Castel Gandolfo - Picturesque retreat for Pope Benedict XVI

Now former Pope Benedict XVI is ensconced in the Papal Summer home at Castel Gandolfo, a small hill town we visited last year - just to chec...

"Habemus Papam" - We Have a Pope - or do we? Inside the Conclave with Nanni Moretti

We have a Pope - " Habemus Papam" - is Nanni Moretti's prescient 2011 film, released in the U.S. last year. The newly elected...

Coffee in the traffic circle

Rome's traffic can get to the best of us, and Piazza delle Rovere is no exception.  It's a broad crossing of busy, even by Rome stan...

Trionfale: A Rome "Suburb"

A Courtyard in one of Trionfale's Fascist-Era Public Housing Projects Rome the Second Time is partly a book about Rome's suburbs.  ...

Rome the Second and First Time - around the Vatican

Rome the Second Time decided to delve into Rome the First Time Saturday night with a trek into the Vatican area, which we usually avoid [bt...