Ciao! Rome, Italy Day 5
Day 5 was our last day to explore Rome. We started looking for breakfast in the early morning as usual. The weather was lovely!
We passed through Piazza Venezia several times during the trip, but this was actually the first time to walk right in front of Altare della Patria and see the monument so close.
We walked into the Ghetto and found our way onto a familiar square...
A few minute walk from the turtle fountain brought us to a bakery I was interested in. Established in 1815, Pasticceria Boccione is the oldest surviving kosher bakery in the Roman Jewish community. Their famous item is ricotta and sour cherry tart, or Crostata ricotta e visciole! Since I enjoyed one at Giggetto very much on the previous day, I researched about the great pastry last night and added this bakery on my must-go list in a last minute. Here we are.
The showcase next to the bakery's door was filled with freshly baked treats, including ricotta and sour cherry tarts. The tiny and no-frills bakery smelled wonderful. They sell the famous tart in slices (or probably a whole), which was perfect for me. The lady there just made a slice out of the whole tart in front of me and wrapped it in a paper. It was still warm!!! We also bought two kinds of baked goods one of each. They were like biscotti. One was soft and the other was very crunchy. I still don't know what they were.
We went to Parco De La Piazza Benedetto Cairoli again and sat down at the same bench. It was time for me to taste the warm slice of Crostata ricotta e visciole! It was delightful. I preferred this to one at Giggetto but it may be not fair to compare them because this was so fresh, just out of the oven.
I was so happy with the great discovery and thinking about baking my version of the tart. Meanwhile, the bakery didn't have anything savory at that time. J didn't get anything for himself. Poor J! However, the problem was solved soon. Our next stop was Roscioli. The family business started in 1824 as a bakery. They still bake breads but also runs multi-eateries including a delicatessen, a restaurant, and a wine club. One of my mission of the trip was to get a panettone. The traditional Italian holiday bread's origin is in Milano. I didn't want to get a panettone made in Milano available at any grocery store, which could be probably found also in Germany. My ideal panettone was a fresh authentic panettone from a good bakery in Rome. I saw a short video about how Roscioli makes their panettone, posted on their website. It looked promising.
Woohoo! Big and small panettone! Also so many other kinds of baked goods that looked delicious!
While I was choosing the best-looking small panettone, J was getting a slice of pizza. Win-win!
We walked around the city and stepped into Campo de' Fiori, again. There was a cheesemonger in the market square. We bought Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Pepato.
Also there was a butcher. Norcineria Viola is also a family own business established in 1890 and their speciality is the excellence of traditional products from Norcia in southeastern Umbria, a town that is famous with great pork products, as their name suggests. We thought we would like to make our own Carbonara when we go back home. We already bought cheese. We bought Guanciale, a block of dry cured pork cheek according to the butcher's suggestion.
I believe the butcher knows pork very well!
Then we took a taxi to Eataly, a giant Italian food shopping mall chain, whose goal is to "demonstrate that high-quality Italian food and drink are at hand." The spacious store was neatly full of goodies! We bought chocolate wafers, amaretti cookies, biscotti, Babà al Limoncello, mushroom paste, caper paste, anchovy, pesto sauce, coffee, grissini, and, of course, a couple of different kinds of pasta. Sounds enough?
Where should we go for our last lunch in Rome? We revisited Pizzeria Da Baffetto! Out of many choices, I really wanted to taste a Roman style pizza again. I knew J wouldn't say No to pizza. Baffetto means moustache in Italian, by the way. Idolo Volpetti, the historic owner of the pizzeria was also known as Beffetto due to his moustache, of course.
We were seated inside again. Our table was right next to their pizza work table. We enjoyed watching the development of our pizzas step by step!
J ordered Pizza con Prosciutto again. He must have liked the combination of the toppings It looked nice!
I had Pizza Capricciosa, which my friend got last time. She gave me a slice as a sample and I liked it. This time I enjoyed the whole pizza by myself.
We strolled the Piazza Navona and admired the gorgeous fountains one more time.
Where to go next? J quickly checked any interesting landmarks that we haven't seen yet nearby. The Elephant Obelisk was one of them. Let's find it!
The Elephant Obelisk was a statue of elephant carrying an obelisk on the back, which was found at Piazza della Minerva, in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, near the Pantheon. The curved elephant was designed by the great Baroque artist, Bernini and most likely made by his assistant. Bernini chose an elephant because it's a symbol of wisdom and big enough to bear the heavy stone monument. The obelisk atop of the elephant is called Minerveo Obelisk. It originally built in the town of Sais, commissioned by the Pharaoh Apries in the 6th BC and was brought to Rome by the Emperor Diocletian to decorate the twin temples dedicated to the Egyptian deities of Isis and Serapis. It was a very unique status in Rome. Glad we didn't miss it! We saw seven obelisks out of 13 by then.
Then J led us to another interesting place to see. Galleria Sciarra was a covered courtyard surrounded by the Roman Art Nouveau style frescos, iron and glass vault, and cast-iron columns. It was located near the very popular Trevi Fountain with endless visitors but the courtyard was surprisingly quiet and only a few other people stopped by briefly when we were there. Would a late 19th century architecture too young to be interested in Rome?
I realized in the afternoon of our last day that I haven't had tiramisu yet. While it's not a traditional Roman dessert, it's definitely one of Italy's most popular desserts. Rome, the capital of Italy must serve a very good tiramisu, I guessed. We ran to Pompi in order to verify my hypothesis.
When I searched "the best tiramisu in Rome," the verdict among online citizens was Pompi. It's a Rome-based dessert shop selling cakes, chocolate and pastries. Tiramisu is their flagship item and people seem to really love their tiramisu. Pompi offers classic tiramisu (coffee and cocoa flavors) and other flavors such as strawberry, pistachio, Banana and chocolate, hazelnut, and caramel. Also, gluten-free and lactose-free versions. I would like to start with a classic but I am a strawberry lover. A touch choice!
After all I chose a classic. J did banana and chocolate. We also bought cappuccino to go. We walked up a slope to a park called Montecavallo Gardens to have a seat for the dessert time. However, the park was somehow closed! We needed Plan B. We casually sat down on the steps of the entrance of the park and enjoyed tiramisu. The tiramisu was pretty good. I have already decided I would try strawberry next time.
Piazza del Quirinale, or the Quirinal Palace, one of the official residencies of the President of the Italian Republic was only a stone's throw from our dessert time spot. There was an obelisk at a square in front of the palace. The Quirinal obelisk was created in ancient Egypt around 100 BC and brought to Rome. It was one of the twin obelisks that were originally placed at the entrance of the Mausoleum of Augustus. The Emperor Augustus built the tomb for himself in 28 BC by being inspired by the mausoleum of Alexander the Great in Alexandria, Egypt. This was our eighth obelisk. The other twin is called Esquilino Obelisk and stands at Piazza del’ Esquilino, a square behind Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. We walked through the square at least three times, but I didn't pay attention to the monument! Oh well, I will save the task to find the rest of obelisks (five, including Esquilino Obelisk) for the next time.
We found a small park called Villa Carlo Alberto al Quirinale beside the palace and had a rest for a while. We did all shopping and finished lunch and dessert. We enjoyed our last moment in Rome.
Eventually we walked back to our Airbnb. From the top of the apartment, I could see Altare della Patria over there. It's really enormous!
The Roman holiday was fantastic! We did a lot! discovering ancient Roman ruins, looking up magnificent church ceilings, counting obelisks, waking up with a wonderful sweet pastry and cappuccino, being full with delicious Roman cuisine... Weather was surprisingly warm and beautiful, perfect for gelato! The true highlight of the trip for me was meeting my old friend. So glad to see her smile again in person. Arrivederci!
