scubish.com: Scuba diving Roma - Italy

Understand

Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the "Eternal City" was once the administrative center of the mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched all the way from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices.

The metropolitan area is home to around 3.3 million people.

For two weeks in August, many of Rome's inhabitants shut up shop (literally) and go on their own vacations; many stores and other amenities will be closed during this time. The temperature in the city centre at this time of year is not particularly pleasant. If you do travel to Rome at this time, be prepared to see Chiuso per ferie (Closed for holidays) signs on many establishments.
Anyhow even in these weeks the city is very beautiful and if you look for a less overcrowded vacation in Rome this is not a bad time.

Eat

The Trastevere neighborhood and the old Jewish quarter have some of the best trattorie and ristoranti in Rome.

In Rome you can ask for:

Carciofi alla romana (artichokes, Roman style)

Carciofi alla giudia (artichokes, Jewish style)

Puntarelle (Chicory Salad)

Bucatini alla Amatriciana (a pasta dish)

Spaghetti (or Rigatoni) alla "Carbonara", a sauce made with egg and pancetta (bacon)

Abbacchio alla "scottadito" (lamb chops)

Rigatoni con la "Pajata" (not always available)

Scaloppine alla romana (Veal Sautéed with Fresh Baby Artichokes)

Coda alla "vaccinara" (beef stew)

Cornetti e cappucino (especially cornetti alla nutella--a delicious, sweet pastry filled with nutella!)

Pizza. Lots of the better places only serve pizza in the evening, as it takes most of the day to get the wood oven up to the right temperature. Try some of the fried things like baccala (battered salt cod) for a starter, followed by a pizza for a really Roman meal. For one of the most famous places for pizza, try 'Da Baffetto' (Via del Governo Vecchio). Roman pizzas tend to be very thin crusted.

Avoid the tourist areas where you'll often pay double the going rate just to get a badly reheated frozen pizza. Instead, head for a pizzeria like 'Pizzeria Maratoneta' in via dei Volsci / via del Sardi, San Lorenzo area, where you'll find a fine atmosphere of families and groups of students, and you'll get a good meal with a bottle of local plonk at a very reasonable price. You'll get an English menu, too.

Pizza al Taglio. Pizza by the slice. A good cheap way to get something to fill you up, and it makes a good lunch. Point to the one you want, indicate if you want more or less than your server is indicating with the knife. It's sold by weight (the listed price is usually per 100 gm) and a good quick lunch or snack.

Panini. If you don't speak Italian, the question will always be asked once you've pointed out the sandwich, you want is 'Do you want it toasted?'. If not, you can simply state 'caldo, per favore' (make it hot, please). Please note: singular is panino,...