From The TV Show: Roman Mosaics

In the Rome episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns how to make her own traditional Roman mosaic. Nadia Ridolfini teaches visitors how to make traditional Roman mosaics at her studio Aegea Mosaici on Via Corsini, 8. You can take a two-hour class (35€ per person) and create your own small mosaic to take …

From The TV Show: Cacio e Pepe in Rome

In the Rome episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns how to make the iconic pasta dish famous to Rome. There’s a tiny restaurant in Trastevere that is one of the best places in Rome to eat Cacio e Pepe, one of the most famous dishes in the Eternal City. Brothers Francesco and Roberto …

From The TV Show: Testaccio Market in Rome

In the Rome episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy wanders through one of working-class markets of Testaccio. The Mercato Testaccio offers everything from vegetables to cured meats, fresh seafood to Sicilian pastries. The market, at Via Galvani and Via Beniamino Franklin, is a great excuse to visit the working-class neighborhood of Testaccio. (Nearby sights …

From The TV Show: Volpetti in Rome

In the Rome episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy tastes local specialties at a mouth-watering deli. You’ve never seen a deli quite like Volpetti. The alimentari at Via Marmorata, 47 in Testaccio was founded more than 40 years ago. Alessandro Volpetti gave Kathy a mouth-watering tour of the meats, cheeses, truffles, olive oils, wines …

New in Rome: Largest Public Art Project Since the Sistine Chapel

Updated 2018.  On Rome’s 2,769th birthday on April 21st, 2016 the city’s largest public art work since the Sistine Chapel was unveiled to the public. Triumphs and Laments is an 1650 foot frieze along the banks of the Tiber on Piazza Tevere, between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini. South African artist William Kentridge created the silhouette images in the frieze, most of them as …

In Search of the Modern Grand Tour of Italy

This article originally appeared in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Taking “a grand tour” sounds old-fashioned — and it truly is. Although the kind of leisurely, arts-focused weeks or months in Italy that many of us have only seen depicted in films like the 1985 Merchant-Ivory classic A Room with A View might sound romantic …

Cinecittà Rolls Out the Red Carpet in Rome

Italy’s most famous movie studio is just outside Rome and now offers guided tours (in English too) of movie sets, memorabilia and more. Learn why Rome is called “Hollywood on the Tiber!”

Celebrate the Feast of San Lorenzo in Rome

This is an excerpt from Dream of Italy’s NEW Rome travel app for iPhone and iPad: On August 10th, the martyrdom of San Lorenzo is celebrated with fireworks and celebrations throughout the area around his crypt on the Via Tiburtina in Rome, where the saint was killed in 258 AD. The patron saint of librarians, firemen, bakers, and other professions …

Celebrating Easter in Rome

Holy Week (Settimana Santa) in anticipation of Easter (Pasqua) this Sunday is underway in Rome. It will be a rather intense week leading up to Easter and events will be filled with many tourists and devout locals. If you are not put-off by a little overcrowding, Rome will definitely be a rewarding experience. On Holy Thursday (Giovedi Santo) the Pope …