Via Urbana 133 · Rome
Design Apartment in Monti, Rome
90 m² Two bedrooms One sofa bed Two bathrooms
Beside the Imperial Fora, six minutes from the Colosseum, in the most glamorous quarter of Rome
I'm Joanna. I moved to Monti with my family in 2010, and this is why people choose my apartment.
90 m² for 6, with room to breathe
Two bedrooms, a proper queen bed in each, 2 bathrooms, and a living room where everybody can sit down together after dinner. Most apartments this central and this size sleep four and call it six.
Monti, which I chose on purpose
I could have lived anywhere in Rome and I chose this street. Via Urbana is workshops, wine bars, a market and vintage shops, inside the historic centre and yet entirely residential. You wake up in a neighbourhood, not in an attraction.
A house someone loves
A clawfoot tub standing against botanical wallpaper, warm parquet, exposed beams, and no television because I never wanted one here. Everything in these rooms was chosen rather than ordered by the pallet.
Always cheaper here
The same dates cost 15% more on Airbnb and 20% more on Booking.com, because those prices carry their commission. Book on this page and you skip it, and you are writing to me rather than to a platform.
Inside the apartment
See all photos
What guests say elsewhere
The apartment has been listed on the big platforms for years. Those ratings belong to the guests who left them, not to me. I am simply pointing at them, because I am not going to write testimonials for myself.
There is no agency and no management company between us. I answer the messages, I meet the guests who want to be met, I keep the keys and I clean up after the plumber. When something goes wrong at eleven at night, I am the one who comes.
Do open the two links and read what people actually wrote — then come back here to book. The same nights on those platforms carry a mark-up that covers their commission, 15% on Airbnb and 20% on Booking.com. Reading the reviews there and booking here is the cheapest way to do this.
Booking here always costs you less
Airbnb and Booking.com take a commission on every reservation, and the prices you see there carry a mark-up that covers it: 15% on Airbnb, 20% on Booking.com. The rates on this site are the ones without it.
The same apartment, the same beds, the same host. From €290 a night midweek, with no booking fee and no security deposit, because I would rather trust you with the house than hold your money.
A note from Joanna
I was not born in Rome. I came here, as a lot of people do, meaning to stay a while, and then I did the thing you are not supposed to do and stayed for good. When it came to choosing where, I did not choose the view or the postcard. I chose Monti, which is the most quietly sophisticated corner of the historic centre: the first rione of the city, cobbled, steep, full of small independent shops and people who have known each other for thirty years.
This apartment is the result of that decision. Every room in it was put together slowly, with pieces I actually wanted to live with, in a building that has stood on this slope for a very long time. When you stay here you get the flat, and you also get my neighbourhood: where I buy the pasta, which wine bar to walk into, which church to step inside when you need ten minutes of quiet.
Read my guide to Monti, or the journal I write about living here.
Good to know before you book
How many people can stay in the apartment?
Up to 6. There are 2 bedrooms with a queen bed each (160 × 200 cm) and a sofa bed in the living room, so 3 beds across 90 m² and 2 bathrooms. It sleeps six honestly and it is luxurious for four, and I would rather tell you that now than have you discover it.
Is there a lift?
No. We are on the 3rd floor of a historic building and there is no lift, so it is three flights of stairs each time. I climb them daily and I have grown fond of them, but please think about it if you travel with heavy cases or find stairs difficult.
What time is check-in and check-out?
Check-in is from 16:00 and check-out is by 10:00. Check-in is self-service, so you are never waiting on me and I am never waiting on you. If you land early, leave your luggage in the flat and go and have lunch.
Is it cheaper to book here than on Airbnb or Booking.com?
Yes, always. The listings on those platforms carry a mark-up that covers their commission. Booking on this site is the same apartment, the same beds and the same hosts, without that layer in between, and it means you are talking to me rather than to a platform.
What is the cancellation policy?
You pay 30% when you book and the balance 30 days before you arrive. Cancel more than 14 days before check-in and you are refunded in full; after that the booking is non-refundable. There is no security deposit, because I would rather trust you with the house.
What does it cost on top of the nightly rate?
A one-off cleaning fee of €100, €30 a night for each guest beyond the first two, and Rome's city tax of €6 per person per night, which every visitor to the city pays wherever they stay. Nothing else appears later.
Is there a television?
No, and it was a deliberate choice. This flat was made for slow mornings, long dinners and books, and I have never once missed it.
Come and stay on Via Urbana
Rome fills between April and October and the good weeks go early. If your dates are already fixed, take them now, and write to me if there is anything you want to ask first. I answer my own messages.
Check dates and book