A Quick Overnight to Rome, Picasso, and the Trevi Fountain

Last week we went to Rome for a day trip, to see a temporary Picasso exhibit. Normally we go to Rome for business only, but we saw an ad for the Picasso exhibit; and even though we are not exactly art scholars, we both like to experience and learn new things, so we decided it would be fun to go.

Rome in summer is way, way too hot and crowded for us, but the early spring is a really nice time to go. (And late winter, even better.) Crowds are fairly low, even in this Jubilee year; days are mild and nights are cool; and the mosquitoes have not shown up yet. 

We spent a little time looking for hotels that have great views of the major monuments, because we love to see these famous sights, but neither of us can handle the crowds that come with them. We hit the jackpot with Hotel Fontana! There is one room that has a large window looking out over the Trevi Fountain; so we booked our trip around that availability, then we called the hotel to insure that specific room was ours. 

In advance of the trip, we spent a little time researching and looking for less touristed sights, as we are wont to do. One great find: While walking the back streets near the Trevi area, we ducked through an iron gate down a tiny alley. At the end of the alley is the door to the Cappella della Madonna dell’Archetto, a 19th-century chapel housing a “miraculous” work of art.
The chapel itself is tiny also - sometimes referred to as the smallest church in Rome. The domed ceiling is covered in gold-framed paintings and supported by sculptures called “cariatidi” - statues of women used as column supports. 
The central artwork is a painting of the Madonna on stone, painted over a century earlier. In 1796, pilgrims viewing the painting at the time reported that the Madonna’s eyes would move to follow them, a phenomenon which was eventually declared a miracle, and the little chapel was subsequently built (and highly decorated) to house and protect the artwork.
It’s only open to the public for one hour each day, from 6-7 PM, so visiting the place really feels like a special and “secret” experience – the kind of “Little Roads” site that we’re always trying to find.

For dinner we searched for a place that has great spaghetti carbonara, since that is a priority for us; and we made a point of hunting up a great Jewish artichoke as well. The restaurant was down a quiet little side street, even though it was just a few minutes’ walk from the Trevi Fountain. They specialized in seafood dishes also, so we enjoyed some spaghetti vongole next to our carbonara.

After dinner, we made a point of having a gelato at an artisanal gelateria we found in advance: Il Gelato di San Crispino. You will find dozens of gelato places all over Rome, but this one is worth passing by all the rest, because make all the gelato here, and it is worlds above the others. It doesn't look very colorful, but that is because it is not made with artificial ingredients. The flavors that we had were honey; dates; and cinnamon with ginger. Each of them had roughly the same color because none of those ingredients are very colorful; but they are delicious, and the variety of flavors was striking.

We don’t plan days for our travelers in Rome (or other large tourist cities), but we do offer a few hints and tips like these, that we’ve picked up over the years. This is the way we like to visit the “big” spots: Careful selection of lodging, eating, and sightseeing, to get the most out of the experience while steering clear of the crowds – or in this case, staying above them!

Trevi fountain at 4 AM - not a soul onthe street!