romeandabout

Ancient Ostia

Ostia started probably as far the 5th century BC as a small military outpost to protect the mouth of the river and the coast near Rome. After its initial military role it became a major port and trading center. In its heyday it had a population of some 50000 inhabitants.Nowadays the ancient ruins are immersedContinue reading “Ancient Ostia”

Food lovers tours

Cooking is a passion I inherited from my mother: as a child I watched, helped and tried to imitate her in the kitchen. We shopped at the street markets long before supermarket chains opened. I am still very curious about food and I love wandering in markets, delis and foodstores. Contact me for a personalisedContinue reading “Food lovers tours”

The Appian Way

As Rome began to expand and shift from a village into a vast empire nearly 80.000 km of paved roads were built to connect the capital to people and places all over the empire. This incredible network of ancient highways was a great geographical revolution and established a sort of blueprint for a “globalized world”.Continue reading “The Appian Way”

Fall flavours: biscotti al castagnaccio

Fall has arrived and with it one of the fall fruits: chestnuts! In Tuscany and other Italian regions at this time of the year you can find Castagnaccio which is a sort of moisty pie made of chestnut flour, pine nuts and raisins. Inspired by this recipe I baked these cookies or biscotti which haveContinue reading “Fall flavours: biscotti al castagnaccio”

Cycling adventures

Whenever I can, I take my bicycle and off I go! I live just 10 minutes away from the Ancient Appian Way and the Park of the Aqueducts which are my favourite spots for my bike adventures. If you enjoy the idea we could go together: these areas are not too busy with traffic butContinue reading “Cycling adventures”