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ON
THE
STREET
WHERE
YOU
LIVE
The
Palazzo Olivia is perfectly located in Rome's historic Centro
Storico.
It is a one-minute walk from the Piazza Navona and a 5-minute walk to
either the Pantheon or the Campo de' Fiori. You're just a few blocks
from the Tiber, the Castel S. Angelo, and the Piazza Venezia. The
Vatican, St. Peter's Square, the Forum and the Coliseum are all just a
15-minute walk away.
But
the Palazzo (official address: No 15 Via dei Leutari) is even better
located than you can imagine. Walk out the door, turn right and walk
to the corner and you'll be on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. It's a
busy, modern street that represents 21st Century commercial
Rome. But walk out the door, turn left and walk to the other corner,
then you'll be on the Via del Governo Vecchio. It is a bridge to
Rome's past--in fact, it means Old Government Street--and you can
meander for street after street and feel as if you're in 18th
(or maybe even 16th) Century Rome. A lovely contrast and a
rather startling one considering it hinges on nothing more than a left
or right turn out the door.
One
last thing about the location. Nothing you need to buy or eat or read
or purchase is more than a few paces away. Here's a quick list of
practicalities.
ATM
CASH MACHINE
There
is a branch of Banca di Roma
one block away at No. 161 Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The bank is
located on a corner and has 24-hour ATMs attached to both facades. The
ATM "speaks" English and accepts most any bank or credit
card, but you must have a four-digit numeric
pin to operate it properly. Withdrawing lira from your home bank
account is the cheapest way to get currency because you get the bank's
wholesale rate and Italian banks do not charge a "foreign"
ATM fee. See the "Currency Exchange" section for more
information.
BAKED
GOODS & PASTRIES
There
are several great bakeries in the Campo de' Fiori, but Il
Fornaio, located at No. 4 Via Dei Baullari, is the easiest to
reach. They don't have a mid-day closing and they create a bewildering
variety of lovely breads, rolls, cakes, pizzas and pastries. They also
do a nice selection of morning cornetti,
the Roman breakfast of choice. Their window displays are equally
fantastic. If you're looking for a special pastry or a gift to bring
to friends, head to La Deliziosa, a tiny shop tucked away on the vicolo Savelli, a
little alley located between the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the
Via del Governo Vecchio. It has one of Rome's best selections and
reputations.
BOOK
STORES
There
are all sorts of book shops around the Piazza Navona and the Campo de'
Fiori. But Invito alla Lettura (No. 283 Corso Vittorio Emanuele) is large,
bright, well organized and merchandised. It offers maps, best sellers,
guidebooks, food books, and even some posters, diaries and other
related items. Some of the titles are in English, too.
BUS
STOPS
The
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is one of Rome's major arteries and home to
several of the most important buses operated by ATAC, the Roman bus
company. Buses that stop at the corner of the Corso and Via dei
Leutari (in front of the home store) are headed toward the Vatican.
Buses that stop across the Corso at No. 178 are bound for the Piazza
Venezia, the Via Nationale, and Termini, Rome's major train station.
Both stops are also major "Night Bus" stops. Well designed
and easy to read sign boards at the stop note the number of the bus
route and each stop it makes along the way. You must buy a ticket at a
tobacco shop (Tabacchi) before entering
the bus. If you have purchased an ATAC pass, enter the bus via the
front. If you have a ticket for a specific bus route, enter at the
back of the bus and be sure you validate the ticket in the yellow
machine on the bus.
CURRENCY
EXCHANGE
If
you're not getting lire via your ATM, forget the Banca
di Roma branch mentioned above. In matters of foreign exchange, it
is a disaster. Service lines are long, the tellers distracted and the
paperwork is intense and time consuming. Instead, head for Interchange
at No. 33 Piazza Navona. There's rarely a line, never any formalities
and the rates are good.
COFFEE
BARS
A
small and unassuming local place--with no cassa
and no staff beyond the barista--is
located at the corner of the Via dei Leutari at No. 78 Piazza di
Pasquino. If you are headed toward the Corso, however, try the Bar
Lebowski, located at the corner of the Via Baullari and the Corso
Vittorio Emanuele II. And if you're wondering, the bar is named after
the movie The Big Lebowski.
In fact, the cassa receipt features a drawing of Jeff Bridges in his
role as The Big Lebowski.
ELECTRONICS
Elettronica
Erreci,
the shop at No. 181 Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (the corner of the Via
dei Leutari), offers a full range of audio and video equipment and
home appliances. It even sells a representative array of film, prepaid
phone cards, computer media, and
electrical converters Turn right as you exit the Palazzo and
walk to the end of the street.
EYEGLASSES
The
swanky Filottica at No 74 in the Piazza Pasquino has a full line of eyewear
and sunglasses.
FILM
& CAMERA SUPPLIES
The
nearest shop is E. deBenedaris,
located at No. 63 Piazza della Cancellaria, just off the Corso
Vittorio Emanuele II. Turn right as you exit the Palazzo, then turn
left at the corner onto the Corso. The aforementioned Elettronica
Erreci sells film, too.
GROCERY
& FOOD SHOPPING
One
of the joys of staying at the Palazzo Olivia is the ability to do your
daily shopping at the Campo de' Fiori. The vegetable, fruit, flower, macelleria
(butcher), and fishmonger stands at the Campo are open until around
noon. Also in the Campo are two notable storefronts: Antica
Norcineria Viola (No. 43c), one of Rome's best-loved pork shops,
which sells a nearly endless selection of dried and fresh sausage; and
Il Fiorentino (No. 17/19)
which sells excellent meats and ready-to-cook specialties such as
stuffed vegetables, meat pies and hamburgers.
After
Campo hours, look to the serviceable alimentari
(grocery) markets at Numbers 54 and 109 Via del Governo Vecchio. There
are no signs, but you can't miss them: Despite their numbering, they
are both at the corner of the Via di Parione. Luigi
d'Urso (No. 109) has a surprisingly good selection of wines. S. Loretucci (No 54) also offers decent bakery and cheese counters.
For fruits or vegetables, visit Agrilandia,
which is located in the Piazza Di Sandrea Delle Valle, just off the
Corso Vittorio Emanuele. All three shops open from about 8 a.m. to 8
p.m. with the standard lunchtime closing.
HARDWARE
Despite
its tiny size, the unnamed hardware shop at No. 72 Via del Governo
Vecchio seems to have everything.
HOSPITAL
Italian
medical standards are extremely high, but if only English-language
care will do, contact the Rome American Hospital at No.69 via Emilion
Longoni. The phone number is 06-22551. There is also a walk-in
emergency room.
INTERNET
ACCESS/COMPUTERS
Palazzo
Olivia has standard RJ-11 telephone jacks, but bring a European plug
adapter for your laptop's power cord. (Most laptop power supplies have
built-in converters that work on either 110 or 220 power, but check to
make sure yours does.) If you left your computer behind, you can get
Internet access at the Abbey
Theatre Irish Pub, a two-floor bar that imitates a pub, serves
Italian food, features live music, and offers Internet access and
E-mail service. It's located at No. 51-53 Via del Governo Vecchio. If
your computing needs are more robust, make your way to The
NetGate at No. 25 Piazza Firenze. It has three dozen workstations
equipped with AOL, CompuServe, Internet Explorer, Netscape and
Microsoft Word. Computer time costs 10,000 lire an hour, less if you
buy more time. You get a card allowing you use the time at any of the
two dozen NetGate outlets in Rome, Florence and other major Italian
cities.
NEWSPAPERS
& MAGAZINES
The
nearest newsstand is the edicola
kiosk in the Piazza San Pantaleo at No. 153 Corso Vittorio Emanuele
II. Turn right as you exit the Palazzo, then turn left at the corner
onto the Corso. Piazza San Pantaleo is the piazza with the statue of
Marco Minghetti. Besides the absolutely mesmerizing array of Italian
magazines and newspapers (Il
Messaggero is the local Roman paper) and the requisite guidebooks,
you'll find the International
Herald Tribune, the European edition of USA-Today,
and a full range of the quality British daily papers. By the way, the Herald
Tribune now runs a wonderful English-language insert called Italy
Today. The editors have a sense of humor. In addition to the
endless and incomprehensible stories about Italian politics, there is
a nice range of stories covering the goofy side of day-to-day Italian
life.
PHARMACY
Pharmacies
in Italy are just that: dispensers of prescription and
over-the-counter drugs and dental supplies. Unlike their massive U.S.
and British counterparts, they do not carry a full line of non-medical
goods. The closest pharmacy to the Palazzo is Farmacie
Langelli at No. 176 Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. It is open most
days from 8:30am to 7:30pm. After hours, check the poster in the
pharmacy's window. It will tell you which other pharmacies are open.
SIGHTSEEING
BUSES
Another
lovely feature of the Palazzo Olivia is its proximity to two of the
major Roman sightseeing buses. One of them, the private
"Stop-'n-Go" City Tours Bus, stops at No. 178 Corso Vittorio
Emanuele II at 10 minutes past the hour between 10:10am and 6:10pm.
The bus carries an English-language narrator and it makes 15 stops
around Rome at all the major tourist attractions. You can get on and
off as many times as you please throughout the day. Passes, which can
be purchased on the bus, cost 20,000 for one day, 30,000 lire for two
days or 40,000 lire for three days. ATAC's Bus No. 110 also stops at
No. 178 Corso Vittorio Emanuele. This special city bus--it is very
large, nicely plush and painted metallic gray--makes a three-hour loop
around Rome's most favorite sites. There no narrator, but you receive
a decent English-language brochure covering the sites you'll pass. As
with all city-operated buses, a ticket must be purchased at a tobacco
shop before boarding.
STAMPS/POST
OFFICE
Most
every Tabacchi sells stamps (francobolli).
See the section on Tobacco shops below. There are red Post Office
letter boxes attached to the buildings at No. 181 Corso Vittorio
Emanuele (at the corner of the Via dei Leutari) and 69a Piazza di
Pasquino. Forget Poste Italiane, the state post office. Most Roman branches close by
2:30pm, the clerks speak
no English and seem to make an effort to ignore Italians, too.
SOUVENIRS
& POSTCARDS
There
are many places around, of course, but try the little shop at No. 133
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Turn right as you exit the Palazzo, then
turn left at the corner onto the Corso.
TOBACCO
SHOP
The
Tabacchi (tobacconist) is a
crucial part of daily Italian life. It not only dispenses cigars and
cigarettes to nicotine-addicted Romans, it is also where locals
purchase stamps, bus tickets, lottery tickets, phone cards, and the
football betting games. You can't go more than a few hundred feet
without tripping over a Tabacchi (look for the distinctive black and
white "T" sign), but the shop at No. 69a Piazza di Pasquino
is worth a special visit. It is very chic and also sells a fine
selection of quality pens, lighters, watches and jewelry.
WINE
SHOP
The
Enoteca dal Corso at No. 293-295 Corso Vittorio Emanuele II has one
of the best cellars in Rome. A huge selection of still wines,
Champagnes and even good balsamic vinegar and olive oils. The
aforementioned Luigi d'Urso also
offers a nice selection of Italian wines.
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