Cesare Battisti Still #1 Contender
October 25, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
This is still a preliminary decision since there are questions that need to be answered. We also need to revisit the apartment to go through our checklist, take a peek at the cellar storage unit, and see where our mail and packages will be delivered.
Why is Battisti the #1 contender? Well, we like that it is a brand new renovation in a 20th century building … with some quaint touches … such as the Madonna medallion in the foyer. And we figure that the smaller size will keep us honest in terms of purchases and such. Less housekeeping, too … which is always good.
After our mid-day breather, we put together a list of questions, translated them into Italian, and sent them off to Mirco. Now we wait. It is doubtful that we will hear from him until Monday, so we can take tomorrow off from all things move-related.
To that end, willing to take the train down for the day, we sent a note to friends who happen to be in Rome to see if they are free tomorrow. We have not heard back yet, so at 7:30p it looks like we won’t be going to Rome unless we hear from them before we go to bed tonight. No worries, we have closer options in mind as an alternative.
Our mid-day breather took us out for a bite to eat and a bit of sightseeing.
We had our bite at Dal Brillo, a wine bar on Via Marsala. The place was doing a booming business … inside and out. As it was quite cool, we opted for a tiny table in the cozy inside space.
After perusing the menu, we ordered a couple of lemon bitter and ginger spritzers. Mui was determined to finally have mortadella — one of the specialties of the region. He ordered the Cinghialino platter … a selection of wild boar truffle salami, wild boar mortadella, sausage, and wild boar salami … served with Apulian bread. I opted for a mortadella dish described as a bruschetta … nothing like the one topped with chunks of tomato that we’re used to from our previous visits to Italy. This one was piled high with thinly shaved Mortadella on a thick cut slice of bread coated with melted Calabrese provola cheese (similar to provolone) … garnished with thin slices of courgette. Incredibly tasty … but OMG, the size. In fact, Mui’s platter was large, too, so next time we know to order just one thing to share.
After our meal, we walked toward the Cesare Battisti apartment to get a sense of how busy — read for that … noisy — it might be on a Saturday. The good news? It was quiet. You see, Ugo Bassi, just down the street from the Via Cesare Battisti intersection is closed off to traffic on weekends and becomes pedestrian-only. That stretches all the way down Via Rizzoli to the Due Torri. Naturally, that limits the traffic and the crowds. Perfect.
Our meandering stroll took us next to the Piazza Malpighi area. Spotting some unusual sarcophagi on raised platforms we crossed the street to find ourselves at the Basilica di San Francesco.
The church dates back to the 13th century. What was a Gothic building then now has elements ranging from the Romanesque to the Renaissance. It was apparently damaged quite extensively during WWII bombings, and renovated afterwards.
When we went inside today, we found restoration work underway … the main altar covered; only one chapel open for sacraments; scaffolding set up around the inside perimeter. A small sign explained that they were repairing the damages from the 2012 earthquake that shook northern Italy.
As for the sarcophagi that caught our attention to begin with … they apparently belong to the Glossatori … law professors of the University of Bologna, which gained fame in 1158. These professors were so renowned that Emperor Frederick Barbarossa is known to have consulted them on the imperial rights in Roman law … leading to his assertion of powers in Italy as the Holy Roman Emperor. The oldest of the tombs dates back to 1265.
On the way back to the AirBNB, we got some gelato from Velchi, where there was a short line. Frankly, I didn’t think it was nearly as good as the gelato we’ve gotten at either Cremeria or Vero.
On that note, time to join Mui on the couch to watch a You Tube move.Read more