Things to do in Rome if you love Venice
Where to find gondolas, baccalà mantecato, + a Piazza San Marco in Rome
I have spent most of my life living between places I love. When I was a child we lived in Tennessee but I had family in England and Florida and New Jersey. I love BBQ and bagels and fish and chips equally. Now I live in Venice but I still love and miss Rome. I have a drawer in my Venetian refrigerator dedicated to guanciale from Amatrice and I buy jars of visciole jam to make crostata.
You can’t be in two places at once but if you are in Rome and missing Venice there is quite a bit of la Serenissima to be found. I made you a list of where look.
Venetian power and history in Rome
The most logical place to start is Piazza Venezia. I know it’s a mess right now because of construction for the Metro C but look beyond the more than usual chaos. The piazza takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia which was commissioned by a Venetian pope in the 1450s. Today it is a museum. The garden in the middle is one of my favorite places. In the center there is a fountain that depicts the Festa della Sensa, when Venice symbolically marries the sea.
Rome has a basilica di San Marco (Basilica San Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio) too. It is tucked away next to the Palazzo Venezia and overshadowed by the enormous Vittoriano monument across the street. There has been a church here since the 4th century (maybe Mark the apostle lived nearby) but it became the Venetian church in the 1400s. The Cosmati floor was commissioned by Cardinal Domenico Grimani in 1503 (and finished in 1523.)
The Roman Forum that you see today was the vision of a Venetian. Giacomo Boni was an archeologist who served as director of excavations from 1898 until his death in 1925. He is buried on the Palatine Hill in the Orti Farnesiani.
Bernini’s ravishing sculpture the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa inside the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria was commissioned by Cardinal Federico Corner. The powerful Venetian family1 made their fortune from sugar plantations in Cyprus.
The Maxxi museum holds some of the archives of the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa.
Venetian art in Rome
The Galleria Borghese has works by Canaletto, Titian, Jacopo Bassano, Veronese, and Bellini. They have some more Canaletto’s hidden away in the basement too) The Galleria Corsini has some Rosalba Carriera portraits.
When I first moved to Rome I lived at the bottom of the steps near this hotel that has two enormous Tiepolo’s. The bar is nice and the pool is worth the splurge on a scorching Roman day.
A gondola in Rome?
I am always telling you to take a gondola ride in Venice. You can take a gondola ride in Rome too.
Venetian shopping in Rome
The incredibly charming Emporio Centrale stocks velvet Furlane slippers and straw gondolier hats with wide grosgrain ribbon. Murano Pui is a trusted source for authentic Murano glass.
Chicetti and spritz in Rome
You can get a Campari or Aperol spritz at just about any bar in Rome. You might even be able to find Select. I once asked for a spritz bianco at a popular rooftop bar and the sweet Roman waiter brought me a full glass of Prosecco and a bottle of Acqua di Nepi. I wasn’t mad about it.
When I am in Rome I don’t eat Venetian food (just like when I am in Venice I don’t order carbonara.) I haven’t been to any of these places, but if you need cichetti you have options. L’Antagonista in Ostiense and Buseto in Pigneto both have baccalà mantecato.
I will let you in on a big secret. The chef at a favorite Roman restaurant was born in Belluno.
Sleep in Venetian style in Rome
The G-Rough hotel has a suite with Venini and Seguso chandeliers and other rooms with lighting designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa.
I love the Festa de la Sensa and the garden. The Basilica San Marco was under restoration when I was there but I thought it was beautiful.
Any cool hotel recs in Rome for a girls’ weekend?