Tulipane: home, taste and art in the city center

Starring bread but not only: there are all the ingredients for a breakfast to remember for a lifetime, enjoyable lunch breaks and a quality aperitif. In the heart of Rome.

We are right in the heart of Rome, in one of those cobblestone streets between Via dei Banchi Vecchi and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, just a few hundred meters from Piazza Navona and the Lungotevere that faces St. Peter's to be precise. It is here that Sara Bonamini and Flaminia Fratini have elected their professional domicile, the place where they can give vent to their volcanic creative flair and all their love for the work they have chosen to do in life. Friends, colleagues now, but coming from different fields: Flaminia is a furniture designer, she loves to give new life to objects and fabrics with incredible artistic talent, salvaging vintage pieces among flea markets and junk dealers. Sara just back from a fifteen-year editorial experience at Gambero Rosso where she designed and edited all editions of the Pizzerie d'Italia guide and Pane & Panettieri. 

Here they are, different, unique and talented, reinventing a space on the ground floor of an old building: Tulips. "We wanted to create a place that looked like us, where we could feel at home, among sofas and tables, lamps and paintings because we spend most of our time here and we want to be comfortable here first and foremost," Flamina comments with satisfaction. How can you blame her? Everything is simply beautiful. The ambiance, the background music, the colors and geometries of the fabrics juxtaposed with each other, the fish-shaped napkin rings, the wicker peacock chair, the 1950s mirrors...the gaze never tires of lingering on the most minute details, and then...and then the scent, that mixed aroma of sweet and salty that sends one into total rapture. 

As you enter, on the left is the counter of pizzas and rustic pies with loaves of choice grains behind, on the right are the cakes, cookies, and brioches. This is Sara's "bread" which, pass me the syllogism, can only be as good and reassuring as her look and smile, those who know her know what I mean.

Open since less than a year, Tulipane is a place that gives delicious breakfasts between muffins and tarts accompanied by excellent coffee; lunch breaks while strolling through the most beautiful streets in the world that see bread as the absolute protagonist: crostoni and sandwiches but also pan of gravy with bread for dunking (and the memory flies fast to grandmothers' kitchens on Sunday mornings that already smelled of ragù on the gentle fire where you played at "stealing" some by quickly dunking crumbs and crusts careful not to burn your fingers and tongue), rich salads with egg bread but also pizza by the slice straight from the counter.

Opening hours have recently changed, and you can also stop in for an aperitif with friends at nightfall after a day's work. The wine selection is small but centered, certainly not trivial. 

Multifaceted, functional and sophisticated but always "down to earth" and informal, the perfect place to stop and treat yourself even with the excuse of going to buy everyday bread. 

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