The ‘new small renaissance’ in Rome 🇮🇹 right now

Matteo Pizzichetti was born and raised in Rome and now works in one of the city’s leading specialty coffee shops, Faro. Matteo’s Filter guide to Rome offers an inside look at the shifting dynamics in the old seat of Western civilization. And along the way he offers a few fantastic recommendations for yet-unknown places and pleasures about Rome.

Filter: What do you like to do for fun around Rome?

Ciao Josh, thanks for starting our chat with this wonderful question.

*Matteo Pizzichetti works at Faro, one of the leading specialty coffee shops in his hometown of Rome. Photos courtesy of Matteo Pizzichetti*

I think Rome is experiencing—at least in the last handful of years—a new small renaissance. After a few years of emptiness, of disorientation, many young people are starting to bet on themselves, so many new small venues are opening, and what in past years were called niches are becoming new experiences to live around.

In my spare time, I therefore love to spend my time staying in contact with creative, motivated people who can tell me new stories, give me new stimuli. I believe that coming into contact with people who love their craft should be a daily occurrence, not a rarity.

And by that, I mean people who work in ceramic workshops and make plates and cups for haute cuisine, stores where one can find linen tablecloths, eat in places that only offer products from small farms. Do you understand what I mean?

Matteo Pizzichetti works at Faro, one of the leading specialty coffee shops in his hometown of Rome. Photo courtesy of Matteo Pizzichetti

Filter: If a friend from overseas came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

Answering this question is both really easy and very difficult at the same time, simply because there are so many things I would like to show them that they would almost be unhappy with the tiredness haha!

All jokes aside, I would definitely start the day with a specialty coffee.

Talking about the renaissance I mentioned earlier, Rome—in the last while—has started to decorate itself with very valid realities (despite the strong and deep-rooted tradition of coffee that the average Italian drinks).

For many years (one can say up to the Covid period more or less) the city of Rome has been affected by a great feeling of collective despondency and demoralisation, at least from my point of view.

Cities in northern Europe were starting to make waves, young people started to build their future elsewhere. For my parents' generation (for example) it was too late to change their status, and the whole thing created an uninspiring and unprofitable territory for those working in creative sectors or for those who wanted to try to open a business to bring about change.

Putting a magnifying glass on a specific sector such as the world of specialty [coffee] (thus taking the example of the company I work for), Faro opened its doors about 7 years ago, at a time when bars and cafés were (and still are) among the companies that—according to statistical data—have the highest number of bankruptcies within a year.

Despite all this, Faro, like others such as Barnum, proved that it was possible to succeed.

And they were therefore part of a movement that led young people to invest in their own future and in the future of this city, making Rome today full of stimulating places that can be places for exchanging ideas and experiences.

I would therefore take my friend to drink a good filter made by Octavio at Barnum, a very good barista (as well as twin brother of Augusto, front of house member of Faro).

After the coffee, I would continue my stroll through the centre, past shops (such as Nicola Fasano's ceramics—Italian excellence), independent art galleries such as the Contemporary Cluster, and the breathtaking views that this city offers at every turn.

It always happens like this... sometimes there are too many things to do, other times too few.

Surely, ending the day with a nice concert in clubs like the Monk or the Alcazar could be crazy!

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

I am perhaps not the right person to ask about “out-of-town trips”. When I feel like going, I tend to maybe take a plane and completely change background, language, habit—even if only for a few days.

To be honest, however, there is one place that I cannot get out of my head as I write. A road called 'Strada Lungomare Pontino'—15 km of straight, or rather very straight, road that skirts Lake Caprolace on its left and the Tyrrhenian Sea that washes the beach on its right.

Lake on the left, sea on the right. There is water all around you. A mountain in front. The playlist to listen to has a responsibility.

It is the road that takes you from Sabaudia to San Felice Circeo.

“Felice”—in Italian means happy. Perhaps there is no need for much more explanation. Perhaps there is no other reason why I love to drive along it.

Filter: What well-known touristy things in Rome are worth the hype?

It may be a trivial response, perhaps impulsive or 'gut'—I don't know. It is often said that Rome is a city to wander aimlessly, without destination, just steps and then steps.

I dream of churches at every corner, always new glimpses, architectural paintings you had never noticed. And I fully agree with that. It often happens that I walk the same home-work route, for example. And then, one day, perhaps because of roadworks or constructions, you are forced to change your route, maybe even simply driving along the parallel road. And there, unknowingly, you have always missed a wonderful detail.

So... what advice is there to give other than: Get caught up and lose yourself.

Filter: Where are your favorite unknown spots in Rome?

Working in contact with the public—in the intimate, visceral, passionate, caring way which I and the people I work with try to do on a daily basis—sometimes requires a little bit of intimate, caring self-care. And, in those moments, nothing like a hidden gem could help. As soon as I read this question, there were a few things I impulsively thought of.

The first is definitely Dylan Tripp's flower shop. Dylan, a person whom I respect humanly and as a great professional in the field of floral design, has opened a little gem in the centre of Rome. His studio, with its flowers and decorations, offers a vibe destined for the few. And nothing can make you feel better than giving you a nice flower bouquet.

Immediately afterwards, with the same care and admiration, I tell you about Ciao. Ciao is basically a grocery store. Nothing more, nothing less. And yet, the guys who decided to open it have decided to inherit the tradition and let it wear the freshest and most up-to-date clothes, creating a place that can adapt to any situation.

Music and chatting over a slice of Roscioli's red pizza (the capital's historic and well-known bakery) and a kombucha in the shadow of the buildings in the centre of Rome.

These are definitely two “must-tries”.

Filter: What's one other coffee shop around there that you really admire?

As I also mentioned in previous replies, I have a very strong emotional (as well as professional) bond with Barnum Cafè. A reality that certainly has no equal in Rome in the very valid proposal (always new) of hosted roastery.

Honourable mentions must certainly go to realities such as FaxFactory, Nudo (home roastery hosted within the walls of Retrobottega), Forno Conti & Co. and Grani Farina & Caffè.

These are all realities that I think are moving a silent revolution, improving the city day after day, overturning the rules of the game on a daily basis, always looking for new ways to tell the public that quality is always better than quantity, that raw material is fundamental and that nothing is as valuable as care for what is seasonal.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and why?

If I were to think out loud, closing my eyes, I would spontaneously visualise Copenhagen. And with it a warm scarf, a bike with a few too many years on its back, a pair of well laced trainers, a quick stop at Juno the Bakery down the street, and then inside at Prolog Coffee Bar to learn.

I've been several times now, which is probably one of the reasons why the answer came to me. The city is a hustle and bustle of stimuli, opportunities, young, motivated faces that have been spurred on and are ready to spur on, where the goal is common and the result is sharing. If I had the chance to take a flight tomorrow morning, I would not do it to seek a comfort zone—quite the contrary.

Learning implies putting yourself on the line. Putting oneself on the line implies questioning oneself. Questioning is not always easy. But easy things are not beautiful. And I, however difficult, would live in Copenhagen.

Filter: How did you get into the coffee scene in Rome?

I was born and raised in Rome, and I think I have been—as long as I can remember—a child of the culture and traditions of my city. I first met Dario (one of the three founding partners of Faro) following my application for an open position as a front of house team member. It was a period in which I was looking for a change, a new path, new stimuli. I promised myself that if something did not change in a short time, I would leave Rome for a while and head for Northern Europe.

The meeting with Dario was a thunderbolt. He starts telling me about Faro, I start telling him about myself. I am immediately startled, as soon as I realise how little I knew about coffee at that moment. I therefore chose to confess, to put my hands out, to tell the truth: "Dario, I know nothing about coffee, nothing at all.” Those ellipses are immediately silenced by a, “we can train you, don't worry.” Today, months after starting my journey within Faro, I realise how important it is to have someone who believes in what they do, and who chooses to communicate it with a lot of heart.

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Faro is located on the Via Piave in central Rome.

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