Rome Bingo: Spot 30 Typically Roman Things

Spot a gelato cone

Find a gelato cone with at least two flavours in someone's hand or stacked behind glass at a gelateria (Giolitti, San Crispino, Old Bridge). Photograph it before it melts.

Spot a pasta plate

Find a plate of pasta on a trattoria table or in a restaurant window (cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, gricia, the four Roman classics). Photograph the plate.

Spot pizza al taglio

Find pizza al taglio (rectangular pizza sold by weight) at a Roman pizzeria. Photograph the long pan with different toppings.

Spot an espresso cup

Find a small espresso cup (caffè) on a bar counter or saucer. Photograph the crema on top.

Spot a Vespa

Find a Vespa scooter parked or in motion (Rome has more Vespas than nearly any city). Photograph the chrome and the rider.

Spot a Fiat 500

Find a classic Fiat 500 (the round little 1960s version, or even the modern one) parked on a cobblestone street. Photograph the small body.

Spot a nasone fountain

Find a nasone (the iron drinking fountains scattered through Rome with a long curved spout). Photograph someone drinking from it or the water arc.

Spot the Italian tricolor

Find an Italian flag (vertical green-white-red) flying on a building, balcony or government facade. Photograph the colours.

Spot an aperitivo Aperol spritz

Find an Aperol spritz (orange, with the white-rim glass) on a café table. The afternoon ritual. Photograph the orange.

Spot a panino or supplì

Find a panino (Italian sandwich) or a fried supplì (rice-and-ragù croquette) at a counter or in someone's hand. Photograph it before the first bite.

Spot the Colosseum

Find the Colosseum from a viewpoint (any side, from the Forum, or Palatine Hill). Photograph the arches against the sky.

Spot the Trevi Fountain

Walk to the Trevi Fountain on Piazza di Trevi. Photograph the white marble Neptune and his sea horses, with the team or coins flying through the air.

Spot the Pantheon facade

Walk to the Pantheon on Piazza della Rotonda. Photograph the columned portico with the inscription M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT on the frieze.

Spot the Vatican view

Find a view of St. Peter's Basilica dome (from Castel Sant'Angelo, from the Tiber, from Bernini's colonnade). Photograph the dome.

Spot a papal flag

Find a yellow-and-white papal flag with the crossed-keys emblem (Vatican area, religious shops, in front of churches). Photograph it.

Spot the Bernini colonnade

Walk into St. Peter's Square and find Bernini's curved colonnade arms reaching around. Photograph the columns receding.

Spot the Spanish Steps

Find the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps) on Piazza di Spagna. Photograph the steps from below or above.

Spot the Trinità dei Monti church

At the top of the Spanish Steps stands the twin-towered church of Trinità dei Monti. Photograph the church framed by the steps.

Spot a Roman cobblestone (sampietrino)

Find a sampietrino, the small black basalt cube Rome's streets are paved with. Photograph a stretch of road close-up.

Spot an SPQR plaque

Find an SPQR plaque (Senatus Populusque Romanus) on a public fountain, manhole cover, lamp post or bin. Rome uses it as its modern logo too. Photograph the letters.

Spot the Fontana delle Tartarughe

Find the Fountain of the Turtles (Fontana delle Tartarughe) on Piazza Mattei. Four bronze boys lift four turtles to drink. Photograph one of the turtles.

Spot a Trastevere ivy facade

Wander Trastevere's side streets and find a facade covered in ivy, jasmine or bougainvillea. Photograph the green.

Spot a Roman laundry line

Look up in Trastevere or Monti and find laundry strung between two windows across a narrow street. Photograph the line.

Spot a Cardinal's hat shop window

Near the Vatican, find a religious-supply shop selling cardinal's red hats, bishop's crooks, rosaries (especially around Borgo Pio). Photograph the window.

Spot the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità)

Walk to Santa Maria in Cosmedin (south of the Forum) and find the marble Mouth of Truth in the portico. Photograph the open mouth (and dare a hand inside).

Spot an obelisk

Find an Egyptian obelisk in a Roman square (there are thirteen across the city, more than in Egypt itself: Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo, San Giovanni). Photograph one against the sky.

Spot a piazza statue with pigeons

Find any major Roman statue (Bernini's Four Rivers, Marcus Aurelius on the Capitoline) with pigeons perched on it. Photograph the irreverent gathering.

Spot a Roman ruin in everyday use

Find Roman ruins built into modern life: a column embedded in a wall, a temple foundation under a building, a statue in a hotel lobby. Photograph the time-layered shot.

Spot a Roman artichoke (carciofo)

Find a carciofo alla romana (Roman-style artichoke) on a trattoria menu or counter. Photograph the silver-green flower.

Spot a moka stove-top coffee pot

Find a Bialetti moka pot in a shop window, on a café counter or behind a glass display. The eight-sided aluminium silhouette. Photograph it.