Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Jamie Oliver: Rome is romantic

The Italian city is a great place for a weekend mini-break

'Rome is gorgeous,' says Jamie Oliver. 'Jools and I get away every year on our own and have some "us" time.'

Jamie travelled all over Italy learning about local dishes and that's one huge bonus in Italy - the food.

Rome - the noisiest, friendliest city in the world

Rome really is the Eternal City – eternally magic, eternally majestic, eternally maddening. It's instant culture and stylish shopping, seven hills, 280 churches, 5,000 cafés, bars and restaurants, splendid piazzas and devious alleys.

It's the noisiest, friendliest city in the world, where you can still hear the clip-clopping of horses and the chime of a single bell above the screeching of the traffic.

And given the weight of its history – Ancient Rome was founded around 2,750 years ago with mighty monuments added to it almost every century – it's astonishing how lightly the city wears its burden.

On every skyline of domes, towers and spires, you see rooftop balconies crammed with flowers where the citizens party al fresco. Children play in its myriad leafy parks.

Taxi drivers tackle the streets like their charioteer ancestors, practically impaling nuns on their bonnets and shaving the legs of passing tourists. Sleek young men rev up their Vespas just for the fun of adding to the din.

Ancient and modern are never far apart. The progress of the new underground line is constantly halted by the discovery of buried treasures and there are almost as many modern gladiators inviting photo opportunities at the Coliseum as there are visitors.

It's one of the pleasures of the city that its great sights live up to their reputations.

The shining marble Piazza Navona, with its artists and strolling musicians and dominated by Bernini's incomparable Fountain of the Rivers, really does cap any medieval opera set.

Crested by the twin towers of the Trinita dei Monti, the Spanish Steps, favoured for years by English romantic poets, lovers and exhausted shoppers, is the world's most dramatic staircase.

The good news for enthusiastic sightseers is that, although Rome may not have been built in one, you can see an awful lot of it in a day.

The founding fathers built almost everything within walking distance and later generations obligingly tucked churches, palazzos and piazzas with shady cafés and welcoming trattorias in between.

Among the must-sees left of Ancient Rome are the Forum – centre of commercial and judicial life – and the neighbouring Coliseum, that exquisite slaughterhouse of Christians, gladiators and animals. But be on your starting blocks early – since Russell Crowe's blockbuster movie Gladiator, the queues to relive the gory scenes have trebled.

But save the loveliest surprise – and some coins – until last. Just when you're convinced you're lost among the warren of tiny medieval streets, you're suddenly confronted by the wonder that is the Trevi Fountain, the world's most famous.

When in Rome

At weekends, nocturnal crowds head for the Trastevere, the old bohemian quarter of tiny narrow streets crammed with bars, restaurants and discos.

There are few more romantic spots for a Saturday night out than in Trastevere's Piazza Santa Maria, when the church, one of the oldest in Rome, with its 12th-century gold mosaic facade, is floodlit.

And a free cabaret of musicians, fire-eaters and dancers entertain al fresco diners at the restaurants lining the square.

Shopping tips

Absolutely fabulous! Start with window shopping at the top end in the grid of streets around the Spanish Steps – Gucci, Ferragamo, Bulgari and Cartier are in the exclusive Via Condotti, while Versace and Fendi can be found in the neighbouring Via Borgognona.

You'll find more clothes, bags, jewellery and shoe heaven in Frattina and Via elsiana. The Via del Corso, which bisects the city, is known for its mid-price clothes, accessories and shoes, while plenty of bargains can be picked up in Via Nazionale and Via del Tritone.

Out and about

England's favourite poet John Keats lived and died in Rome. His home at the foot of the Spanish Steps has been turned into a museum and his works are scattered around the 18th century house. His friend Shelley came to Italy in1818, but was drowned near Livorno four years later.

Vatican City is the world's smallest independent sovereign state, with just 200 inhabitants presided over by the Pope. It has its own civil service, stamps, banks, radio station and newspaper. The general public is admitted only to certain areas, such as the Vatican Museum and St Peter's.

Rome's street markets and fairs show the earthiness and joie de vivre of the Romans at their best, but keep your wits about you – the city also has some of Italy's most skilled pickpockets.

There's lots of open-air entertainment – concerts, jazz festivals and dance – in the summer in palazzos and piazzas. The Baths of Caracalla is a favourite venue.

Eating & drinking

Like most Italian cooking, Roman meals are largely based on traditional family recipes using pasta and lots of fresh vegetables, particularly carciofi, artichokes, tomatoes, meaty porcini mushrooms and herbs. Seafood, lamb, veal, pork and, in autumn, game are popular main courses.

Menus start with antipasto or hors d'oeuvres. The first course (il primo) is usually soup or pasta – spaghetti a la carbonara and gnocchi (tiny, light dumplings in a delicious sauce) are favourites, as is risotto.

The most famous il secondo is saltimbocca alla Romana – veal escalopes cooked in wine with herbs. Vegetables and salads are eaten separately.

For dolci (desert), gelato (ice cream) is delicious, with formaggio (cheese) to follow.

On a budget?

Choose a pizzeria, where they haul great trays out of the glowing ovens, slice them and sell them by the slice. Or try a porchetta: slices of roast pork with herbs in a sandwich. Even McDonalds has a bar in this stylish city and, if you've never tried malt-whisky ice cream, head for the Gelateria San Crispino.

La DolceVita?

It's time for a break – a frothy cappuccino or a thimbleful of bitter liquid they call espresso – but not in the Via Veneto. Just as you don't find Brigitte Bardot in St Tropez or film stars in Hollywood, so the Dolce Vita has long fled this once famous thoroughfare.

Today all you find are forlorn tourists pretending it's still all happening. Instead, nip into the Capucin Church just off it, where the catacombs are stacked with thousands of bones arranged in weird patterns. Even the lampshades are made with small bones.