Coffee in Rome {Baylon Cafe + Trastevere}

It is that time of year again. The summer months in Rome bring lots of parties. Parties in elegant gardens on ancient roads and on spectacular rooftops of medieval towers. But while these parties are pretty, they come with a price. This is time of year when the friends I have made in this peripatetic life start wandering off to other places. 

It is also the time of year when, like swallows, wandering pals return. In between the flurry of returning Romans relative visiting, doctors appointments and parmesan shopping, there is always time for one more cup of coffee and a quick look at some Baroque treasure. 


On a sweltering summer morning I crossed over the Tevere to Trastevere to bid another farewell. I met my departing friend at the groovy Baylon Cafe for cold cappuccinos and fresh cornetti. There are plenty of tables and free wifi giving the space a very New York City feel. The eclectic second book selection that lines the walls is all for sale. 

The day was already too hot to try the advertised bacon and egg breakfast, so we opted instead to choose from the trays and trays of every kind of Italian breakfast pastry. 

We filled my friends last hours in Rome with a years worth of conversation about last years of high school and first years of college for our respective children, the state of Italian culture abroad and how to survive in a city without fresh milk or cheese. 

In this season of goodbyes and nests emptying, a good cup of coffee and a little Bernini make the bitter much more sweet. 

Baylon cafe is located on a busy Trastevere cross street that intersects viale Trastevere and ends at the 12th century church dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi where inside you can find Bernini's Beata Ludovica Albertoni.

Baylon Cafe
via di San Francesco a Ripa, 151