Tips for finding an apartment in Rome, Food & Itinerary - Family of 5 food allergy/celiac

At this late date you might have some challenges finding accommodations. I'd suggest looking at Booking.com, you can put in the number of people and number of rooms in the search tool. They do offer some apartments.

For the dietary restrictions, make sure to print out a translated list in Italian to show waiters. My understanding from others who have asked in this forum is most restaurants are accustomed to food allergies and many label menus for celiac in particular. There are definitely gelato options for everyone, sorbetto is generally dairy free.

Thanks so much!

And of course, you can try VRBO and Air bnb as well as booking.com.

I find the search engine on Air bnb better than VRBO.

Also, just search 'vacation apartment rental rome' and see what comes up. There are a lot of other companies other than airbnb and vrbo in Europe. We've rented apartments from these 'non-standard' companies before and never had an issue.

Hi there, good you're asking, just wanted to add that the restaurant across from Hotel Smeraldo in the Centro Storico near Campo di Fiori had a very well-labeled bilingual menu with every ingredient listed. I noticed some GF offerings. "Piccolo Vicolo", AND they even had amazing salads as a main course.

Finally, we have 4 more days to go outside of Rome. Have considered Dolomites, East Coast, Lake Como, Tuscany (agriturismo). We like outdoors stuff - one son is a rock climber, two are runners. We love wine. We are ok with off the beaten path and would like to experience Italy outside of Rome.

Why not look into Umbria, the region north of Lazio, where Rome is located, closer to FCO and less mobbed in July? Or base yourself in Orvieto, nearby with a fabulous cathedral & lots of good restaurants. As noted above, you could check for an agriturismo in Umbria as well, but you'd need to rent a car. (Another subject, just use Search bar above 'Car Rental Rome' for ideas, be sure you have international drivers license.) The Dolomites would be a long day each way, and assuming you're flying into & out of Rome, that would waste 2 of your precious extra 4 days. Good luck sounds fabulous!

We have used both Booking.com and Trip Advisor to obtain lodging in Lucca, Bologna and Sorrento. Good results all three times, especially in Lucca/booking, we reserved a 3 bedroom 3 bath, large kitchen, living room with elevator and it was quite reasonable. Give both a try.

This is all fantastic and much appreciated advice - Many thanks!
We found a place in Monti via Airbnb that looks like it will accomodate all of us. Will need to find a place to wash clothes, but other than that - we should be good.
Thanks for the ideas for outside of Rome. I will get to work on that, and see what is available. I appreciate the advice regarding the distance to Dolomites. . . Definitely something to consider.

We just got back from a stay here: https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/leonardo-suite-navona.html?aid=304142&label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggI46AdIM1gEaI4CiAEBmAExuAEXyAEM2AEB6AEB-AECiAIBqAIDuAKv-6yzBsACAdICJGUxZGY2MjdlLThkN2MtNDcxYi04ZDFiLTc3MTViYzRmZmU1MNgCBeACAQ&sid=9639b596074d0ebf479ed141b51676d8&dist=0&sb_price_type=total&type=total&. It would be great for your group. AC worked great. Three bedrooms--two with queens and one with twins. Two bathrooms. Also a kitchen (with a washer/dryer) and a liviing room. We walked from there to to Colosseum and other places. Lots of retaurant choices nearby.

Enjoy!

If you end up needing to find a place to do laundry, lavanderia is what you'll want to search for. :)

Maybe for a bit of reassurance…we spent a week in Florence with our niece who has celiac disease. We (and she) were amazed at the number of restaurants offering gluten-free dishes and the bakeries offering gluten-free delicious pastries. She lives in Seattle and found Florence much more “food allergy-friendly” than at home. Our experience was that Italy is (way) ahead of the US in offerings for those with food allergies.
Your ideas for places to stay after Rome are ALL worth visiting! Como, Tuscany… We recently spent a week hiking in the Dolomites…one of the most beautiful places we've ever been. Highly recommended!
Have a great trip!

@Lindajulinm, What a neat place! Unfortunately, it is not available for our dates, but I did save it for future reference. If we are fortunate enough to get to return someday, I will check that one out. We found a place in Monti - Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/32683328?source_impression_id=p3_1718380487_P3ydfhp2dVpKYEsi
Hopefully this will be a great spot for us.

We are novice international travelers and are so appreciative of all of the info. The Rick Steves books and videos have been incredibly helpful. We used the app/walking tours when we visited England 2 years ago (our first big trip with our kids). I prefer to have a little more time to plan, but this opportunity presented (on short notice), and we took it! Sadly - no tickets available to see the Sistine Chapel while we are there. We were really looking forward to seeing that, but I know we will still have a great time.

I am happy to continue to read any suggestions.