Via Veneto , which bends north from Piazza Barberini up to the southern edge of the Borghese gardens, is a cool, materialistic antidote to the murky region of the Capuchin grotto. The pricey bars and restaurants lining the street were once the haunt of Rome’s Beautiful People, prefabricated famous by Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, but they left a long time ago, and Via Veneto isn’t really especially different to any other busy street in central Rome – a pretty tree-lined road, but with a clean share of high-class paraphernalia trying to cash in on departed glory.