Around the Campo: Forno!

If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.

Robert Browning hit it right on! And luckily for all of us living in the Campo, we don't have to go very far to find our own little slice of heaven. Tucked behind the flower stalls in the far corner of our dear piazza is the Forno Campo de' Fiori. The spot has a less-than-lofty history - it was once a famous tavern owned by Vanozza de’ Cataneis, the beautiful mistress to Pope Alexander VI and mother to his 4 children including Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. The facade still bears the family coat of arms.

In 1970 Mario Roscioli, his son Fabrizio and their partner Dino Bartocci acquired the space and began making bread fit for a Caesar using old artisan methods. The quality, texture and flavor cannot be beat. As testament, Romans line up in the early morning and late afternoon for fresh, hot piazza bianca and pizza rosa (flat pizza bread seasoned with either olive oil and sea salt, or fresh tomato sauce.) They also will find typical Roman style breads such as a crusty ciabatta, airy rosetta rolls, hearty olive, and whole wheat, and nut filled loaves ...and sweet things such as tarts, cakes and cookies. Over the holidays the Forno makes seasonal favorites such as castagnole (Italian-style donut holes), frappe (dough fried light as air and dusted with powdered sugar), and ravioli di ricotta for Carnivale; as well as Panattone and Ricciarelli for Christmas, and colomba and pastiera at Easter.

Fabrizio recently opened a shop next door that serves sandwiches that pair the fruits of their labors with the fruits from the Campo (such as fresh figs and prosciutto.) The shop also carries a mouth-watering assortment of Italian cookies.

Watch the Forno in action here!

Great baking runs in the Roscioli family. Mario's nephew, Pierluigi Roscioli, also runs a bakery in the neighborhood along with his father Alessandro.

Antico Forno Roscioli offers a less traditional, but greater selection of products. In fact they produce over 120 varieties of breads! One of the bakery’s specialties is Lariano bread, a naturally risen, oven-baked bread, filled with raisins, nuts or olives. They also have a fine selection of Kosher and gluten-free breads, crunchy bread sticks and wine biscuits, salmon croissants, vegetable pizzas, small pizzette ... Of course, the pizza bianca and pizza rosa are also delicious. Yes please!

Tasting the stars and the heavens as often as I do feels rather ... sinful! Well, when in Rome!
LS

They're HERE!

Finalmente! The day I have been waiting for has arrived - prosciutto and fig sandwiches are being served at the Forno! Joy!

The Roscioli are a family of great bakers and the Forno in Campo de’ Fiori, their first shop, has been serving some of the Eternal City’s best bread for over 40 years. Tune in tomorrow to hear their story!

LS

Campo de Fiori

My Honors students are arriving today - happy dance! In lieu of a regular post I thought I might tide you over with a few pictures I took this morning in the lovely Campo de Fiori market :)

(The figs are in! That means in a few days I will be eating prosciutto e fichi panini from the Forno!)

Everything looks so fresh and appetizing. .. Makes me hungry! How about you?

LS

Around the Campo: Nestor the Coin Guy

There are a lot of great street vendors in Rome. I am not talking about the vendors selling fake designer handbags or sunglasses, although Rome does have more than its fair share of those. I am referring to the artists you can find on any given day selling surprisingly cool art and jewelry, much of it handmade and very unique. These delights are offered up to the passerby on small makeshift tables lining the small streets and bridges. Trastevere is loaded with such vendors but there is a pretty good selection right here around the Campo. A few years ago I cruised right past a table covered with coins. I quickly stopped in my tracks and did an about-face. Looking closer I noticed that the coins had been carved into fantastic pendants. I was completely head over heels! How cool are these?!



Since that first sighting I have become a regular customer, as have many of my friends, and students. The man behind these coin creations is Nestor, an Argentinean transplant living in Rome. In addition to hawking his wares in the piazzas around town, Nestor travels around Italy and the world selling his coins at craft fairs and markets. (Personally I think I have funded more than one of these trips...) What makes the coins so amazing is that they are carved out by hand using a drill and a small vertically aligned hand-saw:

Holes are drilled in the area of the coin Nestor wishes to remove, and then he inserts the saw blade into a hole, and saws from one hole to the next, removing the excess metal that is in between.

The coins are fashioned into bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and even rings and key chains. He has every type of coin, new and old, from just about every country. You simply look through the books and choose one that appeals to you. He even has the US state quarters in there. Don't see what you are looking for? In the past I have even brought him coins I have found in the market for him to carve. He can turn any coin into a beautiful piece of jewelry! Nestor includes a leather cord for the necklaces, or you can put the pendants on your own chain.

I think these carved coins make fantastic gifts from Rome - especially the Italian coins. But it is also fun to find a coin with an intended recipients favorite image ... a bird, horse, fish, flower, boat ... or a coin from a country or state that is significant. Coins are so beautiful to begin with - it is no surprise that they make such stunning (and durable) jewelry! What do you think?

LS

Around the Campo: Knife Sharpening Guy

I spend half of the year living and working in Rome, Italy. (I know, life is tough.) And my extreme good fortune is compounded by the fact that my apartment is located right on the beautiful Campo de' Fiori, one of the most picturesque and entertaining places in Rome. During the day the Campo is a huge open-air market - fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, spices, jams and jellies, olive oils, and yes, flowers, are artfully arranged beneath rows and rows of large market umbrellas. It is colorful. It is alive. It is loud. Vendors hawking their wares, the chattering din of tourists, the street musicians and singers ... but I love it. Living on the Campo is like having a front row seat to a live theatre performance every single day. And there are so many interesting characters on this stage ... I hope to introduce you to few of them ... or at least show you a few of them, as in the case today.

Early this morning, directly below my window, a man in the Campo was sharpening knives on his bike. Yes! sharpening knives while riding a bike. (Well, the bike was stationary, but still.) This man has turned an old bicycle into a knife sharpening machine - take a look:

This man obviously has skills and does a bang up business as evidenced by the stacks of knives, scissors, files etc. that are awaiting sharpening, and the crowds of Campo merchants who flocked out the minute he arrived. But he did not like tourists taking his picture - you can see him shoo'ing them off in a few places in the video. (Little did he know that I was filming directly above!) He is a regular fixture in the Campo and Jennifer tells me there are 2 other men who have similar sharpening bikes. What I wouldn't give to have one of these guys ride up to my house in Seattle!

LS