Benvenuti a Roma! Eight Days in Rome, Day 1

[Author’s Note: This post is the first of eight on this site that will 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.]

We arrived at Fiumicino airport on ITA airlines at noon, following an uneventful and fully on-time flight from SFO. We caught a ride into Roma Centro after a long wait in line for a taxi. The prezzo fisso charge for the 45-minute ride was 55 euros.

Settling In

​Our hostess Claudia gave us a short introduction to our apartment, which is just down the street from the Pantheon. We set off to acquire a SIM card for the phone, a Carta Integrata Settimanale (CIS=7-day pass for unlimited travel on public transport), and some initial shopping at a local food store. [Tip: in procuring a SIM, avoid the (low service, high price) Vodafone shop near Largo Argentina and for better deals try either TIM or Wind3 near Piazza Colonna. Any tabacchi shop will do for buying a CIS, but pack enough cash for 29 euros per card].

Gunther Gelateria

The most appealing way to launch our explorations was with our first gelato at the nearby Gunther Gelateria on Piazza Sant’Eustachio. Gunther has only two other locations in Rome. As explained on this website in an earlier post on gelato, gelato is not ice cream. It is made with milk, not cream. It has less butterfat and sugar than ice cream. It is denser with less air and is served warmer.

​Gunther Rohregger, a former ski instructor, came to Rome from the mountainous alto adige region in the north where he developed carefully curated sources for his water (Acqua Plose from the Dolomite mountains), organic milk, and ingenious flavors. 

Mugo Pine: Top Right

On this first visit, we enjoyed a standout sample of Gunther's signature flavor: a pure white variety made from essential oils extracted from mountain Mugo pine needles, which also happen to have the virtue of restorative qualities. We didn't try it, but Gunther offers a vertical gelato tasting.
[Tip: it is best to order gelato, especially at mid-day, where shaded seating is available, to avoid PMM, or premature melting messiness. Gelato is served warmer than ice cream so it melts quickly].

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Chiesa San Luigi dei Francese

​This church was designed by Giacomo della Porta and sits close to the Piazza Navona. Della Porta was a sculptor and architect who accomplished a prodigious oeuvre throughout Rome in his role as Architetto del Popolo Romano (Architect of the Roman People) during the last half of the 16th century. The church contains a trio of Caravaggio paintings, in his distinctive chiaroscuro style, that portray the calling (1599), martyrdom (1599) and inspiration (1602) of Saint Matthew.

​They hang on the three walls of the narrow Contarelli Chapel. This makes the two paintings on the side walls difficult to view, just as with two other Caravaggio paintings in the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. Those two paintings share stylistic features evident below and were Caravaggio’s first significant religious commission. Both are dynamic group portrayals with strong alternation of light and shadow. They firmly established his artistic reputation.

​In “The Calling,” the presumed Matthew figure hunches over the table on the left, hugging or counting his tax collections and perhaps vainly seeking obscurity. A bright light from the right illuminates the scene like a spotlight. Also from the right, Jesus points a recognizable hand gesture at Matthew, selecting and awakening him to his vocation. “The Martyrdom” shows a soldier killing Matthew upon orders from the King of Ethiopia while he was saying mass at the altar.

Caravaggio is known with the name of his birthplace rather than family names. For much of history, he was a figure reputed for his explosive personality and for having murdered a man. His later artistic choices led him to depict decisive historical moments with figures of common mien in highly dramatic settings with stark contrasts of light and dark.

Fontana di Trevi

Following a short rest in the afternoon, we embarked on an excursion in search of an evening nosh that took us in the cool evening air from our apartment towards the Fontana di Trevi. It is not a long walk, but nevertheless we struggled to stabilize our sea legs and concentration after the enervating 17-hour trip from California.

Fontana di Trevi

​At the Fountain, we found a piazza teaming with people waiting for the fountain’s waters to flow and the lights to shine, as though anticipating a re-enactment of Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni’s iconic moment splashing in the fountain’s glory. In 1960, Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita (“the sweet life”) crystallized images that became emblematic of both Italy and Rome and more generally of postwar western society. Or, perhaps the crowds were attracted by the enduring cultural tradition of tossing coins into the fountain to ensure a return to the city, a practice that currently yields a harvest of 3000+ euros a day.

​In any event, we made our way to a couple of prospective restaurant picks that had surfaced in research, but it was soon apparent there was no hope for a score without a reservation. Tired, but determined not to settle for easily available less attractive establishments with empty tables, we made our way back towards the Pantheon and an area with a warren of small piazzas and walkways that we hoped would be less besieged.

Ristorante La Tavernetta 48, Via degli Spagnoli, 48

​The fine folks at Ristorante La Tavernetta 48 merit a shoutout for accommodating a tired and shuffling trio of visitors without reservation who appeared on their doorstep in a hidden alleyway just north of the Pantheon. By that time, we were nearing the end of our resilience.

La Tavernetta 48 is a small establishment. Despite some initial hesitation, they offered us a coveted table at the edge of the terrace. Our meal was bookended by entirely unexpected but welcome complimentary offerings of bubbly white wine in cute flutes upon arrival, and a taste of limoncello to conclude our meal. Our dining choices included Mezze alla Gricia (Mezze maniche are “half-sleeve” short, wide ribbed tubes) served in large pasta-like shells and Spaghetti aglio olio e pepperoncini con grattugia. A couple of colorful mixed salads combined assorted greens, mozzarella, tomatoes and olives. A liter carafe of house red wine and of acqua frizzante (sparkling water) were nice accompaniments. The tab-for-three came to $110.

​During our meal, we shared animated conversations with two successive couples at an adjacent table, one from South Korea on their “honeymoon” before their marriage and the other on a 10-week “walkabout” from Australia. It was a restorative conclusion to a trying day.

​Postscript: We returned to Tavernetta 48 on our last evening in Rome, so it wrapped our entire stay with both our first and last Roman restaurant experience. It rose to the occasion. The first time, described above, we neglected to take photos but redeemed ourselves on the last night. Two of us ordered Saltimbocca alla romana and one ordered mezze maniche amatriciana, as shown below.

​Saltimbocca is a dish I used to make regularly, and now will again. It has a base of thin veal cutlets, garnished with sage, and topped with prosciutto. It is dredged lightly in flour and sautéed in butter/oil and finished with a sauce of white wine and perhaps some stock. Both dishes were attractively presented and a delicious conclusion to our Roman holiday.

First Impressions

These first impressions of Rome in its current moment during a Papal Jubilee year were those of a giant amusement park with prime attractions of centuries-old revered monuments connected by twisty cobblestone walkways and animated by endless dining establishments. Mobs of milling tourists congregated around each of the featured monuments, appreciating them and each other in a timeless context.