Here is a hotel in the area where I stayed in Rome, Italy, for six weeks, the hotel is right by the historic center of Rome, if you are looking for a cheap but safe hotel then this hotel is perfect, I would recommend it, and I will probably stay there at some point in the future...
http://www.hotelivanhoe.it/Via Urbana is in the novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" and also the Saint Louis College of Music is on Via Urbana, and there is a subway that goes to Cinecitta, which is the largest movie studio in Europe. Lots of musicians and artists live in that area, and when I lived there they had a community theater there and they were doing Moliere, etc. It is a great spot. I would love to open a night club there with good food and live bands, etc, the students from the Saint Louis College of Music could perform at my club, etc.
Salute,
Tony V.