The formal entry is flanked with simple columns. The entry contains a table, chair, coat rack, desk and bureau. It open to the exterior with French doors opening onto a small balcony. Perfect for checking the weather before you go out.

Formal antiques from another era are found throughout the apartment. The sofa and chairs have been recently upholstered in elegant, old-fashioned cut velvet. We tested the sofa and chairs and they are perfectly comfortable.

View from the sofa out the French doors in the living room onto Piazza Costaguti. Wherever you look, you experience the unique and wonderful warm view of Roman rooftops and buildings. 

Looking down from the balcony you can see the buildings of the former Jewish ghetto. 

Charming Via Portico di Ottavia runs left to right, intersected by Via delle Cinque Scuole, the street of the five shuls. The modern building on the left is the Jewish high school. 

This is a real neighborhood and you can spend hours observing the comings and goings of the locals below.

The elegant Regency style sofa is flanked by the dining room on the left and the hallway to two bedrooms on the right. The entry is in the far corner. There are some very nice old oil paintings. The floor is a parquet patterned wood composite of some kind; much warmer to bare feet than tiles!

The large dining table sits eight. Everybody can gather for breakfast to plan their program and, in the evening, review their adventures.

The antique hutch holds linens and dishes for setting the table.

Tidy cabinets line the modern kitchen. 

Gleaming stainless steel oven and gas stovetop. Stairs rise to the loft that contains the washer.

The lofted laundry room has a modern washing machine and room to hang your clothing.

Master bedroom with queen-sized bed is comfortably furnished. The mattress is good.

View from the master bedroom onto a little piazza. The neighborhood bakery that has a few groceries, too, is in the building on the right. The perfume of baking bread will enhance your mornings.

At lunch time the bakery does a brisk business in fresh pizza. There are just a few simple flavors on offer that arrive in long slabs. When your turn comes just show with your hands how long a piece you would like of the pizza hot from the oven. Then choose some other items from the counter. 

The master bedroom has a loft. Access is via these stairs next to a fine antique chest. 

This is the bed that is found in the master bedroom loft. It can be made up for sleeping. Best for young people!

View from the master bedroom loft onto the balcony that wraps around the main floor.

The twin bedroom is spacious.  The balcony wraps all the way around the building giving this room a different view than the living room and master bedroom. No surprise that this room, too, has its own loft that is unfurnished. A good place to put your suitcases out of the way.

Twin bedroom balcony overlooks Piazza Costaguti and the local parish church San Carlo Catinari with the third highest dome in Rome. 

Bath adjoining twin bedroom.

The third bedroom is in a loft that extends over the entry. It is furnished with charmingly painted antique pieces (but modern mattresses!). You will find the bed on a platform, nightstand, wardrobe, an old-fashioned lavabo and a large bureau with a mirror. The bed is made up as a queen here, but there are two twin mattresses underneath, so it can be made up as two twins that can be separated a little bit. As you descend the stairs, the last step is set at an angle so if someone isn't fully awake, s/he could stumble.

The third bathroom that is at the base of the steps leading to the lofted bedroom has a shower. Its location off the foyer allows it to serve as a guest bath, too.

From the moment you find yourself in the charming piazza in front of the palazzo, there are delights for the eye. The famous Fountain of the Turtles gracefully intertwines marble curves, lithe youths, and flowing water with other elements for you to discover on your own.

Inside the courtyard, Renaissance murals have been restored. A few privileged cars park in the well-maintained courtyard.

The Pietrino apartment is reached from the second stairwell. These photos are of the first stairwell that leads to the "piano nobile" that is a step back in time. The formal rooms are, unfortunately, closed to the public, but you may be able to catch a glimpse through open doors from time to time. So do walk up the stairs of the stairwell across the courtyard.

History haunts the halls of the palazzo. 

You can walk past this door to the apartment where scenes for the movie The Talented Mr Ripley were filmed. This was the apartment that Tom (played by Matt Damon) rented in Dickie's name in Rome. Several scenes from this film feature this apartment, the palazzo and the piazza in front. 

The neighborhood has many restaurant choices. Just across the street is Pane Vino e San Daniele, a ostaria with reasonably priced meals that specializes in the cuisine of the Friuli region. Great salad choices among many others. 

A bouquet of flavors is an invitation to savor seasonal artichokes along Via Portico di Ottavia. 

What would you order from this spring menu of  Roman specialties?

Fresh fish

Pasta with chick peas

Pasta with beans

Artichokes Jewish style

Zucchini flowers 

Fried cod fillets 

Fried anchovies 

Ossobuco (braised veal)

Lamb stew 

Tripe Roman style

Temptation bursts from sweets in a Jewish bakery. 

Every shop has a seat outside encouraging a neighborly chat.

Via Portico di Ottavia bustles with activity. Students gather before entering school. Parents greet the rabbi at the entrance. Old men discuss the day's news, mothers do the day's shopping.

Plundered from ancient Roman buildings, two hunting reliefs as well as pieces of inscriptions adorn local buildings.

Trolley tracks that connect with the Trastevere train station run by this nicely decorated 19th century building on nearby Via Arenula. The closest bank is the BNL on the corner. 

About 15 different busses converge on this and adjoining Largo Argentina. There is also a taxi rank.

Note the above building on the far side of Largo Argentina where you can see the ruins of Roman temples.

Once the ruins of Rome were overrun with feral cats but a massive no-kill, sterilization program has reduced the population. You can tour the Largo Argentina cat sanctuary as well as the ruins daily at 5pm from the corner you can see at the far side of this photo.

Piazza Venezia is a five minute walk. Many famous landmarks are visible here. The Capitoline Hill is fronted by the Victor Emmanuel monument (scorned by Romans as the "typewriter" or "wedding cake"). The Palazzo Venezia houses art exhibitions and is where you often see photos of Mussolini making speeches. You can find five art exhibition venues in this hub. In the distance, you can see Trajan's column that sits in Trajan's forum, an ancient shopping mall. Here is vantage point to observe the sport of driving in Rome and, sometimes, a dancing traffic cop.

The nearest grocery store is an easy walk. It is open on Sundays and has a everything you are likely to need. 

Every morning you can follow your nose to the Antico Forno (the Old Oven) bakery that perfumes the neighborhood with the scent of freshly baked bread.  

You can even see the bakers at work, their kitchen opens onto the tiny piazza.

Fresh pannini, some with sesame, some with two little olive "eyes," slightly sweet braided egg bread and crusty loaves. How will you choose? 

The bakery has a small deli counter with cold meats, many kinds of olives, mozzarella cheese, and other vegetables "sott'olio" in oil, so you can quickly put together a lunch spread to serve on the terrace. 

Plan an early trip to Campo de' Fiori, the largest and oldest open air market in Rome. You will be rewarded with the freshest of fruits, vegetables and flowers. You can also observe the street life and the give and take of basic commerce. 

Artichokes are one of the most famous elements of Roman cuisine. 

Location of the Landini and Fontana Apartments, illustrating their central and convenient location. 

Click to enlarge.

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