At Christmas, Rome is filled with festivities, festivals, religious ceremonies, concerts, art exhibits, and just plain fun! It’s a wonderful time of year to come to the city. The streets get crowded with shoppers, the seasonal lights brighten narrow alleys, and the air is festive. There are many Christmas markets, most famously Piazza Navona

To get you in the spirit, here’s a few pictures from last year!

The lighting of the Christmas tree at St. Peter’s. We waited almost two hours to see the tree lit.Halfway through the ceremony it started to rain, and rain, and rain. We felt so sorry for the choirs and church officials who “weathered” the entire downpour. This year we will show up 1.5 hours AFTER the “scheduled” lighting time

Each year, a couple weeks before Christmas, there is the Annual Santa Claus race that starts at the Colosseo. It’s pretty incredible to see hundreds of folks in Santa Claus outfits forming up around the colosseo on a Sunday morning. There are rollerbladers, runners, families (all dressed in SC outfits), and guys like this. And then they all take off – Can you imagine riding this bike on the cobblestones of Rome? What fun!

The beautiful Fendi building, located where Via Corso meets Via dei Condotti (Rodeo Drive in Rome). This “bracelet” changes colors every few minutes. Bellisima!

This is the view from the balcony of our apartment near the Vatican. The lights are here from early December until early January. And you will see this in streets all over Rome!

These were the street decorations for Via dei Condotti. They’re beautiful, expensive, and … sponsored by Mercedes Benz. See the logo in the decoration. You would expect no less on this street. They are certainly stunning.

Shopping near the Spanish Steps at Christmas!

This tree decorated the Spanish Steps last year. Each night the steps filled up at shoppers and walkers taking a break. The tree constantly changed colors and is visible all the way down Via dei Condotti.

Piazzas and restaurants certainly get “decked out.” Here is a look at some of the restaurants in front of the Pantheon last year. Yes, a few ALREADY have their decorations in place.

Every Church has a Nativity Scene. Last year the Vatican had two -  one inside St. Peter’s Basilica and this one which is built outside in St. Peter’s Square. It takes a few weeks to build this life-size Nativity scene and they’ve already started building this year’s!

On New Year’s Eve, priorities change in Rome. Here, street vendor sells bottles of champagne. There’s no open container laws in Rome so if you want to walk down the street drinking your champagne, more power to you. Note the “makeshift” table built of cardboard boxes

A full moon over a Christmas tree welcomes in the New Year. This was shot through columns down by Trajan’s Column.

There are concerts all over town on New Year’s Eve in Rome. This is perhaps the largest. See the Colosseo in the distance in the top picture. I’m standing on Via Fiori Imperiali just in front of the entrance to the Forum. It took me about 15 minutes to get here from Piazza Venezia, That’s how crowded this street becomes. All down the street there are huge monitors and speakers so you can watch and hear the bands performing in front of the Colosseo. This is about as far as I got… and then headed for other venues!

It’s hard to explain Piazza di Popolo on New Year’s Eve. So I’ll just try and show you through the above pictures. First, think of 10,000+ people standing around, crowded, shoulder-to-shoulder, with fireworks…  for about two hours. Their goal is to “out-do” everyone else in their contribution to this “locals” firework event. Yes, for almost two hours everyone fires off their own firework stash.

In the first picture you see the outer ring, early in the evening (about 10:15 PM). Here you stand on the outer edge of Piazza di Popolo and in front of you is a clearing. In this “fire-zone,” you run out, place down your Roman Candle or bottle rocket and then run back to the safety of the crowd. While you’re doing this, other folks are ALSO running out with their fireworks. So there is a lot of people running in and out of the danger zone. While you’re running, folks from in the crowd are throwing their firework INTO the cleared area… so you’re sometimes dodging fireworks as you seek safety. How no one gets killed is still something I can’t figure out.

In Picture 2, you see a group of kids who have run to the middle of the Piazza… where the obelisk and lions are. Once you risk your life to get to the middle, you’re really trapped there. But undoubtedly, if you survive, you have the best view – especially if you sit up on one of the lions. You can see the bottle rockets and fireworks going off all around these folks.

In Pictures 3 and 4 you can see how dense the crowd can become. It gets so packed you can’t move! But people are still racing into the clearing and then racing back. Of course, This is Italy, so everyone tries to out-do everyone else. Fireworks are bundled together. multiple explosions drew applause and OOH’s and AHH’s from the crowd. I found myself near the front of the pack and the guy next to me is daisy-chaining Roman Candles together to get the BIGGEST explosion. All the while he’s smoking a cigar!

At 12 midnight, the bells ring and that’s when I was in for another surprise. All night long I’d seen folks buying champagne bottles from the local street vendors and foolish me, I thought they were for drinking. Nope – at 12 midnight, EVERYONE popped their champagne and proceeded to SPRAY EACH OTHER. I am almost drowned in champagne. I realized now that you DO NOT wear nice clothes in Rome on New Year’s Eve. Well, not if you’re going to Popolo!

The last picture is shot outside the Northern gates of the city, as I ran for my life out of Popolo. The fireworks are from Villa Borghese and go on for another 20-30 minutes. These culminate the celebrations at Popolo!

And if you still have ANY energy left on New Year’s Day, you can head over to the Vatican to catch the Pope’s blessing at 12 noon. It’s an incredible event and St. Peter’s Square is very full.

At the conclusion of the New Year’s blessing, the multiple marching bands march out. It’s an disorganized retreat from a structured event. What a contrast.

These two USA marching bands had a great time, playing in St. Peter’s Square and then having a “jam” session just outside Castel Sant’ Angelo – a great way to celebrate the Holidays.

Credit romephotoblog.blogspot.com/

Credit: Flickr – Deborah Swain

Then, there are the markets! The most famous Christmas market in Rome is at Piazza Navona, but they are all over town. You can get all kinds of food, presents and of course, a Befana! These markets are usually open until January 6.

That’s a small taste of the sights in Rome over the holidays. There are many, many other places to see and go. If you’re coming to Rome, you’ll certainly enjoy your Roman Holiday! Auguri!

In a story posted on the Catholic News Service, Sarah Delaney wrote:

“Pope Benedict XVI has invited hundreds of artists to meet with him in the Vatican in an attempt to rekindle the special historical relationship between faith and art.

More than 500 personalities from the worlds of art, theater, literature and music have been asked to gather with the pope under the legendary Michelangelo frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the meeting was to be the first of many initiatives aimed at bridging the gap that has developed between spirituality and artistic expression over the last century or so.

At a news conference at the Vatican Sept. 10, Archbishop Ravasi said that separation could best be seen in the art and architecture of many modern churches, which he said “do not offer beauty, but rather ugliness.”

He said the church hoped that dialogue could help artists regain the “transcendence” that once inspired the 16th-century painter and sculptor Michelangelo, his contemporaries and countless other artists of religious works over the centuries.

The guest list for the papal encounter is comprised of people who have made their mark in visual arts, architecture, literature, poetry, music and performing arts, including theater, dance, cinema and television.

Most of the list will be disclosed shortly before the event, but a few names of the invited were mentioned at the news conference: Italian film score composer Ennio Morricone, avant-garde theater director Bob Wilson, architect Daniel Libeskind, and Bono, the lead singer of the group U2. American video artist Bill Viola was asked but has already said he won’t be able to attend.

Archbishop Ravasi said that choosing the artists for the Vatican event was the most difficult part, but that they were selected on the basis of their reputation and awards they had received. The day before meeting with the pope in the Sistine Chapel, the artists will get a special tour of the contemporary art collection at the Vatican Museums.”

For the full article, go to Pope Welcomes Artists .

You may need to readjust your plans if you’re coming to Rome this week. Do know that Friday, 11/20 and Monday, 11/23 will be MORE crowded days as a result of this Saturday closure. Much of the contemporary art mentioned in the last paragraph above, is also off of the Raphael Rooms. No word yet from the Vatican if those rooms will be closed for the Friday special viewing by the invited guests. If you are locked into this week, you may need to purchase “skip the line” tickets at the Vatican Ticket Office.

From the top of the Vittoriano (Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II)

Looking eastward from the Vittoriano, you see the Colosseo, with the mountains and San Giovanni Laterano in the background… and the ruins of the Basilica of Maxentius in the foreground.

Looking westward from the Vittoriano, the Pantheon rises majestically, it’s concrete, spaceship-looking 2nd century dome quite a contrast to the more “modern” rooftops of Rome.

From the Cupola of St. Peter’s – highest point in Rome

View from the Cupola of St. Peter’s looking down onto St. Peter’s Square!

The view of the Vatican grounds from the Cupola of St. Peter.

View on the roof of St. Peter’s Basilica

View In the Constantine Colonade of St. Peter’s Square

View through the Pantheon Oculus

At night, a shot of the waning moon, through the Oculus of the Pantheon!

And conversely, here’s an incredible view of sunlight filtering through the oculus.

From the top of Palatine Hill

The view of the Forum from the north side of Palatine Hill

And from the south side of the hill, a wonderful view of Circo Massimo in the foreground, and Aventine hill in the background.

From Castel Sant’ Angelo

Incredible photo from Castel Sant Angelo looking towards St. Peter’s Basilica. (Photo from Avisekh’s flickr stream).

Looking towards the Vittoriano from Castel Sant Angelo.

The Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo)

From Piazza Garibaldi at the top of the Gianiculum

From the top of the Spanish Steps

Day or night, the view from the top of the Spanish Steps is worth climbing for!

The Aqueducts of Rome

Aqueducts that run for miles here in the city limits of Rome (see our post: Aqueduct Park in Rome)

From the Pincio Gardens, fronting Villa Borghese

A great place from which to enjoy Rome’s picturesque sunsets – this wonderful view looks down upon Piazza di Popolo in the foreground, and the dome of St. Peter’s in the background – WOW!

Piazza of the Knights of Malta

Known affectionately by Romans as the “hole of Rome,” its abiding attraction draws queues of visitors to this peaceable “out of the way” spot. These two shots show the keyhole… and the remarkable view once you look through it!

The lake at Villa Borghese

A wonderful – and romantic – interlude in this busy, busy, city. Head to the Villa Borghese park on a Sunday and enjoy the company of many Italian families. For more info and directions, see our post on Galleria Borghese.

View from Sevelli garden atop the Aventine Hill

The overhang at Aventine Hill provides an incredible view at dusk of the dome of St. Peter’s. One of the most romantic spots in town, young men often come here – at dusk – to propose marriage! And with this view, they’re off to a great start!

Christmas in Rome

Beautiful St. Peter’s Square decorated for the Christmas season!

This is my street – just outside our balcony – dressed up for the season!

The Christmas tree at the Spanish Steps!   For more Christmas pictures, see our post, Roman Holidays!

The answer really depends on what month you are coming to Rome, what day of the week you plan on seeing the Museum, and what time of day you plan to enter. Add to that a few other variables – such as holidays and large tour groups – and you can see how difficult it is to answer this question. As a disclaimer I’ll say that my perspective is based on my experience living next door to the entrance to the Vatican Museum,…  but on “any given day” things can happen!

Living here, and so close to the Museum, I get asked often, “Do you purchase “skip-the-line” tickets?” The answer is, “NO, I never have and probably never will.” Why not? I guess mainly because I CAN come back later in the day… or the next day. Travelers on fixed schedules do not have that flexibility.

Some things to Consider

Since 2008 the Vatican has moved to extended hours. With the exception of “Free Sundays,” the Vatican is open from 9 AM – 6 PM. The last entry into the Vatican is at 4 PM. These hours are far different than back in 2003, 2004, etc. when I first came. And also far different than when folks who write of the 3-hour lines were here. Frankly, other than “Free Sundays” we just do not get those 3-hour lines anymore. In the picture below, taken in 2005, you can see the hours of operation were from 8:45 AM to 3:20 PM. The extended hours, installed by the new director, Mr. Antonio Paolucci, implemented in 2008, have really cut down the length of the lines!

The last Sunday of every month the Vatican Museum is open and FREE! Naturally, as it is free, there are huge crowds on these days, and there is no skip-the-line system in place. I would strongly suggest to avoid “Free Sundays.” The Vatican becomes a cattle run! Some folks wait in lines for hours and still do no get in as they limit the entry times to 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM and then close the Museum at 2:00 PM. In addition, it’s so crowded in there you can’t even move – Hardly the best way to see the art and treasures of the Vatican Museum. Spend the €15 (eff. Jan 2010)  and “see” the Museum, rather than be carried by the “tide” of folks who swarm on “Free Sundays!”

The next “busiest” days are always Mondays. Except for the last Sunday, Monday always follows a day when the museum is closed. Thus, folks who have limited time in Rome seem to always come on Mondays! So Mondays are very crowded and lines often run to later in the afternoon during season.

Saturdays are the NEXT busiest day because the locals go to the museum on that day …. and if the Pope is in town, avoid Wednesdays, because the Papal Audience draws a larger crowd… who then go to the museum!

Thus the best days to go… Thursday, Tuesday, and Friday, probably in that order. If there’s a holiday during the week you come, those “trends” go right out the window… You’ll have to adjust accordingly. Days immediately before and immediately after closure days (Sundays and church holidays) are the busiest. If you’re coming During Holy Week in Easter or at Christmas, it might be better to reserve a spot… Again, I’ve gone in the afternoons during both those periods and not waited in line!

If you go in the afternoon to the Museum MOST DAYS you will have NO WAIT! That’s correct – NO WAIT! In the off season, you can get in after 11 AM on most weekdays with no wait. On a Saturday or Monday, perhaps 12 noon. During the summer, it’s usually around 1 PM (or earlier) when all the lines die down.

The Vatican sells “skip the line tickets” to approved Vendors. These vendors sell them directly to you, or daily, these vendors will sell the “tickets” to “unapproved” vendors who do not have a contract with the Vatican. This year the Vatican decided they could capture more income by selling these directly to the public. The result – MORE “skip the line” tickets are being sold than ever before.

*Each hour* the Vatican was allowing 1300 people to use the “skip the line” feature. As a result, 1300 tickets were sold to outside vendors. These folks are admitted BEFORE the “general public” who is waiting in line along the wall of Vatican City. With people now buying through the Vatican, the Vatican ticket office opened up more slots each hour for “skip the line.” How will this play in June or July – no one knows. Folks are buying Vatican slots at 2 PM and waiting in line to pick up their “skip the line” tickets and there IS NO ONE WAITING IN THE general admission line. It would appear the Vatican is “up in sales” this year and fostering a “fear of the line” IS GOOD for business. You’ll see many post reinforcing this position on travel boards – most often from folks who were here 2-3 years ago, prior to the extended hours now in place.

They Museum opens at 9:00 AM and last entry is at 4:00 PM. Closing is at 6:00 PM, although they start herding you about 5:30 PM. In the morning, all the tour groups who have BOUGHT ALL the “skip-the-line” tickets bring their groups… The result, 1300+ people who have pre-paid get preferred admittance. Thus, the general admission line forms as these folks are let in FIRST… that is why I never go early! Tour Groups like to go early so they can do afternoon and evening tours at other sites and increase revenue.

You might be “approached” as you near the Museum to “take a tour with us, starting in just 15 minutes…” Avoid those tours. These folks are called “gatherers” and work on a commission basis for almost anyone! If you want a tour, go through a reputable vendor or someone you know!

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to “pay.” Here’s why: I live just down the stairs from the entrance and this is where groups often form up. One day I was walking home and saw a group of about 20 British and American tourists on the steps. I struck up a conversation with them and asked, “Why are you here on the steps? (It was about 1 PM). They said they had purchased the “skip the line” feature and were waiting for the other 5 people on the list (WHO THEY DID NOT EVEN KNOW) to come so they could all get their entry passes from the “skip the line” vendor. I asked did they know where the entrance was? They said, “Not really,” as they were told, via internet and phone, to meet here. I turned them around, pointed across the street and showed them the entrance…. At that time of day, THERE WAS NO LINE! Because they had read so much about the terrible lines – and did not know where the entrance was – they were standing across the street, paying an extra €15 to avoid a line that did not exist! Needless to say they were pretty frustrated. For this extra €15 they were not even getting a tour – just an entry…. past a line that did not exist…

Make adjustments if necessary! I met some ladies on the Metro last week (SATURDAY!)who were totally lost. I asked them where they were headed and they said to the Vatican Museum & Basilica as this was their only day in town. I told them it was my stop and near my house and would walk them over. We got there and the line was down and around Piazza Risorgimento – at least an hour wait. They felt terrible; it was their only day… So I took them to St. Peter’s Basilica – we did about a 1.5 hour tour and then headed for the Museum. At 11:30 AM we arrived and there were NOW about 3 people in line. We went in and stayed until after 5 PM. They had A GREAT time and left having seen EVERYTHING they wanted to see… So again, it’s a matter of timing!

When do you need a “skip-the-line” ticket?

There are time you may need to purchase a skip-the-line ticket… and this advice coming from a person who probably never will purchase one…

1. If you are here during a holiday week, Holy Week, Christmas, or a week in which the Vatican Museum is closed one or perhaps two days, buy a skip-the-line ticket.
2. If you have only one day to get to the Museum (and especially if it’s a Monday), then it may be best for you to purchase a ticket.
3. If you’ve traveled 5,000 miles and you feel this is your only chance and your schedule is so compressed that this decision is driving you nuts, certainly buy a ticket
4. If you must have everything planned out to the last minute, then Yep, buy the ticket
5. If you’re going to take a guided tour, certainly make sure the vendor has a skip-the-line feature as one of the benefits of buying their tour.
6. If you want to go into the Museum between 9 AM and 10:30 AM during peak season, you’ll probably need the ticket.

There are many vendors on line – Google “skip-the-line Vatican” – and thus you will have many options. The Vatican Museum tickets are €15 (eff. Jan 2010). The skip-the-line feature adds €4 more – so if you do not want a tour with your ticket, make sure you’re only paying €19. Perhaps one of the better sites now is to go directly to the source, the Vatican. Their ticket site is

Ticket Office online of the Vatican Museums: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do

What about the line at St. Peter’s Basilica?

In St. Peter’s Square, there is often a line to enter the Basilica. This is unfortunately an unavoidable line if you’re only going to the Basilica, Cupola, or Tombs. This line is the security line as the Basilica is Free. But you, and the thousands of other folks lined up, must all go through the X-Ray machines. Despite 8-10 units available, usually only two or three are manned so you just have to wait in line. The good news is the line moves very fast and even if it is”wrapped” all the way around through the colonnades, it will be usually be less than 30 minutes. Often, much quicker than that!

You can also “skip” this line…. if you’re purchasing a ticket to the Museum. One you’ve completed your Vatican Museum Tour you will come to the Sistine Chapel. There you will have two doors to exit. The door on the left (with the “Last Judgment” at your back) will take you back into the Museum through the Library – Great if you want to do more exploring of the Museum treasures. The door on the RIGHT will take you the back way to St. Peter’s Basilica. Yes, it says for groups only but I often go this way and rarely is it ever manned. Or just fall in with a group leaving!

You will head down a marble staircase and exit outside the Chapel, adjacent to St. Peter’s – AND BEHIND THE SECURITY LINE. (Pictured above) Walk down the stairs on the left of this picture and you are in the Portico that fronts the Basilica. (The line you see on the right is headed to the Tombs – also free.) So this is a great way to avoid the lines if you are going to the Museum first!

Good Luck!

Again, there are many “skip-the-line” options out there. If you can go in the afternoon, you will save some money and frustration, and you can walk right in. The Vatican is a wonderful Museum with many, many miles of corridors. There is plenty of art and history for all to enjoy! I’ll be one of the folks entering the Museum after 11:30 AM!

Easter, April 12 this year, is rapidly approaching. I thought this would be a great time to talk about my experience in St. Peter’s last year – and if you’re coming, prepare you for the “scene.” This pictures below were taken at the Easter 2008 Mass.

We had friends visiting from the States and they really wanted to go to St. Peter’s for Easter Mass. The service starts at 10:30 AM so we arrived about an hour early. Unfortunately since this was not planned, we had no tickets. Living here, we just did what all the Italians were doing… we didn’t wait in line, but just walked in. As a result we got seats that were about 6 rows from the railing. The square began filling rapidly.

In front of us was a group of young ladies from South America. They were leading cheers and were taking “requests” from the crowd. We saw many monks, nuns, and priests arrive in groups, all in distinctive dress. The Swiss Guard were in their dress uniforms and there were banners and signs everywhere!

To our misfortune it started to rain… and rain… and rain. We stayed about 2 hours and finally had to leave. As you can see from the picture above, the rain did not deter folks from coming to the service. The umbrellas were out as far as you could see. I’ve never seen St. Peter’s Square so crowded!

It was an interesting service, with lots of pomp and ceremony. One challenge in the “seating area” is was like bumper cars. NO ONE stays in their area. You are constantly having folks drag their chairs up or come stand in front of you. It was like two hours plus of roller derby! I’d never seen anything like it at a church ceremony! The 5 foot wide aisle were on rapidly filled up as people dragged their chairs closer to the Pope.

Don’t count on any support from the Swiss Guard or Local Police to prevent the influx of folks who will fill the aisles… it’s every man and woman for themselves! Our challenges were further compounded by 150,000 umbrellas! By the time we left, all of the chairs had moved forward, filling the aisles and exit routes. It was chaotic!

Yet it was a great experience (hope the weather is better this April). If we go this year, we’ll arrive late, stand towards the back of the Square – under the colonnade if raining, and NOT face the crush of last year! The square was full and the crowd spilled almost halfway down the Via della Conciliazione towards Castel Sant’ Angelo. Bring your camera, umbrella, and hockey pads!