Take the Train for a tale of two Italian cities – Scotland on Sunday Travel

From Rome to Cortina d’Ampezzo, the sleeper is the way to go

Hotel Hassler Roma, sits at the top of the city's Spanish Steps. Pic: Contributed

Where better to begin my tale of two cities than the top of Rome’s Spanish Steps? After a two-day re-induction into a place I’d only visited once, it would continue by overnight sleeper towards Cortina d’Ampezzo, co-host for the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026. The self styled Queen of the Dolomites will stage the Women’s Alpine ski races and the curling tournament. And perhaps the sliding competitions, but only if they provide a bob run. Don’t bank on that, given that there is back up ice in Innsbruck across the Austrian border. With no space to build highways in narrow approach valleys, Cortina, once host of the whole 1956 Games, is now resolutely Olympic Lite.

My Roman bolt hole, the Hotel Hassler, founded by a Swiss entrepreneur in 1892, is still in the same family after six generations. Twins Verushka and Roberto Jr Wirth took over the property after their father’s premature death in 2022. They conform outwardly to traditional values, a lackey in pale felt to greet guests at the door, a concierge in morning dress to tell them where to go, a row of glass cases filled with eye-catching menswear for sale at eye-watering prices - a pink tweed checked men’s jacket? Only in Italy - but the vibe is more contemporary. Even a decade ago, a Swiss five star wouldn’t have nurtured first names and jokes between staff and guests. Nowadays, such humanity comes naturally at the Hassler: it makes staying there seem like home. ..

From the terrace of Audrey Hepburn’s sixth floor suite on the top of the building, Rome sprawls over its seven hills. Look straight down for a overview of folk heading towards the Spanish Embassy in the square at the bottom of the Steps. Sitting down for a snack and a chat was banned in 2016, but the authorities welcome positive publicity. Hope you spotted Scotland’s Ben Macintyre at post tournament celebrations with his Ryder Cup team maters after Luke Donald’s Europe reclaimed the trophy last October.

The rooftop terrace of Hotel Hassler in Rome has views across the city. Pic: Contributed

Opposite Audrey’s hideaway, a terracotta building, its flat roof adorned with huts with trellis walls, meets the eye. Like much of the most expensive real estate, it is Vatican-owned, purpose unrevealed. Beyond, the lazy sweep of the Tiber, with the extensive Coliseum archaeological complex on the near bank, the dome of St Peter’s and the Vatican City on the far one.

When in Rome, or any other metropolis, there are ways for country bumpkins to get to grips. Number one: orientation. A pleasure boat round Manhattan Island, across San Francisco harbour, under Amsterdam’s canal bridges, down the Thames or the Seine. By the end, you know a bit of history and exactly where you are. In Rome, you can Hop On, Hop Off on water or land. On the open-sided bus, position A is upper deck, front row, right hand side.

The architecture you can photograph from there includes the Coliseum where an estimated 400,000 citizens and a million plus wild animals died between its commissioning in 80AD and the winding down of gladiatorial combat 350 years later. Its current reincarnation as a tourist honey pot attracts 4 million visitors a year. Round the corner, the Circus Maximus staged spectacles from 329 BC; in 50 BC,Julius Caesar’s upgrade created a 200,000 seat facility for chariot racing and pagan rituals. Next up: the spot where Nero watched two-thirds of the city burn in 64 AD to make room for his new palace. Some fiddler, but at least he still gets the credit long after the flames devoured it. Allegedly his arsonist vibe extended to torching ‘wrong doers’ to light his dinner table rather than use oil lamps.

Number two: just one world class site per day. Not easy in Rome, even if you’ve already visited Vatican City and the Coliseum complex. If you pick the Trevi Fountain, the protocol is to face away from the 18th century Baroque masterpiece and pitch over your left shoulder with your right hand: one coin for the promise of a re-visit, two separately to find love. Don’t carry ‘em nowadays? The risk is yours, Standing 23.8 metres high, the Trevi earns an average €3,500 a day. Funds that escape generations of persistent thieves subsidise soup kitchens for Rome’s poor.

A bedroom at the Hotel Hassler, Rome. Pic: Contributed

For art lovers, the Borghese Gallery overlooking the celebrated gardens is the no-brainer option. Started in 1623, the existing palace is the legacy of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a Papal nephew with no Christian ethics or moral scruples. If a painting he wanted had been commissioned by someone else, he sent his thugs to steal it from the studio, imprison the artist and fine him on release. Our gain, of course, as he had impeccable taste. His collection includes seminal sculptures by Bernini and paintings by Caravaggio, Rafael, Titian and Rubens, displayed in interconnecting rooms on two richly decorated floors. Pre-book as numbers are strictly monitored.

As of mid December 2023, the Expresso Cadore leaves Rome Station for Calalzo di Cadore on Friday evenings, returning two nights later. With 220 couchettes, two, four or six to a cabin, this is late 20th-century retro rather Edwardian pomp or contemporary sleek. The greeting is warm, but the beds are narrow.The restaurant car serves a three course menu - no a la carte - and the bar stays open all night, although none of our fellow guests were looking for trad snow train revelry in mid January. Departure was prompt at 21.40, arrival predicted shortly before 08.00 so weekenders could profit from a full Saturday on the mountain. A 642km journey in ten hours? Not much pressure, so why a three-hour delay in Treviso? When it comes to revelation, Trenitalia take its cue from the Vatican: sit down and shut up.

Even before you can order a salad in Cortina’s Hotel de Len, you’ll see strollers in full length fur passing the restaurant window. Not singletons, not fakes, but groups of three or four in vintage coats made from endangered species, pampered handbag dogs trotting alongside. In bars and restaurants, people routinely light up. Cortina, elegantly time warped in the 1950s, is self indulgent in ways that are illegal as well as 70 years out of date.

In contrast, Len - ‘of wood’ in Ladino - is timber from derelict cow byres repurposed to create 80% of an ostentatiously eco hotel. The team wears brown checked shirts and casual trousers, but the service, whether from a lad with black curls rippling over his shoulders or a teenage mountain princess, is as eagle eyed as five stars demand. Less so thief-proof hairdryers and product in large jars nailed to bathroom walls.

Hotel de Len in Cortina, the Italian ski resort which will co-host the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026. Pic: Contributed

First names? Of course, though I wouldn’t risk it in the rooftop spa run by a pair of intimidatingly vestal ladies in olive green floor length frocks. To avoid congestion in two saunas and an outdoor hot tub with spectacular views, they implement a booking schedule of hour long slots with disciplinarian zeal. Elsewhere the Len is more chilled, with a rolling buffet in a first floor salon; mainly coffee and cakes throughout the day. Guests can book in for regular cookery and wood carving classes or sign up for bi-monthly wine tasting evenings, each from a different Italian region, with gourmet dinner to match.

Cortina has three lift bases, none an easy walk from the town centre. The most demanding area is Tofana, accessed as of 2022 by Cortina’s first modern gondola. After two stages, the cash ran out at Col di Druscie, leaving the geriatric cable car to grind out the final ascent to the women’s downhill start. This ultra steep defile between rock faces is a familiar testing ground for nerves of steel. Bragging rites mean taking it straight, survival avoiding those who should not be making the attempt. The lucky lady Olympians are at least guaranteed a clear path. A less stressful approach involves lunch on the Col di Druscie terrace. From this timeless sun spot, it’s easy to feel that the 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place on another planet. In this, Cortina is behind you 100%.

Essentials

Hotel Hassler: hotelhasslerroma.com. Hotel Hassler Roma offers rooms from €1,000 per a double room per night, excluding breakfast, VAT and city tax.

A view of Cortina from the Hotel de Len. Pic: Contributed

Hotel de Len: hoteldelen.it. HOTEL de LEN offers rooms from €449 per night, based on two adults sharing a Superior room on a B&B basis.

Ryanair (ryanair.com): Edinburgh-Rome, from £30.40 (March).

EasyJet (easyJet.com): Edinburgh from £25.99 (March/April)