When in Rome...

[Cheakamus]

Last week while on vacation in Rome I stumbled across the Becker & Musico pipe store near the Trevi Fountain. Little did I know what I gem I had found! This is where Giorgio Musico set up shop with Paolo Becker to sell pipes inspired by Becker's father and Giorgio himself. The place is wonderful! Giorgio is a wealth of knowledge about pipes and everything to do with them, plus he has an incredible selection of pipes and accessories available and is more than willing to discuss them all. He also has a great sense of humour. Whether you buy or not the sitting room is a comfortable place to sit and enjoy a bowl and talk to the various folks in the store, most of whom speak pretty good english.

As for me, I bought one of Massimo's small pipes. Massimo is Giorgio's son and was the Musico half of the Becker and Musico team. When I made my decision he stopped working in the "lab", came out into the shop and we chatted for quite a while on the aesthetics of this pipe and his ideas behind pipe making and tobaccos. He was very friendly and showed me where I could find a good tobacconist to get some decent Latakia blend (BTW - it's Di Rienzo near the Pantheon if you go. They also have a well stocked humidor full of ISOMs). Over all the experience was wonderful and I'd definitely recommend to anyone visiting Rome to drop in!

Their web site is http://www.beckermusico.com/ which is a good source of information.

Also, as a side note, we ate at a restaurant called Spirito DiVino in the Trastevere district. The food was amazing, the wine list extensive and the tour of the archaeology below the restaurant (where Apoxyomenos's Athlete was found) after dinner was a lifetime experience. Strongly recommended!

Cheers!