This recipe is very easy and quick. So quick that it is also known as 'midnight spaghetti' as friends often decide to make it in the early hours having turned in late after a evening out. It is also quite popular with singles when there is nothing else left in the Italian fridge!

Ingredients

spaghetti, olive oil, gloves of garlic, dried red chilli, parsley

You could probably say 'pasta alla gricia' is like the famous 'matriciana' without the tomato sauce. However if you try it, you'll find it a very difficult pasta recipe to get right. The fact that the ingredients are very few, easy to source and the dish is from the home cooking traditions of Lazio, does not mean this is the beans on toast of Roman cuisine. The mix between strong opposing tastes is a real alchimia and very few can say they know how to do it just right.

ingredients

fresh homemade pasta (or spaghetti), guanciale (cured jowl of the pig), black pepper, pecorino cheese, parmesan cheese, olive oil

When Romans are going to meet friends in town, the point of reference is often 'Mussolini's balcony' in Piazza Venezia. So, here is our recommendation for an interesting itinerary from this spot which can be considered the very centre of the city. It is a simple walk which takes in the Church of Santi Apostoli, Fountain of Trevi, Piazza di Spagna, the Pincio and Villa Borghese.

The Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani or Regional Park of the Roman Hills, has put together a series of  itineraries to help the independent visitor to Rome, get the best out of a day or half day trip outside the capital. This particular itinerary starts in Lanuvio and traverses some of the most beautiful parts of the Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani.

It will lead you to fabulous views from the hilltops above Lake Nemi before taking you into the town and onto the white wine town of Marino along the via dei Laghi passing the Abbey of Palazzuolo.

Although the city of Rome boasts an astoundingly endless supply of restaurants, some days you may just feel like cooking on your own or stopping to pick up a piece of fruit as you stroll through the quaint cobblestone streets (cobblestones being called “san pietrini” in Italian due to the fact that the small stones were used to pave St. Peter’s square). If you’re ever craving some local, fresh food, be sure to check out our favorite markets below:

'Tis The Season. March is when the artichoke season is in full swing in Rome, where you will find the famous fried delicacy in almost every restaurant in the city. The history of this dish has been lost in time, although their Italian denomination (Carciofi alla Giudia), meaning "Jewish-style artichokes") traces the recipe back to the Jewish quarter of Rome.

At any rate, artichokes were already being eaten in Ancient Rome and in fact weren't introduced to America until Italian immigrants arrived in the 1900s. Roman artichokes are renowned for being particularly large and tender, and come March, visitors to the eternal city will notice the plate dominating daily special signs throughout the region. Incorporate a taste of Italy into your own home with our favorite local recipes:

Located in a country famous for its coffee culture, Rome offers some of the best cafés in the world. If you find yourself in the eternal city any time soon, be sure not to miss some of our favorite local places to get a caffeine fix.

Caffé Greco

Via dei Condotti, 86
www.anticocaffegreco.eu

The most famous monument of ancient Rome, the Colosseum, was the largest structure ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of roman architecture and Roman engineering. This gigantic sports arena, designed by Emperor Flavian, was completed by Vespasian and Titus. The arena was designed to hold more than 50,000 spectators and has a circumference of 1,720 feet (almost 6 football fields).

The Savelli Mosaics Gallery owns one of Rome's most prestigious collections of miniature mosaics from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Indeed, it is unique and a number of the precious mosaics are loaned to the Vatican Museum by the same Savelli family.

The talented masters and specialized craftsmen of Savelli design, create and restore mosaics using traditional techniques and you will have the opportunity to see them at work. The pieces they create are on sale and you can also commission personalized mosaics.

A brief route through one of Rome's most atmospheric quarters - Trastevere. We set off from Ponte Cestio which links Trastevere to the Tiber Island.  Trastevere was originally on the outskirts of the Rome. It was the port of the city where foreign traders would unload and store their merchandise.

It still remains a maze of narrow, streets many typically covered by cobblestones which were suitable for horse and carts and we take a straihgt route from the bridge head crossing Lungotevere in the direction of Via della Luce.