The Biggest Market in Rome, Tasted Stall by Stall

Four hours, six venues, more than twenty-five tastings, all of it in Prati and Trionfale on the Vatican side of the river, where Romans live rather than visit.

You start at a local café on Via Cipro with a proper Italian coffee, two minutes from the metro. Then Gabriele Bonci's pizzeria, where pizza al taglio is treated as a serious craft and the toppings change with what he can get; he is called the Michelangelo of pizza often enough that it has stuck.

Back at the gourmet shop you are served their own selection: thirty-year-aged balsamic, truffle, Genovese pesto, fresh buffalo mozzarella. Aged balsamic like that is made over three decades in a succession of progressively smaller barrels, and losing volume every year is what concentrates it.

Then the Mercato Trionfale, the largest market in Rome with hundreds of stalls under one roof, where the neighbourhood does its weekly shop. You taste at several stands and see how the buying actually works.

The last stop is a family-run restaurant on Via Candia for freshly made pasta, one of the three Roman classics, with tiramisù and fine wine.

Food and wine are unlimited for anyone who wants more. Up to fifteen guests, guided in English. Wheelchair accessible throughout. Tell them about dietary requirements at booking. It ends at the restaurant, a few minutes from Ottaviano metro, and the guide will call you a taxi if you would rather.