If it were a person, the Roman quarter of Trastevere would be the dockworker who writes poems in the steam of a foggy window on his break, or the bartender who serves you coffee while waiting for their long-lost love to reappear in the doorway. It’s that part of Rome where you could be tricked into thinking you were somewhere else, where the grand monuments of the ancient city give way to tiny, intimate alleys and cobbled streets that always seem to find the sun.
While it might now be a haven for hipster revelry and a well-trodden path on the tourist track, Trastevere is still a neighborhood where life hums to the daily rhythm of an age-old tune. Take a day to listen and you’ll find yourself tracing your own verse on those cobblestone streets. You may be swept away by the current of crisscrossing laundry lines and neighbors who cackle to each other over endless coffees that turn into cocktails. It may just be the day that you remember more than any other from your time in Rome.
Sunrise: Bar San Calisto
6am. There are only a few hours in the day when the Bar San Calisto isn’t open and they’ll likely coincide with the nap you’ll allow yourself to recharge. While it isn’t the oldest bar in Trastevere, San Calisto is an institution: from the first espresso they pour at 6am until last call at 2am, a steady stream of the faithful arrives for cheap drinks on one of the neighborhoods liveliest squares. It’s better known as a nighttime spot, but it's the early mornings where the magic happens. Garbagemen and poets cross paths, one just starting the day and the other ending it, and they mingle over coffee in the eponymous square. The streets surrounding the San Calisto seem to extend out like the first stretch of the day and the distinct silence you can only hear in the lull between crowds is palpable.
Early morning: The nicest basilica in town
7am. Being the first is nice, but being “probably the first” is decidedly more memorable. The Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere has stood since 340 and is known as the first house of Catholic worship in Rome and the first to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Probably. After you caffeinate at San Calisto, take a short wander toward the piazza where you’ll find older women congregating around the fountain that will become a focal point as the day marches on. If you wait for the doors to open you’ll be rewarded with a near-private viewing of 12th-century mosaics and medieval wooden ceilings. But even if you just want to sit outside and watch the sun illuminate the golden tiles on the building facade, you won’t be disappointed. In fact, you might lose track of time altogether, something that tends to happen in Trastevere.
Breakfast: Brioches and botanical gardens
9am. Breakfast in Italy is largely a sweet affair, but breakfast at Le Levain is in a league entirely of its own. The recipes may be French, but the style is 100% Trastevere: a cheerful smattering of local folks stop in as often for a madeleine as they do for pastiera and croissants filled with every imaginable decadence. This happy fusion is good prep for a visit to the Botanical Gardens just a short walk uphill on the Gianicolo, home to 7,000 plant species, a Japanese tea garden, a bamboo grove and orchid houses. The 12 hectares meticulously curated by the Sapienza University Department of Plant Biology carry on a tradition begun by Pope Leo X in 1514 to study the medicinal value of plants. Get lost in cork oaks and Himalayan cedars and get found in camellias, all the while breathing in this most curiously beautiful place.
Afternoon: Trilussa the Poet, Trapizzino the Pocket
1pm. If there is a poet laureate of Trastevere it's Carlo Alberto Salustri, better known by the name Trilussa and as the man for whom one of the liveliest squares in the neighborhood is named. Trilussa wrote in the Roman dialect, and though he was a highly regarded political satirist in the 1920s and 30s, he preferred chatting with his neighbors over holding court at literary salons. It’s fitting that Piazza Trilussa has become one of the most popular outdoor living rooms in Rome, and on any given day you’ll likely hear singing, poetry or boisterous chatter that bounces off of the paving stones. All of it is musical and its perfectly complemented with a sandwich (or two) from Trapizzino, where Roman specialities are served stuffed into irresistible triangles of freshly baked bread. Grab a slow cooked tongue in salsa verde and sit on the steps; it’s the best seat in the house and there’s always room for more.
Late afternoon: Up the Gianicolo we go
4pm. The only way to know Trastevere is to walk through it and then above it. Make your way down via della Lungaretta, then towards via della Luce to see the street scenes that inspired 19th century watercolors and if you feel like you’ve digested enough, squeeze through Vicolo dei Vascellari, the narrowest street in Rome. After that, head towards the Gianicolo. Although not technically considered one of the seven hills in the city, its outsider status just means better views over everything else. There’s also plenty to see along the way: the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola is still an impressive feat of engineering after all these centuries, the Lighthouse gifted by Italians living in Argentina is a perfectly incongruous spot to stop and the great Garibaldi monument is a perfect synthesis of grandeur and eye-winking wit. Enjoy the stroll at your own pace and reward yourself with an aperitivo at Terrazza Mirador, a breezy gem in the Villa Agrippina that proves the Romans always knew just where to build.
Dinner: Once more, with pizza
8pm. Walking back down the hill once the sun sets on Trastevere is like picking back up with an old friend and not missing a beat. The streets will fill up with exchange students – yes, some of them are unleashing their inner dervish perhaps a little too far outside – who mingle with Roman kids who come here looking for the same tiny glimpse of liberty. But the old women and men that sit in Piazza San Cosimato have seen it all before, and to be honest, they were the ones making a ruckus before any of us came along. Give them a knowing nod as you head to ProLoco Trastevere, where young chefs keep tradition alive by bringing hard to find dishes to the hungry masses. If you’re not feeling adventurous enough to try the garlicky beef tendons, stick to one of the excellent pizzas and regret nothing.
Night: Last calls and gelato cones
Like Rome itself, Trastevere can seem deceptively simple, but scratch a bit below the surface and you’ll find an experience that will bind you to it. It might be the first time you wait on line at Otaleg for a stellar gelato that stands out among the many you’ll have sampled in Rome. It could be the cocktails you finished out the night with at Freni e Frizioni (although they were so good you can’t really remember). Or maybe it was that one last lap around the neighborhood as the buzz of open bars reached its delightfully fevered pitch. It could be the moment you passed by the San Calisto and saw throngs of happy revelers in the same seats that had welcomed people on their way to work in the morning, or the multitudes bathing in sound and song at Piazza Trilussa. Perhaps it was the sight of young lovers holding hands on the Ponte Sisto, wishing for just a little more time before the sun came up. Whatever it was hardly matters. Because Trastevere is proof that when you’re in love, everything is romantic.
How to get to Trastevere
Trastevere is walkable from Rome's city center. Otherwise, hop on tram 8 from Largo di Torre Argentina. It runs along the main drag of Viale di Trastevere, ending up at Villa Doria Pamphilj. Tram 3 also stops at the southern end of Viale Trastevere, connecting with Testaccio (Via Marmorata), Colosseo, San Giovanni and Villa Borghese. From Termini, bus H runs to Viale di Trastevere, while the 780 runs from Piazza Venezia.
