The Eternal City

After returning from India last week, I accompanied two friends, Simon and Chris, to Rome. Simon acted as a sort of professorial guide, with a love and knowledge of Rome that would please any connoisseur. And Chris, who's been to Rome a hundred times since the age of 10, not only knows every gallery and every church, but more important, the ten best restaurants, which made for a fantastic break. Two highlights worthy of a special mention were the Fra Angelico exhibition currently running at the Capitoline Museums until 5th July, and the Borghese Gallery with its four magnificent Berninis which, however many times you see them, still cause you to gasp. I am an absolute devotee of Fra Angelico's work, but this is the first time I've seen so many examples in one place, and there was not one painting that I didn't admire. His individual portraits of the face of Christ were truly remarkable, although Raphael's Deposition at the Borghese (below) remains one of my favourites.



This is my 7th or 8th trip to Rome, but I learnt something worthwhile from Chris Beetles. If you want to visit St Peter's Basilica, you should get there at 7.30am when the doors open, as you'll have the basilica virtually to yourself for an hour which means you can get up to the roof-top for the magnificent views without queuing and return to the ground floor and enjoy the Michaelangelo, Raphael and three Berninis before the coachloads arrive. By 10.00am it's pandemonium, which is precisely when we were departing, so if you are in Rome and want to see St Peter's, get up early. When I arrived back in London, despite having enjoyed eight of the most sumptuous meals I've ever had in my life, I discovered I was actually a pound lighter, which will give you a clue as to how much walking the three of us did during the past 5 days.