Join the Italian sing-along at Fonclea in Prati

Singer Luca Vicari covers Lucio Battisti songs at Fonclea.

It's not an easy task to find music in Rome that's neither contemporary rock (including rap, new age, electronic) nor classical. We've searched for every jazz club in town, and many, if not most, have disappeared over the years (as in Casa del Jazz, La Palma, 28 Divino; although we just discovered Alexanderplatz (in RST's Top 40) which had been closed for over a year and we feared forever, has reopened).

One mainstay of nostalgic rock is Fonclea, a club in Prati, not far from the Vatican. Fonclea started in 1977 as - per their Web site - a "cantina alternativa," an alternative cantina, where young musicians would have a chance to play in public.  Those young musicians have aged and now Fonclea is a 7-days-a-week music spot mainly for cover bands, which seem to be an even bigger phenomenon in Italy than in the U.S. That said, Fonclea is a great place to see and hear those bands.

Choose beer over wine.

The atmosphere is British pub.  As a result, the beer selection is much better than the wine selection.  There is a good-sized menu, and the Italians like to eat there, with their music.  We'd rate the food as fair.

They all knew all the words.

A sampling of Fonclea's schedule, from their Web site.

One night this spring, everyone in the room was singing along to the songs of pop singer Lucio Battisti, who, as Wikipedia says, "is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting."  Something of a loner, he died at age 55 in 1998. Some of the songs sounded familiar to us, but we didn't know them well enough to sing along. Even so, it was great fun to be there and hear the music.  

One night another person joined us at our table.  A German tourist, she had wandered into Fonclea from a nearby hotel.  She wanted to know what was going on with the singing audience.  After listening for awhile she declared it was her birthday and the best way she could have spent it, confirming our sense that a night at Fonclea is terrific even if one doesn't know the language.

The cover band for Lucio Battisti's music that we heard makes frequent appearances at Fonclea.  They were founded in 1994 as "Anime Latine" ("Latin souls") by the singer Luca Vicari and drummer Francesco De Chicchis, dedicating themselves only to the music of Battisti.

Info at www.fonclea.it (if it doesn't work, try it another time). Via Crescenzio 82a. +39 06 689 6302.

Dianne

We hadn't realized until we looked in our photo files that we had seen the same cover band - from the other side
of the room - in 2015.

Get to these Rome clubs while they last - for New Year's Eve.

Rome may be eternal, but its music clubs are not.  As New Year's Eve approaches, we thought we'd check on a couple clubs we visited in 2016.

Le Rane di Testaccio

One of our new finds was Le Rane di Testaccio, a cute basement music venue on via Galvani in Testaccio.  The jazz was very good, and sometimes even too contemporary for our "cool jazz" taste.  But we'd definitely recommend trying it.  The club is a "socio," so you need to buy a yearly "tessera."  As we recall, it was only 5 Euros.  The entrance fee of no more than 5-10 Euros included a drink.  The rather nice buffet was somewhat overpriced at 12 Euros.  Apparently organized by a doctor who wanted more jazz, the club has a modern, classy feel, and an attentive crowd.  We were afraid it wouldn't survive in Rome's elusive jazz scene, but it appears still to be a going concern, including with a New Year's Eve event.  Check it out.  And, by the way, the inside joke is that the street is named for Luigi Galvani, a biologist who experimented with frogs (le rane).  Via Galvani 29/29A (knock on the door).  06.5740240.

Even the parking lot for the L'ex dogana looked cool, with the
elevated highways framing it.

We also stopped in at the L'ex dogana (ex-custom's house) between San Lorenzo and Porta Maggiore.  The space is overwhelming and magnificent - true industrial chic.  It hosted a good art show (including, for example, a Kounellis) and was getting ready for late night music, when we stopped by.


 We had read about some of the problems of the people running the venue and, indeed, it looks like they won't be running it much longer.  The final show is New Year's Eve, and that looks like a blockbuster.  Look for information for "Scala Est Closing" on the Web site.

The scale of L'ex dogana produces unusual placement of artworks.

Captivating video projection art at L'ex dogana.

This looks like a video projection, but it
was solid

Getting ready for the partying, outside as well as in.

We were going to say a few words about a small venue in an expensive via Veneto (lower, not upper via Veneto) hotel, "Elegance Cafe'" - but it didn't last the year.  Its August Facebook page and Web site say it's transferring to a new location.  We shall see.

The now defunct Elegance Cafe'

Other New Year's Eve venues for jazz lovers include that old standby, Alexanderplatz.  We had some fear for its existence too, after we heard the main proprietor died.  But it's still plugging along.

And with that, Buon Anno!

Dianne

The Jazz Scene: Rome's New Bistros

Apericena jazz Sundays at Mithos

The many bistros in Rome now featuring jazz have opened up the Rome jazz scene for aficionados, like us.  We tried 6 new ones this spring, some of which have music into the summer.   Most of these we found on the easy-to-navigate and spruced-up Web site www.romajazz.it.

One of our most pleasant surprises is our favorite restaurant, Mithos, La Taverna dell’Allegria, that is hosting jazz most Sundays beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Calling it “Apericena” [before supper], the 10 Euro cover gets you a drink, an ample buffet, and on the night we were there, an excellent jazz trio.  Re the buffet – don’t expect Mithos’s regular menu on these Sunday evenings.  They serve only the buffet, which is quite nice; with good reason we were advised to rush over to the freshly fried fish when they came out of the kitchen.  The jazz evenings, as well as the many Vinoforum and other special events, are well publicized on Mithos’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/mithoslatavernadellallegria  They also have an improved Web site at www.mithostaverna.it.

Our second try was in what seemed to us an unlikely place – out on via dei Colli Portuensi, well south of Trastevere.  The bistro there is named for, and run by, the well-known wine shop in the center of Rome, Enoteca al Parlamento.  This locale is quite small, seating capacity inside about 20.  In fact, we sat outside--not our choice--listening in through open doors.  This “Aperijazz” is first rate, and, obviously, we recommend a reservation.  Bistrot is active on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ILBistrotdellEnotecaAlParlamento

From the outside looking in.

At Vineria Litro.  Girlfriend at best table; the norm.

Prettiest bathroom.

We also heard an outstanding jazz guitarist at a relatively new bistro – open all day – on the Gianicolo, not too far from the American Academy in Rome and the American University of Rome.  Vineria Litro features “Un Litro di Jazz” on specified evenings, including through July.  The Web site, www.vinerialitro.it, seems not as up to date as its Facebook site – look for LITRO, not Vineria Litro.  And they might have the prettiest bathrooms in Rome – with windows over the washbasin looking out onto the Aurelian Wall (dear to RST’s hearts this year). https://www.facebook.com/LitroVineria

View from the bar at Oratorio Bistrot

Looking down into Anima Mundi

Two other venues that don’t seem to have such regular music offerings, but certainly have them, are the Oratorio Bistrot and Anima Mundi.  Oratorio Bistrot is, as you might guess, in an ex-oratorio, connected to the San Bernardo church a block from Piazza della Repubblica.  You’re in an ex-oratorio of a church built on the base of one of the bath halls of the baths of Diocletian.  Sweet!  On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OratorioBistrot and at www.oratoriobistrot.it.  Anima Mundi Lounge Bar is behind Bocca della Verita’.  It’s a very nice bar; the music was not as professional, I’d say, as the others.  But a nice locale, via del Velabro 1-2,  and in the heart of Rome.  No Web site and the Facebook site seems poorly maintained.  A fair amount of information on TripAdvisor.


A sixth sort-of bistro is Cafe' Meeting Place on Piazza Bologna, where we heard a good jazz trio one night.  We were completely shocked that the coffee bar we featured in our first Rome guidebook, Rome the Second Time, had a total makeover to a cafe' - and with music.  We'll write more about this transformation in a separate post.

Max Ionata, on sax, with his organ trio, at Grottapinta Lovnge

We also tried one new music venue – Grottapinta Lovnge [sic], a rathskeller-like place just off Campo de’ Fiori, at via Grotta Pinta 12.  No Web site; Facebook site not maintained.  Try Twitter.  Or, again, look for them on www.romajazz.it.  We were drawn to this venue because the Max Ionata Organ Trio was playing.  We had heard them at TramJazz (that might become a regular for us!) and wanted to hear them again.  Ionata has an excellent Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/max.ionata  Grottapinta Lovnge is a good music venue, but like most of them in Rome, don’t expect the music to begin until an hour or two after the listed time.

Opening act at Live Music Club, San Lorenzo

We tried a few new clubs, including l'Asino que Vola [flying donkey] in Appio Latino [not the club by the same name in Trastevere], and Le Mura Live Music Club in San Lorenzo at via di Porta Labicana, 24.  Both are serious music venues, though standing became the norm when the main act appeared at Live Music Club - not something we appreciate.  We also made a foray into a "cultural association"  off Piazza Navona - FEBO, where we heard some young, fledgling jazz musicians.  Fun for what it was. Vicolo delle vacche, 26a.  On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/acfebo26

Young musicians at FEBO.  The clarinetist was quite good,
though not a well-developed stage presence.

The regular clubs seem steady – Alexanderplatz, 28 Di Vino Jazz, Charity Café, Gregory’s (now called Gregory’s Jazz Club), Cotton Club – only one of which we made it to this Spring. And we want to send a shout-out to TramJazz as well - we love this venue, which might be considered in the smaller bistro variety.  The auditorium venues also re active, though perhaps not as active as in the past – e.g., Parco della Musica (where we saw Diane Schur this Spring with an Italian big band) and Casa dell Jazz.   But it seems to us the expanded action may be in these smaller, bistro venues – which is fine by us.


Dianne

Two wine bar additions & a club

Two (true) wine bars we recommend (and are not in Rome the Second Time) are in the Trastevere and Marconi neighborhoods. Each has a variety of wines by the glass, with healthy and appealing appetizers, and over 200 wines by the bottle to take away.


We also suggest a night at Big Mama (photo) if you're in Trastevere.

Ombralonga ("long shadow") in the non-touristy area of Marconi, just east of the Trastevere train station, is owned and run by the affable Mauro. We discovered Ombralonga, and Mauro, several years ago when we lived in Marconi and searched high and low for good places to eat and drink. We make a pilgrimage (or two) to Ombralonga each time we're in Rome, and we're always happy to see Mauro. Wine by the glass runs about Euro 4-6 (you can go higher). Ombralonga has just 6 tables and is stylishly designed (while retaining the flavor of the classic enoteca) by Mauro's architect/now wife. The website at http://www.ombralongavinerie.com/, is only in Italian, but you can see photos under Gallery, and a map at Contatti. Closed Sundays. Open for lunch and after about 6 for drinks and snacks - many of them made by Mauro's mother. Don't miss Ombralonga if you're anywhere near Marconi. via Oderisi da Gubbio, 41-43, tel. 06.559.4212.

The second wine bar we'd add to our list of top 10 is a 2009 discovery (for us) outside the tourist zona - by a few steps only - in Trastevere. Il Bacocco is an island of calm after all those Trasteverian crowds and hawkers (imho). Lovely and stylish, il Bacocco opens at 6 and features a "stupendo" apperitivo (see photos) with wine for Euro 5 from 6-9:30 p.m., open until late at night, fuller meals and other food available (and looks great). Emiliano behind the bar is friendly and explained to us that his family has been in the restaurant business for generations. via G. Mamelo, 61-62, tel. 06.589.8587; website http://www.ilbacocco.it/bacocco.it/ is under construction. info@ilbacocco.it. Closed Sundays.

Also in Trastevere, and therefore not in the book and avoided by us until this year, is Big Mama, on vicolo S. Francesco a Ripa, 18, tel. 06.581.2551; http://www.bigmama.it/. We've also avoided Big Mama because it has a monthly (Euro 8) or Yearly (Euro 13) tessera or membership charge plus usually a cover - and this for bands we have never heard of. We went to their seasonal closing night party a couple weeks ago and were thrilled with the bands - ranging from pure blues to '80s cover. Acoustics are excellent; make sure there's a table with a view of the stage before you plunk down your Euro. Their performers are listed regularly in Roma C'e', La Repubblica, etc., and you can check out their website; if you click onto "Club Info," there's a British flag for an English version.
Dianne