Trastevere boutique hotel

The most picturesque district, a stone’s throw from the Jewish ghetto and the Colosseum

Loly Boutique hotel is in the heart of Trastevere, the district that combines elegance and authenticity, next to all the main monuments and the Jewish ghetto. Rome reveals itself in its poetry among the alleys of Trastevere, still inhabited by the true Romans “de Roma”, especially in spring and summer, when the houses adorned with climbing plants are painted with flowers and the “madonnelle” (votive icons placed on the façades of buildings or near crossroads) are hidden among the vegetation.

The first thing to do is to get lost in the narrow and ancient streets. Outside the boutique hotel, Trastevere will be a delight for you, enrapturing you in an intriguing embrace.

Trastevere, what to see

Prepare yourself for a “chic” walking tour, where luxury comes from the authentic experience and the emotions from the incredible details that awaits you every step. Always look around you, poster art pops up quite often, giving vivid impressions of local everyday life.

As soon as you step out of the boutique hotel, the first destination that we propose to you is Piazza San Cosimato, which until the end of the 19th century looked almost like a country area. Today it’s the district centre and offers a particularly colourful local market, where you can find fruit, vegetables, meat and cheese, and a children’s park (with a public bookcase).

Street art lovers can start this tour by New Regina Margherita Hospital, to look at the mural made by My Dog Sighs, a wall covered in eyes, staring at the pedestrians, leaving them stunned.

A few minutes walk from both, in the direction of the Tiber, you can see Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, known as the first official Christian worship site in Rome. Built by Pope Callistus I in the 3rd century and finished in 340, its interior contains important mosaics by Pietro Cavallini in the 12th century depicting the “Life of the Virgin Mary”. The bays are dotted with granite columns of various diameters, probably once belonging to the Baths of Caracalla.

It is time to experience Rome from a different point of view. Crossing the Tiber, you can set foot on Isola Tiberina, a small island that, according to the myth, rose from sheaves of wheat thrown into the water by the Romans during the driving out of Tarquins from Rome. The island is connected to Trastevere by Ponte Cestio and to the Jewish ghetto by Ponte Fabricio. A temple dedicated to Aesculapius was built on the island by the Romans, exactly where the church of San Bartolomeo all’isola stands today.

If you wish, you can visit the Jewish ghetto, otherwise we suggest you go back and continue walking at the side of Tiber, towards Piazza Trilussa. It’s one of the busiest squares in Rome, an authentic reference point. Here, on the steps, Romans mostly stop to chat on summer evenings.

From here, our journey continues over one of Rome’s most fascinating bridges, Ponte Sisto. It serves as a link between Trastevere and the very central part of the city, just stopping here and admiring the water or the people passing by is an enchanting experience.

Last two stops of the tour: Villa Farnesina and the Fontana dell’acqua Paola, the famous “fontanone”. The Farnesina is one of the most exciting examples of Renaissance art in Italy and the world: it contains one of Raphael’s most enchanting fresco cycles.

On the way back to the boutique hotel we can only recommend a walk up Colle Gianicolo, from where you can admire the best view of the Eternal City. Here in the afternoon once per day the silence is broken by a cannon shot, which marks the exact time, an ancient ritual that is repeated still today. Also here you will find numerous attractions for children and families: from the Biopark to the botanical garden and a characteristic puppet theatre.

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