Tr i p notes

Getting there

Airlines including Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Cathay Pacific and Singapore fly with one stop from select Australian cities to Rome.

Eat and drink

Da Claudio stall Campo de’ Fiori, in front of La Carbonara restaurant, +33 92 063 085

Meglio Fresco Via da Boccea 350, megliofresco.it Antico Forno Roscioli Via dei Chiavari 34, anticofornoroscioli.it Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria Piazza Benedetto Cairoli 16, rosciolicaffe.com Ristorante Salumeria Roscioli Via dei Giubbonari 21, salumeriaroscioli.com

Il San Lorenzo Via dei Chiavari 4/5, ilsanlorenzo.it Emma Via Monte della Farina 28/29, emmapizzeria.com Pizzarium Via della Meloria 43, bonci.it

Stay

Hotel de Russie U2 are in residence when I arrive. I assume the barricaded crowds on Via del Babuino must be there for me (so I wave), but no – they’re waiting for Bono. Typical. Everyone who’s anyone in the Eternal City stays at the Hotel de Russie. Designed by Giuseppe Valadier, the architect of the Piazza del Popolo next door, the six-storey palace hotel is best known for its “secret garden” of old yews, palms and an almost tropical abundance in the heart of Rome. Its 88 rooms and 33 suites had a “soft restyling” in 2016 and look as fresh and affluent as the hotel guests. The rooftop Popolo Suite, with a long balcony above Piazza del Popolo, is a particularly magical setting for aperitivi or a private dinner. As Jean Cocteau once noted, this place is “paradise on Earth”. Hotel guests can book a three-day masterclass with Fulvio Pierangelini on 4-7 November. Rooms from €697. Via del Babuino 9, Rome; +39 06 328 881; roccofortehotels.com