A Roman Trifecta

The New York Times has brought their A-Game to the travel section today with a lovely, informative character sketch of one of my favorite streets in Rome – Via Giulia.

It is the street’s 500th birthday this year – practically a baby! – and with the events happening until February of 2009, you’re sure to be in town to catch something.

In honor of the street’s Papal roots (”Commissioned by Pope Julius II, for whom the street is named“), I’d like to recommend some excellent reading today, as well: Basilica, by R.A. Scotti. I found this to be a fascinating read, and the perfect blend of respectfulness, interesting factoids and juicy gossip. I find this a must-read for anyone interested in visiting the Vatican – it’ll give you more than any guide book can.

Let’s see, what else can I give you today to round out this Roman trifecta? Oh! I know: Moleskine Rome City Blog. Moleskine are those delightful little notebooks that are sleek and tantalizingly empty, waiting for you to fill them with your artistic visions of grandeur and earth-shattering thoughts. I covet them.

They’ve come out with a line of city notebooks for places all over the world. These, too, I covet. But what’s even better are their Moleskine City Blogs. If you want to have a highbrow vacation full of cultcha, these are the blogs that will tell you what’s really going on in all the world’s top cities – from underground art shows to Shakespeare in Italian at Caesar’s Forum!

So, there you have it! Today’s Roman trifecta. We have a winner!