Trastevere
The name literally means “across the Tiber” – and in many ways Trastevere is a world away from Rome’s Centro Storico. With picturesque cobblestone streets lined with kerbside bars and restaurants,every picture you take here looks like a postcard of la dolce vita.
Piazza di Santa Maria is the centre of the neighbourhood,with its gloriously baroque church and a fountain that acts as the local meeting place. Nearby Bar San Calisto is a sleepy coffee hang-out in the morning,pumping bar by night. And on Sundays,the place to be is Porta Portese,where clothes,shoes,jewellery,knick-knacks and more are on sale at a huge outdoor market.
Ostiense
Street art rules in Ostiense,with building-sized murals everywhere,from the “wall of fame” featuring Barack Obama,Stevie Wonder,Spike Lee and more,to a striking eco-mural of a heron,created using pollution-eating paint. They blend their industrial past and arty present well here – at the museum,over 400 ancient sculptures are displayed against the machinery of the old power plant. And when it’s time to re-fuel there’s no shortage of options,from cute cat cafe,where you’ll share your breakfast or lunch with half-a-dozen furry friends,to the five-floor Italian food mecca that is.
Monti
It’s hard to believe this neighbourhood abutting the Forum and the Colosseum,with its apricot and ochre-hued buildings draped in ivy and jasmine,used to be the down at heel red-light district. It’s now decidedly well-heeled,a vibrant area filled with vintage stores (,Pulp),popular eateries (,) and buzzy bars (,Al Vino Al Vino).
The square where it’s hip to hang out is Piazza della Madonna dei Monti – during the day it’s a fine spot for dolce far niente (pleasant idleness),and as the sun sinks,and the evening passeggiata (a leisurely stroll with no particular place to go) begins,Monti comes alive as a night-time destination.
Garbatella
In the 1993 filmCaro Diario,as writer/director Nanni Moretti rides around Rome on his Vespa,he says “My favourite neighbourhood above all is Garbatella.” It’s easy to see why. It’s a quiet,residential pocket that was only established in 1920,and is filled with “lotti” – clusters of apartments built around lovely internal courtyards where you can wander and lose yourself in the village-like atmosphere.
In Piazza Bartolomeo Romano is Bar Foschi,a bar and cafe straight out of an old Italian film,with to-die-for biscotti (biscuits) and torte (cakes). Nearby is a huge mural by Italian duo Solo&Diamond,of the woman who gave the neighbourhood its name,tavern owner Clementina “Garbatella” Eusibi.
Testaccio
Testaccio is sometimes referred to as the heart of Rome – it’s also the meat and vegetables because this neighbourhood is a go-to spot for food. Locals and tourists flock to,a buzzing hub for fresh produce and prepared meals – hugely popular stall Mordi E Vai creates hearty Italian sandwiches filled with everything from meatballs to tripe.
Renowned restaurants such as and are here,but so is,the home of the modern Roman snack that is a crunchy triangular pizza pocket with mouth-watering fillings. The area is also home to a 36-metre Egyptian pyramid,the tomb of Roman magistrate Gaius Cestius.
Pigneto
They call Pigneto the Brooklyn of Rome. A hot-bed of left-wing activism in the ’60s,these days the hipsters have moved in. Vestiges of the past remain – you can see a mural of maverick writer and film-maker Pier Paolo Pasolini on Via Fanfulla da Lodi and drink nearby at his favourite watering hole,.
On a stretch of Via del Pigneto christened the “isola pedonale”,a pedestrian-only area is packed with cafes,bars and restaurants,including feminist bookshop cafe and local favourite bar Cargo. Whether you’re sipping craft beers at Birra+ or flicking through the crates of vinyl at,Pigneto is Italian for coolsville.