Rome in summer: cool plans to survive it (and live it well)
BEACH
They say that, sometimes, it is advisable to move away and take perspective and then be closer. I will keep lontano; see neighbor Something like this happens in Rome, because this time of year is convenient to escape to the tyrrhenian sea , where the beaches of Ostia or Fregene they stick their heads out.
The first, repudiated by the Italians in public gatherings (because it was dirty and poorly maintained) and admired in private with a certain blush for his strange attractiveness , is controlled by the well-known men of honor. As Joe E. Brown would say to Jack Lemmon in the last sequence of Whit skirts and being crazy : "Nobody is perfect".
Rome, summer love-hate
The other, closer to Civitavecchia , preserves an eternal charm for being the place where the end of The Dolce Life . It is difficult to park, but there they are the best appetizers (Italian tapas) in the whole city.
They start at six in the evening, but don't set the alarm if you're taking a nap, because an individual is already in charge of proclaiming it with a megaphone while he walks the sand in his mini tractor. Like I'm the grinder or the milkman . A man from another era who encourages people to have a spritz with fried vegetables in a chill out environment. The contrast is as magical as it is distressing. For abstainers, the options natural aloe vera juice, grattachecca (popular dessert with manually scratched ice with pieces of fruit) or the chinotto (soft drink made with bitter orange) are second to none.
The final scene on the beach at Fregene
MOUNTAIN
A few kilometers from the mammoth city, are the Colli Albani, also known as Castelli Romani, one of the most sinuous places where the emperors spent the summer, always in search of water and vegetation . Nemi, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Rocca di Papa, or Castel Gandolfo (where the Pope's summer residence is located) are some of the most important. The peculiarity is that there are no castles in them, but their medieval architecture on top of the mountains means that, from a distance and looking with perspective (this way of looking will help them in life) they look like defensive fortifications that protect the Italian capital.
Cool off... near the Pope's residence
Lakes, prodigious terraces with cafes, villas and archaeological remains they draw the outline of an ideal area to escape from the hustle and bustle. You cannot miss its great gastronomic offer, especially in Ariccia, frasquette truffle (old taverns with endless wooden tables where workers drank wine and ate meat). Among all of them, and far from the historic center, stands The Selvotta , hidden, as if reneging on the new times, fearful of tourism and adaptation to harsh circumstances. There they continue to serve as a star dish the bucatini alla amatriciana with plenty of pecorino cheese (much saltier than Parmesan).
It is accompanied by hot bread made in the town of Genzano. It is ideal for meat and, although Italians do not mix pasta with bread, in this case it is an exception since the abundant sauce that remains on the plate once the seasoning is finished is perfect for making the scarpetta (small boats in the Cañí vocabulary) . Not doing it offends the owner of the premises, located in the middle of nature, outdoors, framed by the sound of crickets and a fresh and enveloping atmosphere that takes you away from the heat. It also offends not to accompany it with Romanella white wine (cold, cold, with a taste halfway between grape and apple), and of course the porchetta and the finely and delicately sliced wild ham. And since the order of the factors does not alter the product, underline that here the starters are eaten after the first course for fear that it will not be valued as it deserves. A bit like the cocido maragato style in Astorga. If there's any left over, let it go over the soup.
Bucatini alla amatriciana...HUNGRY
CITY
It is perfect at night, because the monuments -and the dead- come to life. It is full of villas – Pamphili, Ada, Torlonia - and from cinemas all open, like the one in Piazza Vittorio; full of homeless people and immigrants without whom Rome would not be the same; or the Cinema America Occupato , which sometimes chooses to show free classic films in the muraglioni of the river, near Castel Sant'Angelo. The most sophisticated, and perhaps appealing to the masses, is that of the tiber island , the smallest in the world, from which it can be accessed by the old Fabricio Bridge and Cestius Bridge.
Taking seats to dedicate them to the cinema
For opera lovers, the Baths of Caracalla they sweeten their racks with functions from another era: Turandot, M. Batterfly… This summer, under the Roman full moon, they are also Elton John and Bob Dylan, a rock legend that continues to recount the torments and concerns of so many generations from the sixties. From immortal songs to the recent 'Shadows in the Night', under the watchful eye of some other specter, perhaps Alberto Sordy, who lived there with his mother. "I didn't get married because I didn't want to bring a stranger into the house," he used to say.
In the middle of the Tiber a little al fresco cinema
I do not want to say goodbye without influencing the Tiber, the artery of the city, the largest in Italy after the Po and the Adige. A river of more than 400 kilometers that runs through several regions . His course started from Tuscany, but Mussolini (born in Emilia Romagna) took it to his house, to the Mount Fumaiolo, for him to be born there. That said, no one is perfect.
Trastevere terraces
Following its course, on one side of its banks, next to the area of Trastevere and Porta Portese, appears in this summer period a amalgam of restaurants, pizzerias, burger joints, craft shops, trendy venues and itinerant table football. An image, only possible at night, of light, smell, taste and color by the water, which calls us, misses us, asks us not to forget the city, but does not let us look at it in daylight because he knows we would suffer. The drops that splash our face form an umbilical cord that does not want to finish breaking, despite being condemned to do so. His wrinkle is no longer beautiful.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- The best ice cream parlors in Rome
- Trastevereando in Rome
- To Rome in summer: with two scoops - From coffee to ice cream: we kick around Rome with bites - Rome with children: much more than ice cream and pizza - The best ice cream in the world
- The best street food Rome (for Romans)
- I, Rome
- Graffiti cities (beyond Banksy)
- Roma Nuova: the modern eternal city
- 100 things about Rome you should know - The best places to eat in Rome
- Places in Trastevere where you won't find a single tourist
- Rome Guide
Never forget the Tiber