Pizza Beside Rome's Talking Statue

Two hours in an osteria on Piazza di Pasquino, one street off Piazza Navona, at the point where Via del Governo Vecchio begins.

The square is named after the battered marble torso propped against the wall of the building next door. Since the sixteenth century Romans have pinned anonymous verses to it mocking popes, cardinals and whoever else deserved it, and the practice never fully stopped: the word pasquinade comes from that statue. People still leave notes on it.

Inside, you make pizza. The dough, the resting, the opening by hand so the rim keeps its air, the topping and the bake. The chef has been doing this in her own restaurant rather than in a teaching kitchen, and the class is small enough, ten people at most, that she can correct each base as it is being stretched.

Then you eat your pizza, with a glass of wine or a small beer, still water, and a coffee or a limoncello afterwards.

Taught in English. Arrive ten minutes early and ask the restaurant staff to take you through; latecomers can only be rebooked at a cost and are not refunded. Not suitable for anyone with gluten intolerance, and if you are lactose intolerant, leave the cheese off.