Financial Times Life And Arts, August 2007
Septimus would be proud
 ...Has any city in the world been loved as unreservedly as Rome? Is there any other where that trinity of travel – civilisation, cuisine and camaraderie – come together as perfectly? While Paris, New York, Hong Kong and London all have their legions of fans, they also have their detractors complaining about the hauteur of Parisians, say, or the frenetic pace of New York.
The early Romans, writes Georgina Masson in her invaluable guide to Rome, “possessed what we would call a community spirit, and also an aptitude for reasonableness and conciliation. Clementia was their word for it.” This is not the primary reason why we visit the city – 20m tourists are expected this year alone – but it does explain why so many of us return.
For advice on Rome and just about everywhere else in Italy, I turn first to Emily FitzRoy at Bellini Travel. Bellini can arrange private visits to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums, and also organise dinner in private palaces such as Palazzo Colonna where Roman Holiday was filmed. Georgina Masson’s A Companion Guide to Rome is still unbeatable.
John Fort, the Bellini guide in Rome, is the editor of the updated version of the “Companion Guide to Rome” by Georgina Masson.....
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