The Roman identikit
Monti
Profile: Late 20s, early 30s professional: a self-starter with several projects on the go. Perhaps you work in graphic design making posters for local gigs, or fashion, designing your own brand of indoor sunglasses. You have a small studio flat that you’ve decorated with retro antiques you found from regularly scouring Mercato Monti.
You Spend Your Days: Loitering around the piazza with your dog, cruising Monti’s vintage stores looking for dapper attire, or meeting your fashionable friends for an artisanal aperitivo and cocktail (preferably served in a jar).
Favourite Hangout: Black Market, Caffè Bohemien, or anywhere with mismatched furniture and wifi, so you can sip an espresso while brainstorming on your Macbook.
You love your neighbourhood because: It’s chic, it’s happening and it’s in the heart of Rome.
San Lorenzo/Pigneto
Profile: 20s, student, perhaps studying visual arts at IED or philosophy at La Sapienza. You’re also planning a number of creative ventures, like organising an underground street art festival and starting your own tattoo parlour/music venue/vegan bakery in a converted factory/ storage unit.
You Spend Your Days: Rallying against the government, drinking at squat parties, going to urban photography exhibits in progressive art galleries, and generally seeking a “higher consciousness.”
Favourite Hangout: The edgier and more alternative/run-down the better. You like to lounge around drinking and discussing art and politics in Piazza dell’Immacolata. You can be seen catching a poetry reading or film screening at KINO and are a regular at Circolo degli Artisti.
You love your neighbourhood because: It’s a progressive cultural hub far from tourists, with a rough and ready vibe.
Prati
Profile: 30s to early 40s, you work in law, finance or something equally sensible. You think of yourself as a modern, urban professional. You are well-dressed, high achieving and even through your diary is full to the brim with appointments and events, you are always on the ball. Your IPhone is your closest companion.
You Spend Your Days: When you’re not working, you’re busy rubbing elbows with the big cheeses of your industry. Network, network, network, that is your mantra. You’ve also been known to spend weekends milling around the boutiques of Prati, looking for sophisticated apparel that will wow in the boardroom.
Favourite Hangout: You have lunch at Il Sorpasso – the artisanal cheeses and prosciutto are just exquisite! In the evenings you love to unwind with a cocktail at la Zanzara or, since you have such a cultured palette, or go to your favourite sushi place with your work mates.
You love your neighbourhood because: It’s smart, sophisticated and vibrant – just like you!
Trastevere
Profile: Expat. You are a student, most likely studying at John Cabot. You’ve only been in Rome for 7 months but you already feel like a local. You love everything about Rome: the culture, the pizza, the coffee, the architecture, and the way Italians gesticulate all the time. In addition to your studies, you also run a part-time travel blog where you post all your meanderings on what it’s like living La Dolce Vita.
You Spend Your Days: Striking up conversations in Italian with local greengrocers, bar-owners, anyone really. When you’re not taking photos of charming cobbled alleyways and ivy-covered terraces for your blog, you like to just sit in Piazza Santa Maria, soaking up the glorious Roman vibes.
Favourite Hangout: You’ve recently become acquainted with the concept of Aperitivo, and you are loving it! Your favourite spot is Freni & Frizioni, where you go to drink and people watch. And when an aperitivo turns into a spontaneous night of drinking, you cross the river and head to Campo de’ Fiori for some boozy debauchery.
You love your neighbourhood because: It’s young, eclectic and just so (wannabe) Italian!
