The two things making me miss Naples the most are the people and the pizza. Nowhere have I ever seen such expertly cooked pizze at such low prices (1,50€ on the street for a fairly large serving to 5€ at the renowned Di Matteo). The people exude a devil-may-care attitude clearly evident when it comes to crossing the street; It’s fun but chaotic, and I can now say I’ve stepped directly in front of a moving bus. When night comes, musicians and revelers fill the piazze of Centro Storico, taking in the low temperature and live music with cheap bottles of beer.

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I had heard that the view from high atop Campidoglio, one of the seven hills in Rome where the Musei Capitolini sits, is quite beautiful, and I’m happy to discover that this bit of info does not disappoint. The museum itself is quite grand, housing an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures.

Remember Bernini’s Medusa that made its way to San Francisco at the beginning of this year? It’s back home now at the Musei, though just resting against the side wall amid the special exhibition, Lux in arcana, rather than occupying center stage as it did in SF. The aforementioned exhibition was by far my favorite attraction here. It’s a presentation of historic documents from the Vatican Secret Archives, from writings officially condemning Martin Luther to letters written from both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to the Pope during the Civil War.

Back to the views. Here is a video taken from the museums’ cafe (I did not add the opera; there was a woman rehearsing in the event space behind me), and photos of the sunset over Rome taken from a lesser-known garden at the side of the Palazzo dei Conservatori.

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Castel Sant’Angelo may be the most worthwhile attraction in Rome that requires admission. Unlike more famous sites like the Colosseo or the Musei Vaticani, Emperor Hadrian’s fortress-turned-museum is relatively uncrowded, features an art exhibition and provides brilliant views of the city. Located in front of the castle is Rome’s most beautiful bridge, the Ponte Sant’Angelo, Bernini’s bridge with ten angels spanning its length across the Tevere.

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“Paris is more beautiful in the rain,” says Owen Wilson in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” still my favorite film. I thought of this line when I checked the weather, seeing that Rome would be under gray skies for the next two days. I hoped the line about Paris would translate to Rome as well. Of course, it did.

Here are some photos of a rainy day in Rome, from Prati to the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps), complemented with a panoramic video of the Fontana di Trevi. read more »

A few days ago, some new friends and I ventured out to EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma), a neighborhood outside of central Rome built by Mussolini for what would’ve been the site for the World’s Fair of 1942 if he hadn’t gone all cray-cray into World War II. We were there for the Italia Beer Festival, a celebration of craft brewers in Italy.

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