Our Neighborhood

When we all finally came to the same conclusion that we’d be moving to Rome, we immediately began talking about WHERE in Rome we’d like to live.

We had visited Rome three times prior and with each visit, stayed in different neighborhoods. First, the Trevi - in a hotel with a Concierge from our hometown. She provided us with the perfect stepping stones for our first visit.

Second, we chose the Parione, which is in the vicinity of the Campo de’ Fiori. The Campo offers a centuries old, year-round, outdoor market from 7:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. When the market closes, the real fun begins. The café’s set up tables and chairs and they fill with people into the wee hours of the night.

The Campo Marzo was the third neighborhood we branched out into. This neighborhood is well known for shopping and “modern” restaurants. We enjoy the traditional Roma meals, but it’s nice to step outside that formula every now and then. Gusto, Pizza Re, Ad Hoc and Artisinal del Pesce lead the way.

We realized we’d be happy in just about any historic, central neighborhood, so HOW became our next question.

My husband began searching online and found a property management company called @ Home. Their website was in English, which was helpful. He made an appointment for us to visit them in June, when we arrived to house hunt.

Sabrina and Katia, the principle owners and operators of @ Home, were just who we needed. Sabrina was a New Yorker, with an Italian heritage and has lived in Rome for the last decade. Katia is a Romana, who is also an alumnus of the school we planned to send our children to. She spoke such fluent English, we thought she was an ex-pat as well!

The very first apartment they took us to, in the Campo Marzo neighborhood, was love at first sight. Three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, updated kitchen, huge living room (with a grand piano), nice dining room, large windows throughout, tons of storage, gorgeous stone floors and carpeted bedrooms. Who could ask for anything more? As for the location – on Via del Babuino – known as the Madison Avenue of Rome – oh la la! Sandwiched between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, absolute heaven.

Every major designer has a shop in our neighborhood. Chanel, Valentino, Prada, Gucci – you name them – they are here. There are also smaller boutique shops that carry independent designers and designers who don’t have a store in Rome, such as Chloe, Ralph Lauren, etc. On Via del Corso, there are a few of the stores you’d find in American malls – Nike, Adidas, Foot Locker, Sephora and Guess. Mixed in are typical European chain stores like Benetton, Energie, Zara, and H & M. Finally, little Italian stores that carry shoes and clothing without a designer name or price tag.

Because of all of these shops, there are a lot of people in our neighborhood all of the time. When combined with the typical historical sites, restaurants, and various services - it is very busy every day of the week from morning to late at night. There are times we walk in the street because there are so many people on the small-to-begin-with sidewalks.

We’ve found Di per Di, Il Supermercado, a very good supermarket hidden away on Via Vittoria, where we do the majority of our day-to-day shopping. We have found they carry a pretty good organic selection – when you can get it. The organic items sell out quicker than the conventional. They have a wonderful “deli” counter with fresh bread, cheeses (bufala di mozzarella!), numerous salamis and prosciutto from a dozen different locations – very cool! We’ve just begun searching for organic stores, as I’d really like to find organic meat.

There are many gelato shops in our neighborhood, heck, in every neighborhood, in every town in Italy! Gelati e Papere is our most favorite gelato shop. Thankfully, it’s only a few blocks away on Via della Fontanella. They sell artisanal gelato with an emphasis on Sicilian specialties. Their gelato is extra creamy and the flavors announce themselves loudly with each lick. None compare.

We also live close to Buccone, a wonderful wine and liquor store on Via di Ripetta. We’ve been told, if Buccone doesn’t sell it, it doesn’t exist – in Rome! My sister works with this guy, Bernie. Bernie swears he has had a chocolate grappa, from a bottle shaped like a fish. Bernie was hoping, since we were taking a trip to Italy, that we could bring a bottle back to him. Sure! No problemo! We’ve become the butt of many a joke in Rome, as we work our way through the enoteca’s looking for Bernie’s grappa. Buccone didn’t laugh at us (at least not in our faces), and we discussed this grappa with their sales staff at length. They hadn’t heard of it, but they did offer us a chocolate liquor with a hint of spicy red pepper from Calabria. We took it home to Bernie. He rewarded us with a box of artisanal chocolate truffles. And we have promised my sister, our search will continue, in other regions.

We have also found Noi Salon, in the Piazza del Popolo, where the owners are from Southern California. Since we’ve been spoiled by our stylist and colorist back home, it’s going to be important for us to explain our hair particulars to someone and I know my Italian won’t improve well enough by the time I need a cut and color. They were very helpful in telling us where to purchase a flat iron for our daughter’s hair. Not only did the parrucchiere offer flat irons, they had large sizes of the Kerastate hair products and many other beauty supply items for cheap!

There is an amazing bookstore on Via del Corso, Feltrinelli. They offer an amazing international magazine selection. We all love to go in there to browse. We can buy just about any magazine offered in the U.S., however, they are twice the price. Plus, they carry the weeklies – Newsweek, The New Yorker, and the daily International Herald, which is a joint effort by The New York Times and the Washington Post. Typically, we read The New York Times online.

We also live close to the two English bookstores, The Lion Bookshop on Via dei Greci, and the Anglo-American Book Co. on Via delle Vite. My son has been voraciously reading those Warrior cat series books, so we went to the Anglo shop and ordered the balance of the series for him.

The Metropolitan movie theatre is on the Via del Corso and they often carry English spoken movies. We haven’t been yet, as there isn’t a title we are currently interested in.

Just because we moved to a foreign-speaking country, doesn’t mean we want complete immersion. I need to read, speak and hear English. However, my favorite foreign language is Italian and my Italian language school is just a few blocks away as well.