Walking the streets of Testaccio, Rome’s former meatpacking district, feels like plunging into the heart of the old city. Today, the neighborhood has become sort of trendy and fashionable, and yet it retains its popular atmosphere.

If you whish to try the real taste of old Rome, though, you shold definitely head to one of Testaccio’s restaurants, and particularly to Checchino, an historic trattoria carved out of the hill side of Monte Testaccio, also known as “Monte dei Cocci” (“pottery mountain”) for being entirley made of amphora fragments that were amassed here in ancient times.

Checchino started its activity back in 1870 as a simple osteria with no proper kitchen, serving simple dishes such as cheese, olives and dried meat. In 1887, after getting a restaurant license, it started to specialize in the so-called “fifth quarter”, basically is the offal of butchered animals, traditionally reputed to be the less noble parts.

These “poor” ingredients, recently rediscovered by quite a number of cutting edge chefs, helped building the genuine and popular tastes of modern Roman cuisine – just think of dishes such as coda alla vaccinara (braised oxtail) and  rigatoni con la pajata (pasta topped with baby lamb intestines cooked in tomato sauce)…

124 years later, Checchino still serves these traditional recipes thanks to Francesco Mariani and his siblings, Marina and Elio. Besides the meats and the classic pastas – such as Amatriciana and Carbonara – the restaurant offers a great selection of wines.

Francesco and Elio are both professional sommeliers and consider a good wine to be the best accompainment to the strong tastes of Roman cuisine.