People tell me to stop buying books, but I love books. Always have. I remember my first time in Italy with my first tour group. There we were standing in front of St. Peter’s Basilica; I was feeling a little perplexed as to what to do next. A man approached me offering a tour of the Sistine Chapel. Gut instinct told me he was reputable. For the next four hours we were completely besotted with what we saw and in awe of our guide’s incredible passion and knowledge. Jason had also started his business that year in 2009. Every year since I have booked guides with his company and they are always amazing.

At the end of the tour I couldn’t get to a bookshop fast enough, wanting to delve deep into Roman history, and that journey has never stopped. It is a constant thirst for more knowledge and there is so much to learn!

Here are a few more quirky, bizarre and good to know gems around Rome.

A three minute walk from busy Piazza del Popolo, there is a tiny shop around 15 square metres sitting amongst trendy boutiques, homeware shops and restaurants that is often missed by those passing by. Pressed against the dusty window is a jumble of heads, limbs and bodies of dismembered dolls.

The Squatriti Artistic Restorations workshop is commonly known as the Dolls’ Hospital where the noble art of restoration has been handed down through the generations of the Squatriti family. This ancient craft allows objects from the past that may have been lost to be revived and preserved.

Originally from Naples, the Squatriti family started out as travelling actors until the Second War War brought unemployment and hunger. Federico Squatriti needed a new career, so he retrained in restoration and opened the small shop in Via Ripetta. The shop is now run by his grandson, also called Federico. So skilled is Federico at his craft of restoration that dolls and antiques arrive from all over the world to be lovingly brought back to life.

The tiny space is packed from floor to ceiling with heaving shelves containing not only dolls, but broken plates, cups, vases, masks and statues. At the workbench sits Federico, surrounded by the tools of his trade including magnifying glasses, artist’s brushes, pots of glue, paint and putty.

The Roman Shops Association wants to preserve these ancient arts and crafts because it is shops like this that make Rome a special and unique place.

Very close to Campo dei Fiori, popular for the day time market and restaurants at night, you will find a quiet street called Via dei Banchi Vecchi. The sign above the door at No. 14 says “Vino & Olio” (wine and oil), but the name of the enoteca (wine bar) is actually Il Goccetto (The Droplet).

The wine bar is in the former palace of the Bishop of Cervia. It was built by the celebrated Renaissance master-builder Antonio da Sangallo, but the building was never quite finished. However, the 17th century panels in the roof remain, making it cosy and completely unpretentious. The walls are hidden behind shelves that reach from the floor to the ceiling filled with more than 850 bottles of wine. There is a choice of 30 open wines with the selection of the day chalked up on the board behind the counter.

The bar offers small bites with a few good, simple dishes: rustic bread, cheese and salami and small bruschette to munch on with your glass of vino.

It is mostly Romans who drop by before or after a meal. Sometimes the place fills to overflowing in minutes, but you can always take your wine to the street or sit on the steps outside.

Most people don’t even notice this place because they are looking at one of Rome’s most iconic landmarks, the Trevi Fountain. They jostle to get in position to take selfies and throw the obligatory coins over their left shoulder, not even aware of the macabre history of the place of worship behind them. Inside the church are the innards of around two dozen popes.

The discreet plaques on the walls to the right and left of the altar refer blandly to praecordia, which means heart, stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, intestines, kidneys and lungs. The entrails are stored in a narrow aisle in plain, airtight, sealed urns. The removal of the organs was part of the traditional ritual of papal funerals. The deceased pontiff had to be seen off in appropriate style in a ceremony lasting several days. During this time the body was on public display for a considerable time which of course created problems, particularly in summer. The intestines had to be removed.

Why was this church chosen as the resting place for holy intestines? From the 16th century to the end of the Papal States in 1870, the popes’ summer residence was the Quirinal Palace, and the parish church responsible for it was this one, at the foot of the hill of the same name.

Always look up! One street away from our hotel in Rome there is a very strange Baroque church made of thousands of tiny bricks. It is not a lavish church and the dome is “naked”, but this makes the slender campanile (belltower) all the more noticeable. It is the only part of the building that is made of marble. If you watch it from the upper end of Via Capo le Case when the bells are ringing you can see how the tower moves to the rhythm of the bells. It dances.

The church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte was already there in the Middle Ages. Not many people lived in the area then, which is why the district that developed was called “Capo le Case” (Where the Houses Begin) and the church was nicknamed “delle fratte” (at the bushes).

From 1592 a monastery was built next to the church. The rebuilding of the church began in 1605, but only the foundations were complete when the money ran out four years later. In 1610 a rich nobleman announced that he was prepared to fund the rest of the work on the condition that he was granted an impressive chapel in the church. Two years later he was dead and construction dragged on for another forty years.

In 1653, the aristocratic patron’s nephew and heir, gave instructions for the church to be completed. By now he was old and wanted to ensure that the family chapel and burial plot would be finished on time. The artist and architect, Francesco Borromini, was hired for the job and added the missing transept, a dome and the apse, and erected the marble turret.

The door to the monastery is often open during the week. You are allowed to walk in, stroll around the cloister, and admire the orange trees in the garden. It is very quiet and peaceful.

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb