Mini Guide: Summer in Rome

All roads do lead to Rome—but when I visited for the first time the only place I’d heard of was Atelier Bomba. I’d seen their sweet logo of geese ‘Oca’ and loved the name. At that point, I was obsessed with Florence. I’d go for long weekends and visit for Pitti Uomo—the twice-yearly men’s tailoring show I started working on, at 23, for The Sartorialist. Florentine friends showed me the lay of the land. On one of those trips I thought: why not fly home out of Rome? I took the train, checked into an Airbnb with a water problem that resulted in my fiery host spending hours in my bathroom, and went to Bomba.

I met Michele—a bespoke tailor and the son of Cristina Bomba, who opened on Via dell’Oca in 1980 and remains one of the rare people to have built a women’s-focused tailoring shop with everything made right there. She still works there most days. Michele served me Japanese tea and we talked for hours—I extended my stay. Over the months and years that followed, we all worked together, ate gelato together, and stayed up late in conversation making fried squash blossoms and Cacio e Pepe. We’d wake up at dawn to have Maritozzo at Regoli before work, and stop for Cremolato afterwards on the hottest August days. I’ve spent holidays and extended periods living with them, and at a certain point quarantined alone in their house in Umbria—a beautiful, uncomfortable level of solitude that served as a spiritual experience. They shaped my perspective on the city, on life, and on myself—to recommend anywhere in Rome without first mentioning Bomba wouldn’t make sense. They are the reason I love it.

Rome is romantic in almost any circumstance—it’s a wonderful place to visit solo, with a partner, with friends, or as a quick stop before an adventure down the coast. There are countless ways to experience it, but—like Venice—you can wind up in a mass of tourists in oppressive heat. It’s important to understand where you’re going. Rome is great with children, the culture loves them and there’s no shortage of grown-up places with child-sized attractions—the Borghese Gardens, home to my favorite museum anywhere (Galleria Borghese) and also a children’s theatre, Cinema dei Piccoli, is an obvious example.

After spending several months there at a time, I’ve taken countless notes from Roman friends and looked to local experts like Yolanda Edwards, Maria Shollenbarger, and Elizabeth Minchilli.

There are too many good places to fit into one email, so I’ve narrowed this down to ideas for a few days, and where I send friends who visit for the first time.

Where To Stay