Ti Amo Roma

Ti Amo Roma

The Age

Friday August 13, 1993

GARY WALSH

Among the million souvenir stands, you can always find Fellini's Rome, but, alas, not Marcello Mastoianni.

WHEN history, 2000 years and more of it, confronts you at every turn it must be easy to become blase, which probably explains the Romans' casual, even irreverent attitude to their city and its icons.

Roman taxi-drivers appear to regard the Colosseum as nothing more than a grandiose traffic roundabout; the Via Veneto, where `La Dolce Vita' was concocted to banish the post-war blues, as a speedway. The engineers of the underground railway system are positively distressed every time their plans to extend the lines are halted because the foundations of some undiscovered historic gem get in the way. Pigeons poop with abandon on ancient statues and Renaissance fountains. And then a pizza parlor comes up with the Sophia Loren, which arrives with two fried eggs placed ... well, it's probably unnecessary to explain where.

It's the foreigners who come to Rome brimming with respect and light- headed with expectation. You see the elderly Americans wandering hopefully about the top end of the Via Veneto, longing to run into Jackie Onassis or Marcello Mastroianni, but more likely to run into Bill and Martha Krebbs from Kansas City. If this year's visitors seem a little deflated, it's probably because Harry's Bar is shut for renovations. There they expected to find Ernest Hemingway.

You see the motley youth of Europe lounging on the Spanish Steps, perhaps unaware that in the 1980s this was where artists came to select their models from the beautiful young things displayed on the stairs. The only models now are the tourists having their caricatures sketched for a fee by itinerant cartoonists. You see the package tourists rifling through the plaster Colosseums, Sistine Chapel T- shirts and Roman Forum snow-domes of a hundred souvenir stands looking for the essential keepsake of the city.

You don't see very many Romans exploring the Forum, gawping at the Colosseum or posing for photographs at the Trevi Fountain. They generally leave the sightseeing to the visitors, preferring to get on with life. Squeeze on to a train heading for the Lido di Ostia, Rome's beach, on a hot Sunday and you will see the Romans doing what Romans really do.

On the way, you can check out the latest in pick-up lines and amuse yourself watching the incessant flirting. The 1993 technique seems to involve sitting on the floor and playing Italian rock music tapes at high decibels while smirking seductively at members of the opposite sex. A few tourists might clamber off the train at the ruins of Ostia Antica, but the Romans will keep straight on for the sea.

To call the Lido a beach is stretching the truth a little: the sand, where you can find it beneath the oiled bodies, wooden bathing boxes, concrete walkways, volleyball courts, bars and restaurants, is a dreary grey. The sea is the color and consistency of dishwater. Most have the good sense to bathe in the swimming pools that help to obliterate the sands.

It costs money to step behind the fences that mask the beach from the road, so the best you can do is peer through the gates and the gaps.

You won't see anything that will have you bursting to spend your lire.

In fact, you might just catch the train both ways for the in-transit entertainment and skip the Lido altogether.

One thing you should never skip in Rome is the Vatican City. The fervent would wish to visit on a Sunday, when Il Papa appears on his balcony, but Saturday can be recommended for all-round entertainment.

Saturday is Roman wedding day, and the well-connected or well-heeled have their ceremony right inside St Peter's Basilica. Sure, they don't have their wedding beneath the gaudy canopy of the High Altar at which only the Pope can say Mass, but they get a nice side chapel and more than their share of post-nuptial happy snaps as innumerable tourists join the guests popping their flash guns.

Great fun also can be had watching the Vatican modesty police who hang about the entrance to the basilica turfing out anyone unchastely dressed. There are pictograms that indicate the forms of attire considered offensive: abbreviated skirts, shorts, bare shoulders, and, apparently, lederhosen. You might question how the Swiss Guards, with their lairy outfits and knickerbockers pass the test, but don't be too critical of the papal guardsmen _ in another part of Rome you can see where some of their forebears ended up.

Anyone with a taste for the macabre cannot afford to miss the Capuchin Fathers cemetery in Via Veneto. It is found beneath the Church of the Immaculate Conception by following the easily missed ``Cimitero" sign. Inside, a grouchy old monk will extort a ``donation" before turning on the lights along a narrow corridor. Along here they have taken recycling to extremes.

The bones of 4000 Capuchin friars who died between 1528 and 1870 have been used to create bizarre religious works of art. In the Crypt of Skulls, several hundred grinning skulls are arranged into neat rows and an elegant archway. Elsewhere, skeletons in friars' habits and clutching wooden crucifixes leer gruesomely. One hangs horribly from the ceiling. Another crypt is decorated almost entirely with pelvises, a lamp is composed of leg bones, while finger bones are favored for the delicate tracery around designs.

The sign on the wall heaps praise on the unknown artist, believed to be a French Capuchin, who created the lurid gallery, as well as cautioning against smoking, taking photos, writing on the walls or touching the bones: ``What you are now, we used to be. What we are now, you will be," it adds encouragingly. The warning hasn't stopped graffiti artists from gouging their names into some of the skulls.

Back in the relative safety of the entrance room, you realise why you are not allowed to take pictures. It would cut back on the sale of postcards, a fine selection of which is available.

After that grisly experience, you are likely to be in need of a restorative. You could take a seat at one of the sidewalk cafes along the Via Veneto, but the traffic noise and the prices are likely to send you crazy. If you want to spend a fortune on a coffee, try somewhere with a little more refinement where you can watch today's beautiful people strolling past.

The place to be is the Antico Caffe Greco, the oldest, swishest coffee house in Rome. Sit outside on Via Condotti around 5pm and sip slowly as you watch Italy's best-dressed, most self-absorbed passegiata. This simple, long-standing institution involves putting on your Sunday best and parading slowly along the streets. It happens in every village in the country every evening, but none is like the one that takes place on the traffic-free streets at the base of the Spanish Steps. A word of advice: take part in the passegiata at your peril if you are a fashion victim. The looks of disdain might make you flee into Gucci, Bulgari, Gianni Versace or Valentino, at great risk to your wallet.

The people-watching spots of Rome are myriad. Hang around the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo or Piazza Navona and the cavalcade of tourists is never-ending. The gipsies and the pickpockets know it too, so be wary. Try the Campo de' Fiori for spotting the real Romans, haggling with the market stallholders, arguing, shouting, gesticulating. Life here is as raw as the produce overflowing from the food trestles.

ROOMS WITH, AND WITHOUT, A VIEW.

CAMPO DE' FIORI is Rome's historic centre, embraced by a labyrinth of narrow medieval alleys and peopled with extras from a Fellini movie.

It is a noisy, unkempt area, filled with noisy, unkempt people. In the campo itself is the city's most colorful market, dominated today by fruit and vegetable stalls rather than the flower-sellers its name suggests.

This area, and beyond it towards the Spanish Steps, is also Rome's prime district for budget accommodation with character. You will find cheaper rooms around Termini station, but you are likely to end up with something terminal for your trouble.

On Via del Biscione, which leads directly from Campo de' Fiori, is a hotel for which mountaineering training would be invaluable, not just because the rooms range over six lift-free floors, but also because it would assist with access to Rome's best roof terrace.

The Hotel Campo de' Fiori's rooftop is higher than most buildings in low-rise Rome, so views are stupendous. The campo lies at your feet; the cupola of St Peter's dominates to the west, Gianicolo hill sweeping away to the south; elsewhere there are dozens of spires, domes and towers, thousands of TV aerials, and the wedding cake bulk of the Vittorio Emmanuel monument. The terrace is on two levels, with chairs and banana lounges for lazing about.

The narrow hotel entrance has been modernised with mirrored walls and plaster columns. There are both old and new bedrooms _ the old, decorated with floral wallpaper, have retained a fresh look and are much larger than the bright renovated rooms, which have had showers or baths fitted. Now is the time to stay at the hotel. Plans are afoot to close, possibly between November and April, for major works including the addition of televisions and private facilities to all rooms.

There are 27 rooms, nine with bath. Double with bath and toilet costs L150,000 ($142); with shower only, L105,000 ($100); without facilities, L95,000 ($90). Triple rooms with bath, L180,000 ($171).

Expect these prices to increase mightily if renovations go ahead.

ON THE SAME street is the Albergo del Sole, built on the site of a brick theatre dating from 55BC, a small remnant of which you can see beside the front door. A wide staircase leads to the reception area, where, if you are unlucky, the manager will be waiting.

Charm is not his strong point. In fact, he is decidely grumpy. The hotel merits consideration for the clean, good-sized rooms, all with a television (a dubious advantage in Italy), and the superb roof garden, which spills over several levels strewn with statues, flowers and plants. Doubles with bath L95-110,000 ($90-105); without L75-85,000 ($71-81). Singles from L70,000 ($66).

The views are not as spectacular as the Hotel Campo de' Fiori's, but you still get a fine panorama of the rooftops and towers of central Rome. The 62 bedrooms, most with private facilities, have tiled floors and simple furnishings. Accommodation is spread over five floors, each of which has a small lounge. Unusually for a budget hotel, there is a car park.

A couple of side-streets away is quiet Via dei Chiavari, where the Hotel Piccolo is worth recommending for the sign on the stairs alone: ``Management is not responsible for the values left in the rooms.

The Piccolo offers big, simply furnished rooms, some with a bath.

Breakfast is additional and served in a tiny, pleasantly-furnished nook on the first floor.

Rooms are good value at L95,000 ($90) for doubles with shower and toilet; L85,000 ($81) for shower only, and L75,000 ($71) without private facilities. There is an appropriately piccolo number of rooms _ just 15.

Backtracking towards the Tiber brings you to Via Arenula, a major artery to Trastevere. A few steps from the street is the Hotel Arenula, shielded from the noise by thick double-glazed windows. The Arenula's spacious, mock-marble entrance on the ground floor immediately gives a good impression.

So does the welcome, which is warm and genuine. Most of the light and bright 52 rooms on four floors have private facilities. All have TV, and even some of the singles have a separate sitting area. A small lounge filled with comfortable sofas runs off the reception area; on the other side is a bar and breakfast area Breakfast is over-priced at L12,000 ($11.50) a head.

The Arenula is one of Rome's nicest budget hotels. Doubles with bath are L110,000 ($105); without, L90,000 ($85). Singles are L90,000 ($86) and L70,000 ($66) respectively.

Piazza Navona is Rome's most elegant square, its shape recalling its days as a chariot racing circuit. Now you are only likely to be racing other tourists for a seat at one of the piazza's busy cafes. Tucked down a little alleyway (with a glancing view of one end of the piazza if you lean far enough out of the window) is Pensione Navona, where Australians are guaranteed a special welcome.

Owners Guiseppe and Tina Natale spent 20 years in Sydney before returning to their native Rome in the 1970s. They have run the Navona for the past 13 years. It is a labyrinthine little place of 25 rooms on two floors. Those on the upper floor have the feel of private apartments, which is what they were until being incorporated into the hotel. Some overlook the narrow street, others a quiet courtyard.

Single rooms are oddly shaped, with plain white walls and simple fittings. Doubles are large and comfortable. Doubles with private facilities cost L105,000 ($100), including breakfast served in a rustic dining room. Singles are L65,000 ($62). There is a TV/lounge room next to reception.

If utter simplicity and cheap prices are for you, try the Albergo Abruzzi. With the large, unadorned rooms, all without private facilities and filled with nondescript and somewhat battered modern furniture, come wonderful views of the Pantheon, 25 metres from your front door.

There are four floors of accommodation; 26 rooms in all. Each level has a small, dark sitting room. Doubles cost L82,000 ($78), singles L62,000 ($59). No breakfast is served, but there are many cafes nearby.

Hotel Pensione Parlamento has an enviable location just across the traffic-mad Via Del Corso from the Italian Parliament. It is a five- minute walk to the Trevi Fountain or Spanish Steps.

This is a classic Roman pensione _ homely, a little worn at the edges, but full of charm. Two of the 23 rooms have doors leading to a roof terrace, another two look out on this pleasant spot, ideal for an alfresco breakfast. These rooms also have double-glazing, which is a definite advantage in this noisy area.

The lounge/TV room is full of over-stuffed chairs and the staff is helpful and well-versed in steering guests towards inexpensive eating places. Doubles with private facilities rent for L105,000 ($100) or L76,000 ($72) without. Breakfast is an expensive L12,000 ($11.50) extra.

Via Margutta has an off-beat atmosphere. Here you find Rome's best- regarded vegetarian restaurant and Giacomo Cohen's Persian rug store.

It seems an oddly bohemian setting for the rather formal, conservative Hotel Forte, which exudes Old World style. Its panelled hallways are lined with classic prints and there is a distinctly clubby atmosphere.

Although it is less than two minutes walk from the Spanish Steps, it is surprisingly quiet, with those rooms overlooking an internal courtyard especially peaceful. All rooms have showers. Doubles cost L115,000 ($110), singles L75,000 ($71). No breakfast is served.

Closer to the Piazza del Popolo is the Hotel Margutta, a 17th century building in a narrow cobbled laneway off the Corso. Here the prize rooms (three of them) are on the rooftop, sharing a large terrace and views over the neighborhood, including the imposing Villa Medici.

ALL 24 rooms are light and bright and have private facilities. The rooms on the top floors are a pricy L170,000 ($162). Other doubles rent for between L122,000 ($116) and L150,000 ($143) including breakfast served in a pretty room beside reception.

The venerable Pension Suisse is a Roman institution. Recently its discreet entrance moved one door further along Via Gregoriana following a change of building ownership. Although the entrance and reception areas have changed and the top floor breakfast room has gone, the Suisse's large, well-furnished bedrooms remain as appealing as ever.

The antique-filled sitting area is a delightful place for reading or relaxing. Here you can fantasise that you are in your elegant Roman apartment and try to devise strategies for dealing with the buzzing Vespas outside the window. Doubles with private facilities cost L132,000 ($125), without L100,000 ($95); singles with L90,000 ($86), without L70,000 ($66). Breakfast is included and delivered to rooms.

The final choice is on the legendary Via Vittoria Veneto, once home of LaDolce Vita, now a little careworn. The Regina Hotel Baglioni is a place to indulge yourself, if only for a night. This former palace is now a fine boutique hotel of 130 rooms, which are being redecorated floor by floor.

Renovated rooms have fabric-covered walls in soft hues of apricot, pink and green and every conceivable luxury. Each has an electronic safe, and a large marble bathroom with elaborate hand-painted walls which four artists work full-time painting and retouching. Add superb Tuscan mahogany and walnut furniture and tasteful public areas and you have a memorable experience.

Book through CIT in Australia and the Regina Baglioni will cost from $362 a double per night including breakfast. It might seem steep, but you can dine out forever on your boast that you slept in a Roman palace on the Via Veneto.

Getting there QANTAS flies twice weekly to Rome. Low-season fares from $2099. For that price through Qantas Jetabout, passengers get return air fares, three nights in Rome at the three-star Hotel Regno, and a side-trip to another European destination. Australian passport-holders do not need a visa for Italy. From Leonardo da Vinci Airport, commonly known as Fiumicino, it takes about 45 minutes by train to central Rome. The airport train links with the underground Metropolitan Line B at Pyramide station. Line B connects with Line A at Termini Station, which is also the starting point for regional services. General travelling information on Italy is available from CIT (6701322), which represents the Italian State Tourist Department. CIT offers discounts on some of its services, including Eurail passes, to Qantas passengers.