Last Day

We made some quick plans, a few last minute changes and set out on our last day in Rome. A taxi took us to Piazza Navona. The ancient site of Domitian’s Arena is now a huge oblong plaza with three great fountains [one, the Four Rivers, by Bernini]. Opposite The Four Rivers is The Church of St. Agnes by Bernini’s great rival, Borromini. At the north end are the remains of the stadium protected by walls and gates right out of a Nazi propaganda film. You could wander this place for days and see something new at every glance but we had a plan. We were having coffee at Sant Eustachio’s. It’s just off the Piazza but not easy to find. Several other destinations just off the Piazza were equally elusive. The Café is across from the church that gives it its name. The church is small but distinguished by the Elk Head at the top with a cross growing from its antler’s. Several of you had recommended this café as the best coffee in Rome and several Romans and many other chance encounters confirmed that reputation. I have not had a bad coffee in Italy [there are no Starbuck’s as they haven’t a chance] but I must say, in my limited experience but supreme devotion to the beverage, I have not tasted better. Of course, it is always an espresso, plain and simple.
Our next search was for St. Agostino’s church, which contains a Raphael and a Caravaggio. We were getting hungry and got sidetracked by a sign that read [in Italian] Beer, Pizza and Air Conditioning. Domiciano’s is on an alley mid-way on the Piazza. It had all the earmarks of a place to avoid. Large, with red and white tablecloths, menus in English and displays of the food warned “tourist restaurant.” Wrong! This place was a delight. Our waiter was out of an old movie; silver haired and strikingly handsome in a black suit, black bow tie and cummerbund he joked with us, treated us as if we were his most important guests of the day and served us a remarkably good meal. The pizza dominates the menu but there is plenty of pasta, insalata, and of course, big steins of cold Peroni Beer. They must have a special relationship with the brewery as memorabilia covered the walls including a photomural of the original brewery building.
Somewhat disoriented we headed in the wrong direction and stumbled on The Museum of Rome dedicated to the history of the City from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. In our last attempt to find Sant’Agostino’s we literally stumbled on it down another hidden alley and completely out of view of the main thoroughfares. Its unassuming façade hides a lovely interior. I found the Caravaggio [Madonna dei Pellegrini] but not the Raphael. Every nook and cranny is covered with sculpture and paintings and it was dark and hot. We hopped in a taxi and returned to our hotel for a “toes-up.”
We made reservations for dinner at 8 at the Taverna de Mercanti in Trastevere. Our concierge had recommended it as a nice restaurant with good pasta etc. We brought along the last and best of our wine a 2004 Lambert Bridge Cross Creek Cuvee. Our taxi dropped us in a small, charming piazza with two competing open-air eateries. We entered ours and were immediately informed that we could not drink our wine. It was against the law. This may be true as we asked other restaurants after our meal and got the same story. Our second disappointment was no pasta. The menu featured a lot of pizza, crostini, steak, lamb etc. but no pasta. We settled for two pizzas and to salads both excellent. But our last evening had lost some of its luster. The restaurant was picture perfect with two outdoor levels of seating and some indoor. Flaming torches lit the vine and flower-covered walls. The English-speaking proprietor was polite if a bit condescending about our knowledge of wine law in Italy. The staff as a whole was a bit precious but the place was very popular and if you were hungry, the steaks, chops and fowl looked plentiful and delicious.
I wanted a photo of Big Mama’s, a blues club not far from the Piazza de Mercanti and we found it after a short search. We grabbed a taxi to Piazza de Trevi to catch the fountain at night. It was jammed, mostly with young couples, but beautiful in the soft warm light. I had trouble picturing Anita Eckberg frolicking in this crowd. We walked a bit more, snapped a few more pictures and taxied back. Our grand adventure is over. See you all at The Bean tomorrow.