Article: AT EASE IN ROME Finding a slice of Italian life on the Roman piazzas; If you go Where to stay: Near Campo de' Fiori, Hotel Teatro di Pompeo has historic location, pleasant public and private rooms. Standard double room: about $160. (Telephone 011-39-6-687-2812, fax 011-39-6-687-5531) More affordable in the same area (with smaller rooms and forgettable interiors) is the Albergo della Lunetta. Standard double rooms: about $80; with shared bath, about $57. (Phone 011-39-6-686-1080, fax 011-39-6-689-2028) Near the Piazza Borghese, the Hotel Portoghesi is stylish and more than 150 years old. Standard double rooms: about $140. (Phone 011-39-6-686-4231, fax 011-39-6-687-6976) Near the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, just across the Tiber River over the Sisto bridge, the Ponte Sisto Hotel is a large place with a palm-shaded courtyard. Standard doubles about $133. (Phone 011-39-6-686-8843, fax 011-39-6-683-08822) Near the Piazza Navona, if you're ready to live it up and pay a price, is the ivy-clad, elegantly furnished Raphael Hotel. Standard double rooms: $220-$290, depending on season. (Phone 011-39-6-682-831, fax 011-39-6-687-8993) (Rates quoted above calculated at 1,500 lire per $1.) For more information: Italian Government Tourist Board, 12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Los Angeles, CA 90025; (310) 820-0098.

Twice I'd been here. Each time, I came, saw, inspected the Sistine, assessed the Colosseum, entered and ogled the Pantheon and Forum.

If it was winter I bought roasted chestnuts and was reminded that the idea of roasted chestnuts far exceeds the reality. If it was summer, I ordered Italian ice cream, the reality of which cannot be exceeded. Then it was back to the churches and landmarks.

But eventually, peering up at one more clock tower or squinting at yet another fresco, a stranger in Rome crosses a threshold.

Suddenly, the most important thing in the Eternal City is not to find where Julius Caesar was stabbed, or name the father of Romulus and Remus, but finding a place to sit still, ...

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