Under the Roman Sun

Sotto il Sole di Roma

A short walk from Saint Peter’s and from Castel Sant’Angelo, on the third floor of an elegant vintage palace, you’ll find the cozy, comfortable and spacious bed and breakfast Sotto il Sole di Roma (“Beneath the Roman Sun”), in a street in the upscale Prati area of Rome. All rooms are equipped with extra large beds and private bathrooms with showers, elegantly decorated with precious marble. Parquet floors and furniture finished with hand-sewn leather create an atmosphere of comfort and finesse. All rooms are provided with air conditioning, safe, minibar, hair dryer, TV, internet connection and direct-dial telephone.

There is also a well-furnished kitchen and a large breakfast room to help you with meals in a more convenient way at the time you wish. This bed and breakfast can offer on-demand services according to your needs, such as garage, transfers to and from airports and railway stations (shuttle service), and organization of tours with visits to museums. The staff is at your disposal ready to offer the best services and to help make your stay in the Eternal City special.

Mama’ Ristobistrot

Near the Vatican we have discovered a new bistro called Mama’ Ristobistrot. This little restaurant was an idea of the two managers, Maria Grazia and Andrea, who welcome you personally. All dishes are freshly prepared in their kitchen.

Here it is possible to breakfast with classic Italian cappuccino or a hint of France with croissants, or else partake of an Anglo-Saxon brunch with scrambled eggs. Throughout the day, hot or cold snacks and meals are served, as well as salads, platters with mixed crostini, pies, and homemade cakes. The dining areas are tastefully modern with pastel shades and clean edges. The chef, Ernesto Daniel Gualtieri, combines tradition and innovation in his culinary arts.

My visit was at lunch with Rosemary, an English friend of mine. We were immediately shown to a pleasant table away from the entrance, as it was quite cold outside with the tramontana wind blowing fiercely as it does sometimes in December. There was an interesting set menu, which I decided to go for at 15 Euro ($20) while Rosemary chose just one simple dish of pea soup. My starter was fusilli with tomato and basil sauce. Fusilli are long, thick, corkscrew-shaped pasta. The word fusilli presumably comes from fuso, as traditionally it is “spun” by pressing and rolling a small rod over each thin strip of pasta to wind it around the rod in a corkscrew shape. Also on offer in this set menu was a chickpea and pasta soup, a staple for the colder weather.

While Rosemary pressed on with her large portion of pea soup, I was given my main course, which was meatballs (polpettine) in a tomato sauce, accompanied by roast potatoes. Also included in the set menu was a side salad which was fresh and tasty.

Maria Grazia kindly brought us some cantucci as a little dessert. Also known as biscotti di Prato (English: Prato biscuits), these are twice-baked biscuits from the Italian city of Prato. They are oblong-shaped almond biscuits, made dry and crunchy by cutting the loaf while still hot and fresh from baking in the oven. This pleasant lunch was accompanied by a quarter liter carafe (known as a quartino) of house wine, and a large carafe of sparkling mineral water. Our check came to a reasonable 31 Euro ($40) to which we added a small consideration for friendly service.