Walking around the marvelous city of Rome you mostly look at it from below. Fabulous buildings, mind-blowing architecture, history, culture, beloved movies, ancient beauty and modern classy chic: it’s all here, around you and mostly up there, above you. Rome is breathtaking, staggering and dazzling, but you rarely get a chance to embrace the city’s skyline and see it above the rooftops. Only if you go to the Vatican or climb the Janiculum Hill, where Paolo Sorrentino filmed part of his Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty”. But if you have just a day or two, you should know that there is a place to see the city’s panorama right in the center of Rome, right where you will definitely be walking, or maybe where you are standing right now!
We especially love this not-so-popular place because it’s in a great museum. And not any museum – The Capitoline museum on the Campidoglio Hill, designed according to Michelangelo Buonarroti’s 1536 plan. The roof of The Capitoline museum, right by the Roman Forum and Piazza Venezia, houses the “Coffee Capitol” opened every day from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm. You can get there even without entering the museum (although we suggest you take a look at classical Roman, Greek, Egyptian sculptures & Renaissance art in the magnificent buildings). Walk up the stairs to Campidoglio, take an immediate right at the top, walk under the arch and to your left you will see the entrance.
Embrace the magnificent views as you have a chance to get away from the clatter of a busy city. The café is divided into two parts: a self-service bar and a waiter served patio. The patio can be sometimes closed for private events, but you can still walk around and enjoy the views. Get a nice cappuccino, vino and something “dolce”.
Embrace the magnificent views as you have a chance to get away from the clatter of a busy city.
And we suggest you leave it at that. If you are hungry, that is not the place to go. Probably Michelangelo did not plan a café kitchen, so the food does not look or taste that fresh. You can get all the same deep-frozen and then microwaved pizza on the street; don’t go there for the food. Go there for the view. Also go there for a glass of house wine and a cup of coffee, quite good and at a reasonable price. You can sit overlooking Rome and enjoying the views, and then walk to Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona or Trastevere for a great dinner. The Capitoline museum café is a great place to cool down, reload and get back to looking at the ancient beauty of Rome from below.
