Galleries today. Firstly the Pantheon, the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world, built around 2,000 years ago by the Romans. A miraculous feat of engineering to construct a dome 43m in diameter and with a height of 43m, and it’s still standing 2,000 years later, albeit under new management. Truly humbling. No cracks.

Next Gallery Doria Pamfilj. Now this is special. Family owned. The family count several impressive ancestors including a pope or two. This was their city palace, with parts still unrestored (not needing it) and a great and important art collection. An almost no one visiting. Several Caravaggios, and a portrait by Velasquez of Pope Innocent thought to be one of the world’s greatest portraits, whose technique was much copied by Francis Bacon. They also have a very civilised (but not cheap) café. Two Caesar salads, two glasses of white and some coffee. 90eu. 

Dinner tonight PianoStrada – a short walk. Now this is a proper restaurant with an open kitchen so you can see the team hard at work. Three guys in matching bandanas doing the cooking, and Paula on the pass. There’s no stress in the kitchen. Calm, controlled, precise. Mind you, it took us an hour to get our (delicious) first course, and another 40 minutes for the secondi. Worth the wait though, with the beef ‘kebab’ perfectly – and we mean perfectly cooked in the kitchen’s bbq. No pudding, one glass of wine each. 210eu. 

Posh restaurant PianoStrada  – laboratorio di cucina no less

…and galleria Doria Pamfilj

Doria Pamphilj – marvellous

Portrait copied by Francis Bacon 41 times…

Galleria Doria Pamphilj

The Parthenon…