I had found a three BR/3.5 BA apartment in Campitelli, which is part of the former Jewish ghetto. It’s not far from the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, Largo Argentina (where Julius Caesar was murdered by the members of the Roman Senate – “Et Tu, Brutus”), and Capitoline Hill.
The bedrooms were nice, and it was great having Maria, Van, our daughter Julia, and of course Carol and I all in one unit, rather than across three hotel rooms. Up on the building’s third floor (remember, it’s Europe, so it’s actually the fourth floor) the place had a wonderful, large outdoor patio as well as another smaller patio up a flight of metal stairs.
The main patio has a grill which, sadly, went unused, a large outdoor table, and a spacious comfortable conversation area with padded chairs. It was surrounded by herbs, lemon trees, and other greenery. From that patio, we could see the historic synagogue in one direction, and a church dome 90 degrees in the other direction. It was great sitting out there in the late afternoon before dinner, especially when the church bells rang.
The upper patio had both of those views, as well as a view of the dramatic top statues on the Victor Emmanuel II monument. The upper patio had a small hot tub, which Carol and I availed ourselves one night. (The jets felt great after another 20,000 step day, but the water went from hot to cool very quickly, so we only used it once.)
The shared open plan space inside was also large, and was comfortable for sitting in when it got too cold to be outside (which happened most nights). A full kitchen, sitting area, dining table, and a small desk all fit with lots of leftover space. All in all, it felt like our home away from home for a fantastic week in Rome.
(Side note I found interesting in the Rick Steves book on Rome: The word “ghetto” comes from the Italian word “geto,” which means “foundry.” It was first used in Venice to describe the part of the city where Jews lived near the copper foundry. Initially the term meant only Jewish neighborhoods (think of the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943), but it later came tomean any neighborhood where a single ethnic group is segregated.
I’m old enough to remember when “ghetto” was used to describe poor black neighborhoods in American cities, including that Elvis Presley song. For better, “ghetto” has fallen out of favor and is, as far as I know, not used any more except in historical contexts such as Rome’s Jewish ghetto.)
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