We stayed in the Trastevere neighborhood in Rome, just across the river from the coliseum and Roman forum area.  In addition to being conveniently located (30-minute walk max. to most major tourist sites), the neighborhood is hip and happenin’ and definitely a good place to “live” for a week (or more).

The heart of Trastevere is Piazza Santa Maria.  It’s a great place to watch performance artists, listen to musicians busking for spare change, or just sit and have a coffee and watch the people go by.  Typical of many Italian public squares, Piazza Santa Maria fronts a church that is named – wait for it – Chiesa Santa Maria.  This church is on the site of the first Christian place of worship in Rome (people used to gather at a home here when Christianity was illegal), so it was cool to go visit and think of the historical significance the place.  And the fact that it has beautiful mosaics didn’t hurt.

Another historical church in the neighborhood is Santa Cecilia, site of another home where people would gather to worship.  Today, the church is removed from the busyness of city life by an enclosed courtyard out front.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect, though, is the remarkably realistic sculpture of St. Catherine’s dead body at the base of the alter, just in case you need a reminder of your own mortality while you’re sitting through Sunday service.

One day we visited Isola Tiberina.  This is a tiny island in the middle of the Tiber River housing a hospital, a church, and two restaurants.  Technically it’s not part of the Trastevere neighborhood, but it’s within kissing distance and our lunch there was so good that I could kiss that place.  Anthony Bourdain had visited this restaurant and we figured, if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for us.  Of course, we geeked out and had the chef’s four-course tasting menu with wine pairings.  Needless to say, the rest of the afternoon was a total bust.

The final neighborhood highlight for us was the botanical gardens.  The botanical gardens of the City of Rome are located right in Trastevere.  How convenient is that!  After having stayed in the botanical gardens in Forio, Ischia and having visited the botanical gardens in Palermo, Sicily, it was interesting to visit the Rome garden and see how it compares to the others.  Every garden is unique to its particular location due to climate and topography, as you would expect, but I also realized that, much like a museum, the curator of the garden has a strong influence on the guest experience as well.