Giacomo's Groceria

T-Shirts Are Here!

Fresh off the runaways of Milan and Paris...Giacomo's T-shirts!! Terrific gifts for anyone who appreciates great food including yourself! These 100% cotton tees are only $15 and are available in S, M, L, XL, XXL.

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Weekly Specials - Nov. 1 - 8

Sandwiches Monday - Boar's Head Brand Oven Roasted Turkey and Brie with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, Lettuce, Tomato and Red Onion on a Baguette Tuesday - Pulled BBQ Chicken with Lettuce, Tomato and Red Onion  in a Wrap Wednesday - Boar's Head Brand Pepperoni and Mozzarella Cheese with EVOO, Lettuce, Tomato and Onion on Peasant Bread Thursday - Half of a Boar's Head Brand Black Forest Ham and Vermont Cheddar Sandwich on Rye and a Cup of Soup Friday – Roasted Balsamic Vegetables with Harvarti on a Baguette Soups Monday - Roasted Red Pepper Bisque (Vegetarian) Tuesday - Tomato and Basil Bisque (Vegetarian) Wednesday - Gingered carrot Bisque (Vegetarian) Thursday - Wild Mushroom Bisque (Vegetarian) Friday – Harvest Pumpkin Soup (Vegetarian) Espresso Monday - The Red Eye Tuesday - Sticky Bun Latte Wednesday - Pumpkin Spice Latte Thursday - Chai Tea Friday – Minted Hot Chocolate Warm Entrees Monday – Rustic Vegetable Torta Tuesday - Ziti with Marinara Sauce Wednesday - Vegetarian Baked Pasta Thursday – Tomato and Pancetta Friday – Baked Spaghetti

 

Our Specials - Week of October 19

Sandwich Specials

Monday - The "PLT" - our version of the classic - Imported pancetta, lettuce and tomato with mayo on rye bread

Tuesday - Giacomo's Garden Salad and Soup

Wednesday - Prosciutto, brie, and roasted red peppers on a baguette with lettuce, tomato, and red onion

Thursday - Tuna salad or homemade hummus wrap with lettuce, tomato and red onion

Friday - Caprese with homemade pesto on rosemary focaccia bread

Espresso Specials

Monday - Mayan Mocha Latte

Tuesday - Cinnamon Roll Latte

Wednesday - Caramello Latte

Thursday - Pumpkin Spice Latte

Friday - White Chocolate Latte

Soup Specials

Monday - Sicilian Lentil with pancetta crisps

Tuesday - Pumpkin Bisque (vegetarian)

Wednesday - Wild Mushroom Bisque (vegetarian)

Thursday - Chicken Stellete

Friday - Tomato Basil (vegetarian)

Siamo Italiani!! (We're Italians!!)

Ciao ragazzi! Check out this funny little video! If you are Italian or have ever visited or even lived in Italy you will totally relate!

http://tcc.itc.it/people/rocchi/fun/europe.html

You call 'that' an Italian Sandwich?

All my life, I've been exposed to sandwiches that my American friends like to call "Italian" sandwiches. " A Real Italian" as Amato's Sandwich Shops like to say. I know that kind of "Italian" sub...my Dad owned an Amato's on Forest Ave. in Portland, Maine for over 28 years.  If you've never had one then let me describe it. First you start with a footlong roll, white bread and super soft. (Wonder bread, if you ask my husband) Then you layer it with boiled ham, american cheese, yellow onions, sour pickles, tomatoes, black olives, and drizzle with a very light olive/vegetable oil. That's what they call a real Italian. Okay, I have to admit I craved them often when pregnant with my sons but honestly folks that is NOT a real italian sandwich.

And that is NOT the kind of sandwich we make at Giacomo's. Let's just put it this way: the last time my parents were visiting me in Bangor, I brought them over to the store for lunch and made them each a sandwich of sopressata and provolone topped with roasted red peppers and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil all on a crusty french baguette.  My mother looks at me and says: "Did you make this sandwich special for us?" "No mom," I say, "This is the kind of sandwich I make for everyone."  You see, in my house growing up we had this saying: The sandwiches your father makes at the store (Amato's) those are for the Americans. At home we eat a different kind of 'panino.'  Our sandwiches consisted of fine imported meats like mortadella, proscuitto, sopressata, capicola etc. and delicious cheeses like aged provolone and asiago on crusty breads. And we'd always drizzle the bread with extra vigin olive oil.

I'm telling you this little story because I hear my customers say "Your Italian sandwiches are so different."  That's because we make sandwiches the way Italians make sandwiches, great meats, great cheeses and the best breads. So folks, if you are looking for a sandwich like the kind they've eat throughout Italy then try Giacomo's. Of course, we offer lots and lots of American favorites too like roastbeef, pastrami, and turkey but only at Giacomo's can you get the best of both worlds, the old world and the new world!

GIACOMO'S SPECIALS WEEK OF OCT. 6, 2008

Sandwich Specials Monday – Black Forest Turkey and Vermont Cheddar on Peasant Bread with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion and Mayo Tuesday - Roast Beef and Swiss on Rye Bread with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion and Horseradish Sauce Wednesday – Genoa Salami and Provolone Cheese on a Baguette with Lettuce, Tomato, and Red Onion with Pub Mustard Thursday - Tuna Salad or Hummus Wrap with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion Friday - Caprese on Focaccia Espresso Bar Specials Monday – Mayan Mocha Latte Tuesday – Amaretto Kenduskeag Steamer Wednesday - Caramello Latte Thursday - Pumpkin Spice Latte Friday – White Chocolate Latte Soup Specials – served with a Focaccia Crouton Monday – Salmon and Potato Chowder Tuesday – Roasted Squash Bisque (Vegetarian) Wednesday – French Onion Thursday - Tomato Basil Bisque Friday – Cream of Broccoli (Vegetarian)

Yes, we cater!

We're often asked if Giacomo's caters so I'm here to shout a really loud "si"...we cater! We cater events big and small and every size in between. And no matter what size the catering job (we've made a platter of delicious imported meats and cheeses for a client to impress a girl on their first date) our goal is to make it memorable.

I'd love to share with you one of our finest catering moments which happened just this past weekend. We catered a fabulous event for 75 people at our client's very elegant private residence. It was a fantastic evening of delicious food and wines featuring a handsome 15 foot international Grand Buffet which included a variety of imported cheeses (piave, cotswold, drunken goat, smoked mozzarella, gorgonzola, manchego, taleggio, aged asiago, humboldt), meats (finocchiona, soppressata, abrusseze, pannini rolls, salumetti), pate (2 varieties), fresh fruits and vegetables, baguette slices, crackers and breadstickseverything from wheels of piave vecchio, asiago, gorgonzola dolce, sopressata, finocchina salami as well as marinated vegetables and stuffed sweet peppers.

In addition, our waitstaff passed several appetizers including sundried tomato pesto crostini with smoked mozzarella, artichoke brushetta crostini with pancetta, tuscan olive pesto crostini with roasted red pepper, caprese skewers (grape tomatoes, marinated cow's milk mozzarella marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and basil), whipped gorgonzola and caper croustades (little pastry cups) with glazed walnuts, smoked salmon and cream cheese canapes on pumpernickel squares with red onion and cucumber "salsa", beggar's purses of proscuitto and honeydew melon with a chive tie, and the grand finale was our very own signature cannoli dusted with sugar.

For me, it was a dream event and a chance to really show off our stuff!

I have to say, my favorite part of catering an event such as this is watching the expression on my client's face when they realize just how much we've exceded their expections. That feels molto buono amici, it really does!

Here's a shot of our crew that worked that event. From left to right (Backrow)...Me (Milva, William,Josh, Rachel, Rocco, Wendy, and Annalisa (Front row) Amy and Kara.

Thanks guys for another great event!

Alcune cose preferite (some of my favorite things)

It's been an active summer here at the shop. Of course, I'm not complaining but it does make it almost impossible to post! Here's my current list of some of my favorite things this summer, otherwise known as "Five more reasons to pay us a visit this week!"

1. "Olivos" - These wonderful  little imported olives from the the Aragon region of Spain, are perfect for people like me on the go. They come in cute little 2 oz. vacuum packed bags full of nothing but the best olives. They're just the right amount for a healthy, delicious nibble.  And believe me, they honestly have nothing artificial added—no liquid or preservatives and no surprise they were apparently the winner of the “Fresh Ideas” competition at the London IFE in 2007. They are currently available in two flavors - the original natural black Aragon olives and a harbanero variety that has quite a kick. Perfect with an icy beer!

2. "Antica Balsameria Emiliana" Balsamic Dressing - This is a perfect perfect balsamic. I'm serious when I say, it is probably the finest balsamic you'll ever taste. Don't be confused by the fact that its called a dressing. That simply means that it can be used to dress up any dish without adding a thing. It's flavor will knock your socks off.

3. "Frutta di Bosca" Crostata- We've just started baking a delicious sweet "pizza" that is a perfect summer treat. Topped with a creamy ricotta cheese mixture and fresh berries, it's a beautiful thing!

4. Cipriani Bellino mix - Make the classico bellino at home with this great mix that comes in a little 8 oz. can. Add to your favorite chilled white wine and you'll feel like you're a regular at Harry's Bar in Venice.

5. Speaking of chilled white wine...our new favorite Summer wine is Vinho Verde (green wine). Some say the word "green" (the wine is actually pale yellow) alludes to the bracing acidity, the fizz (injected carbon dioxide) and the fresh, youthful personality. This scrumptous Portuguese wine has the potential to be a cult favorite in my opinion. We have some excellent brands to choose from and the last time we checked our prices on vinho verde were actually cheaper than the local wine shop!

See you soon...A presto amici!!

Picnic Italiano

I love a good Italian picnic. When I was growing up, Sundays in the summertime were about getting together with friends (our friends were our family since most of our real family lived in Italy) and heading to the lake for a delicious Italian feast al fresco. You see, in our tight-knit Italian circle there were probably about 6 or 7 families with children of similar ages that would meet almost every weekend at the lake for a day of fun and food. And being that we were Italian, we never did anything the easy way. Hotdogs and hamburgers, yeah, that would have been easy...we didn't do that...instead, there'd be baked lasagna, roasted turkey, baked ham, stuffed bread and of course sausages and peppers, pasta with broccoli, stuffed shells, frittatas and the list goes on and on...

I have to admit it was embarassing whenever American famlies would stroll by "Camp Italia" (basically 10 picnic tables side by side, complete with linens and Mario Villa blasting on the casette player) and stare-- but you know what,  I wouldn't trade those great summer memories for the world.

Today, I still love a good picnic, however, as a busy mother of 3 one of my new priorities is getting everyone fed easy and efficiently.  Instead of elaborate Italian feasts my family enjoys the basics, which in our house include crusty bread, a delicious dry salami, a wedge of piave vecchio, olives and of course, panzanella salad (which if you have never tried it you must --we make it ourselves at Giacomo's  and it's sooo fabulous)...Other wonderful picnic must haves: melon and proscuitto, a delicious caprese salad, and of course, my favorite drink: san pellegrino limonata. If these sound like your kind of eats, stop in today and we'll get you ready for your own Italian picnic!

What's in a name?

I get asked alot about the significance of our shop's name: Giacomo's Groceria.  I actually discovered the name Giacomo here in the U.S.  If you've ever been to Boston's North End, you've heard of Giacomo's, a fabulous intimate little Italian eatery that  serves the best Italian food outside of my mother's kitchen.  I loved the food and I loved the name.  Then, when we discovered that I was pregnant this last time with another son, we thought of "Giacomo" and it just sounded right. But the real reason I wanted to name our store after him was because when my son was born his Dad was deployed in Afghanistan and so for the first seven months of his life he missed out on his Dad. This is my gift to him and I hope it makes up for that.  

The "groceria" part of the name is sort of made-up...What did you say?? Yeah, made-up. There is no such thing in standard Italian (as far as I know) as a "groceria". It sounds like what one would think grocery store is supposed to be called in Italian but it's actually not an Italian word.  (Some have told me it's more an Italian-American term). I decided to go with it for it's ease of pronunication but more importantly because I couldn't think of an one Italian word that best described all that we are. Besides being a salumeria (delicatessen) and a negozio di alimentari (grocery store) we are also a bar (Italian coffee shop) . All those names I felt were either too difficult to pronunce or only partially described us.

Well now you know. That's what's behind our name. Next up: Our growing list of Italian meats & cheeses.

A presto, amici!

La Burrata

Imagine my surprise when a young American fellow walked into my shop recently speaking fluent Italian. Turns out, P had just arrived in Maine from Italy with his Italian wife, a young woman from Le Marche whom he had met while studying abroad. Well, since my Italian hometown is in Abruzzo, I felt like we were practically neighbors! P was very "homesick" for Italy, especially for all the foods that he had grown to love, including something I had never heard of called "Burrata," pronounced boor-RAH-tah. I pride myself in knowing even some of the most obscure Italian food terminalogy but Burrata had me stumped. My first thought was that this was some sort of butter since "burro" means butter in Italian. P told me that I was on to something. Turns out Burrata is actually a deliciously creamy cheese and its buttery texture is what gives it its uniqueness. A specialty of Southern Italy, especially the regions of Aupulia, Campania, and Basilicata, it was invented in Andria at the beginning of the 20th century. Traditionally made from buffalo's milk, today most Burrata is made from cow's milk. Well, I called my best supplier over the weekend and I'm happy to report that we now carry Burrata. I tried some right away and wow, it's very good. I loved it drizzled with olive oil and salt with a side of crusty bread! Grazie P! Buon appetito!

Happy Mother's Day

Buona Festa della Mamma!

Happy Mother's Day to women everywhere from Maine to Manoppello who make our lives more beautiful!

What the heck is a fiddlehead?

Here in Maine, Spring means two things to me: mud season and fiddleheads. I only like one of those two things. Well, tomorrow my first order of fiddleheads is set to arrive from Native Maine, one of our local produce suppliers.  It's an interesting vegetable because it is only available for 3 weeks out of the year. My favorite way to eat fiddleheads is sauteed in olive oil and butter but I've heard of lots of interesting ways to use them including as a pasta sauce ingredient. For a more information, I suggest you visit Maine Fiddleheads.com. Here's a few things I learned from the site that I did not know about the fiddlehead.

A fiddlehead is the beginning stage of the ostrich fern. This is a Maine delicacy that appears in the early spring usually sometime in early May. Fresh fiddleheads are gathered in early spring, when the ice goes out, and the local streams and rivers begin to subside. Locals eagerly await this spring ritual and being scouring the local riverbanks looking for their patch of fiddleheads.

Fiddleheads are snapped off at ground level and gathered in pails. Once gathered, fiddleheads are cleaned, washed and brought to market. This vegetable has a unique flavor that is somewhat mild and difficult to compare to any other vegetable. Try this Maine delicacy for yourself and see what keeps the locals busy throughout the spring season.

Fresh fiddleheads are available at MaineFiddleheads.com starting in early May and for only about three weeks. The most popular way to eat fresh fiddleheads is to clean and boil fiddleheads for about ½ hour, season with salt, pepper and butter. Many locals serve with vinegar. Fresh

Tales from our Weekend

This weekend is a Guard weekend in our house which means I'm flying solo on the parenting duties.  It's a 3 day Guard weekend to boot so there you go. I know I should be happy that he is doing his patriotic duty but the only  thing on my mind right now is I'm soooooo exhausted from the cries, whines, and all the rest....I found myself wanting to take a nap at least five times today!  Speaking of napping, I read an article in Cookie magazine tonight which offered some creative ideas for "lazy parents"...I thought it was really funny.  Basically, its a "how-to take a nap" while caring for the kids guide. My favorite game was the "sleeping princess game"...that is, Momma plays the "sleeping princess" while the kids figure out how to rescue her. The only problem with that one is I would have a very very hard time waking back up!

Anyway...I had a dinner party last night so the kitchen was a messy diaster this morning. Despite the mess though we had a really fun night. I invited a new friend "H" and her husband and new baby as well as her parents visiting from Sambuca in Sicilia.  I was in heaven listening to their stories of the beauty of Sicily. Of course they raise small farm animals and have extensive fruit and vegetable gardens, plus a working vineyard and olive groves...I say "of course" because that is basically my dream life. I've never been south of Naples though so it was a unique opportunity for me to ask all the questions I could think of about the island.

La signora (my friend's mom) brought il dolce which was a really delicious (and I mean delicious) sweet fried dough called Sfingi.  She gave me the recipe and I can't wait to try it even though I am terrible at frying anything. To make the dough you will need flour, eggs, brewer's yeast and boiled mashed potatoes(loads of patate here in Maine of course!). Place the dough in a ceramic bowl and then rest it on another bowl of steaming hot water. It will need to stay there for several hours. When it starts to bubble you poke it once or twice and then leave it for a bit longer.  Finally, the dough is fried in olio di semi (vegetable oil) and then it can either be drizzled with honey or sprinkled with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  La signora stressed how important it was to carefully handle the sfingi after they come out of the oil as they are very delicate to the touch.

I wanted to take a picture of them but I couldn't find my camera! Of course.

Growing Growing Growing

Opening a business, for me, has been an exciting adventure.  Opening a business while still trying to raise 3 boys under the age of 7 has been downright madness. But yet I'm convinced that it can be done -- with the right staff of course!  I guess it comes down to the fact that I love what I do.  And I love what 'we' (because I didn't do it alone) have created at Giacomo's.  And we think our customers do too because they keep telling us so.  Secondly, I have great people working for me. That makes it all the difference.

Everytime I walk into Giacomo's I imagine that I am a new customer walking in for the very first time.  This helps me stay focused on my customer's point of view.  What I think may matter but what the customer thinks matters most! "It's all about perception" my favorite boss Roger Amidon once told me. Perception afterall is reality. Right on.

Speaking of the customer, I'm a firm believer in "mixing it up" in order to make shopping here interesting and fun. We carry a great selection of hard to find imported Italian groceries... everything from Italian "00" flour to salted anchovies to saffron tagliatelle.  Plus, I think it's just a great place to hang out.  There's always someone in the shop it seems who's sharing stories of Italian adventures and great Italian meals. We love sharing the recipes!

These next few months will really be a time of growth for us. We're adding fresh, local organic produce this summer which I am really really excited about. As a mother I care an awful lot about feeding my children fresh, healthy delicious foods and I know other people do too. And supporting our local farmers is also important to me given that many of my own anchestors were farmers, albeit in Italy.  We're also excited to be offering Boar's Head deli meats and cheeses. This is for my New York transplant-customers who kept asking and asking until I finally made the call and I am so glad that I did. Our first order arrives next week. In addition to our authentic Italian sandwiches we make in our deli we'll now be able to offer roastbeef, pastrami, and all the rest. Did I mention the ice cream?? The hubby and I are HUGE icecream fans so we had to have it. We've chosen Gifford's Old Fashioned Ice cream because it's local and it's simply the best! I know, I know, it's not gelato but keep checking back that may be next.

OUR FOUNDER

In case you're wondering, Giacomo's Groceria is named for my youngest son.  Here he is getting his first 'real' haircut at 18 months. I guess you could call this the before picture.  (Even when he's miserable he's a cutie!)

Our Giacomo has many nicknames...First there was Giacomino (Ja-co-me-no). Then he graduated to Giaco (Ja-co) which is what he goes by right now.  My husband absolutely HATES this one 'cause he says it reminds him of Michael Jackson's nickname "Jacko"...okay. 

Personally, I think Giaco is a fine nickname and his older brothers think so too 'cause they use it constantly.  I wonder sometimes what people must think when they hear us calling him. I mean, Giaco isn't exactly Jimmy or Johnny! Funny thing though, I have a good friend who's son is named Jacob and they call him "Jaco" so I guess it's not all that original.

Oh by the way, here's the after picture. Doesn't he look so handsome! The lolli at the end made it all worth while!  Hint: if you or your little ones are looking for an awesome stylist in Bangor you must visit Bambi at Teaser's Styling Salon. She is the Bangor's best kept secret!

On Non-Italians Cooking Italian

From the New York Times an essay on the effects of the shortage of Italians willing to labor in the resturant kitchen:

“To cook is a passion,” said Mr. Hassen, now 43, who went on to train with some of Italy’s top chefs. “Food is a beautiful thing.”

Spoken like an Italian. But while the world learned about pasta and pizza from poor Italian immigrants, now it is foreigners, many of them also poor, who make some of the best Italian food in Italy (as well as some of the worst and everything between).

With Italians increasingly shunning sweaty and underpaid kitchen work, it can be hard now to find a restaurant where at least one foreigner does not wash dishes, help in the kitchen or, as is often the case, actually cook. Egyptians have done well as pizza makers, but restaurant kitchens are now a snapshot of Italy’s relatively recent immigrant experience, with Moroccans, Tunisians, Romanians and Bangladeshis all doing the work.

The fact itself may not be surprising: On one level, restaurants in Italy, a country that even into the 1970s exported more workers than it brought in, now more closely mirror immigrant-staffed kitchens in much of Europe.

But Italians take their food very seriously, not just as nourishment and pleasure but as a chief component of national and regional identity. And so any change is not taken lightly here, especially when the questions it raises are uncomfortable: Will Italy’s food change — and if so, for the worse or, even more disconcertingly, for the better? Most Italian food is defined by its good ingredients and simple preparation, but does it become less distinct — or less Italian — if anyone can prepare it to restaurant standards? Does that come at some cost to national pride?

“If he is an Egyptian cook, nothing changes — nothing,” said Francesco Sabatini, 75, co-owner of Sabatini in Trastevere, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Rome. His restaurant is considered one of the city’s most conservative, serving classic Roman dishes like oxtail, yet 7 of his 10 cooks are not Italian.

For Mr. Sabatini, the issue is not who cooks but the training — his chefs apprentice for five years — and keeping alive Italy’s culinary traditions, which he defines as “the flavors of your mother’s kitchen.”

“That’s why I’m here,” he said. “If not, I’d just go to the beach.”

But in a debate likely to grow in the coming years, others argue that foreign chefs can mimic Italian food but not really understand it.

“Tradition is needed to go forward with Italian youngsters, not foreigners,” said Loriana Bianchi, co-owner of La Canonica, a restaurant also in Trastevere, which hires several Bangladeshis, though she does the cooking. “It’s not racism, but culture.”

While much of Italy’s best food is prepared at home, Ms. Bianchi despairs at the difficulty of finding people to do the same in restaurants. (There is even a greater shortage, experts say, of Italian waiters.) “It’s tiring and the hours are very long,” she said.

But it has been an undeniable boon to Italy’s new immigrants. Twelve years ago, Abu Markhyyeh, a young Jordanian, finished an apprenticeship with a Neapolitan pizza maker, borrowed money from his Italian mother-in-law, then opened his own pizzeria in Milan, Da Willy, after his nickname here.

He did well, in part because he made the pizzas bigger but kept the prices low. Now Mr. Markhyyeh, 41, presides over an untraditional pizza empire. He has 11 restaurants in Milan, 4 in Jordan, 2 in Cypress,//CYPRUS??// and franchises in Dubai, Beirut, Sharm el Sheik in Egypt and now in Shanghai.

Roman Museums

Great information to have if you are planning a trip to the Eternal City. From the New York Times:

NO matter where you are in Rome there is probably a house museum around the corner if not right in front of you. The popes were not alone in thinking that the rooms, hallways and loggias of their stately residences ought to be overscaled and highly decorated, with frescoed ceilings, gilt-framed paintings and gleaming marble Greek gods and goddesses propped in every corner. Popes had nephews who also used their digs for personal art collections; so did several centuries worth of cardinals, wealthy nobles, queens in exile, art-loving French imperialists and Romantic-leaning English poets, as well as painters, sculptors and other artists from around the globe. Collectively, they left behind a wealth of treasure palaces and curious cubby holes displaying something for every taste....

Not all house museums in Rome are created equal. Some, like the Borghese and Doria Pamphilj galleries, are bigger, better known and better stocked than others. But for tourists, a higher profile can mean advance booking and steep ticket prices. Lesser-known museums are usually a cinch to get into and get through; most can be appreciated in an hour. Newly expanded hours (from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and entrance fees of just a few euros — even less with the recently started Roma Pass — can make finding a hitherto unseen Renaissance masterpiece all the easier.

At the Palazzo Barberini, for instance, the recently reopened first floor displays a substantial portion of the collections of National Gallery of Ancient Art, including works from the Barberini collection and other donors. The renovated space is cause for jubilation among art and architecture buffs. After years of a painfully slow restoration that had reduced the garden to a garbage dump and the museum to a one-room greatest-hits display, the palazzo — which was built beginning in 1625 for Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII, by architects like Bernini and Borromini — once again has a gurgling fountain and shady palm trees welcoming visitors to its dramatically terraced entrance.

Highlights of the collection include Raphael’s “Fornarina” — an icon of Renaissance beauty — and two important works by Caravaggio: “Judith Beheading Holofernes” and “Narcissus.” Don’t miss the central hall, capped by Pietro da Cortona’s painted ceiling, “Triumph of Divine Providence,” a swirling, angel-filled skyward vista that cleverly links the Barberini clan with the image of heaven. Children can be entertained finding all the bees — the symbol of the Barberini family — deftly inserted throughout the palace, from Cortona’s fresco to the mosaic floors and even the radiator grilles.

The National Gallery also occupies a suite of rooms in the Palazzo Corsini, across the Tiber at the northern tip of Trastevere. Originally belonging to the Riario family, the palace is perhaps best known as the residence of Queen Christina of Sweden, who set up residence after her 1654 abdication and conversion to Catholicism. It was later owned and expanded by the Corsini family. About 300 paintings by the likes of Fra Angelico, Annibale Carracci, Caravaggio, Murillo and Rubens are tidily compressed into eight galleries. Even at the height of the tourist season, daily attendance rarely tops 50 visitors so it’s like having these masterpieces to oneself.

Back across the Tiber is the Palazzo Spada, former residence of Cardinal Bernardino Spada, who in 1652 commissioned one of Rome’s most delightful architectural follies from Francesco Borromini. Known as Borromini’s perspective gallery, it is a trompe l’oeil loggia in which the architect, by tilting the floor, walls and vaulted ceiling, creates the illusion of a colonnade stretching nearly 120 feet, when it is in reality less than 30 feet long. Among the masterpieces inside the museum are two paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi, among the first known European female painters.

Individual paintings seem almost a secondary consideration at the Palazzo Colonna. The inauspicious public entrance — up a narrow spiral staircase from the cramped ticket office — only adds to the sense of awe upon seeing the grand main gallery in all its Baroque splendor. Catching her breath from the climb, a Judy Dench-ish woman turned to her companion and said: “Now this is exactly the sort of place that could lead one to suspect that Rome really was the center of the universe.”

Overhead, images of Marcantonio Colonna II, the family scion who played a decisive role in defeating the Ottomans in the 1571 naval Battle of Lepanto, confronts the Turks at sea and is otherwise glorified in a series of action-packed frescoes that offer no respite for the weary eye. Over the doors, carved and gilded military standards and trophy armor seem to explode out of the over-scaled marble moldings. A double row of Murano chandeliers hangs in front of the windows along either side of the gallery; between the windows giant mirrors have been painted with vases of flowers and frolicking cherubs. Beneath them, marble table tops are supported by writhing Ottoman slaves.

...

Even the city’s glamorous shopping district around the Via del Corso and the Piazza di Spagna harbors a few noteworthy cultural destinations like the Keats-Shelley Memorial House, the house where the English poet Keats finally succumbed to tuberculosis. The museum displays manuscripts and memorabilia of Keats, Shelley, Byron and other 19th-century Romantics.

A few doors down is the house where 20th-century Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico lived during the last 30 years of his life. It is open by appointment, but is often booked months in advance.