Rome in January

Rome is probably one of my favorite places in the world, definitely one of my favorite cities. The texture of the city seems to push in on you with a warmth that wants to wrap you in weathered stone and orange painted cement. There’s a buzz of ancient constancy that comes from the certainty that Rome will stand tomorrow and in another thousand years, as she has done for millennia. Squeezing between full tables in a bustling osteria or watching practiced hands pull an espresso behind a bar, I have always found comfort here. The uneven cobblestones feel familiar, and I find sense in the winding back alleys away from the noisier boulevards. The Trevi Fountain, which was under construction when I lived in Italy, was open and crowded, but there was space to settle on the far side of it and take a few minutes to sketch. Because I happened to be there on a cold and cloudy day, I got to wander the gardens at the Villa Borghese almost in solitude.