Day trip from Rome

Thanks to my Roman friend Gioia, I got to spend a Sunday in Calcata a few weeks ago.  She’s an adventurous gal, helped me out with advice for my book, and thought it would be a great idea to go there on a Sunday for lunch–it’s a 45-minute drive from Rome. I’d been hankering to go to Calcata since 2007–ever since I read travel writer David Farley’s story from the Sunday New York Times’ Travel Section about it. He began with: WHETHER you arrive in Calcata by car or by one of the buses from Rome, it is impossible to remain unfazed when the village first comesRead More →

As soon as I arrive in Rome, I head to The Pantheon. I stand inside under its Dome–the Dome of All Domes–and look up to that opening that frames the ever-changing Roman sky: the Eye of Heaven! This is the perfect place to begin an Italian adventure. This is where you feel the pull of Italy’s soul.  Where you get the thrill of being in an architectural wonder, built over 2000 years ago to honor all the goddesses and gods. In the seventh century it was consecrated as a church, dedicated to Santa Maria and the Martyrs. In the 16th century Renaissance it was so revered the superstar artistRead More →