Rome on My Mind
A writer reflects on the neighborhood restaurant he loved and lost in the Eternal City — and shares a few enduring local gems.
ONE COULD DESCRIBE Rome as Oscar Wilde described women: It is made to be “loved, not understood.” The city has a disarming and expressive beauty that spans its seven hills, Renaissance domes, and Baroque bell towers, embroidered by the Tiber River. Different eras collide, as the vestiges of the Roman Empire coexist with daring Neoclassical perspectives, avant-garde art, restaurants serving up dishes with nineteenth-century origins, and eccentric and experimental bars. In Rome, it’s always yesterday and tomorrow, which makes for an eternal today. To the point: The city should be savored in the moment in which you have the luck to encounter it. Here are a few ways to do just that — and perhaps even take some of its enigmatic charm home with you.
Fashion
Degli Effetti
Statement-making garments
Although it debuted as a drapery store in 1979, Degli Effetti has served as the city’s temple of experimental fashion since the ’80s. Stocking both men’s and women’s clothing, it was the first in Rome to offer designs from the likes of Maison Martin Margiela and Rei Kawakubo. Its owner, Massimo...
Although it debuted as a drapery store in 1979, Degli Effetti has served as the city’s temple of experimental fashion since the ’80s. Stocking both men’s and women’s clothing, it was the first in Rome to offer designs from the likes of Maison Martin Margiela and Rei Kawakubo. Its owner, Massimo Degli Effetti, revolutionized the very concept of Roman fashion, and the shop has remained a stylistic reference for several generations of the capital’s artists.
Altro@Sud
Under-the-radar Italian brands
Located in the heart of Trastevere, a residential district that’s been the center of Roman nightlife for roughly two centuries, this women’s boutique specializes in niche brands. Small, welcoming, and offering a great deal of variety, its style can’t be pigeonholed — particularly as it has a...
Located in the heart of Trastevere, a residential district that’s been the center of Roman nightlife for roughly two centuries, this women’s boutique specializes in niche brands. Small, welcoming, and offering a great deal of variety, its style can’t be pigeonholed — particularly as it has a small space dedicated to vintage and consignment designer items.
Atelier Bomba
Quiet luxury done right
Understated luxury is very much in fashion these days, but it has always been Atelier Bomba’s style. This small design studio is where the Roman elite, notorious for their allergy to ostentation, have gone for decades to procure one-of-a-kind pieces crafted from premium fabrics.
Fairytale
Free-spirited threads
Inspired by Parisian fashion, Fairytale is a jewel-box clothing and accessories shop located in Testaccio, a once-infamous residential neighborhood that is now beloved and among the most glamorous in Rome. Its internationally sourced wares are primarily suitable for women, but it also carries a well-curated collection of children’s clothing.
Accessories
Lol Roma
Handcrafted treasures
This concept store has several locations throughout the city’s historic center, but the one in Piazza Madonna dei Monti, in the heart of the boho-chic district par excellence, best represents the company’s philosophy. Lol was originally founded on the concept of stocking exclusively black and...
This concept store has several locations throughout the city’s historic center, but the one in Piazza Madonna dei Monti, in the heart of the boho-chic district par excellence, best represents the company’s philosophy. Lol was originally founded on the concept of stocking exclusively black and white clothing and accessories. Since 2012, however, it has added a new color every season. Today, its handcrafted bags and jewelry remain its forte — all versatile, practical, and rare.
Albicocca
Artisan accessories
Want to know what it feels like to be a real “pariolina,” i.e., a girl from Rome’s most exclusive neighborhoods? Then a trip to Albicocca is essential. This storied bohemian shop is where worldly locals stock up on artisan-made bags, scarves, belts, and clutches embroidered with their initials....
Want to know what it feels like to be a real “pariolina,” i.e., a girl from Rome’s most exclusive neighborhoods? Then a trip to Albicocca is essential. This storied bohemian shop is where worldly locals stock up on artisan-made bags, scarves, belts, and clutches embroidered with their initials. It’s also a key stop for summer holiday items: raffia sandals, sarongs, and chic bathing suits.
Patrizia Fabri Hats
Storied headgear
In the early 2000s, Patrizia Fabri resuscitated the ancient art of Tuscan hat manufacturing, along with hundreds of wooden millinery molds. Today, her shop is considered among the best — it collaborates with fashion brands, as well as with cinema and theater, and sells its wares both in its...
In the early 2000s, Patrizia Fabri resuscitated the ancient art of Tuscan hat manufacturing, along with hundreds of wooden millinery molds. Today, her shop is considered among the best — it collaborates with fashion brands, as well as with cinema and theater, and sells its wares both in its shop-workshop on Via degli Scipioni and at its boutique listed here. Its straw hats are particularly fantastic, from classic unisex Panama hats to more formal offerings.
Romastore 63 Profumi
Captivating scents
An artistic and well-curated perfumery: That’s how owner Roberto Zuliani describes the ambrosial shop he opened in 1995. A Baroque jewel in one of the most charming spaces in Trastevere, the perfumery is also famous for its colorful, seasonal window displays, which oscillate between sophisticated...
An artistic and well-curated perfumery: That’s how owner Roberto Zuliani describes the ambrosial shop he opened in 1995. A Baroque jewel in one of the most charming spaces in Trastevere, the perfumery is also famous for its colorful, seasonal window displays, which oscillate between sophisticated and playful, always showcasing the shop’s ever-evolving selection of perfumes and home fragrances.
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Design and Home Decor
Spazio Giallo Interiors
Community meets creativity
This creative hub is a shop, art gallery, and cultural event space. Architects, craftsmen, artists, and interior decorators meet here to share experiences and ideas — and visitors come to purchase works, view exhibitions, listen to music, and more. Spazio Giallo even organizes workshops for kids....
This creative hub is a shop, art gallery, and cultural event space. Architects, craftsmen, artists, and interior decorators meet here to share experiences and ideas — and visitors come to purchase works, view exhibitions, listen to music, and more. Spazio Giallo even organizes workshops for kids. Though the space is constantly changing, color is the common thread that binds every offering.
Mia Home Design Gallery
A cabinet of curiosities
Located in a historic palazzo in the city center that you could miss if you aren’t paying attention, Mia is owned by three friends who define it as an “atelier of wonders.” When you step inside, it’s clear why: It offers a curated selection of objects for your entire home, from curtains to...
Located in a historic palazzo in the city center that you could miss if you aren’t paying attention, Mia is owned by three friends who define it as an “atelier of wonders.” When you step inside, it’s clear why: It offers a curated selection of objects for your entire home, from curtains to dessert spoons, that mix emerging designers with heritage houses, global brands with smaller companies. Their commonality is the founders’ bold taste.
Off Roma
Interior design, Roman style
Off Roma offers one-of-a-kind vintage, reused, and consignment items, as well as a selection of contemporary and household objects. Among the city’s top destinations for interior design, it has everything from Art Deco sofas reupholstered in modern fabrics and made-to-order lampshades to antique...
Off Roma offers one-of-a-kind vintage, reused, and consignment items, as well as a selection of contemporary and household objects. Among the city’s top destinations for interior design, it has everything from Art Deco sofas reupholstered in modern fabrics and made-to-order lampshades to antique mirrors, industrial deadstock, and home decor of all types.
Dispensabile
Worldly furniture
Nordic design meets the best of Italian minimalism in the antique heart of the city. Nestled between the Roman Forum, Baroque churches, and il Campidoglio, this delightful shop offers the furniture you’d never expect to find in Rome: a comprehensive selection of ultra-minimal, geometric, and linear designs.
Antiques
Bruschini Tanca Antichità
Italian antiques
Stepping into Bruschini is like taking a journey through Italy in the 1700s and 1800s. Its selection of micro-mosaics, silverware, watercolors, cameos, and other slightly more recent arrivals, such as precious Art Nouveau inlaid furniture, highlight the life’s work of the four generations of...
Stepping into Bruschini is like taking a journey through Italy in the 1700s and 1800s. Its selection of micro-mosaics, silverware, watercolors, cameos, and other slightly more recent arrivals, such as precious Art Nouveau inlaid furniture, highlight the life’s work of the four generations of antique dealers. There are two locations to choose from: the shop on the city’s top street for antiques, Via Coronari listed here, and a second on Via Arco della Pace, just a few steps from Piazza Navona.
Mercato delle Stampe
Roman treasures
This isn’t a shop, but an open-air market featuring over a dozen historic and highly curated stalls, where you’ll find Rome’s paper treasures: period prints, lithographs, photographs, manuscripts, autographs, old postcards, drawings, and books. Even if you’re only after a trinket or a...
This isn’t a shop, but an open-air market featuring over a dozen historic and highly curated stalls, where you’ll find Rome’s paper treasures: period prints, lithographs, photographs, manuscripts, autographs, old postcards, drawings, and books. Even if you’re only after a trinket or a more-affordable historic reproduction, the market is worth visiting, as it’s located in one of the city’s most enchanting piazzas.
Under the Influence
Midcentury rarities
This eccentric studio-shop houses an eclectic, excellent selection of midcentury furniture and design items. Come by to purchase a piece, secure an interior-design consultation, or rent items for events or film sets. To note: The shop is open by appointment only, so plan accordingly.
Carlucci Gallerie Antiquarie
Museum-worthy relics
Via del Babuino, the street connecting Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, has housed this institution of Roman art since 1975. Its mainly seventeenth- and eighteenth-century antiques range from old master paintings to furnishings from historic Roman palaces, which is why it serves as a...
Via del Babuino, the street connecting Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, has housed this institution of Roman art since 1975. Its mainly seventeenth- and eighteenth-century antiques range from old master paintings to furnishings from historic Roman palaces, which is why it serves as a reference point for collectors and museums all over the world.
Apertivi e Caffè
Blackmarket Hall
A speakeasy-style, all-day cafe
In a hidden corner of Rome’s most hyped neighborhood, Monti, Blackmarket Hall is an expansive eatery with the air of a speakeasy, which makes it ideal for dates or business. A local favorite for aperitivi and after-dinner drinks, it pairs an incredible mixologist with live music. It spans two floors and has two gardens.
Hotel Locarno – Salotto Locarno
An iconic cocktail bar
This historic hotel opened in 1925, and its bar has been a local favorite since the 1970s. Here, you’ll encounter actors, musicians, and scions of the oldest Roman families, who at happy hour can be found in the secret garden enjoying impressive cocktails and appetizers.
Sabotino
A mighty restaurant
Power and tradition define the vibe at this prestigious bar — after all, the neighborhood is also home to the headquarters of Rai, the country’s top radio and television company, as well as to the offices of the city’s most renowned film lawyers. To that point, waitstaff wear jackets and bow...
Power and tradition define the vibe at this prestigious bar — after all, the neighborhood is also home to the headquarters of Rai, the country’s top radio and television company, as well as to the offices of the city’s most renowned film lawyers. To that point, waitstaff wear jackets and bow ties, and your fellow customers are likely to be politicians, senior executives, aspiring actors, and paparazzi. Follow the crowd and order the bar’s famous caviar and crab canapés. Hint: Ask for the lemon juice on the side.
Il Cigno Caffè Pasticceria
An artisanal pastry shop
You won’t necessarily find this small neighborhood jewel — a family-run bar and pastry shop — in a guidebook, but it’s always worth a stop. Gentlemen of a certain age enjoy cappuccinos and croissants and linger over tiny pastries or prosecco-based aperitivi paired with puff-pastry pizza. But,...
You won’t necessarily find this small neighborhood jewel — a family-run bar and pastry shop — in a guidebook, but it’s always worth a stop. Gentlemen of a certain age enjoy cappuccinos and croissants and linger over tiny pastries or prosecco-based aperitivi paired with puff-pastry pizza. But, really, Il Cigno’s chocolate cream puffs are their secret weapon: They’re the best in Rome, if not in all of Italy.
Our Contributors
Fiamma Sanò Writer
Born in Rome, based in Milan, Fiamma Sanò is a journalist and author specializing in entertainment and pop culture for publications ranging from Il Messaggero to Grazia. She also writes and create original content for television, live events, and more for clients such as Warner Bros-Discovery.
