Italian men are beautiful. This is what my travel companions and I concluded as we sat on café terraces, sipped Campari cocktails and watched (ogled?) the men as they passed by. We found Roman men, of all ages, to be quite tantalizing. This sounds and probably is sexist, but it’s the truth.

They’re everywhere, and they’re splendid-looking. Men standing in a cluster in a piazza. Men drinking espresso at the bar of a caffè. Men zipping down the Via del Corso on their sporty little scooters. Men engaged in, oh, all the things that cosmopolitan men engage themselves in.

They’re also very stylishly dressed, oftentimes more than the women. Dotted around the city you’ll see a multitude of small shops dedicated to the dressing, grooming, accessorizing and beautifying of men: shirtmakers, shoemakers, suitmakers, barbers and the like. The cult of the male thrives in Italy. In public life it appears to be a patriarchal society. But in private life, it’s mama who rules!

As for me, I was in search of leather gloves. One day, as I was strolling up the Via dei Due Macelli on my way to Spagna metro station, I happened upon a marvellous glove shop called Catello d’Auria.

Displayed in glass cases and housed in over a hundred drawers were hand-made Italian gloves lined with cashmere, silk or wool. I had serendipitously stumbled into glove heaven.

Here’s the lovely saleswoman who greeted and served me. I’m sorry, but you just don’t get smiles like this in Paris.

Placing a small velvet pillow on the countertop, she asked me to place my elbow on it (with my forearm pointing upwards.) Then she slipped a glove onto my hand. This is how she measures your glove size. These gloves below were my favorite, but I didn’t buy them. Looking at them here, I regret not buying them. A reason to return to Rome!

I ended up buying a plainer pair in an oxblood color.

Isn’t this the most beautiful flat sandal you’ve ever laid eyes on? I didn’t buy them, far too costly. But I did lust after them through the window. Oh, didn’t you know? I have a fetish for footwear.

I recommend visiting the upscale Rinascente department store on the via del Tritone at number 61. It’s like Le Bon Marché in Paris, Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman in NYC, and Harvey Nichols in London. The stunning, newly refurbished top floor is where the food hall and a number of restaurants are located.

Here’s a comment someone wrote on a travel website – “You might try the Food Hall on the top floor of the new La Rinascente flagship store on Via del Tritone. Some of the restaurants have good views and outdoor terraces. There’s also a large rooftop bar, one flight up, with great views. My recollection is that the restaurants aren’t outrageously expensive. There’s an express elevator to the Food Hall, but the store itself is an amazing piece of architecture that’s well worth visiting. Casual dress is perfectly OK, but I wouldn’t go looking too ragged.”

I’ve always found the Italians to be more stylish than the French. I found the center of Rome to be immaculately clean, far cleaner than Paris. Crossing streets at pedestrian crossings though can be dangerous. I risked my life trying to get to the Santa Prassede church, one of the best examples of Byzantine mosaics in Rome. Unfortunately, it was closed when I got there. I was unaware of the visiting hours, 7 am – 12:30 pm, 4 – 6:30 pm. Another reason to return to Rome!

A small museum recommendation is the Leonardo da Vinci museum that we visited, “a world of genius in the heart of Rome.”

I really enjoy visiting churches, especially the smaller, less known ones. A hidden gem, Santa Prassede is a 9th-century basilica with glorious Byzantine mosaics in the apse and filling a side chapel. There’s also a piece of the scourging column of Christ, brought over from Constantinople in the Middle Ages.

And that’s it, folks! Thanks for travelling with me.