Roman holiday

By Jeannie Marshall

Rome's Piazza Navona is a choice destination for everything from architecture to ice cream, but it's a mob scene day and night. When it all becomes too much, it's good to know there is something more tranquil nearby. For your holiday from the hubbub, head for Vicolo di Montevecchio.

Just west of the piazza and beyond the overcrowded pizzerias (with their waiters beckoning in English, French, German or whatever it is they think you speak), is a quiet street where the locals go to eat or to savour a glass of wine. Vicolo di Montevecchio is a short stretch of crumbling, vine-covered apartment houses that appear to have last been painted during the Renaissance. Nestled incongruously near one of the city's busiest tourist attractions, this peaceful slice of Roman life offers four restaurants to choose from:

piazza navona

1. Osteria del Gallo

This osteria has a warm but simple interior that suits its name (an osteria is a tavern or humble restaurant). Here you'll find the usual pasta dishes like spaghetti alla carbonara as well as some that are slightly more inventive, such as fettucine with tomatoes, arugula and gorgonzola. The interior is painted in a soft, comforting orange, while outside in front, on warm evenings, the tables spill out of the restaurant and onto the street.

Vicolo di Montevecchio, 27, 39-06-6873781

2. Ristorante Montevecchio

Featuring a large outdoor seating area under a canopy, this eatery supplements the usual Roman meat and pasta dishes with seafood antipasti, such as thin slices of sea bass or an octopus salad with potatoes, celery and olives.

Piazza Montevecchio, 22a, 39-06-6861319

3. Osteria del Pegno

This osteria is perfectly positioned where the street narrows, making it cool in summer and dark and cozy in winter. They serve all the traditional Roman pasta and meat dishes as well as pizza.

Vicolo di Montevecchio, 8, 39-06-68807025

4. Cantina del Vecchio

Located at the end of the street and hidden from view, this restaurant has a nice secluded feeling. The menu is seasonal and inventive with unexpected elements, such as swordfish rolls covered in a pistachio and lemon sauce or ravioli stuffed with artichokes and served with shrimp and a sprinkling of thyme. The wine bar in front is an ideal place for an aperitivo at the end of the afternoon.

Via dei Coronari, 30, 39-06-6867427

(Jeannie Marshall is a Canadian writer living in Rome.)

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