DK Travel : Rome : Around Piazza Navona

This is Baroque Rome in all its theatrical glory, a collection of curvaceous architecture and elaborate fountains by the era’s two greatest architects, Bernini and Borromini, and churches filled with paintings by the likes of Caravaggio and Rubens. The street plan was largely overhauled by 16th- to 18th-century popes attempting to improve the traffic flow from St Peter’s – in fact, a 19th-century plan to turn Piazza Navona into a boulevard from Prati across Ponte Umberto I was only killed when wiser heads widened Corso del Rinascimento instead. However, ancient Rome does peek through in the shape of Piazza Navona and the curve of Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne. This is also a neighbourhood of craftsmen, shopkeepers and antiques restorers and dealers who line Via dei Coronari (see Antiques Shops). More recently the narrow alleys around Via della Pace have become a centre of Roman nightlife, with tiny pubs, trendy cafés and nightspots where the clientele spills out into the streets in summer (see Chic Cafés and Bars).

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A Morning around Piazza Navona

Start in the courtyard of the Sapienza, marvelling at the remarkable façade of Sant’Ivo . Head around the church’s right side and out the back exit on to Via della Dogana Vecchia. If you need a morning pick-me-up, turn left and then right into Piazza Sant’Eustachio (if the namesake church is open, pop in for an early 18th-century interior). In the elongated piazza to the left are fine views of Sant’Ivo’s dome and two great cafés to choose from, Camillo and Sant’ Eustachio.
Return to Via della Dogana Vecchia and turn right to visit the Caravaggio works inside San Luigi dei Francesi . Continue up the street to Via delle Coppelle and turn left for more Caravaggio at Sant’Agostino. Continue into Piazza della Cinque Lune and walk a few yards to the left down Corso del Rinascimento to Ai Monasteri (see Ai Monasteri) and browse the quality liqueurs and old-fashioned beauty products, all made by monks.
Around the corner is Palazzo Altemps, now full of Classical statuary. Spend a good hour inside. Then relax from the morning’s sightseeing with a stroll amid the street performers and splashing fountains of Piazza Navona . Enjoy a tartufo ice cream or a full lunch at the wonderful Tre Scalini , before ending the morning window-shopping along the antiques of Via dei Coronari .
Abbey Theatre Irish Pub

Comfortable, cosy Guinness pub, pleasantly removed from the hubbub of the nightlife core that has recently sprouted down the road. Basic snacks are also served and there’s an Internet terminal.
Ai Monasteri

Monasteries from all across Italy supply their homemade honey, liqueurs, beauty products, elixirs and other products to this shop.
Antica Cappelleria Troncarelli

Don’t be fooled by the tiny size of this shop – it is still one of the best haberdashers in Rome, established in 1857.
Antica Taverna

The owners here get the goat’s milk ricotta and rabbit from their hometown in the Sabine Hills.
Antiqua Domus

Bring some of Rome’s elegance into your own home. This sizeable showroom has mostly 18th- and 19th-century furnishings on sale; some nice Empire pieces are particularly worth a look.
Bar del Fico

An alternative, chic hangout in the shade of the legendary fig tree in a tiny square, where you can sit inside or out and enjoy a morning cappuccino or a very late liqueur.
Bloom

The former Clochard nightclub was reborn in 2001 as a jazzy modern bar, with a sushi restaurant upstairs – a rare find in Rome.
Bramante

Café/bar with a quirky elegance amid this sea of pubs. Light dishes are served to a chic young crowd.
Calzoleria Petrocchi

Bruno Ridolfi keeps alive the high fashion, excellent quality, made-to-measure cobbler traditions of his uncle Tito Petrocchi, who regularly shod glamorous stars of stage and screen in the “dolce vita” heyday of the 1950s and 1960s.

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Restaurant price categories

For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
- under €30
- €30-40
- €40-50
- €50-60
- over €60