On this trip, we stayed in the Trastevere neighborhood just as we have done on past trips. Trastevere is just across the Tiber River from the Jewish Ghetto and the famous monuments just beyond. Our street food tour guide told us that “tras” means “across” and “tevere” means “Tiber.” However, I had previously learned that the neighborhood got its name from “tra” which means “between” and “stevere” which was an ancient spelling of “Tiber.” If you look at the neighborhood on a map, you can see that it is nestled in a bend in the Tiber and that it is surrounded on three sides by the river. It’s between the river.
In any case, I love this neighborhood. It is a lively area with lots of restaurants and bars, good food and wine shops, pretty churches, cute streets.
entrance to a small plaza
our go-to wine bar in the neighborhood
a typical street
another typical street
a little courtyard at the end of a street
the facade of this restaurant was covered in lights
outdoor dining
we found a cool little shop with lots of interesting foodstuffs
Of course, along with all of this great stuff comes throngs of tourists. It wasn’t too bad now in May, but Chad said last August it was unbearable with shoulder-to-shoulder people in the streets.
Trastevere makes a convenient home base for seeing the sites of Rome. You cross a bridge over the river and you’re in the Jewish Ghetto. You walk a few minutes more and you’re at Trevi Fountain or the Pantheon. Walk a little more and you can see the coliseum and the forum. You can even walk to St. Peter’s and the Vatican from Trastevere, but it’s more of a hike.
Much like Molise in the springtime, flowers were in bloom in Trastevere. Everywhere you look, you can see buildings draped in ivy, jasmine, and bougainvillea, so this creates walls of color in the spring.
There is also a lot of graffiti in the neighborhood. Some of it is just straight-up spray paint tagging, but a lot of it is nice street art.
We had a couple of memorable meals in the neighborhood. One evening, we walked up to the top of a hill to Ristorante Umbre Rosse (Red Clouds) which had a wonderful, two-level outdoor dining area.
steps up the hill to the restaurant
you can see the upper level of seating behind Chad
I was so happy to have a giant salad
Chad had a giant plate of meat and cheese (I helped with some of it)
notice the variations on the Caipirinha on the drinks menu
Another evening, we ate at Ristorante Moridionale. we had wanted to dine here before but couldn’t get reservations. We were happy to have the opportunity this time around, and we sat at a table on the cobblestones across the street from the restaurant.
restaurant entrance
seared tuna with sesame seeds
chicory pallotte (kind of like a meatball but made with bread and cheese instead of meat)
dessert – semi-freddo gelato with chocolate sauce and pistachios
And one final photo from the Trastevere neighborhood.
a mosaic mural of a swimmer