A TASTE OF ANCIENT ROME
17–24 October 2016
Day-by-Day Program
Elizabeth Bartman, archaeologist, and Maureen Fant, food writer, lead a unique, in-depth tour
for sophisticated travelers who want to experience Rome through the eyes of two noted
specialists with a passion for the city, its monuments, and its cuisine. Together they will
introduce you to the fascinating archaeology of ancient foodways and to the fundamentals of
modern Roman cuisine. Delicious meals, special tastings, and behind-the-scenes visits in
Rome and its environs make this week-long land trip an exceptional experience. You’ll stay in
the same hotel all week, in Rome’s historic center, with some out-of-town day trips.
October is generally considered the absolutely best time to visit Rome. The sun is warm, the
nights not yet cold, and the light worthy of a painting. The markets and restaurants are still
offering the last of the summer vegetables—such as Rome’s particular variety of zucchini and
fresh borlotti beans—as well as all the flavors of fall and winter in central Italy—chestnuts,
artichokes, broccoli, broccoletti, chicory, wild mushrooms, stewed and roasted meats,
freshwater fish, and so much more.
Note: Logistics, pending permissions, and new discoveries may result in some changes to this
itinerary, but rest assured, plan B will be no less interesting or delicious.
B = Breakfast included
L = Lunch included
D = Dinner included
S = Snack or tasting included
MONDAY: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
You’ll be met at Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) or one of the Rome railroad stations and
transferred to our hotel near the Pantheon, our base for the next seven nights. You’ll have a
few hours to unpack, rest, or explore on your own.
We’ll gather in the early evening for aperitivi and an illustrated talk about Roman dining,
ancient and modern, as well as a preview of the week to come. That will be followed by an
easy, early dinner at an excellent trattoria near the hotel. (D)
TUESDAY: OSTIA AND BEYOND
We begin our week of exploring the food of Rome with the beautiful, and very different,
remains of two ports that supplied Rome’s million inhabitants with food and other
provisions. By special permission, we will tour Portus, where Roman emperors constructed a
massive new seaport over more than a century. New excavations here are revealing
important information about ancient seaborne commerce and advanced Roman construction
technology. We’ll see grain-storage facilities and the artificial hexagonal basin where ships
could safely moor, all in a setting that always makes us think of 18th-century engravings.
A few minutes’ drive takes us to the modern town of Fiumicino for a special seafood lunch.
From there we’ll go to the site of Ostia Antica, the bustling city that grew up around the port
at the (ancient) mouth of the Tiber. With its umbrella pines and sun-drenched brick, Ostia is
one of the loveliest and most evocative archaeological sites in all Italy. And what is more, its
well-preserved buildings and streets—never built over in later ages like those of Rome—give
us an excellent picture of what ancient Rome itself must have been like under the high
empire. Shipping offices, grain warehouses, and flour mills outline the big picture of the
Roman food supply, while restaurants and homes provide a more intimate picture of how the
urban population fed itself.
There will be time for a rest before you’re picked up at the hotel to go to the ancient Subura,
which is to say the trendy Monti quarter, for a fabulous introduction to the wines of Italy
(paired with Italian gourmet treats) led by a noted wine expert. (B, L, D)
WEDNESDAY: THE TESTACCIO AND OSTIENSE QUARTERS
Our private bus will take us the short distance to the Testaccio quarter, on the south side of
the city, to learn how and why it has been closely connected with food since antiquity.
We begin at one of Rome’s finest gourmet shops for a special tasting of local cheeses and
cured meats. It’s a great place to buy snacks for later or souvenirs of Italian specialty items,
and everything can be packed for travel.
After a short walk we’ll climb the (easy) path up Monte Testaccio, a sizeable manmade hill
composed entirely of broken amphorae, to learn how this unique archaeological area sheds
light on the ancient Roman economy and global trade in food. From here we simply cross the
street to the New Testaccio Market, one of Rome’s best, to explore the wide variety of
seasonal produce and the socio-historical context of the food and market, which stands atop
ancient Roman ruins. A short walk away are the vaulted remains of some of the vast ancient
warehouses that once held the grain and other foodstuffs that had been barged up the
nearby Tiber.
Our final stop before lunch is the nearby ex-Mattatoio, the old slaughterhouse built in the
1890s in the context of Rome’s new role as capital of the Kingdom of Italy. We’ll see some of
the haunting industrial remains of its former life and peek at some of the new uses to which
its structures are being put.
We cross back to the pottery mountain for lunch at a historic restaurant, Checchino dal
1887, built right into the hill. We’ll taste traditional Roman specialties (nothing scary) and
discuss the pillars of the cucina romana.
Our carriage will pick us up at about 3 o’clock for a short drive past the Pyramid of Cestius
along the (not picturesque) Via Ostiense takes us to the Museo Centrale Montemartini, one
of Rome’s newest, least-known, and most spectacular museums—housed in the city’s first
electrical power station. Delicate marble classical statuary is displayed against massive
industrial turbines and engines of the industrial age to unexpectedly striking effect.
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Our bus will return us to the hotel in time for late shopping. You’re free for the evening to
dine independently or with Liz and Maureen. (B, S, L)
THURSDAY: THE PONTINA, SOUTH OF ROME
Today we drive a couple of hours south of Rome to explore the area known as Pontina, the
former Pontine marshes, today an important agricultural area. The water buffalo that were
once essential to farming there are now kept for their rich milk. We’ll visit a farm to see how
the animals are raised and to taste freshly made buffalo-milk mozzarella and ricotta. From
there it’s only few minutes’ drive inland to the charming hamlet of Fossanova, where we will
visit the celebrated medieval abbey and enjoy lunch at the adjacent rustic restaurant.
A short drive along the coast takes us to Sperlonga, site of the emperor Tiberius’s opulent
villa with its picturesque dining grotto arm’s eight on the shore. It was once filled with
magnificent sculpture, examples of which we will see in the excellent site museum.
The drive back to Rome may exceed two hours, so we’ll play the evening by ear. (B, S, L)
FRIDAY: INFRASTRUCTURES (WALLS, ROADS, AQUEDUCTS, AND MORE)
Our first stop this morning will be the quirky little museum built into a well-preserved stretch
of the Aurelian Walls hurriedly built in the late third century when Rome, under threat of
attack for the first time in centuries, needed new defenses and quickly. The museum gives
(safe) access to the walls themselves so we can have a sentry’s-eye view of the gardens and
orchards that characterized the city until nearly modern times.
At the so-called Aqueduct Park, a short distance beyond the walls, we’ll see the majestic
remains of an ancient aqueduct and talk about the engineering genius that brought gallons of
pure spring water over hundreds of miles to supply Rome’s voracious appetite for water (for
example, to supply all those gigantic baths), but also about the legacy of the aqueducts and
Rome’s water supply today.
After a hearty lunch at a local trattoria, we will explore the Via Appia, the ancient Appian
Way. We’ll talk about both the construction techniques that ensured that stretches of the
ancient roads would be usable to this day and the grand design of the highway system (“all
roads lead to Rome”) that made it possible to conquer and govern an empire. The Appia was
the first. But it’s not all engineering. Tombs of all types—from elaborate private mausolea to
collective columbaria where ash urns were kept in “dovecots”—originally lined the Appian
Way and other roads leading from Italian cities. As we visit some notable examples, we’ll get a
sense of how the Roman dead remained continuing presences for the living.
On our way back to the center, we’ll stop at the infrastructural tour de force represented by
the Porta Maggiore, or Porta Prenestina. Romans today know it as the place where two tram
lines meet, but the ancient gate was where two roads and eight aqueducts intersected. The
gate itself bears an inscription commemorating the emperor Claudius for his generosity in
providing water to the city via the impressive aqueduct that we saw earlier. Adjacent to it
stands the idiosyncratic funerary monument of a baker who made a fortune supplying bread
to the Roman army.
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We’ll return to the hotel at about 4 pm, where we advise you to have a cup of tea and rest up
for our very unusual evening, a guided tour of some excavated ancient Roman houses on the
Caelian Hill (near the Colosseum and Palatine), a large and complex site largely beneath the
church of Saints John and Paul. At the end of the tour, we’ll be served a small buffet of snacks
based on ancient Roman recipes. (B, L, S)
SATURDAY: THE HEART OF OLD ROME
We’re on foot today. Those who wish can walk to the historic outdoor market at Campo de’
Fiori and taste one of Rome’s best-loved, local specialties, pizza bianca. We’ll then walk a few
blocks to the innovative Crypta Balbi museum near Largo Argentina. Inserted into an ancient
theater, it beautifully documents the layers of history that lie beneath Rome’s modern
streets.
From there it’s just a step to the old Ghetto to see the well-preserved remains of the
monumental Portico of Octavia, Temple of Apollo Sosianus, and Theater of Marcellus, and
have lunch at Piperno, a renowned restaurant that features traditional Roman Jewish (not
kosher) dishes such as stuffed zucchini blossoms and whole fried artichokes. We’ll discuss
this influential branch of the Roman culinary tradition over lunch.
The afternoon will be free for shopping or napping. Liz and Maureen will be happy to help
anyone negotiate the shops and, of course, to have a glass or a bite in the evening. (B, S, L)
SUNDAY: THE CASTELLI ROMANI
We cap off the week with an excursion to the beautiful Castelli Romani, the hill towns
southeast of Rome known for their refreshing white wines, such as Frascati, and for the
Pope’s summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the breathtaking volcanic Lake
Albano. The shady groves around beautiful Lake Nemi, in the crater of another spent
volcano, were considered sacred to the goddess Diana, but the lake itself hosted the
bacchanalian feasts held on a pair of pleasure boats belonging to the emperor Caligula.
Although burned by the Germans in World War II, reproductions of the boats still make a
spectacular impression in the small site museum.
The Castelli, especially the town of Ariccia, are also known as the home of another of Rome’s
favorite foods, porchetta, which we can sample from any number of street stalls.
The picturesque abbey at Grottaferrata centers on a medieval basilica of exceptional beauty,
built atop an ancient villa; its long history is attested by the diverse finds displayed in the
small museum at the monastery.
A fabulous farewell lunch will complete the day.
We’ll return to Rome in mid-late afternoon. Sunday is pizza night for anyone who’d like to
munch something or just socialize. (B, S, L)
MONDAY: DEPARTURE
Individual departures to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport or railroad stations. (B)
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