Sacro e Profana, an unusual Roman restaurant

I hate recommending restaurants in Italy for two reasons: they change quickly, and my preference may not be yours. Two old favourites - the pizzeria Li Rioni near the Colosseum and Ditirambo in the Campo Dei Fiori - have been…

The best busker in Rome?

My chapter in The Chopin Manuscript features a very talented busker outside the Pantheon in Rome. But Felicia Kaminski is an invention of my imagination. Among the frauds and the phoneys working the streets of Rome hunting tourist euros, there…

The right way to do public transport

Public transport makes or breaks modern cities. One of the delights of Rome is the cheap system of subway, overground trains, buses and mini-buses. People complain about them but they’re everywhere and they’re cheap.

London, on the other hand, now has…

A few new places to eat in Rome

It’s easy to eat badly in Rome if you go to the places where the tourist crowds are predominant. But you can find some lovely small and friendly restaurants in the centre too. Here are three places to think about,…