type place, with all the homely charm of a trattoria, with great food, be it pasta (a standard cacio e pepe one day, a ragu-style fettucini another day), to their mains be it pizza or veal scallopinni. The setting was great, the food was great. This was a treat in the bustle of Rome.
Rime was a great time, even if it was a lot of seeing things I saw fifteen years ago. The stuff outside the sites was all new - the great food (I don't think I had a bad meal in Rome), the great neighborhoods. Rome already ranked highly on my list of favorite cities, but if anything it may be higher now.
Because I had been to the major cities, even with not remembering some of them too well, and two of the other four joiners on the trip had been to Italy's main hits, we decided to do just Rome, and then Amalfi Coast (staying in Positano) and Sicily (staying in Palermo). These were not exactly unknown destinations, but really opened up a side of Italy I hadn't seen, and didn't know, to some degree, existed.
I'm obviously not giving the day-by-day in this one that I have done on other trips, but I do want to give a few thoughts on each of the three main parts of the trip: Rome, Amalfi Coast and Sicily.
Rome (Day 1-3; Day 8-9)
We stayed in the heart of Rome, somewhat near the Coliseum in a bright, buzzed, but not overcrowded area. This allowed us quite easy access to most of Rome's main fares and sights. I had been to Rome long enough ago that I knew going in that most of the palces we visit I would have already been to at some point. Still, Rome proved a fascinating city both from the historical sites, which are still nearly unparalleled for such a contained area, and a atmosphere perspective, visiting a lot of interesting neighborhoods.
In the past, I've randomly given Rome the title of 'history's most famous city', being the center of the largest Empire the world ever saw, and then also becoming the center of the largest religious sect the world has today. Both of these competing histories are everpresent - and in some ways even mixed when we look at the first site we visited - the Vatican Musuem. Again, I did this tour in 2003, but had completely forgotten most of it aside from the Sistine Chapel, so it was interesting to learn that a lot of the early exhibits were various pope's collections of Roman Empire art.
The rest of hte Vatican was the hauntingly beautiful place I remembered it. Of course, there is a religious aspect to the visit. Seeing the center of my religion has a certain haunting element to it by itself. The whole area is pristine once you get to the front, with the backdrop of St. Peter's facade and the long string of columns and arches around it.
The other tourist sites were mostly classical Roman Empire fare and some key churches mixed it. For the churches, they were St. Ignatius Loyola, with resplendent gold everywhere, and endless paintings on the ceiling that truly rivals the sistine chapel (with the added benefit of being able to take pictures) and St. John in Lateran, probably the second most famous church in Rome, and given it's title as the seat of the Archbishop of Rome (aka, the Pope), the most important church. The ridiculous ornate marble sculptures on every column are mesmerizing. If there is any curch outside the Vatican to visit, it is probably this one.
The non-religious sites started on our second day with a tour of the Colosseum (again, something I did but only somewhat remembered in 2003). The tour allowed us to 'cut the line', but that only meant avoiding the huge line by paying double to get stuck in a still lengthy line preceding a security check. Our tour was led by an energetic storyteller with a really nice Italian accent. The colosseum is as I remember it, fairly overwhelming both from bottom and top.
The other sites mostly took place on my last day there, seeing the other two central Roman primary sites - the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, and then a long self-calculated walking tour of Central Rome to various churches, sites, piazzas and so many others. The Palatine Hill and Roman Forum are an incredibly sprawling series of ruins in various state of ruin, going form fairly old and 'ruin'-ed, like the early stadium and walls, to well kept, like the Roman Forum at the end of the walk.
The other sites were mostly seen from the outside, but provided a great show of how amazing the center of Rome is. There was the Pantheon - which honestly was a little underwhelming compared to the rest. The Trajan Column, the Temple of Hadrian, the Piazza of Lago Argentina (where Caeser was killed) and Venizia (a stunning white building that is nearly as dominant and everpresent as St. Peter's. Rome is such a treasure trove that these incredible architectural structures, all centuries to milennia old, are just standard fare while walking all around Rome.
What really drew me to Rome this time apart from the sites and history was the incredible combination of food we ate and neighborhoods we visited. The first neighborhood was Travestere, a trendy outpost across the River Tiber that comes alive at night, especially on a nice Saturdnay Night as was our first day. Streets and Alleys with open bars and tons of Italians (and some tourists; though less than Central). There was an energy I love to see in any city. This was matched, if not exceeded, by Milvio, a posh area littered with traditional restaurants and bars North of Rome that was somehow even more crowded the following Saturday, and even more filled with more locals. In these giant tourist destinations like a Rome, finding these areas that are largely unfettered by throngs or tourists is always the goal.
Finally, the food in Rome was excellent, if a bit more scattered than our time in Amalfi or Sicily. We ate various food scenes ranging from upscale tasting menus (Imago, the dinner our first day in Rome, a Michelin Star place) to low-country (simple trattatorias like Gli Specialisti in Milvio) to late night Rome staples (pizzeria Restaurant La Base). We even had a classic Rome-style three-hour lunch on Sunday at a restaurant in an upscale area of Rome, taking orders from the waiter on what to order (prawns, octopus, pasta, sea-bass big enough to share).
The best meal was probably Imago, which earned its Michelin Star reputation in terms of hte food - even if the service was a bit slow and inattentive at times. The view from the restaurant (the top florr of an upscale hotel) gives a clear view of St. Peter's. The food was great, the best dish maybe being a scampi risotto, or the incredible desert of a raspberry and strawberry dessert. Imago also gave us four friends who dont drink a lot of wine try a wine pairing as well.
The meal I may remember even more was my two dinner (one with the whole group, the other by myself as I stayed a day longer than everyone else), at a trattoria in Milvio called Gli Specialisti. it was low-key, a paper table covers type place, with all the homely charm of a trattoria, with great food, be it pasta (a standard cacio e pepe one day, a ragu-style fettucini another day), to their mains be it pizza or veal scallopinni. The setting was great, the food was great. This was a treat in the bustle of Rome.
Rime was a great time, even if it was a lot of seeing things I saw fifteen years ago. The stuff outside the sites was all new - the great food (I don't think I had a bad meal in Rome), the great neighborhoods. Rome already ranked highly on my list of favorite cities, but if anything it may be higher now.
