On the gourmand rooftop Cielo at the Hotel De la Ville

The name Cielo is all the more ideal because the bar and restaurant on the terrace of the Hotel de la Ville are right up close to the celestial vault. Sitting at the tables around 7 p.m. on a May evening means embracing in a single glance an infinite panorama that sweeps from the Colli Albani to the Gazometro, circles the Altare della Patria, and even flirts with the Quirinale and the Pantheon. Witnessing the concert of the seagulls, the flocks playing tag with the cirrus clouds, one sees the sky go from light blue to light violet and then to midnight blue while the dome of St. Peter's and the whole of Vatican City are lit up by a soft light. Cielo Bar also enchants almost as if it were a suspended terrace to which the very recent restyling by Paolo Moschino has given refined elegance by choosing furnishings with refined fabrics and natural materials. The drink list includes the Campidoglio Margarita, which combines tequila and mezcal with tropical notes and basil, and the Life on Mars, more intense and structured, with hints of spice and vermouth. Lying just above Trinità dei Monti, before being a hotel, now belonging to the Rocco Forte brand, De la Ville was inhabited by monks. Then its transformation into a hotel was entrusted to the famous Hungarian architect Jozsef Vágó, who confirmed all his eclecticism by creating a palace with an Art Nouveau yet neoclassical style. Its interior courtyard recalls 19th-century styles in its linear geometry, while the interiors are imbued with the atmosphere of the Grand Tour thanks to handmade wallpaper, Italian fabrics and historical tapestries.