The editors’ selection

Rome’s most interesting contemporary art museum, the Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo (Maxxi) is housed inside an impressive, cantilevered Zaha Hadid structure (see architecture section). It has curated exhibitions on Lina Bo Bardi in the past but this autumn it brings a new perspective to the work of the Italian-Brazilian architect by way of a nine-channel video installation by UK artist Isaac Julien. The project is dedicated to some of Bo Bardi’s trademark buildings – including the Teatro Gregório de Mattos in Brazil’s Salvador da Bahia.

From aperitivi al fresco to book presentations and outdoor theatre performances, this new café in Piazza Annibaliano covers a lot of ground. Primarily it’s giving residents of the Trieste-Salario neighbourhood a way to reclaim a square that was for a long time little more than a scruffy pedestrian crossing. All it took was a simple plywood kiosk – urban renewal needn’t be a cumbersome affair.

First born as a small venture in the scenic Apulian seaside town of Polignano a Mare, fish-focused street-food outlet Pescaria has since grown into a success story with outposts across Italy. Rome is the latest opening and its fresh-fish paninis have already attracted enthusiastic crowds (and queues) to the Prati neighbourhood. Don’t be afraid of experimenting with less conventional flavours – they’re all worth it.