What to do and where to eat in Rome: San Pietro
What to do and where to eat: the best restaurants near Saint Peter’s Basilica
If you’d scared to fall into a “tourist-trap” don’t! Even if this is a very touristic area you’d be safe with my list of recommendations. Discover what and where to eat near Saint Peter’s Basilica.
This time I want to start my advice with the gelateria (ice-cream shop): superstar of the area is, certainly Gelateria Dei Gracchi one of the most amazing artisanal gelaterias in town. Just in front of the entrance of the Vatican Museum, there’s one of the most famous ice-cream shops of the entire city, the Gelateria Old Bridge (Viale Dei Bastioni di Michelangelo 5), you should try their pistacchio!
For lunch and dinner, I have more amazing places to suggest: the first one is the Ristorante Arlù (Borgo Pio 135), a lovely place famous for the egg pasta and their desserts; the Trattoria Gallo Brillo (Viale Delle Milizie 116), where you can try amazing roman recipes and a lovely and suggestive aperitif; the Ristorante I San Pietrini (Via Delle Fornaci 89), famous for their Mediterranean cuisine; the Osteria dell’Angelo (Via Bettolo 24), the Osteria il Sorpasso (Via Properzio 31), and the last but not the least, Il Ragno D’Oro (Via Silla 26).
San Pietro: a little bit of history
The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peter’s Basilica, is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, one of the most visited religious sites in the world.
Designed by greatest artists of Renaissance time, such as Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s is the most renowned basilica. A masterpiece work of Renaissance architecture and one of the largest churches in the world.
Likewise for other sites in Rome, the Basilica is built on layers. The oldest , since the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, at the base, the newest at the actual level. Works for the actual Basilica began on the 4th century AD, but it will take Centuries to be completed.
Pilgrims and Visitors
St Peter’s Basilica hosts millions of pilgrims and visitors every year. The access to the Basilica is free of charge for everyone.
Considered the “Centre of Christianity”, the Basilica is the burial site of St. Peter. San Pietro in Italian) was one of Christ’s Apostles and also the first Pope. His tomb is located below the high altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many other Popes are buried there.
The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year. Every Sundays there is the Blessing in St. Peter’s square, and the Pope facing from his window. Christmas day or Easter are important days where the Basilica is full of people likewise rappresentative of other States and Vips.
When to go
In San Pietro, you can visit the square that is always opened and the basilica, but you can access inside only from 7 a.m till 7 p.m. Please remember that this is a religious site so dress in accordance with the rules of the place. Check update regulations on Vatican website. www.vatican.va
How to reach it
It’s very easy to get to San Pietro, because there are a lot of buses that arrive here (like 40, 64 and 492), but the easiest and fastest way is the subway, you can take the red line (the line A) and arrive at Ottaviano; if you are close to the blue line (the line B) you can get to Termini and there change.
