ROME: ON FILM

LOOKING OUT ACROSS Rome from the Giardino degli Aranci, a carefully-tended orange garden at the top of the Aventine Hill, the sun casts a faded, hazy film over the landscape. Its shades and tones are muted, creating the illusion that instead of admiring the undulating terrain of the Eternal City, you’re looking at a beautiful - yet threadbare - stage mural. It’s fitting too, because even up close Rome is like one big theatre set.

A stroll from piazza to piazza may uncover an unexpected stage ‘prop’: a remnant of an ancient marble column here, an ornate fountain there. And the colours of the buildings on winding cobbled streets provide the perfect mise en scène: warm oranges, yellows and every shade of pink from cherry blossom to dusky rose.

BUON NATALE

Nine Christmases ago, my family went to Rome for a pre-festive trip. I recently saw on Facebook that a friend was doing the same thing, and it brought back lots of memories of how wonderful Rome is in December: the piercing winter light, the huge tree outside the Basilica di San Pietro (see photo above, in the days before I thought about photo composition: we wondered what all the fuss was about - when we got home we realised we'd missed the Pope by about 30 minutes...), luxury treats in the windows of the boutiques on via Condotti and smartly dressed men in wool coats dashing to collect panettones for a Christmas spread.

So, in the spirit of these memories, buon natale to my readers: I hope you all have a very lovely Christmas. Vediamo nel nuovo anno! xxx

ROME

The light in Rome is like nothing I’ve seen before. Whether it’s crisp and cold, hazy and overcast or a bright summer’s day, the city has a unique radiance. As the sun rises behind the backdrop of the Eternal City’s seven hills, the buildings of Rome spring to life in a beautiful spectrum of colours:  a chalky pink apartment block on via Cavour, a creamy yellow cupola peeking through into the Campo de’ Fiori and the warm apricot hues of the shops and restaurants lining the elegant Piazza Navona.

SO MUCH GELATO, SO LITTLE TIME

Travel Notes <3 gelato!  To read my article for The Northern Echo click here

JUST BACK FROM...ROME

TRAVEL NOTES IS OFF TO ROME!

1. A Wanderer in Rome - Third Edition (1930) E.V. Lucas

2. Roman Holiday (1953) Dir. William Wyler

3. This is Rome (1960) Miroslav Sasek