Rome

Chef Marco in front of ingredients in a cooking class in Rome

Pizza, Gelato, Suppli–Oh My! A Fantastic Cooking Class in Rome

Activities, Destinations, Europe, Get Inspired, Italy carolcram Leave a Comment on Pizza, Gelato, Suppli–Oh My! A Fantastic Cooking Class in Rome

Last updated on October 18th, 2024 at 01:17 am

I’m a huge fan of taking cooking classes when I travel around interesting locales that have unique cuisines. So far, I’ve taken a market class and a French sauces class (sweet and savory) in Paris, a tapas class in Madrid, and a pasta & tiramasu class in Rome (see my post about that awesome class here).

Choosing a Class in Rome

With two weeks to spend in Rome in 2024 (with a few days off to visit Naples and Paestum), I decided to take yet another cooking class. Most of classes available were variations on the pasta/tiramasu class I’d already taken, but after a bit of searching on Get Your Guide, I discovered a pizza and gelato-making class.

Perfect! I signed up on Tuesday for the class on Friday.

EnjoyCooking.com with Crown Tours

In 2022, I’d taken the pasta/tiramisu class with InRome Cooking, which I highly recommend. But this time, I decided to go with EnjoyCooking.com for the sake of variety and having a new company to write about on Artsy Traveler. EnjoyCooking.com partners with Crown Tours to offer cooking classes in a lovely, brick-arched space next door to their tour office and across the street from the Colosseum.

The day before the class, I got a WhatsApp call from the company. The family that had signed up to take the class at the same time as me had canceled, leaving me on my own. Did I want to postpone the class to the evening slot? I could not because in the evening, we had the opening of Gregg’s art exhibition at Il Leone Galleria in Rome. I was assured that they were happy to still offer the class at the 10 am time slot even if I was on my own. Lucky me!

Arrival at EnjoyCooking.com

I arrived on Friday morning and was ushered into the cooking space. There was room for eight people in a class so it was much more intimate than the class I took at InRome Cooking in 2022 which hosted I think twelve people. To my delight, there was one other woman in the class. Over the course of the next three hours, we bonded and had an awesome time.

Chef Marco!

But the biggest surprise was meeting the chef. In walked Marco–the same chef who had taught the pasta/tiramisu class at InRome Cooking. I couldn’t believe it! I told him I’d taken his class and showed him the blog post. He was so excited!

Carol cram with Chef Marco at enjoycooking.com cooking class in Rome
Back again with Chef Marco, this time at EnjoyCooking.com

So that was a great way to kick off the morning. Over the next three hours, Chef Marco led my new friend and me in a lively, hands on and informative class. I’m always amazed at how much I learn about cooking technique in these classes.

Gelato Making

We started with gelato. I discovered to my relief that the ice cream maker I’d purchased several years earlier could be dragged out, dusted off, and used to make gelato. Who knew?

We heated several pints of fresh milk in a pot over an electric hot plate. Marco informed us that the milk should be as fresh as possible–so fresh that it would spoil after three days. Of course, getting milk that fresh is pretty much impossible in North America unless you live on a farm, which I don’t. But the next best thing is high quality organic milk.

We heated the milk and whisked in sugar followed by ten egg yolks and grated lemon zest to make limone gelato. The lemons had come from the Amalfi coast and smelled divine.

After mixing the gelato, we poured it into the commercial gelato maker that would produce perfect gelato within thirty minutes. What an impressive looking machine!

Carol Cram pouring gelato into gelato maker

Marco informed us that we would also make raspberry sorbetto to go along with the limone gelato. Sorbetto is even faster and easier to make than gelato. We mixed water with raspberries and once the gelato was made, we poured it into the gelato-maker (after the limone gelato was done, of course).

Here’s a video of the raspberry gelato being extruded from the gelato maker–an exceedingly beautiful and satisfying sight.

Suppli Making

I had never heard of suppli–a Roman street food that is widely available all over the city. Marco showed us how to take rice cooked in tomatoes and form it around fresh cubes of mozzarella cheese, then bread and deep fry it. The result was a log-shaped rectangle that when still hot and pulled apart stretched the warm mozzarella cheese. It was yummy but a bit rich for me at only 11 am!

But when in Rome!

Making Suppli - deep frying

Pizza Making

The main event of the cooking class was making pizza the proper way–aka like they make piazza in Napoli where Marco was from.

I learned that the pizza dough should be rested for two hours after mixing and then rested in the refrigerator for up to three days. That was something new to me. I’d always let my piazza dough rise for about an hour, if that, and then cooked it. Apparently, doing so results in dough that is still fermenting when it enters your tummy. Not good!

Mixing the Pizza Dough

We mixed the dough and kneaded it for about six minutes–a very satisfying process. The dough was light and very elastic. It was then put away to rest and presumably used for a class the next day. Marco then produced dough that had already been rested and risen for a day, and we proceeded to learn how to shape the dough into a pizza. Handling the soft, pliant dough was such a pleasure. We didn’t learn how to throw it in the air, but we did learn a few tricks I can apply back home.

Baking the Pizza

Another tip I learned was to slather on the tomato sauce first, bake the pizza for about six minutes in a home oven (much less in a high temperature commercial oven) and then add the toppings and cook for another three to four minutes. Who knew? I also learned that certain toppings such as prosciutto should not be cooked, but added after the pizza came out of the oven.

For best results, I was told that I should get myself a pizza stone so that’s going on my Christmas list for next year!

Topping the Pizza

After baking the pizza with the sauce, we were offered a wide array of toppings to dress our pizza. My companion chose mozzarella cheese and fresh sausage. I chose anchovies, mushrooms, olives, and of course mozzarella cheese. Here we are making our pizzas in front of the scrumptious assortment of toppings.

Finishing the Pizzas

The pizzas went back in the oven and voila! Within minutes they were being served to us. The first bites were wonderful–the crust slightly charred and very puffed up (the sign of a good pizza) and the toppings fresh. I managed to get through three pieces before having to give up. Marco thoughtfully put the remainder in a pizza box for me to carry home to Gregg.

Finished pizza with anchovies and olives at cooking class in rome

After pizza, we were served the gelato we’d made earlier. OMG! The limone gelato, in particular, was truly to die for. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a fresher and more delightful-tasking gelato. It puts the run-of-the-mill gelatos found in gelato stores to shame. As Marco said, it’s all about using the freshest ingredients.

scoops of limone and raspberry gelatos

The class ended with me receiving my certificate and posing for a picture with Marco. I was thoroughly satisfied with my second Rome cooking experience in EnjoyCooking.com and Crown Tours.

A smile was on my face as I threaded my way through the crowds of tourists streaming past the Colosseum and Forum on my way back to our comfy little apartment in the Jewish Ghetto.

Thank you, EnjoyCooking.com and Marco for an excellent experience.

EnjoyCooking.com Class

Here’s a link to the cooking class I took through Crown Tours. As I’ve mentioned often on Artsy Traveler, I’m a very big fan of Get Your Guide. I booked my class with Crown Tours through Get Your Guide. If you click on the link below (or the links in the next section) and take any tour (not just the ones listed), I get a small commission. Thank you.

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Cooking Classes in Rome with Get Your Guide

Here is a selection of additional cooking classes in Rome run by both Crown Tours and other companies.

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Conclusion

Have you taken a cooking class while traveling? Share your experience in the comments below!

Here are some more posts about cooking classes:

View of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome

A Hidden Gem: The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome

Artsy Sightseeing, Destinations, Italy carolcram 2 Comments on A Hidden Gem: The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome

Last updated on October 15th, 2024 at 03:48 am

By Guest Poster Andie Easton, author of the Clued In Travel Books –

The walnut tree is the reason the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo was built.

Every Roman citizen knew about the tree and the large number of black crows–an unnatural number–that clung to its branches every day. And it was common knowledge that the tree had everything to do with the Emperor Nero.

In the Renaissance, people wondered why the crows always flocked to that particular tree. It was unnerving, especially to the merchants and officials who used the Flaminia roadway which led north out of Rome. They had to pass right by the tree because the city’s walled gate was next to it.

They were convinced that the shiny, black, rustling tree caused bad luck. Mishaps on their various journeys only confirmed this. They became so fearful of the evil that inhabited the area that they finally demanded the Church fathers do something about it.

Every Roman citizen knew about the tree and the large number of black crows–an unnatural number–that clung to its branches every day. And it was common knowledge that the tree had everything to do with the Emperor Nero.

In the Renaissance, people wondered why the crows always flocked to that particular tree. It was unnerving, especially to the merchants and officials who used the Flaminia roadway which led north out of Rome. They had to pass right by the tree because the city’s walled gate was next to it. They were convinced that the shiny, black, rustling tree caused bad luck. Mishaps on their various journeys only confirmed this. They became so fearful of the evil that inhabited the area that they finally demanded the Church fathers do something about it.

Origins of Santa Maria del Popolo

There are many reasons why the churches in Rome were built and many reasons for their chosen locations. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo is located on the site of the walnut tree that grew over the very spot where the despised Nero’s body had been unceremoniously buried some 1500 years earlier. Nero obviously now haunted the place; people had seen him there. Only a church built on that spot would calm the populace. And it needed to be made important. If the Pope recognized the church, it would become a Basilica.

The order eventually came down from Pope Paschal II. The situation had become a social scandal, and this was his official solution. Important artists must be commissioned to decorate its side chapels and ceiling. The artistic works created for it would need to spring from such important themes that even God would notice it.

For the project, the Church recruited renowned artists Caravaggio, Raphael, and Bernini, who all enjoyed fame during their lifetimes. (Well, Caravaggio was definitely known, but not necessarily for his art.) If you’re unfamiliar with these gentlemen artists of the 16th century, I must tell you that they are very famous in the art world. Legendary, even.

What’s Special about Santa Maria del Popolo

In situ is Latin for “in place” and is the term given for paintings, mosaics, frescoes, and sculptures that are still in the exact spot for which they were commissioned, for where they were designed to be. It is always special when one views something in situ, especially a major work.

And that is why I love Santa Maria del Popolo. It lays claim to two Caravaggio paintings, sculptures by Bernini, and a mosaic ceiling designed by Raphael. These creations have remained undisturbed in their precise positions. They could have easily been moved to some world-class museum or other, to bolster their daily visitation numbers and be celebrated at members-only cocktail events that the press would cover with uneducated glee. But something even more amazing happened: the works stayed where they were and as a result are almost unknown.

Location of Santa Maria del Popolo on the Piazza del Popolo

Located a bit out of the way at the north end of Piazza del Popolo, Santa Maria del Popolo sits quietly, without banners or signs. One would never know that it displays mind-boggling, priceless art. The masterpieces are not featured in any special way. You must actually go looking for them.

Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Pufui PcPifpef, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the Chigi Chapel, you’ll find products of the genius of both Raphael and Bernini. Raphael obviously based his mosaic ceiling on the most important theme he could think of, The Creation of the World. It is so incredible that even as you are staring at it, your eyes tell you that it’s a painting, not a mosaic.

Raphael, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Statues by Bernini

All the amazing statues in this chapel are by Bernini. If you’re not familiar with Bernini, you’ll want to check out more of his beautiful statues, mostly notably those in the Borghese Gallery in the lovely Borghese Gardens in Rome.

Peter1936F, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the Cherasi chapel, you’ll find the two astounding canvas paintings by Caravaggio positioned directly opposite one another—the  sensual Conversion on the Way to Damascus and the gut-wrenching Crucifixion of Saint Peter.

Conversion on the Way to Damascus, Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The theme of Peter (as in the apostle Peter of Vatican fame) being crucified upside down in Rome as the Bible describes is not a theme that many artists favor. Perhaps that’s because it is simply too horrific. Caravaggio was not afraid of much, it appears, and clearly threw caution to the wind.

Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Visiting Santa Maria del Popolo

You’ll be surprised at the lack of visitors inside the Basilica; you may well be the only one. The reason is simply that most people don’t know about the place or what makes it special, even after being featured in Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons.

The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo is located at 12 Piazza del Popolo, next to the north stone gate and is free to enter. It’s open daily with sporadic hours; check their website for the days of your visit: rome.net/santa-maria-del-popolo. Avoid visiting on a Sunday during Holy Mass because you won’t be allowed to freely wander. Phone: Intl. calling: (011) 39-06-631-0836 / Local calling: 06-631-0836

Happy travels,

Andie Easton

Read about Andie Easton and her wonderful series of books!

Exploring the Area

Here are some GetYourGuide tours in Rome.

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Rome Walking Tours

GuruWalk lists pay-what-you-please walking tours that connect tourists with tour guides all around the world. Check out their tours of Rome!

Colosseum in Rome

The Best of Rome in Three Days

Destinations, Italy carolcram 1 Comment on The Best of Rome in Three Days

Last updated on October 10th, 2024 at 09:12 pm

Rome wasn’t built in a day so don’t try to see all of it in a day. You’ll exhaust yourself and come away feeling ripped off.

The Eternal City demands your time. Even three full days doesn’t come close to doing justice to Bella Roma, but it’s better than one.

This post presents my suggestions for how to spend three full days in the eternal city.

Day 1: Ancient Rome

You could easily spend several days just focusing your sightseeing energies on ancient Roman sites. They’re everywhere! But top of the list are the Colosseum and the Forum, the Domus Aurea (if you’re in Rome on a Saturday or Sunday), and the Pantheon.

Colosseum and Forum

Start your day with an early visit to the Colosseum followed by a wander through the Forum. Of the two Roman sites, the Colosseum gets the most crowded, so be sure to see it first.

Also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, the iconic Colosseum has become the symbol of Rome. Construction of the Colosseum began in AD 72 by order of the Emperor Vespasian and was completed in AD 80. It was the largest colosseum in the world with a capacity of 50,000 spectators. Seeing it now, you’ll be hard-pressed to believe that it held that many people.

I was a bit underwhelmed the first time I saw the interior of the Colosseum. My imagination couldn’t quite conjure the scenes of wild animals tormenting terrified Christians, which is probably just as well.

That said, put the Colosseum at the top of your Rome sightseeing list. Just make sure to buy your tickets in advance for both the Colosseum and the Forum.

Another option is to book a nighttime tour of the Colosseum that takes you to the Colosseum’s underground corridors, the arena, and the first ring of the seating area. I haven’t taken this tour, but it sounds intriguing and crowd-free (always a selling point for me).

Stone tunnels underneath the Colosseum in Rome.
Visit the Colosseum on a nighttime tour!

Purchase tickets here for the Colosseum Nighttime tour.

Domus Aurea

The Domus Aurea is in the vicinity of the Forum and Colosseum. We visited the Domus Aurea in 2001, not long after it opened in 1999 when we were able to wander freely around the massive excavated rooms. The site was closed in 2005 and reopened in 2007, with more galleries added in 2015. The number of visitors is now restricted, with everyone required to wear a helmet.

Built by the Emperor Nero in 64 AD, the Domus Aurea had 300 rooms and occupied about 50 hectares–and was used exclusively for parties. That Nero was some kind of party animal.

Visit the Domus Aurea by guided tour and only on Saturdays and Sundays. If you can get tickets, go. The guided tour consists of a twelve-stage itinerary that includes a virtual reality installation in the Sala della Volta Dorata. Visitors are purportedly transported to an ancient, rich, and magical world.

A group of tourists wearing helmets and preparing to tour a vast vaulted corridor in the Domus Aurea in Rome.
Visit the Domus Aurea on a guided tour.

Pantheon

The area around the Pantheon in central Rome is always hopping. Visit later in the day when the crowds are thinning.

The Pantheon is remarkable for its dome–still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, which is amazing, considering the Pantheon was built 2,000 years ago. Thanks to continuous use for two millennia, the Pantheon is one of the best-preserved buildings from ancient Rome. Originally a temple, the Pantheon is now a church.

See the Pantheon on your own or, for a few euros more, take a guided tour.

The Pantheon in Rome and the piazza in front of it.
Consider a guided tour of the Pantheon

After touring the Pantheon, treat yourself to a gelato and watch the world go by from one of the cafés bordering the piazza in front of the Pantheon. I still remember fondly the fig gelato I sampled while visiting the area.

Spend the evening getting lost in the maze of streets leading from the Pantheon to the Piazza Navona and then find a place for dinner. Choose small restaurants on side streets that are filled with locals.

The area around the Piazza Navona is my favorite part of Rome, hands down.

Day 2: Catholic Rome

Rome bristles with churches, some dating back to Roman times and most containing priceless works of art, particularly from the Renaissance and Baroque eras. You can’t see all the churches in one day, nor should you try!

Focus first on St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum and then go back across the Tiber to visit San Pietro di Vincoli and the Basilica of San Clemente.

St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum

A visit to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum requires stamina. Line-ups are inevitable even with advance tickets. You can’t avoid the long, sweaty trek through room after room of the Vatican Museum before finally arriving in the Sistine Chapel.

But the trek is worth it. Just make sure you buy your tickets for the Vatican Museum well in advance.

Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel heaves with tourists. There’s no escaping them (and you are one of them!) so just tilt your head back and admire Michelangelo’s ceiling. My favorite memory of the Sistine Chapel is when, on my first visit at the age of 18, I heard a woman behind me say to her companion, “Do y’all think it was done by hand?” I resisted the temptation to turn around and tell her it was paint by numbers.

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
Buy your tickets in advance to visit the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum.

The Sistine Chapel was restored by Pope Sixtus IV, famous for his patronage of the arts. He also makes an appearance in the TV series Medici, which I write about in a post over on my sister website, Art In Fiction. Pope Julius II is responsible for commissioning Michelangelo to cover the ceiling with his magnificent frescoes between 1508 and 1512.

St. Peter’s Basilica is a must-see because it is humongous. My favorite part is viewing the size of various world cathedrals marked in the nave. Washington’s National Cathedral is marked at 139 meters, which is about half the length of St. Peter’s nave.

The last time I visited St. Peter’s, the organ was at full volume and wow! Transfixing, for sure.

I love the exterior of St. Peter’s. A gorgeous double sweep of Bernini columns embraces two sides of the square.

A section of the Bernini columns at St. Peter's Basilica
A section of the Bernini columns at St. Peter’s Basilica

Castel Sant-Angelo

On your way back over the Tiber to central Rome, you’ll pass by the Castel Sant’Angelo. Also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the site technically belongs with the ancient Rome Day 1 itinerary. However, its location near St. Peter’s and the Vatican makes it a good stop on Day 2.

Originally built to be the mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family, the structure was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle and is now the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo.

Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome
Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome

The museum is a worthwhile stop, primarily because of the view of Rome seen from the top. Go at sunset for some great photo ops. The area around Castel Sant’Angelo teems with tourists, so a view like the one below is virtually impossible!

Cross the bridge from the Castel Sant’Angelo and plunge back into medieval Rome. Stay around the Piazza Navona for the rest of the day, enjoying gelatos and people-watching, or continue your Catholic Rome wanderings by visiting two more churches.

Take a bus or a taxi back towards the Colosseum area to find San Pietro in Vincoli.

TIP: To get around Rome, consider taking taxis and busses. Taxi drivers skillfully weave through the dense traffic–better them than me! Prices are reasonable and worth it to save your feet. Busses in Rome are also a good bet. Use your phone to familiarize yourself with the bus routes. I prefer riding the bus to riding the metro (which has limited routes) because then I can watch Rome go by.

San Pietro in Vincoli

Not far from the Colosseum are a few churches worth visiting, particularly San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains) where Michelangelo’s statue of Moses dominates the side altar.

Whenever I’ve visited this church, it’s been quiet and uncrowded. I love standing in front of the Moses statue and admiring the way Michelangelo sculpted Moses’s hands. Truly remarkable.

Marble statue of Moses sculpted by Michelangelo in the San Pietro in Vincoli church in Rome
Marble statue of Moses sculpted by Michelangelo in the San Pietro in Vincoli church in Rome

Basilica of San Clemente

Located not far from the Colosseum, the Basilica of San Clemente appeals to me because it was built on the site of a house containing a shrine of the Roman god Mithras. An underground passage leads to the excavated foundations of the 2nd-century Roman house. A relief on the altar shows the Persian sun god, Mithras, killing a bull.

The underground area is super dark and creepy, providing great scope for the imagination.

Day 3: Pastoral Rome

Rome is not all churches and ruins. It also has the marvelous Borghese Gardens, the atmospheric Trastevere region, and the achingly pastoral Appian Way, several metro stops from the center of the city.

See the Galleria Borghese and the Borghese Gardens in the morning, zip out to the Appian Way for lunch and a lovely afternoon stroll, then end your day with dinner in the Trastevere neighborhood across the Tiber from central Rome.

Borghese Gardens and the Galleria Borghese

Head to the Borghese Gardens and tour the Galleria Borghese. You must get tickets ahead of time. This stunning gallery reopened recently after being renovated. You’ll see some of the masterpieces of the Baroque age, including works by Caravaggio and the famous sculpture of Apollo and Daphne and The Rape of Proserpina by Bernini.

I first saw Bernini’s sculptures when I visited Rome in 1974. Works of that quality were thin on the ground in the Vancouver suburb where I’d grown up, so I was understandably impressed. Check out the way Pluto’s fingers press into Proserpina’s flesh and then remember that you’re looking at marble.

The Rape of Proserpina by Bernini in the Galleria Borghese: Buy tickets in advance

Amazing!

After partaking of the Baroque delights at the Galleria Borghese, spare an hour or so to wander around the gardens of the Villa Borghese. On a solo trip to Rome a few years ago, I stayed in a bed-and-breakfast about a block from the park and enjoyed early-morning strolls alongside Roman joggers.

Appian Way

In the afternoon, depending on the weather and your energy level, consider taking the metro out to the Appian Way (Via Appia Antica).

You’re transported from noisy modern Rome to an Arcadian landscape of plane trees and cypresses lining the original Roman road. Rent a bike or just stroll along the stone roadbed, imagining Roman chariots rumbling past.

Gregg and I spent a magical afternoon there, communing with the ghosts of the Roman rich people whose tombs line the road. The peace and quiet soothed nerves that can get a bit overstimulated by the hustle and traffic of downtown Rome.

The beautifully pastoral and peaceful Appian Way outside Rome
The beautifully pastoral and peaceful Appian Way outside Rome

Trastevere

Spend an evening strolling the quiet streets of the Trastevere neighborhood. The working-class area still feels authentic and Roman. Find a small restaurant overlooking one of the piazzas and settle in for dinner.

Trastevere is located on the same side of the Tiber as St. Peter’s Basilica, about a ten-minute bus ride alongside the river.

Cobbled street in the charming Trastevere area of Rome
Cobbled street in the charming Trastevere area of Rome

Here’s a good article about what to do and see in Trastevere.

Tours in Rome

Here are some tours offered by Tiqets.com:

And here are some tours offered through GetYourGuide:

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Fancy a walking tour? The tours offered through GuruWalks are a good bet. Here are their tours in Rome.

Where to Stay in Rome

If you’re staying in Rome for more than two or three nights, consider renting an apartment. We’ve had good luck with HomeAway. When you stay in an apartment, you live like a temporary local, buying food from the local markets, and getting to know neighborhood restaurants and cafés .

For more accommodation suggestions in Rome, see Recommended Plays to Stay in Italy That Will Make Great Memories.

Conclusion

Here are some more posts to give you a taste of Italy: