Roman around Italy tours

11/02/2020

❤️❤️❤️

Isn't it gorgeous?
Join us www.wheninitalytours.com

05/12/2019

One of the many gems of Lazio...

29/11/2019

Full moon in Italy looks like this...

24/11/2019

Who knows where Roma got her name from?

06/11/2019

Is there anything better than starting your day with the best coffee in town?

But do you want to learn what coffee to choose and how to order it?

"Un CAFFE', per favore!"
This is the espresso as you know it. When you use the word espresso to order you will get one but Italians say 'caffè'. You can choose to have it 'MACCHIATO' (stained with milk), 'DOPPIO' (double shot) or 'RISTRETTO' (an extra-strong espresso consisting of only the first 8 seconds of the brew, which is the strongest). Would like alcoholic caffe'? Order 'caffe' CORRETTO' (an espresso with a splash of liquor like Grappa, or bitter), normally used as an aperitif. As a desert, you can also choose an 'AFFOGATO' (vanilla gelato 'drowned' in freshly made espresso).

"Potrei avere un CAPPUCCINO, grazie!"
Espresso with a little bit of warm steamed milk and foam. Strong cappuccino? 'CAPPUCCINO CON DOPPIO CAFFE''. Less milk? 'UN CAPPUCCINO SCURO'. When the morning is over please order another kind of coffee to keep your barista happy!!! Cappuccino after lunch or, even worse, after dinner is definitely a 'no-no' in Italy!

"Un LATTE MACCHIATO, grazie!"
Known by us as caffè latte. A glass of warm milk with a drop of espresso. Without foam and served in a larger cup. A proper morning coffee for the Italians.

"CAFFE' AMERICANO"
This is an espresso with hot water added. Italians almost never drink this coffee. You don't really need to know how to order this, it is only for tourists! And I am sure you want to experience Italy like an Italian, not as a tourist!!!

Join us on one of our tours and learn everything about our food and culture! Ask me for info...

25/10/2019

Italian figs!!! Nice to eat inside some pizza bianca with prosciutto!!! YUMMY 😋

24/10/2019

Meet PIZZA CON LA MORTAZZA (Roman term for mortadella!). Pizza without sauce may seem strange, but it has been a favourite of Italians since Roman times. In fact, Italians talk of pizza as either ROSSA (red - with tomato sauce) or BIANCA (white - without sauce). Both are delicious!!!

The ancient Romans used to cut their pizza in two and eat it with figs or cheese and chicory. Nowadays in Rome, the most popular filling is MORTADELLA, a ham from Bologna sometimes studded with pistachios which goes so well with fresh white pizza. But pizza bianca with PROSCIUTTO AND FICHI (figs) is also a must-try when you come to Rome!

The best pizza bianca is done in BAKERIES scattered around the city. Want to learn the secrets of cooking this delicious pizza? Join us in one of our cooking classes!!!

23/10/2019

PASTA... anywhere, anytime, anyway!!! 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

22/10/2019

GOOD MORNING from VILLA DORIA PAMPHILJ, one of the most important and impressive historical parks in Rome.

This is the BIGGEST public park in Rome and definitely one of the most STUNNING! We are talking about 184 hectares of green out of the ancient city walls, in Gianicolo district.

The residence has the name of the NOBLE FAMILY owned it for a long time, dispossessed in the 1900 century and here for us with all its beauty.

Today it is a destination you CAN'T MISS if you visit the eternal city, hosting a gallery of art rich in history and culture, with its famous and verdant gardens.

16/10/2019

Magical!

Open sky opera.... Magnificent!!!

12/10/2019

Who knows what Roman famous cobblestones are called?

Meet the SAMPIETRINI! They make up the pavement of the most important spots of the city, including St.Peter’s square. Sampietrini are both a blessing and a curse for romans and a true symbol of Rome.

The sampietrino is a cubic-shaped block extracted from leucitite and flint, made by breaking the stones at their natural lines of splitting, which makes it incredibly STRONG and DURABLE.

The NAME sampietrino comes from the fact these blocks were used in 1725 to replace the old damaged pavement of St. Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro).

But not everyone loves sampietrini... Scooter riders complain that Sampietrini make riding dangerous; public administration is concerned about the high maintenance costs associated with them; sampietrini are also arduous pedestrian, particularly for those who wear heeled shoes and, if wet, become very slippery.

Despite these controversies, Sampietrini are a true SYMBOL OF ROME. For this reason alone, every proposal that has been made for their substitution has seen an uprise of protests by the roman citizens!!!

09/10/2019

Please read and learn before coming to Italy 🤣🤣🤣

08/10/2019

More photos of our loved Etruscan Necropolis. This road is called ‘Via degli Inferi’ - 'the road to the underworld’ - was created to link the necropolis with the ancient city... the reign of the dead near that of the living!

The road was used over a long time-span and therefore its surface sunk deeper and deeper into the soft bedrock. Nowadays you walk more then 120cm lower than the original level!

06/10/2019

To most non-Italians, PIZZA means one thing: a round of doughy crust topped with tomato and mozzarella, the iconic MARGHERITA bearing the colours of the Italian flag. In Italy, however, there are about as many types of pizza as there are stars in the sky.

Naples is the city where pizza history was made, properly acknowledged as its birth place. Yet, there’s more to pizza than the Neapolitan variety; travelling through Italy one becomes aware of the huge diversity of the country’s food.

What many also ignore is that the typical round pizza is generally a dinner dish. Italians enjoy many other types of pizza for breakfast, morning or afternoon tea, and lunch! In other words, there is pizza for all occasions!

Follow this page to learn about some of the 'best kept secret' types of pizza!

05/10/2019

In Italy the sunset looks like this... ❤️🧡💛

05/10/2019

CODA ALLA VACCINARA is one of the most iconic dishes of Rome and definitely among the MOST LOVED ones by Romans. Sadly, it is not much known by the non-romans! Coda is a stew made of "oxtail" (usually veal tail) and various vegetables, notably celery.

Its introduction dates back to times when it was customary to pay a VACCINARO (cattle butcher) in kind with the entrails, hide, and tail of the animal. Butchers developed a way of turning their fee into a delicacy, thus coda alla vaccinara was born.

Coda alla vaccinara became a SPECIALTY of the vaccinari 'butchers' of the Rione Regola in Rome, to the point that the inhabitants of that rione were nicknamed "MANGIACODE" (tail-eaters). It is often found in the trattorie of Testaccio and Trastevere.

Many recipies can be found online, but the real RICETTA is one of Romans best kept secrets... Want to learn how to cook our typical dishes while in Rome? Join us for ine of our COOKING CLASSES! Ask me for info...

04/10/2019

Trastevere is for sure one of the MOST LOVED DISTRICT in Rome both by locals and tourists. It is located right in the city center on the west bank of the river Tiber.

Its name comes from Latin "TRANS TIBERIM", which means “beyond the Tiber”.

People who live here consider themselves as the true “ROMANS OF ROME” and are proud of their origins.

In Trastevere you will have the chance to taste food from Roman tradition. There are typical restaurants and ancient tavernas where you can eat the most famous dishes such as “CARBONARA“, pasta with eggs and "guanciale" (pig cheek and not bacon!!!); “CODA ALLA VACCINARA”; “SPAGHETTI CACIO E PEPE” pasta with cheese and lots of pepper. Last dish, “CARCIOFI” artichokes flattened and deep-fried, especially common in the spring season. What is most remarkable is that while walking through its streets you will really feel like going back in time to ancient Rome.

Would you like to VISIT TRASTEVERE? Join us on one of our PRIVATE TOURS of Trastevere! Ask me for info...

03/10/2019

Who knows where ROMA got her name?

According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by the two brothers, and demigods, Romulus and Remus, on 21 April 753 BCE. The legend claims that in an argument over who would rule the city (or, in another version, where the city would be located) Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself.

03/10/2019

Let me introduce to you "IL NASONE" or "ER NASONE" in more local Romanesco, a real institution for Roman people. Nasoni - literally "big nose", are the typical drinking fountains spread around Rome, that take the name from the shape of the tap that looks like a big nose. Many are familiar with Rome’s famous fountains, but few seem to realize that the water coming from these fountains is not only free, but clean, ice-cold, and drinkable. Drinking fountains in Rome are as quintessential as the city’s many monuments. So when you’re in Rome be sure to take a sip from the waters of the Eternal City!

02/10/2019

MARITOZZO CON PANNA! Typical sweet from the Lazio region, is essentially a sweet roll cut open and filled with panna (fresh whipped cream). Before the ubiquitous cornetti (Italian croissants) took over, maritozzi were the favourite breakfast of the Romans, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s.

Who wants one? Learn all about Roman specialities in one of our FOOD TOURS! Ask me for info...

02/10/2019

A quick peek from Castel Sant'Angelo...

01/10/2019

5 things you may not know about ROMAN GLADIATORS:

1. They were NOT ALWAYS SLAVES... Some were "freelance warriors", often desperate men or ex-soldiers skilled in fighting, but at times upper-class patricians, knights and even senators eager to demonstrate their warrior pedigree.

2. Gladiatorial games were originally PART OF FUNERAL CEREMONIES... When wealthy nobles died, their families would hold graveside bouts between slaves or condemned prisoners as a kind of macabre eulogy for the virtues the person had demonstrated in life. The Romans believed that human blood helped purify the deceased person’s soul.

3. They did NOT ALWAYS FIGHT TO THE DEATH... Contests were typically single combat between two men of similar size and experience. Referees oversaw the action, and probably stopped the fight as soon as one of the participants was seriously wounded. Nevertheless, the life of a gladiator was usually brutal and short.

4. WOMEN ALSO FOUGHT AS GLADIATORS... Sadly, lady warriors were not taken very seriously in the patriarchal Roman culture, often pitted against dwarves, but a few appear to have proven themselves in single combat. Around 200 A.D. Emperor Septimius Severus banned their participation in the games.

5. Gladiators were trained to fight in SPECIAL SCHOOLS called "ludi"... But not many know that a gladiator school still exists today, where people can try on a gladiator outfit and learn the art of combat!

WHO WANTS TO BE A GLADIATOR FOR A DAY? Ask me for info!

01/10/2019

Etruscan necropolis, one of the landmarks of the Lazio region as well as Unesco world heritage. Have you ever visited this breathtaking sigh? Ask us for info...

30/09/2019

The Campidoglio (in English Capitolium or Capitoline Hill) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Ancient sources refer the name to caput ("head", "summit") and the tale was that, when laying the foundations for the temple of Jupiter, the head of a man was found. The Campidoglio was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity. The word Capitolium still lives in the English word capitol, in fact, the Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is widely assumed to be named after the Capitoline Hill. On to top of the hill, Piazza del Campidoglio is one of Rome's most beautiful squares, designed in the sixteenth century by Michelangelo.

30/09/2019

29/09/2019

10/08/2015

Discover the roman castles towns...