Rome 
The hidden city: underground Rome(0)
Some questions never go away. One I get constantly is, ‘Why did you choose to set your books in Rome?’ The honest answer is I didn’t; Rome chose me, clubbing me over the head one day when I happened to be there editing a book about somewhere else entirely. I’ve now completed seven Costa novels, and still have two more to go under my present contract… and hopefully lots after that.
The church that Michelangelo built
Here’s a place I’ve never used in a book. I still can’t help drifting back there whenever I’m in Rome though.
Santa Maria degli Angeli (e dei Martiri, if we’re to give the place its full title) is nothing to look…
Inside the presidential palace
This is the front door to one of the most famous residential palaces in Rome. The Palazzo del Quirinale sits on top of the high hill overlooking the forum and Piazza Venezia. It is the official residence of the President…
The art of Roman bread
Panella is a bit snooty. The place describes itself as ‘L’Arte del Pane’, the Art of Bread. I got a very Roman matronly wag of the finger for daring to take a picture - without flash I might add -…