Trastevere Rome | The people who live in Trastevere, the medieval maze of curving alleys and little squares on the west bank of the Tiber, believe that their neighborhood is the only true Rome — and its inhabitants the only true Romans. Gentrification has set in, but the neighborhood still teems and pulses with the Italian lifestyle, particularly on Saturday nights in summer.
Visit it then and walk across the river through the boat-shaped Tiber island called the Isola Tiberina. Get to Trastevere when dusk gilds the medieval mosaics in Piazza Santa Maria and hunt for one of the area’s basement theaters, mini-jazz clubs, and tiny art cinemas, their signs camouflaged by laundry hung out to dry. Then, have supper outdoors at one of the chaotic pizzerias with appropriate sidewalks and parking spaces all summer.
After midnight, stop at the back door of an unassuming bakery a block from Piazza Trilussa to sate yourself on tomorrow’s cornetti and hot, cream-filled bombe. And at dawn on Sunday, show up at the immense flea market at Porta Portese, which closes by lunchtime, to comb through piles of early Renaissance Levis, stucco busts of Mussolini, and priceless and progress silver forks. You might find something you couldn’t live without haggling for.
Cross the bridge and face the fountain known universally to Romans as “Er Fontanone,” the big fountain. Under the little statue of the 19th-century poet Trilussa (to the right of the fountain square) is a bitter political verse by this beloved Roman penman, with his signature below. Rome was famous for its so-called “talking statues,” including the one to Pasquino to which irreverent political and sometimes anti-religious verses would be attached, like wall posters. Trilussa’s famous verse dedicated to Pasquino translates loosely as:
As I wuz readin’ my usual rag, Lyin’ on the grass under straw shade, I saw a pig an’ said hey you swine, I saw a donkey an’ said hey you jackass.
Maybe the beasts here miss the sense, But at least I have the fun
Of being able to call a spade a spade
Without the fear of goin’ to jail.
Veer slightly to the right past the Orient Express restaurant (open only in the evening). This is Trastevere now, and there’s one good trattoria after another, and walk up Via di San Dorotea. On the right is the Porta Settimiana, a gate with a medieval aspect, which was once part of the wall built by Emperor Aurelius. Just before it is the house (No. 20) where Raphael’s beautiful mistress, La Fornarina, supposedly lived — this is one of several in Rome to make a claim.
At this point, the hardy will head upward, along the winding Via Garibaldi leading to the Janiculum Hill, which has excellent views of Rome (there’s also a children’s puppet theater). Or continue along the Tiber to the right, along Via della Lungara. This road, parallel to the Tiber’s Lungotevere della Farnesina, goes past the Palazzo Corsini on the left (No. 10), which has a small museum open most days until 2 PM, with a superb collection of Renaissance and baroque-era paintings. This also was Queen Christina’s home when in Rome.
This and Trastevere, the next stop across the Tiber, are areas of innumerable good, small dining places. Romans have always been excellent cooks, and the ghetto area and Trastevere are the places to try the real thing. The most famous of the early Roman cooks was Apicius, who wrote a cookbook explaining how to make certain sauces, how to cook chopped or stuffed meat (and/or game) in a bread crust (en route) to tenderize it, and how to prepare the wonderful green vegetables from the Roman countryside. (Apicius’s classification of poultry included peacocks, parrots, and flamingos; fortunately, he never wrote down his recipes.) Fish, especially cod and tuna, was popular with everyone; both are still on restaurant menus today.
The fish was brought up the Tiber from Ostia, off-loaded at the docks just a few hundred yards south of here, and brought to the fancy dining rooms of the rich or the local Walk south on Via del Portico d’Ottavia in the direction of the colossal group of ancient ruins and turn right down any street to reach the Lungotevere. This road runs along the Tiber. Cross the river at the ancient Ponte Fabricio, continue across the tiny Tiber Island, and cross a second bridge, Ponte Cestio. You are now in Trastevere. Tour in Rome.
Until 20 years or so ago, Old Trastevere was a place where the horses for the tourist carts were stabled, where pickpockets and police were on a first-name basis, and where artists had their studios. Trastevere is often considered the most Roman part of Rome. In some ways, it is: You may find it hard to keep to a map here because of the intricacy of the little streets, but if you don’t follow this route, invent your own eventually, you’ll find your way out again; meanwhile, you’ll have had a wonderful time being lost here.
From the Ponte Cestio, walk from the river to the charming Piazza in Piscinula. No one knows the reasons for the name — there may have been a fish market here – but in this charming piazza, a medieval complex of house and tower can be seen — the 14th-century Casa dei Mattei, and the venerable St. Benedict, Rome’s tiniest church. Founder of the Order of the Benedictines, which did so much to help preserve scholarly and intellectual life in the darkest times of the Middle Ages, St. Benedict lived in a small cell inside the church while he was in Rome. There are two popular restaurants in the piazza — La Cornucopia and Comparone, plus a café; all three set tables alfresco in good weather.
Pass through the Piazza in Piscinula to Vicolo dell’Atleta. Please make a note of Cul de Sac 2 (No. 21); officially an enoteca (wine shop), it serves good food as well. Nearby (No. 11) is Luna de Carta. This delightful small shop carries on the Trastevere crafts tradition by serving as a showroom for artisans and artists who work in the paper: sculpture, papier-mâché construction, and inexpensive notebooks. It’s open from 10 AM to 6 PM daily except Sunday. Just across the street (No. 14) is a medieval building that stands on top of the foundations of the first synagogue in Imperial Rome.
Retrace your steps to Piazza in Piscinula, and turn left on Via della Lungaretta. Continue to Viale Trastevere, a significant artery for buses, motorbikes, cars, bicycles — anything that moves. Cross the street carefully and continue walking straight ahead: the continuation is now called Via della Lungaretta.
Here, Trastevere is more bustling: Students flock to the less expensive restaurants, pizzerias, little bars, and cafés to play chess and drink coffee. But it’s the street scene that makes it all special.
Then, unexpectedly, the narrow Via della Lungaretta opens wide into Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, and one of Rome’s earliest and loveliest churches comes into view. Church history records it as the first church dedicated to Mary. Its foundations are over 1,700 years old, but it was rebuilt early in the 12th century. The 13th-century mosaics in the apse are by Pietro Cavallini and show the life of the Virgin; others from the same period glow from a panel of the façade; the artist Domenichino painted the wooden ceiling (under restoration at this writing), and the painting of the Assumption from 1610.
The square is dominated by a lively fountain filled with cafés hopping from dawn till midnight. Take a chair and enjoy the scene: the fountain splashing, the voices calling, the busy life of Rome around you. Here, you’re part of the picture.
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