My daughter (age 16) and I enjoyed 4 wonderful days in Rome this March. The Portico d'Ottavia apartment was absolutely perfect. Michele, whose English is excellent, is a delightful host with lots of advice on dining and site seeing. He also has an extensive knowledge of Rome’s history. It was nice to know that there was someone in the city to go to in case of an emergency. The apartment is bright and clean and has everything you might need to make light dinners or breakfast. There is an excellent article on this website which describes the area - dating back to the 16th century - in detail. (http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/ghetto.htm) This very quaint apartment is in one of the oldest surviving buildings. It’s on the 3rd floor - 52 steps up - but little landings make it a reasonable climb and even the architecture of the hallway is something to see. Many of the big tourist attractions are a reasonable walk away but the tram (streetcar) stop and bus stops are right up the road - learn to use those and you will move around the old city quite quickly. We took a cab from the train station (13 Euro) but after that used public transit. The Campo dei Fiori market is a block away and the local bakery, steps from the apartment door, is excellent. We ate the fried artichokes in one of the Ghetto restaurants on the eve of our departure. It was a wonderful adventure! Thanks, Michele!