Crossing the river Tiber via the stone footbridge, Ponte Sisto, we reach Trastevere and head towards Piazza di Santa Maria, the heart of this labyrinthine district; with its many shops and cafes, and cobblestoned side streets which are lined with crumbling buildings with faded paintwork. Plants and religious shrines brighten up the streets, washing is strung up between buildings, and graffiti covers the shutters of closed bars.
This neighbourhood is dominated by the 12th-century Basilica di Santa Maria; inside its dimly lit interior we see the glittering Cavallini mosaics.