Rome on the Cheap

I'm perusing Let's Go Budget Rome where I'm finally finding very cheap eats and where Termini and San Lorenzo are neighborhoods to visit rather than to avoid.  I always thought Lonely Planet catered to the backpacking hostel crowd but their Rome guide is definitely mainstream tourist with the cheapest restaurants (marked with one €) as anything below €25 for primo, seconde, dolce and vino (of course that is a lot of food).  Let's Go concentrates on a lot of pizzerias, bakeries, cafes, and gelaterias.  And they mention that there is a "huge" SMA grocery store (does that make it an ipermercato?) at Piazza dell'Esquilino - next to Santa Maria Maggiore, not quite half a mile from the apartment, according to the handy measuring tape on google maps, one new feature that I really appreciate.

As to be expected, Let's Go also concentrates on "nightlife" and suggests buying a bottle of wine at the supermarket and heading to the nearest Piazza to join the crowds of young Italians, which might not pertain to us.  It also mentions that drinking outside after 11 pm has recently been made illegal and that conforms to our bedtime very well, because we will barely have finished dinner by 11 if we start eating at the customary 9 pm.  Let's not forget to check out the free concerts at oggiroma.it and timeout.com/rome/ in case we get finished with dinner early.

Lonely Planet Rome does have some good sidebars about less touristy and free features of Rome, like the Madonnelle, the little street-corner madonnas that, according to Virtual Roma, stem from the ancient Roman custom of building "small public shrines dedicated to the lares compitales, the pagan tutelary deities who presided over the crossroads."  Sort of the roadside lares familiares.  PhotoRoma has photos of many madonelle for those who aren't able to go see them, arranged by street and neighborhood.  The Spanish Steps on Pinterest also has a page of madonnelle photos and they also have a blog posting: The Madonnelle, Rome's Beautiful Little Shrines.

Another interesting thing to see for free are the statue parlanti or talking statues where people would post criticisms of the government (including the pope) beginning in the 1500s, according to one story, with the tailor Pasquino who posted satirical commentary on gossip he gleaned from the Vatican.  Do  you think they posted anything about Berlusconi during his term?

Even more exciting (especially if it rains hard and there is flooding) is a walk along the Tiber and across its multiple bridges.  We can walk along the river at its level or above it, depending on the weather.  Do you think it will be warm enough in November for an evening stroll?  Will our knees hold out?