Arrivederci Roma: Eight Days in Rome, Day 8

[Author’s Note: This post is the last of eight on this site that recount a visit of Eight Days in Rome that transpired in September 2025. On that trip, my wife Carol, an art historian (PhD, Yale), contributed insights on art and other matters. Our son Matt, a prize-winning videographer contributed photos and insights. The overall narrative and construction are mine.]

​Trattoria Da Cesare al Casaletto, Via del Casaletto, 45/47/49

Da Cesare is where it is, which is on the western edge of Trastevere in the residential neighborhood of the Monteverde Nuovo district. It’s a schlep from the Pantheon where we were staying. We walked 15 minutes to the Arenula tram stop near Largo Argentina and spent 30 minutes on the #8 tram lumbering across Trastevere to the end of the line. Riding a tram is the last thing one thinks about in visiting Rome, but it’s an important part of a multi-pronged transportation strategy.

As we alighted from the tram, what looked like flocks of wild green parrots swarmed up the main street in the twilight. It turns out they are actually parakeets (Pappagalli Verdi)  of two different species that have established themselves in Rome: the Asian rose-ringed parakeet and the South American monk parakeet. Their origin is unclear but they likely escaped their pet owners and have been spotted elsewhere in Europe. They don’t mix and keep separate breeding colonies in green areas. They know a good place when they see it.
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Da Cesare is about a hundred feet from the tram stop and is easy to find if you take the right path. It is surprisingly modern in décor and furniture given its traditionalist take on food. It is a substantial operation with a very large terrace as well as inside seating. We sat on the terrace.

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​Italian food follower Katie Parla (Katieparla.com) called Da Cesare “the perfect Roman trattoria.” I like Katie and her recommendations. I have been inspired in writing this blog by her posts and those of other Rome-centric commentators like Elizabeth Minchilli (Eating My Way Through Italy), Agnes Crawford (Understanding Rome), Natalie Kennedy (An American in Rome) and Gillian Longworth McGuire (Gillian Knows Best).

Da Cesare has been run by Leonardo Vignoli and his wife Maria Pia Cicconi since they acquired it in 2009. It was formerly owned by someone named Cesare, hence the name. Why start everything anew?

We settled in with a bottle of San Pellegrino and a large carafe of house red wine from the Cesanese grape. We had never heard of the Cesanese grape but there are 3 regional variations, grown mainly in the Lazio region. The wine is having a day after once being favored by popes and epicures of ancient Rome. In fact, as Ned Goodwin wrote in December 2024’s issue of Decanter: “It was in 2019, while eating at the great trattoria Cesare al Casaletto, that murmurs of Cesanese’s renaissance became palpable… It is said to have been a particular favourite of 13th century Innocent III and Boniface VIII.” And there it was on our tabletop. It had well-balanced tannins and acidity and made a good pairing with the pasta dishes to follow.
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We began with starters of melanzana fritti and calamari fritti. The melanzana fritti carried a distinct mint flavor that complimented the melanzana and its breadcrumb and pistachio coating and tomato sauce. The calamari were delicate and lightly battered, served simply in a paper cone with a squeeze of lemon. They wafted me home to Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, CA.

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​Our main dishes of the evening were rigatoni alla Matriciana (that’s how it was spelled), gnocchi alla coda vaccinara and tonnarelli a la gricia.

These were delicious with noted qualifications that the guanciale pieces with the tonnarelli were judged too large (!), the gnocchi were assessed under-salted while the coda vaccinara sauce seemed a little thin, and my serving of rigatoni was enormous (no complaint there). We felt the staff “hovered” too eagerly, snatching plates as they were emptied. Such is the server’s thin line between efficiency and inattention. Overall, however, it was a very successful evening and an excellent meal for 3 at only 81 euros. Somehow, the return trip on the tram seemed to pass with little notice.

And so, after 8 full days, we arrive at:

​Arrivederci Roma...!! A la prossima volta…!

(Did I remember to throw those coins in the Fontana di Trevi…?)