You can find the “same” clothes at a banacarella for far less than at that fancy shop on Via dei Corso. We’ve purchased GEOX shoes ay a bancarella for less than half the price of the GEOX store down the street.

The bancarelle allow the average Italian a more economical option.
The prices allow locals to shop OFTEN… and that’s necessary because “looking good” is important! Staying “in season” can be a challenge on a limited budget. The bancarelle probably offer the best “buys” in Rome.

Most of the bancarelle are located near metro stops, or on major street corners in parts of town that many tourists do not get to. You won’t see them by the Pantheon or the Colosseo, but head off into the many neighborhoods that encircle centro Rome and they are quite prevalent.

We’re fortunate to live near the Ottaviano and Cipro metro station… so we have many, many options. Often, my wife will get off the metro at the Ottaviano stop so we HAVE to walk by the bancarelle on our way home. Prices range from 50 cents to 50 euro… but most items are under €10. If you purchase more than one item, you can often “bargain” for a lower price on the second or third. I tend to avoid the one-euro clothing tables. You really have to dig through these. And saying that, when shopping at a bancarella it sometimes pays to be a little assertive! It can often get VERY crowded.

Don’t confuse the bancarelle with the guys whose goods are laid out on the street, or are standing holding a collection of “Prada” purses. The bancarelle are regulated by the City of Rome and are legal. If you buy from guy with goods laid out on a sheet, you could be fined…. not the case at a bancarelle.

So when in Rome, do as the Romans do – head for your nearest bancarelle… dig in and save!

Wizz Air is a Hungarian owned airline that flies out of FCO. For more info on budget airlines in Euope, like Wizz Air, click here! That morning we put our son on an Alitalia flight back to the States (2+ hours waiting in lines – Good thing we got there early) and so back to FCO we went, arriving early again. Seems like we spent most of our day at FCO! We waited to check in almost 50 minutes and then spent another 45 minutes to go through the security line. Nothing like the organization of FCO. After all this waiting, our plane was then delayed two hours and we did not leave Rome till early evening. Not a great start to our brief getaway!

We wanted to spend a couple days just getting away from the mad rush that is Christmas in Rome. Bratislava in January fit that bill. Yes, it was a little cold… and our last might there it started snowing… which was beautiful. We wandered the city, ate at many Slovak restaurants, and just relaxed. Exactly what the doctor ordered. On one of our days, we walked to the train station and caught the local train to Vienna, a trip that took less than one hour and cost €11 each. After a day wandering through Old Vienna, we jumped back on the train to Slovakia.

Living in Rome, we don’t get snow so it was great to wake up to a winter wonderland. We enjoyed our day wandering through snow-covered Bratislava.

The best part of our trip to Bratislava? No doubt was our stay at the Venturska Residence. The residence is actually a group of apartments located in the Old Town section of Bratislava. If you’re headed to Bratislava, you will want to stay in the Old Town. It borders the Danube River and is the most wonderful part of the city. The Venturska Residence is owned an operated by Jan, a local who lived and worked in Utah during the Salt Lake City Olympics. Jan was a delight. We had arranged for Jan to pick us up at the Bratislava airport, a service he provides for a minimal fee. When we were “stuck” in the FCO airport, I called Jan in Slovakia and he assured me that no matter how late our plane was he would be waiting for us. And sure enough, after a long day – there he was as we exited the terminal, holding a sign bearing our name. Jan drove us into the city and told us about Bratislava.

Jan has operated the Venturska Residence for about five years. Once we arrived, he took us to our apartment (we opted for the studio) and showed us how everything worked. He explained the security door, and then filled us in on sights to see in Bratislava. We asked questions about the train and heading to Vienna and Jan knew all the answers. In my business, finding someone like Jan is a gold mine. He was courteous, helpful, and throughout our stay responded to any queries we had. The pictures you see on Jan’s website are exactly what the apartments look like. We had all this in our studio apartment: a double bed, fold-out sofa, dining table with chairs, wardrobe, PC desk with a swivel chair, private bathroom with shower, cable TV, DVD/CD player, digital alarm-clock radio, free broadband Internet access, iron & ironing board, hair-dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher, cooker, microwave, kettle, coffee maker, toaster, crockery & cutlery, cookware & kitchen utensils. And there was a new, modern elevator. Just like the website said…. No wonder this residence is rated so highly. We plan to go back “in season” and we will stay at the Venturska Residence.

So if you’re looking for a quick trip to recharge your batteries, or just wind down after running from site after site, then head to Bratislava… Enjoy a slower pace, wonderful food, and just RELAX!

Because the Christians rejected cremation, (they preferred burial, just as Christ was buried) this position created a space problem. The Christians also faced the challenge of owning limited property. Thus the catacombs solved a few problems. It was far cheaper to dig underground than to buy more land! There is also the belief that the catacombs contributed to a sense of community – they wished to be together, even in the “sleep of death.” And lastly, since their religion in the 2nd century was “illegal” and they were often persecuted, these outlying areas provided refuge and privacy.

Once Christianity was legalized, the Christians were no longer persecuted. The catacombs were still the burial spot of choice until the fifth century when the Church returned to burying the dead above ground – or in basilicas. When the barbarians invaded Rome they destroyed many monuments and sites, and the catacombs were no exception. They were raided, pillaged, for centuries. Finally in the late 700’s and early 800’s the Popes moved the relics of the martyrs to the city churches for their security and protection. Thus, most of the catacombs were abandoned. Many were lost. In the 17th century, Antono Bosio, the “Columbus of of subterranean Rome,” began exploring the catacombs. His initial work was followed up by Giovanni Battista de Rossi, in the 1800’s, who is considered the father and founder of Christian Archaeology.

When you go down into the catacombs you’ll see many of the following:

• Loculi – these are the rectangular niches that are cut out of the walls. They were primarily for ONE body, but sometimes they did contain the remains of more than one person. The bodies were wrapped in a burial shroud – in imitation of Christ. There were no coffins – Christians were too poor. The loculi was then sealed by a slab of marble or more commonly, by tiles and mortar. You’ll see many open loculi as you walk through the catacombs – Sorry kids, no bodies….
• Arcosolium – Built primarily in the 3rd and 4th century, these tombs are much larger niches than the loculi. They usually had an arch above them and served as a burial chamber for an entire family.
• Forma – A tomb dug into the floor of a crypt – a practice that was carried over to churches in later times.
• Sarcophagus – You’ve seen plenty of these in your museum treks. These are the stone, or marble, coffins. Often they are dressed with inscriptions and sculptured reliefs.
• Cubicula – These rooms, translated as “bedrooms,” were actually multiple loculi. This collection of loculi represented a family tomb. Often these rooms were decorated with frescoes portraying biblical scenes.
• Crypt – An even larger room. Many martyr tombs were converted into Crypts.

There were more than sixty catacombs in Rome, each with many, many miles of corridors – all of this built underground. It was an incredible construction feat. Today there five primary Catacombs you can visit. CLICK ON ANY CATACOMB LINK BELOW for more information: 

• The Catacombs of San Callisto
• The Catacombs of St. Sebastian
• The Catacombs of Domitilla
• The Catacombs of St. Agnes
• The Catacombs of Priscilla

The information provided on each of these is time-bound, so do check closure times and dates before you make the trek out to the catacomb you’d like to see. Once there, you will have to join a tour – You cannot wander through the catacombs unescorted. Depending on your groups size, and your tour guide, the tours generally take about 30 minutes. Admission prices are rising, effective 01/01/2010, the prices will be 8 € full price; 5 € reduced fee.

The catacombs are closed on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Easter, and for one month in the winter for restoration. Again, check before you go! The next few posts will go through each of these catacombs, or CLICK THE CATACOMB LINK ABOVE to go directly to the catacomb you seek more information on!

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The catacombs of Italy are entrusted to the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, which carries out the works of excavation, exploration and restoration and takes charge of preparing studies and aids (books, pamphlets, souvenirs, videos, etc.) for all the catacombs.
Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology
via Napoleone III, no. 1
00185 Rome, Italy
tel. +39/06/4465610
fax. +39/06/4467625
web site: www.vatican.va/roman_curia

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Catacombe di San Callisto/Catacombs of St. Callixtus

Via Appia Antica, 126
00179 Rome, Italy
tel. +39/06/51301580
fax +39/06/51301567
Website: www.catacombe.roma.it

Closed on Wednesdays
Hours: 9.00 – 12.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
8 € full price; 5 € reduced fee (effective 01/01/2010)

From The Christian Catacombs of Rome website:

“The catacombs of St. Callixtus are among the greatest and most important of Rome. They originated about the middle of the second century and are part of a cemetery complex which occupies an area of 90 acres, with a network of galleries about 12 miles long, in four levels, more than twenty meters deep. In it were buried tens of martyrs, 16 popes and very many Christians. They are named after the deacon Callixtus who, at the beginning of the third century, was appointed by pope Zephyrinus as the administrator of the cemetery and so the catacombs of St. Callixtus became the official cemetery of the Church of Rome.”

Often it is easier to drive to the Catacombs, as they are “outside” central Rome, but as most visitors do not drive in Rome (for good reason), here are the public transportation options for the Catacombs of St. Callisto.

Option 1 – From Roma Termini Station, take bus 714 to Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran Square). Then take bus 218 and get off at stop FOSSE ARDEATINE. The entrance to the catacombs is just opposite the bus stop.

Pictured above is the Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano stop, just to the northeast of the church. Get off here and wait for the bus 218. You can also ride the bus 81 and bus 665 to this same stop, depending on where you are in town. These two buses also connect with the bus 218 here. Then ride these stops: P.ZA S. GIOVANNI IN LATERANO , IPPONIO , ILLIRIA , LICIA , EPIRO , CAMERIA , PORTA S. SEBASTIANO , APPIA ANTICA/TRAVICELLA , APPIA ANTICA/DOMINE QUO VADIS , ARDEATINA , FOSSE ARDEATINE, As you can see, Fosse Ardeatine is the 10th stop on the bus 218.

Above is the Fosse Ardeatine stop. Clicking on the ATAC link, FOSSE ARDEATINE, you can zoom in and out and get a better sense of the location. Suffice to say, you are out on the Appian Way! Note Via Appia Antica to the north of you in this picture.

To return, just catch the bus 218 back into town from the Appian Way and reverse your tracks!

Option 2 – If you are not near Roma Termini Station or it’s not convenient for you, then ride the metro. Take any train(s) to metro station San Giovanni on Metro Line A. In this picture, it is almost directly in the center, marked by the white M in the red square. Walk north, through the Aurelian Walls, straight up the street until you see the bus stop. This will be the START of the bus 218 run, so you may see a bus just parked there. The driver is probably on his break and the bus will leave in 5-10 minutes. Get on bus 218 and ride the bus ELEVEN stops to stop FOSSE ARDEATINE as outlined above. You can also ride the bus 218 back to here as this is the FINAL stop on the run… then just jump on the metro!

Option 3 – If you are on the Metro B line or close to Piramide Metro Station, then this may work best for you. Go to the Piramide Metro station, which is also connected to the Railway Station Ostiense (perfect for cruisers coming in from Civitavecchia) and go out front and get on the bus 118. This is the starting point for the run so again, like the bus 218 above, you may have to wait until the driver finishes his break. Take the bus 118 about 14 stops until you get to the stop CATACOMBE S.CALLISTO.

These are the stops from the Piramide Metro Station to your stop: PORTA S. PAOLO , AVENTINO/ALBANIA , AVENTINO , CIRCO MASSIMO , TERME CARACALLA/PORTA CAPENA , TERME CARACALLA/VALLE CAMENE , PORTA S. SEBASTIANO/NUMA POMPILIO , PORTA S. SEBASTIANO/SEPOLCRO SCIPIONI , PORTA S. SEBASTIANO , APPIA ANTICA/TRAVICELLA , APPIA ANTICA/DOMINE QUO VADIS , APPIA ANTICA/CAFFARELLA , APPIA ANTICA/SCUOLA AGRARIA , CATACOMBE S.CALLISTO.

Once there, you will have to walk south to southwest from the bus stop. Here’s a map of where you will get off the bus 118

The blue marker is the arriving bus 118. This is the CATACOMBE S.CALLISTO stop. The red marker symbolizes the bus 218 arrival point. You can see where the Catacombs are in this map. So walk south to southwest on the narrow “road” and you’ll come directly to the entrance. Its only about 210 meters, from the blue dot to the red dot!

And, on return, depending on where you are headed, walk back to the bus 118 stop to get you back to Piramide (Or Circo Massimo) Metro Line B stations… or hop on the bus 218 and head to the San Giovanni area. Of course, you can always take a taxi. Write down the address, at the top of this article, and hand it to the taxi driver.

Reference material pulled from

• The Christian Catacombs of Rome
• ATAC Bus Routing

To go to a specific Catacomb page on the Ron-in-Rome website, click on any link below

• Catacombs of Rome – Summary
• The Catacombs of St. Sebastian
• The Catacombs of Domitilla
• The Catacombs of St. Agnes
• The Catacombs of Priscilla

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Catacombe di San Sebastiano/ Catacombs of St. Sebastian

Via Appia Antica, 136
00179 Rome, Italy
tel. +39/06/7887035
fax +39/06/7843745
website: www.catacombe.org

Closed on Sundays
Hours: 9.00 – 12.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
Currently, 6 € full price; 3 € reduced fee – projected increase 01/01/2010

The Catacombs of St. Sebastian were among the first Christian tombs to be built. The church here is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome and is named for St. Sebastian, who is buried here. These catacombs are four levels deep with more than six miles of corridors. They have fascinating early paintings, graffiti, stucco work and mosaics.

In the church, on the first chapel to the left is a smooth white-marble St. Sebastian sculpture full of arrow holes. It was designed by Bernini but carried out by Antonio Giorgetti. The adjacent steps lead down to a crypt with the urn containing the Saint’s relics.

Other Holy relics, visited by pilgrims for centuries, are in the right chapel, including what are believed to be a stone with the footprints Jesus Christ left when he met St. Peter fleeing from Rome, arrows which pierced St. Sebastian and the column to which he was bound, as well as the hands of St. Callisto and St. Andrew.

Getting here is similar to Option 3 as listed above in the Catacombs of St. Callisto posting. As you can see from the map, it’s a straight shot from one to the other once you get on the Via Appia Antica. Actually, according to Google Maps, it’s about 4/10 of a mile. If you walk it, be prepared. There are no sidewalks and it is rough cobblestone. Also, if it’s not Sunday, you’ll have to share the road with buses, cars, and motorini.

If you ride the bus 118, then it’s very simple. Rather than getting off at the CATACOMBE S.CALLISTO stop, get off at the NEXT stop, which is the BASILICA S. SEBASTIANO. This bus stop is marked by the red ball on the map above. It’s adjacent to the church and catacomb entrance. You CANNOT ride the bus 218 out to the Catacombs of St. Sebastian. After it stops at the FOSSE ARDEATINE stop adjacent to the Catacombs of San Callisto entrance, it turns in a direction AWAY from the Catacombs of St. Sebastian… so either get on the bus 118, or walk the 4/10 of a mile as shown on the map above.

Now, returning to town from the Catacombs of St. Sebastian is a little tricky. If you come out after your visit and get back on the bus 118 at the red ball – the stop you GOT OFF the bus – you are going in the WRONG direction. You’ll have to ride the bus 118 to the end of it’s run, wait for the driver to take his break… and then come all the way back. Add at least 45 minutes to your trip!

The problem is the road in front of the Church is ONE-WAY and the WRONG WAY for you if you want to head back into town. No, to get back into town, you have to walk a little. You could walk back to the Catacombs of San Callisto and catch a bus there, but there are closer options. In the map above, note the two blue balls. These are the stops of the bus 118 on its RETURN RUN, back into town. So once you exit the Church and Catacombs, walk about 100 feet and TURN LEFT onto a little road, Vicolo della Basilica. This small street connects you to the Via Appia Antica HEADED BACK INTO TOWN. Once you dead-end into the Via Appia Antica, you can go left or right to the nearest bus stops – APPIA PIGNATELLI/S. URBANO , APPIA PIGNATELLI/APPIA ANTICA .

The bus 118 will stop on the way back into town at the Circo Massimo Metro Line B station, which is a short walk from the Colosseo. You can catch the Metro Line B at Circo Massimo – or stay on the bus and it ends at Piramide Metro Line B and the Roma Ostiense Railway Station… Again, the perfect place to catch a train back to Civitavecchia is you are cruising.

This is IMPORTANT. The bus 118 is a LONG run and therefore you may have to wait 30 minutes or more for the bus to return on its inbound run. Your only other option would be to walk to the Catacombs of San Callisto and catch the bus 218, which would take you to the San Giovanni area. Going out to both of these catacombs can be a time consuming travel experience. Plan your time accordingly.

Reference material pulled from

• The Catacombs of St. Sebastian
• ATAC Bus Routing

To go to a specific Catacomb page on the Ron-in-Rome website, click on any link below

• Catacombs of Rome – Summary
• The Catacombs of San Callisto
• The Catacombs of Domitilla
• The Catacombs of St. Agnes
• The Catacombs of Priscilla

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Catacombe di Domitilla/Catacombs of Domitilla

Via delle Sette Chiese, 282/0
00147 Rome, Italy
tel. +39/06/5110342, 06/5133956
fax +39/06/51354 61
Website: http://domitilla.soverdi.eu
Email: info@domitilla.soverdi.eu
Closed on Tuesdays

Hours: 9.00 – 12.00 and 14.00 – 17.00
8 € full price; 5 € reduced fee

The Catacombs of Domitilla are among the best preserved and oldest in Rome. These Catacombs are also among the most extensive in the area around Rome. They contain the only underground Basilica you’ll see in Rome, more than ten miles of corridors and almost 150,000 burial spots. The land was donated to the Christians by the noble Flavia Domitilla, granddaughter of the emperor Vespasian – the emperor who built the Colosseo! One of the highlights is a second century fresco of the Last Supper. The Catacombs of  Domitilla is closed on Tuesdays and in January. Worth making the trip to see!

Getting here is quite easy. It’s out towards the Appian Way. In fact, it’s only about a quarter-mile from the Catacombs of San Callisto. So you could easily walk from one to another. See the map below:

BUS 714

From Roma Termini station, just as if you were going to the Catacombs of San Callisto, you get on the bus 714. To get to these catacombs, you’ll stay on the bus for about twelve stops. Don’t be alarmed if you start heading out a town on a huge roadway and see signs to the airport or the beach, This is Via Cristoforo Colombo, one of the busiest (and biggest) roads in Rome. Get off the bus at Piazza dei Navigatori. The bus stop, appropriately enough, is called NAVIGATORI. From there, you will cross the BIG street and head to Via delle Sette Chiese. Walk down the street until you get to #282. It’s about a 3/10 of a mile from the bus stop.

The bus 714 route to the Catacombs is as follows: TERMINI , S. MARIA MAGGIORE , MERULANA/BRANCACCIO , MERULANA/MECENATE , MERULANA/LABICANA , P.ZA S. GIOVANNI IN LATERANO , L.GO AMBA ARADAM , TERME CARACALLA , COLOMBO/MARCO POLO , COLOMBO/BAVASTRO , COLOMBO/C.NE OSTIENSE , COLOMBO/PADRE SEMERIA , NAVIGATORI.

BUS 30

The bus 30 will also get you to this stop. This bus cuts across town and covers many areas where you may be staying. It starts near the Vatican, then heads through Piazza Cavour, Piazza Navona, Largo Argentina, the Campodoglio area, the Railway station at Ostiense, and then onto Via Cristoforo Colombo… and you can get off again at NAVIGATORI. This is a GREAT express bus with fewer stops and lots of options. If you are staying on the south or west side of the city, this is your bus!

Above is a map from the ATAC site of the route… again, this may be the answer for you if you’re staying in-town. And here’s the route: CLODIO , MAZZINI/CALBOLI , LEPANTO , CICERONE/CAVOUR , ZANARDELLI , RINASCIMENTO , VIA TORRE ARGENTINA , TEATRO MARCELLO/ARA COELI , PETROSELLI , MARMORATA/VANVITELLI , CAVE ARDEATINE , STAZ. OSTIENSE, MARCO POLO/BRICHETTI , COLOMBO/BAVASTRO , NAVIGATORI.

BUS 160

The bus 160 will get you from downtown in the Via del Corso area out to the Catacombs of Domitilla. This bus starts at Piazza San Silvestro, right off the Via del Corso. Passing through Piazza Venezia and the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) stops, you can get on this bus at the Circo Massimo Line B Metro stop – so bus 160, like bus 30 has a metro connection! Here’s the run out to the catacombs on the bus 160: S. SILVESTRO , CORSO/MINGHETTI , P.ZA VENEZIA , TEATRO MARCELLO/ARA COELI , PETROSELLI , BOCCA DELLA VERITA’ , GRECA , CIRCO MASSIMO , BACCELLI , GUERRIERI , CHIARINI/GUERRIERI , COLOMBO/BAVASTRO , COLOMBO/C.NE OSTIENSE , COLOMBO/PADRE SEMERIA , NAVIGATORI ,

BUS 670 – BUS 671

Two other buses to consider are the bus 670 and bus 671. These will get you to the same stop, but frankly are probably limited to most travelers because of where they start. The run of the bus 670 is PINCHERLE/PARRAVANO , PINCHERLE/AMALDI , PINCHERLE/PISATI , PINCHERLE/MARCONI , MARCONI/PINCHERLE , MARCONI/BORTOLOTTI , CALZECCHI , BALDELLI , GIUSTINIANO , GIUSTINIANO/SETTIMIO SEVERO , GIUSTINIANO/VILLA LUCINA , GIUSTINIANO/GALBA , ZOAGLI/MAMELI , ROSA RAIMONDI/REGIONE LAZIO , S. NEMESIO/CTO , S. NEMESIO/VILLA LUCINA , VILLA LUCINA/LARGO DELLE SETTE CHIESE , P.ZA ROMANO B. , PULLINO/LUIGGI , PULLINO , C.NE OSTIENSE/CAFFARO , C.NE OSTIENSE/S. GALLA , C.NE OSTIENSE/PADRE GIULIANI , COLOMBO/C.NE OSTIENSE , COLOMBO/PADRE SEMERIA , NAVIGATORI

And the run of the bus 671 is COLLI ALBANI , S. GASPARE DEL BUFALO , L.GO COLLI ALBANI , APPIA/CANTU’ , APPIA/ENEA , FURIO CAMILLO , ALBERONE , PONTE LUNGO , APPIA/ALBA , RE DI ROMA , CERVETERI , SOANA , GALLIA/SATURNIA , GALLIA/LICIA , P.LE METRONIO , TERME CARACALLA , COLOMBO/MARCO POLO , COLOMBO/BAVASTRO , COLOMBO/C.NE OSTIENSE , COLOMBO/PADRE SEMERIA , NAVIGATORI ,
The bus 671 may be more viable as it has multiple metro connections.

Getting back is easy. Walk back to Via Cristiforo Colombo and jump back on the buses as listed above and head back to your starting point. The blue ball on the map symbolizes where your “return” bus stop is!

Reference material pulled from

• The Catacombs of Domitilla
• ATAC Bus Routing

  To go to a specific Catacomb page on the Ron-in-Rome website, click on any link below

• Catacombs of Rome – Summary
• The Catacombs of San Callisto
• The Catacombs of St. Sebastian
•  The Catacombs of St. Agnes
• The Catacombs of Priscilla

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From http://www.santagnese.org/

Catacombe di Sant’Agnese/ Catacombs of St. Agnes

Via Nomentana, 349
00162 Roma, Italy
Telephone +39 06 861 08 40
Website http://www.santagnese.org/
Closed on Sunday mornings and on Monday afternoons

Hours: 9.00 – 12.00 and 16.00 – 18.00
8 € full price; 5 € reduced fee (effective 01/01/2010)

The Catacombs of St. Agnes held the remains of the famous and very young Roman martyr Agnes. Her family probably already owned the hypogeum. The legend is that Agnes endured tremendous torments at the age of twelve. She refused to marry a Roman nobleman and was sentenced to death. Because Roman law did not permit the execution of a virgin, she was dragged through the streets naked and taken to brothel. As she prayed, her hair grew and entirely covered her body. Then tied to a stake to be burned alive, the wood would not burn, so she was beheaded – or as some legends have it, stabbed in the throat…

After her death, Romans and many foreign pilgrims visited her tomb. She was venerated by the Emperor Constantine’s family. His daughter, Constantina, had a huge circular basilica built near the cemetery. The present day basilica was built by in the 7th century. Unfortunately, the catacomb is rather poorly preserved because it was visited without interruption over the course of the centuries.

As you can see from the map above, the Catacombs of St. Agnes are located in the northeast section of the city. There are not any metro stations out here on Via Nomentana, so you’re going to have to ride the bus – or take a taxi. Probably the best buses to go out here are the bus 90 and bus 60 – both express buses..

The bus stops are marked by the dots on this depending on which direction you’re coming or headed. The bus 60 is a very popular bus. You can catch it at the Circo Massimo Line B Metro, the Colosseo Line B Metro, on the Via Fori Imperiali (road that runs in front of the Colosseo), adjacent to Piazza Venezia, and on Via Nazioanle. The stop to get off at if you’re coming from this direction is NOMENTANA/XXI APRILE . It is marked on the map by the red ball.

Here’s the entire bus 60 run to this stop from downtown: CAVE ARDEATINE , CIRCO MASSIMO , COLOSSEO , FORI IMPERIALI/CAMPIDOGLIO , P.ZA VENEZIA , NAZIONALE/QUIRINALE , NAZIONALE/TORINO , CERNAIA , PORTA PIA , NOMENTANA/REGINA MARGHERITA , NOMENTANA/XXI APRILE . To come back into downtown, jump back on the bus 60 in the same area, just on the opposite side of the street – see the green ball in the Google Map above.

The bus 90 stops at Catacombs at the SAME bus stop as the bus 60… The bus 90 STARTS at the Roma Termini Train station. So this is a great bus to catch if you’re staying in that area – or if you prefer to ride the metro to shorten your trip. From Roma Termini, it is only six stops to the Catacomb of St. Agnes stop, NOMENTANA/XXI APRILE . Here’s the route of bus 90 from Roma Termini to the Catacombs of St. Agnes: TERMINI , VOLTURNO/CERNAIA , PORTA PIA , NOMENTANA/REGINA MARGHERITA , NOMENTANA/VILLA TORLONIA , NOMENTANA/XXI APRILE , Jump on the bus to head back to termini and multiple bus and metro connections.

To go to a specific Catacomb page on the Ron-in-Rome website, click on any link below

• Catacombs of Rome – Summary
• The Catacombs of San Callisto
• The Catacombs of St. Sebastian
• The Catacombs of Domitilla
• The Catacombs of Priscilla

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Catacombe di Priscilla/Catacombs of Priscilla

Via Salaria, 430
00199 Rome, Italy
tel/fax: +39/06/86206272
Website: http://www.catacombepriscilla.com/pagine-eng/home.htm
Closed on Mondays

Hours: 8:30 – 12.00 and 14.30 – 17.00
8 € full price; 5 € reduced fee (effective 01/01/2010)

The Catacombs of Priscilla were probably founded by the noblewoman Priscilla who donated the land on which it was built. There are many martyrs buried here including Acilio Glabrione, brother Felix and Philip, St. Felictas, and five other brothers, Alexander, Martial, Vitale, Silano and Gennarus. In addition, multiple 4th, 5th, and 6th century Popes are buried in the Catacombs of Priscilla. They included Marcellinus, Marcellus, Sylvester, Liberius, Siricius, Celestine, and Vigilius.

What separate the Catacombs of Priscilla from others are the incredible frescoes painted throughout the corridors and tombs. This catacomb claims to have the oldest known image of the Madonna, from the 3rd century. I also believe this is the most beautiful set of catacombs in Rome… but just my opinion!

The Catacombs of Priscilla are also located in the northern side of side – on Via Salaria, Once again, your best alternatives are taxi or bus. The buses that head to the Catacombs from downtown are the bus 63, bus 86, bus 92, bus 310 and the bus 630.

The bus 86, bus 92, or bus 310 can take you from Roma Termini Train Station to near the Catacombs of Priscilla. Unfortunately, there is no bus traffic on Via Salaria near the catacombs – and if you’ve ever been stuck in traffic on Via Salaria you understand why there are NO buses! So you will have to get off the bus on Via Memorense and walk about 2 blocks northwest over to the catacombs. It’s an easy walk. Here’s a Google Map – although I encourage you to pull up and print out a larger map for yourself. The Catacombs are at the marker in the top LEFT corner of this map.

On your way to the Catacombs of Priscilla, you can get off the bus either at either of these stops, as pictured above: NEMORENSE/CRATI , NEMORENSE/ACILIA . Then you’ll have to walk over to Via Priscilla. On your return home, there are really only two options (shown by the blue dots)…. Head back to NEMORENSE/CRATI (my suggestion) or walk back to NEMORENSE/TOLERO . I think it’s probably easier to walk back the way you arrived.

To clarify, the red markers on the map above are the inbound buses coming from Roma Termini station or from downtown to the Catacombs. The blue markers, on the opposite side of the road, are the buses you would use to RETURN to Roma Termini station, or the downtown area. Due to the way the road runs there is NO opposite, matching bus stop for the NEMORENSE/ACILIA stop.

BUS 86 – BUS 92

The bus 86 and the bus 92 both start at Roma Termini and here is their run to the Catacombs: TERMINI , VOLTURNO/GAETA , VOLTURNO/CERNAIA , GOITO/XX SETTEMBRE , FIUME , PO/C.SO D’ITALIA , PO/TEVERE , PO/SIMETO , BUENOS AIRES , TAGLIAMENTO/CLITUNNO , SEBINO , NEMORENSE/VERBANO , NEMORENSE/CRATI , NEMORENSE/ACILIA

On the way back, here is the path you would on either bus to get back to Roma Termini: NEMORENSE/TOLERO , NEMORENSE/CRATI , NEMORENSE/VERBANO , TAGLIAMENTO/CHIANA , TAGLIAMENTO/CLITUNNO , BUENOS AIRES , PO/SIMETO , SALARIA/ADDA , SALARIA/ISONZO , SALARIA/ANIENE , PIAVE/BELISARIO , PIAVE/XX SETTEMBRE , INDIPENDENZA , TERMINI

BUS 310

The bus 310 also runs from Roma Termini to the catacombs. This bus takes a different route. There are more stops and may work to your advantage is your housing is along this bus route. Otherwise, I would take the bus 86 and the bus 92 as these are shorter routes in both directions. Here is the run out to the Catacombs… TERMINI , INDIPENDENZA , S. M. BATTAGLIA , UNIVERSITA’/MIN. AERONAUTICA , UNIVERSITA’/SCIENZE , UNIVERSITA’/REGINA ELENA , IPPOCRATE/MARCHIAFAVA , IPPOCRATE/PROVINCIE , PROVINCIE/PADOVA , BOLOGNA , XXI APRILE/VILLA RICOTTI , XXI APRILE/NARDINI , S. COSTANZA/NOMENTANA , S. COSTANZA , S. COSTANZA/ISTRIA , PANARO , PANARO/NEMORENSE , NEMORENSE/CRATI , NEMORENSE/ACILIA .

BUS 63 – BUS 630

These buses start near the Island of Tiberina. From the Piazza Venezia, Largo Argentina, Via dei Corso and Piazza Barberini area, you can ride the bus 63 or the bus 630 to NEMORENSE/ACILIA . This may also be your best connection if you are coming from (or heading back) to the Campo Fiori or Piazza Navona area).

Here’s the route of the bus 63/630 to the Catacombs: P.ZA MONTE SAVELLO , LGT DE’ CENCI/ARENULA , ARENULA/MIN. G. GIUSTIZIA , ARENULA/CAIROLI , ARA COELI/PIAZZA VENEZIA , CORSO/SS. APOSTOLI , CORSO/MINGHETTI , L.GO CHIGI , TRITONE/FONTANA DI TREVI , TRITONE/BARBERINI , BARBERINI , VENETO\EMILIA , BONCOMPAGNI/MARCHE , BONCOMPAGNI/PIEMONTE , FIUME , PO/C.SO D’ITALIA , PO/TEVERE , PO/SIMETO , BUENOS AIRES , TAGLIAMENTO/CLITUNNO , SEBINO , NEMORENSE/VERBANO , NEMORENSE/CRATI , NEMORENSE/ACILIA .

To go to a specific Catacomb page on the Ron-in-Rome website, click on any link below

• Catacombs of Rome – Summary
• The Catacombs of San Callisto
• The Catacombs of St. Sebastian
• The Catacombs of Domitilla
• The Catacombs of St. Agnes

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1 – The Vatican Museums DO accept credit cards AT THE TICKET OFFICE… but often these booths are limited to one or two and sometimes not even open. Thus, this is one of the spots in Rome where I would take cash! The entrance fee is €15 (eff. Jan 2010)  and if you have students, their fee is €8. They are pretty open to giving you the student fee, unlike anywhere else in Rome where you have to be an EU citizen or your country has an agreement with Italy. But then again, this is a different country !

You can pre-purchase tickets to skip-the-line for €19 at the Vatican Online Ticket Office but as of yet, you CANNOT buy student -or discounted – tickets on line. So if you are going on a Holiday week, a Saturday or Monday, or early morning, you might want to pay extra. For more info on the “line strategy” at the Vatican, see my post on Vatican Museums – Do I Pre-Book or Not?  

2 – As you near the Vatican and St. Peter’s, you will be set upon by young, English-speaking kids proclaiming, “Do you speak English? English-speaking tours starting in a few minutes.” Often times they will tell you that the lines are 1 1/2 – 2 hours longs and they can help you “skip the line.” Frankly, since the inception of the new extended hours in 2007, the lines are no where near what they used to be. So be forewarned… I just avoid these folks because they often make false or misleading claims… The tours they give tend to be inconsistent depending on which guide you get. Some ARE quite good… others not so much.

3 – Dress Appropriately. Rules in Italy are inconsistently and randomly enforced (Have you seen how we drive here? ). But if there is a place where the DRESS RULES are enforced, it’s at the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. You do not want to pre-purchase tickets, or wait in line, only to be told at the the door you cannot enter! The guidelines are fairly – FOR MEN AND WOMEN – Shoulders and knees must be covered. If you wear a sun dress bring a shawl or scarf to cover your shoulders. Tights seem to be okay. But don’t wear a tank top and shorts and expect to get in. They are adamant about enforcing these rules!

Many websites will tell you that the “rules” are different for the Vatican Museums than they are for St. Peter’s Basilica. Yes and No! If you are going from the Museum to the Basilica the “back way” then you will have to dress correctly, as the rules are MORE adamantly enforced at the Basilica. But lately I have seen folks turned away at the entrance to the Museums because they were not dressed as suggested above. Don’t make this mistake. Like most rules in Italy, it depends on who is enforcing them at the door … and once you’ve been “told NO,” they will not back down. Debating will not work!

4 – The Vatican Museums are at a separate entrance from St. Peter’s Basilica. This ALWAYS seems to confuse first-timer visitors. You cannot go directly into the Museums from the Basilica… but through a side door you can go from the Museums into the Basilica. Yes, it is confusing!

Okay, first, the Museums cost money (€15) and St. Peter’s Basilica is free… The Vatican Museum entrance is on the north side of the “city”, on Viale Vaticano . The Entrance to the Basilica is through St. Peter’s Square, which is on the EAST side of the “city.” This Goggle Map might make it easier to understand.

The red pin, located in the bottom center of the map is the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica. It sits in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. The green pin, located above and slightly to the left on this map (NORTH) is the entrance to the Vatican Museums. It’s about a 12-15 minute walk, around the city walls, from one to another. The odd-shaped, grey outline you see in the center of the map is the wall of Vatican city. So the entire country, the smallest in the world, fits in a few blocks in Rome!

Also on this map… the “man ” figures are public rest rooms. Outside St. Peter’s there are three – one on either side of the Square, one on the lower level of the Basilica, and the last (top right) is outside the city next to Il Passetto. There are also rest rooms at the entrance in the Museums and a few select spots through the Museum (at the entrance, just off Pine Cone Courtyard, down below the Pinacoteca Wing, off the Raphael rooms, and just below Sistine Chapel for example…)

The bus markers denote where the closest buses stop., I’m not going to try and get into all the bus routes… but here are the easiest. Starting bottom right – The bus with the “light blue” marker on it is the #64 bus. You can catch this bus starting at Termini but BE CAREFUL. This is the infamous pickpocket bus! Ride at your own risk!

Just above that, the bus with the red marker in it is the bus which will drop you closest to the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica. This is the #62 bus stop, which is adjacent to Il Passetto. When riding this bus, you’ll drive directly TOWARD the St. Peter’s (great view). Push the button when you see it and get off at the next stop.

The green marker buses represent stops for buses #23 and #492. These are two buses that are GREAT to get to the Vatican area from many parts of town. Other buses do stop at these stops, but these are the easiest! I’d check at the ATAC site for more info. There is also a bus stop just outside the vatican Museum entrance, but the bus that stops there, #49, will only help you if you’re coming from Piazza Cavour, or the WEST side of town.

You can also see the two metro stops that are near the Vatican. The Vatican Museums are located about centrally between the Cipro and Ottaviano stations. If I was headed to the Vatican Museums, I’d probably get off at Cipro. Go up the stairs of the station, turn RIGHT at the top of the stairs, turn RIGHT again immediately, and now you’re walking southeast on Via Fra Albenzio. Follow this road, pass in front of a church (on your right). Cross the street, Via Angelo Emo, and you’ll see a HUGE staircase in front of you (You’ll see the Vatican walls directly in front of you also!). Climb these stairs and once you’re at the top, you’re on Viale Vaticano – the street the Museum entrance is on. TURN LEFT and walk down the hill … the entrance to the Vatican Museums will be on the right side of the street as you approach.

This is the staircase (on the right as you exit the station) leaving the CIPRO Metro. Go up these stairs!

At the top of these stairs, TURN RIGHT (See the brown Museo Vaticani sign!)… and then make ANOTHER immediate right!

Follow this sidewalk after you make the immediate right… head towards the Church you see on the top right side of this picture!

As you approach the Church (on your right) you’ll see this apartment building in front of you. Head to the opening on the LEFT side of this apartment buidling. (The crosswalk is to your right in this picture)

On the left side of the building above is this staircase. Walk to the top and you are on Viale Vaticano! TURN LEFT to head to the entrance of the Museums. The walls you see at the top of this staircase are the walls of Vatican City.

If you’re headed to the Basilica from the Metro, better to get off at Ottaviano, and head south on Via Ottaviano, directly to the Square. You’ll see the heads and shoulders of statues on top of a wall in the distance. This is St. Peter’s Square… just keep walking south and you’ll hit St. Peter’s Square.

Here’s a picture of the sign in the Ottaviano metro station.

Here’s the view once you exit the Ottaviano metro. In the FAR distance, you can see the whites of the statues that flank St. Peter’s Square. Head south towards them!

If you’re not into public transportation, there is a taxi stand just outside the entrance to the Vatican Museum and also one just across from St. Peter’s Square. The taxis will queue up in both locations.

5 - Yes, you can go from the Vatican Museums directly to St. Peter’s Basilica. Okay, you can and you can’t! Once you walk through the Museums 1+ mile, you come to the end of the line… the Sistine Chapel. After you’ve spent your time in the Chapel you can leave through two doors. As you walk, with the Last Judgment BEHIND you , the door on the LEFT takes you back through the Museum and BACK to the entrance you came in on Viale Vaticano. And back to Cipro or Ottaviano Metro Stations. You would be walking back through the Library section of the Vatican Museums.

But if you want to go to the Basilica (and save yourself about 30-40 minutes of walking), take the RIGHT door. Now, honestly… you’re breaking the rules. The RIGHT door is reserved for “guided tour groups.” As of late, there has been a guard on the door and, by the rules, only tour groups are allowed to depart through this door. The guided tour group companies – that pay the Vatican fees – are unhappy that everyone (including you!) will try to use this door. So there has been a half-hearted attempt to prevent abuse of this door. Frankly, I’ve been in the Vatican Museums 100+ times and been turned away twice. So the odds are in your favor. Half the time the guard is no where NEAR the door. And other times, they could care less. If in doubt, just jump in with a tour group leaving and head through the doors.

Here’s why it’s such a GREAT deal to cut through these doors. This Sistine Chapel EXIT door is less than 200 yards from St. Peter’s Basilica entrance. 200 yards! If you cannot go this way, you have to go ALL THE WAY BACK THROUGH THE MUSEUMS (about 3/4 mile), exit the Museums on Viale Vaticano , and then walk AROUND the walls of the city… add another 2/3 mile… then you have to WAIT IN LINE in St. Peter’s Square and go through X-Ray security again. So 200 yards vs. almost 1.5 miles and a security line… You will save about 40-45 minutes if you go through the RIGHT door. There’s no doubt why EVERYONE wants to cut through these doors if they are headed to St. Peter’s Basilica!

The picture above is taken just after you exit the hallway below the Sistine Chapel… that’s St. Peter’s Basilica on the right side of the picture – it’s that close!The people in the line on the right side of the picture are headed to the tombs, the lower level of the Basilica.

If you plan to take the “secret” doorway to St. Peter’s from the Sistine Chapel, I would offer this advice. One of the most famous objects in the Vatican Museums is the Spiral Staircase (pictured below). The Spiral Staircase IS NOW the exit ramp OUT OF the Vatican Museums, but only if you’ve come back through the LEFT door in the Sistine Chapel and walked through the museum. If you DO NOT plan to take this door, then here is what I would suggest you do so you get to the see this famous staircase.

After you leave the ticket booth area at the entrance, go through the turn stiles and enter the Museums, you will go up a very long escalator. At the top of this escalator EVERYONE heads straight. Don’t! Go immediately to your right and head north (back in the opposite direction of the escalator). You’ll come into an “open area” and directly to your LEFT will be the famous staircase. Walk over to it, stand at the top, and get your pictures and your view of the staircase…. then head back the way you came – back to the staircase and head into the Museums! Don’t go down it as it’s one way and this IS THE EXIT!

6 - Many people say I do not want to see the Museums, just the Sistine Chapel. As you can see from above, that’s really not possible. In order TO GET to the Sistine Chapel you have to walk through the museums . But you can use another “shortcut.” After you’ve walked, and walked, and walked… you’ll go through the Gallery of Maps (the Map Room), and after exiting, you will go through another room of Tapestries… then you’ll come to a dead end… Directly in front of you is an doorway with an undecorated hallway. This is the DIRECT path to the Sistine Chapel. Most other folks will be turning LEFT and heading to the Raphael Rooms from which they will take a seemingly endless trek back to the Sistine Chapel. But if you GO STRAIGHT from the Gallery of Maps room, through the Tapestry room, and into this doorway, you’ll go through an unspectacular hallway and end up just outside the Sistine Chapel… so if you’re looking for the fastest path, this is the way!

On the other hand, if you want to see the Raphael Rooms (which I recommend) then take a left at in this tapestry room and follow the crowd. You will walk through the incredibly beautiful paintings of Raphael (probably packed with people…) and then you will take a circuitous route and end up at a set of stairs BELOW the Sistine Chapel. Be warned. The Raphael Rooms are GREAT but you will have to walk , and walk, and walk up and down stairs through the modern art wing of the Palace if you take this route. This walk takes 8-10 minutes AFTER you leave the Raphael Rooms.

7 – Yes, you can go DIRECTLY to the Sistine Chapel and then double back to see the Museums. Okay, but it’s a little tricky as the Museums are primarily ONE-WAY traffic. Once you are in the Sistine Chapel, exit through the Left Door and head back through the Library towards the front entrance. Eventually you will go down a flight of stairs, bear to the left and come to the LAST Gift Shop. Once you go through this Gift Shop, try and GO RIGHT. They may have this blocked by a rope (they have been re-directing folks for a couple of months while they do work)… But if you get stopped just ask, “Where is the Post Office?” Once back at the post office, you’re directly over the entrance and by the famous spiral staircase — WHICH IS THE EXIT. Do not GO DOWN the staircase as that is the point of NO RETURN, just head back into the Museums!!! I’ve done it many times – and actually have never been stopped.

8. Take food and water. Okay, it’s not quite that long a trek, but it can seem like it. There are very limited places to get food or water in the Museums. Outside a few of the bathrooms there are drink vending machines but the selections are limited, the areas are crowded, and often the machines are not full. Don’t take any chances. Take water/drink with you and some snacks. Now, don’t plan on spreading out a picnic on the floor of the Sistine Chapel with wine and cheese… but do take something as you’ll be here a few hours! Also, be discrete.

9. Conversely, you will be going through an X-ray machine, so don’t bring any weapons with you. Along these same lines, if you come with a VERY large backpack into the Museums you will have to check it – right here at this entrance. This IS NOT good news if you plan to use the “St. Peter’s Basilica” door in the Sistine Chapel. Once you check your backpack or oversized bag… you will have to walk all the way back to the entrance to retrieve it. So folks carrying EXTRA-Large camera gear and large backpacks, you’ve been warned. You will not be able to use the shortcut to St. Peter’s Basilica if you have to return to retrieve your large bag. Leave ‘em at your hotel/B&B!

And if it’s raining and you take a large umbrella (or probably anything but a portable) they will make you check it. We found this out the hard way as one of our friends had a standard umbrella. We had to check it, walk back through the museums, and then over to the Basilica. So only bring a portable umbrella you can stick in your purse or bag…

10. If you need a rest room, use the one at the entrance. After you get through the X-Ray Machines, head towards the left side of the room, left of the staircase (where you go up to get your tickets) and you’ll see the hallway that leads DOWN to the bathrooms. A vending machine is also in the area if you forgot your water. There are other bathrooms – sometimes a little disguised – as you walk through the Museum, but this is certainly the most convenient! Others include, but are not limited to: the post office near the spiral staircase, the stairs to your left just after you leave the Pine Cone Courtyard, under the Pinacoteca wing, off the last Raphael Room, and outside the Sistine Chapel. There are others, but these are probably the most frequented.

11. As many locals suggest, take time to tour the Pinacoteca. This wing of the Museum is a delight. To get there, as you come up the entry escalator (or back from the spiral staircase viewing), rather than take the left that EVERYONE else takes as they get on the fast-track to the Sistine Chapel, GO RIGHT. In this gallery, you’ll see the last painting of Raphael (and in the room before it, one by his father), plus works by Da Vinci and Caravaggio. And there is one of the few reproductions of Michelangelo’s Piéta – you’ll see the original in the St. Peter’s Basilica but you can’t get as close as you can here. Due to an attack on the Piéta in 1972, the original in St. Peter’s Basilica sits behind 2 inches of bullet proof glass!

12. For the best info on the Vatican schedule, go HERE (The link is http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html). On this page you’ll find links for history of the sites, the museum hours of operation, and a link to buy tickets online. The Museums are closed on Vatican Holidays and on Sundays. The exception being the last Sunday of the month which is FREE (We’ll talk about that below). The “scheduled” dates for closure in 2010 are

• January 1, 6
• February 11
• March 19
• Easter and the Monday after Easter – April 4, 5
• May 1
• June 29 (St. Peter and Paul)
• August 14
• November 1
• December 8 (Immaculate Conception), 25, 26

The Vatican is closed on Catholic religious holidays so the remainder of Rome is often still operating. The Basilica is often open (like on Sundays) even when the Museum is closed. Here’s the calendar for 2010 (from their website).

13. The best days to go to the Vatican are…. Everyone has an opinion on this! My “best” two days are Tuesday and Thursday. This is more a process of elimination. Never go on FREE SUNDAYS unless you enjoy being herded like cattle. On a fFee Sunday, the Museum is open from 9:00 AM, with last entry at 12:30 PM. The Museum then closes at 2:00 PM and starts chasing people out at 1;30 PM. I’ve seen people wait in line 2+ hours on FREE SUNDAY… only to be subjected to the BIGGEST crowds ever inside the Museum. NO THANKS!

Avoid Mondays because the Museums are usually closed on Sunday so folks with limited time in town HAVE to go on Monday. I say avoid Wednesdays if the Pope is in town and doing a Papal Audience. The Museums are LESS crowded in the AM while he is speaking, but then the 10,000 – 25,000 people at the outdoor Papal Audience head for the Museums and Basilica when he is finished, so it can get very crowded. Also, while he is doing the outdoor audience, the RIGHT side door of the Sistine Chapel is locked because you are not allowed to go to the Basilica (It’s closed while he is addressing the crowd) – security issues! Saturday is the day that many Italians come into town and they go to the Museums so that day lines tend to be longer…

So that leaves Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday… in that order! If you go in the afternoon, you’ll probably never have to wait in line. I usually plan to enter the Museums about 12 noon – 1300 (1 PM). The last entry is 1600 (4 PM) and you can stay in the Museums until 1800 (6 PM), but they will start herding you to the exits about 1730 (5:30 PM). Do make sure you get to the Sistine Chapel before 1725 (5:25 PM) or your stay will be VERY brief!

I’ve never had to use the “skip the line” tickets as I live across the street from the Museum Entrance and walk by there often. My first time here years and years ago I did wait in line 2+ hours. That was before the extended hours and before I learned the patterns. Now I’ve waited NO MORE than 5 minutes to enter the museum. So plan accordingly and you’ll be fine. The only exception I would make on pre-buying is if there are holidays that week and the Museums will be closed (XMAS and Easter for example) , if you have extremely limited time, or you are locked into going on a Monday, Saturday, etc. Any holiday or closure usually compounds the lines for two days on either side!

14. Yes, you can take pictures in the Museums – so do bring your camera. As we said earlier, don’t bring that HUGE camera bag (larger than a backpack) or they will make you check the bag. You can take pictures ALMOST everywhere in the Museum, with the exception of the Sistine Chapel. There are places where FLASH is not allowed, and you’ll get yelled at if you do so!

©Vatican Museums and Galleries, Vatican City, Italy

“No pictures, No pictures!” You’ll hear this mantra over and over by the security staff in the Sistine Chapel. Why can’t you take pictures in the Sistine Chapel? Because the “rights” to all filming in the Chapel are owned by Nippon TV, a Japanese channel best known for its quiz shows and baseball coverage. They underwrote the cleaning and restoration of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes in return for exclusive media rights to the restored ceiling. Yep, it’s all about copyright! The restoration was started in 1980 and most parts of the ceiling were finished by 1989 and The Last Judgment in 1994. So the restoration work took almost 15 years for these masterpieces. Nippon TV reportedly paid $3-4 million for the restoration. You are paying them back everytime you buy a postcard!

15. Do you need a guide? Of all the places I go, the Colosseo, Forum, Palatine Hill…. and the Vatican are places where I believe a guide will enhance your experience. There is just SO MUCH to see in the Vatican. I’ve read there are SEVEN MILES of corridors in the Palaces. No wonder people get worn out! But if you do not take a guide, at least have a podcast, a few good books, and a LOT OF TIME. You can rent headsets which, although not as good as many guides, can help you tremendously. But if you rent the headsets… you will have to leave ID (DO leave your driver’s license and NEVER your passport!) and unfortunately you will have to come back to the entrance of the Museums to drop off the headset and get your ID… thus you WILL NOT be able to take the shortcut to St. Peter’s Basilica. So plan accordingly.

16. The best Post Office in Italy… is not in Italy! It’s in Vatican City. There are actually three post offices in Vatican City which YOU can use. And trust me, the poor reputation of the Italian Postal Service is well earned. Many ebay vendors NEVER ship to Italy as the products never “get here,” if you know what I mean. Whenever we mail out things to the States, we walk over to the Vatican and use their postal service. We actually walk BY an Italian Post Office to get there. If you mail from the Vatican, you buy your stamps in the Vatican, and the articles must be mailed FROM the Vatican. The stamps are no good in Italy…

The three post offices you can go to are in primarily two locations. There are two post offices in St, Peter’s Square. Most folks are aware of the post office on the LEFT side of the Square facing the Basilica. This is the larger one and it is in the Charlemagne colonnade. The other is in the Constantine colonnade, on the right side of the Square,. It is up under the colonnade, where Il Passetto comes into the Palace (almost under the Pope’s bedroom window!). The third post office is INSIDE the Vatican Museum. It’s right before the EXIT spiral staircase… or as we told you earlier, to the immediate right as you get off the entry escalator.

Here’s the tip. Buy your postcards a day or so in advance. Write your notes, fill in your addresses, and then come prepared. Buy your stamps and drop your outgoing mail into the Vatican Post Office boxes. To mail a postcard to the USA it is currently about 80 cents. A letter runs about 85 cents. You’ll see many people buying postcards in the Vatican and sitting down and writing out postcard after postcard… and you have to because you UNLESS you’re coming back to the Vatican, you will not be able to mail these in Italy. Nothing is more frustrating to these folks than NOT having an address or zip code for someone…. so do yours in advance and save yourself some time and frustration!

The Vatican Post Office under the Pope’s window (Constantine Colonnade)

17. Believe or not, there are pickpockets in the Vatican! Yes, it’s true. One of my friends is a tour guide and he was pickpocketed (unfortunately AFTER he had collected his fees) and lost his wallet and money. Another friend had his money clip “removed” from his pocket. So do be aware. It can get VERY crowded with the large tour groups shuffling through and thus bad things can happen. So do wear a money belt, or secure your belongings. Unbelievable…. but true.

18. Signage in the Vatican is consistent with signage on the roads of Italy – often misleading and confusing. At some points there are signs directing you to the Sistine Chapel pointing in opposite directions! It’s just that there are different ways to get there through the seemingly endless corridors. Be patient, ask a security guard or any guide giving a tour for help… and most will point you in the right direction. They’re used to dealing with tired and confused tourists.

19. The Vatican is wheelchair accessible – Well, sort of. I took a friend of a friend through the Museum who was in her eighties. We talked her into using a wheelchair and that was a WISE decision. There are elevators throughout the Museums, although sometimes we had to wait for an attendant. Thus we were able to navigate the Museums. There are many sets of stairs so we were also fortunate to be able to bypass these. Our elderly guest was treated almost reverently by the security personnel. And we were delighted that she did not have to try and walk the Museum. It made everyones’ day brighter. We “borrowed” the wheelchair from the “checked articles” counter at the entrance to the Museum. We had to leave passport info, but NOT the passport. And of course, we also had to come back to the entrance to drop off the wheelchair. Well worth it for her. Do know they have a limited amount of loaner wheelchairs as on another trip with an eldery guest they were all check out. Without the wheelchair, we did the best we could.

20. Many parts of the Vatican Museums do not have air-conditioning. In some rooms, it can get quite stuffy. Newer wings, like the Pinacoteca, have small. portable AC units. But be prepared if you go in the summer as it can quite HOT. I’d definitely wear lightweight clothing and take water in the summer.

Hopefully these tips will help you have a more enoyable and fulfilling experience in the Vatican Museums – ENJOY!!!

Those traditions aside, you’ll still see many familiar Christmas and Seasonal displays in Italy. Christmas trees are becoming far more popular in Italy. In stores, there seem to be endless supplies of ornaments and decorations. Just like in the States, decorations seem to start earlier and earlier each year. The main decorations – the focus – is still the presepe, the Nativity scene or creche. Almost every church has a presepe.We often go from church to church to see the presepe. You can often find them outdoors in a piazza or public area. The largest presepe is undoubtedly in St. Peter’s Square.

Special thanks to Joy Davidow and the folks at InRomeNow. The following information about happenings in Rome is almost ALL pasted directly from their Holiday newsletter. For the most current information on what is going on in Rome, then definitely head to their website. They have new editions every Friday and I suggest you visit them prior the week prior to your time in Rome.

 CLASSICAL MUSIC

  At the Parco della Musica

Via Coubertin (Flaminio)
tel 06 199 109 783
www.listicket.it tel 892 982

Belcea Quartet with Valentin Erben, cello
The quartet has twice received the Royal Philharmonic SocietyAward for Chamber Music Ensemble. They are the Associate Ensemble at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and are Quartet in Residence at the Atheneum Concert Hall in Bucharest. They record for the EMI label.
Music by Haydn, Shostakovich, Schubert
Sala Sinopoli, Friday, December 4, 8:30 pm

Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Antonio Pappano, conducting, with Mitsuko Uchida piano
One of the world’s most esteemed pianists, Uchida won Grammy awards for her recordings of the complete Mozart piano sonatas, the Debussy Etudes,  and the Schoenberg Piano Concerto. In April 2008, BBC Music Magazine presented her its Instrumentalist of the Year and Disc of the Year award. Beethoven: Piano Concerto n. 5 “Emperor”
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
Sala Santa Cecilia, Saturday, December 5, 6 pm; Monday, December 7, 9 pm; Tuesday, December-8, 7:30 pm

Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Kent Nagano, conducting with Benedetto Lupo piano
Lupo won the bronze medal in the 1989  Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He has performed with leading orchestras including the  London Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony.
Mozart: Piano Concerto 23 K. 488
Stravinski: The Firebird
Sala Santa Cecilia, Saturday, December 12, 6 pm;
Monday, December 14, 9 pm; Tuesday, December 15, 7:30 pm

London Symphony Orchestra, Valerij Gergiev conducting
Concert benefiting FAI, the foundation that works to protect Italy’s architectural heritage. One of the leading conductors of his generation Gergiev heads the Marinsky Theater  Saint Petersburg and is principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera New York.
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet overture
Ravel:- Pavane pour une infante défunte
Debussy: Jeux
Stravinsky: Jeu des cartes
Ravel: Boléro
Sala Santa Cecilia, Wednesday, December 16, 9 pm

King’s Singers
The Grammy award-winning a cappella choir formed at King’s College Cambridge in 1968 presents their traditional Christmas concert, with music by  Orlando di Lasso, Heinrich Schütz, Ivan Moody, Juan de Padilla, Max Reger, Arvo Pärt, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Christmas carols.
Sala Sinopoli, Friday, December 18, 8:30 pm

Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Antonio Pappano conducting with soloists Olga Guryakova soprano, Dmytro Popov tenor, Albert Dohmen bass. Guryakova has performed leading roles at La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and other leading houses.
Rachmaninoff: The Bells
Rachmaninoff: Symphony n. 2
Sala Santa Cecilia, Saturday, December 19, 6 pm; Monday, December 21, 9 pm; Tuesday, December 22, 7:30 pm

Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Renato Balsadonna conducting
Christmas concert with music by Bach, Resphighi, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Händel and traditional Christmas songs.
Sala Santa Cecilia, Tuesday, December 23, 8:30 pm

 At the Auditorium della Conciliazione

Via della Conciliazione (near the Vatican)
tel 899 5000 55

Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma

Luiz Fernando Malheiro conducting
Borodin: Prince Igor Overture
Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
Brahms: Symphony n. 3 in F major op. 90
Sunday, December 6, 5:30 pm and Monday, December 7, 8:30 pm

Francesco La Vecchia conducting
Beethoven: Symphony n. 6 in F major op. 68 “Pastorale”
Beethoven: Symphony n. 7 in A major op. 92
Sunday, December 13, 5:30 pm and Monday, December 14, 8:30 pm

Francesco La Vecchia conducting, Anita Selvaggio soprano
Beethoven: Coriolanus Overture, op. 62
Beethoven: “Ah perfido!” Concert aria for soprano and orchestra op. 65
Beethoven: Symphony n. 8 in F major op. 93
Sunday, Deccember 20, 5:30 pm and Monday, Decemer 21, 8:30 pm

Lior Shambadal conducting
Dvorak: Symphony n. 9 in E minor “From the New World”
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol
Stravinsky: Suite from the Firebird ballet
Sunday,  January 3, 5:30 pm and Monday, January 4, 8:30 pm

Orchestra Filarmonica di Bogato
Emin Guven Yaslicam conducting, Maria Kliegel cello
Mozart: Adagio and Fugue for Strings K546
Elgar: Concerto in E minor, op. 85 for cello and orchestra
Borodin: Symphony n. 4 in A minor “Unfinshed”
Sunday, January 10, 5:30 pm and Monday, January 11, 8:30 pm

 At the Aula Magna

Piazzzale Aldo Moro (San Lorenzo)
tel 06 49 91 - www.greenticket.it

Till Fellner piano
The third in a series in which Fellner performs the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven. Fellner has performed with leading orchestras worldwide. He records for the ECM label.
Saturday, December 12, 5:30 pm 

National Symphonic Orchestra of Ukraine, Kiev
Vladimir Sirenko conducting, Giuseppe Albanese piano
Rachmaninov: Concerto n. 2 in C minor op. 18
Schumann: Symphony n. 3 in E flat major op. 97
January 12, 8:30 pm  

 Rome Baroque Festival

A series of concerts in historic spaces.
www.romafestivalbarocco.it

Chiesa di S. Luigi de’ Francesi
Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi, 20 (near Piazza Navona)
Mondo Novo Holland perform arias and sacred cantatas from 17th century Rome. Thursday, December 3, 9 pm 

Istituto Pontificio di Musica Sacra
Bob van Asperen, harpsichord
Friday, December 4, 9 pm

Basilica di San Eustachio
Piazza di San Eustachio (near the Pantheon)
Bob van Asperen, organ
Sunday, December 6,  8:30 pm

Musei Capitolini, Sala del Marco Aurelio
London Baroque with soprano Emma Kirkby. “Händel in Rome”
Sunday, December 7, 9 pm

Musei Capitolini, Sala del Marco Aurelio
Ensemble Lacrime Amorose “Le Cantate solistiche a Roma nel seicento”
Wednesday, December 9, 9 pm

Basilica di S. Apollinare
Piazza di Sant’Apollinare, 49 (near Piazza Navona)
Mass in Latin, with Giovannelli’s Mass for three choruses of 12 voices, performed by the Ensemble Festina Lente
Saturday, December 12, 6:30 pm and Sunday, December 13, 7 pm

Istituto Pontificio di Musica Sacra
Piazza di San Agostino, 20a (near Piazza Navona)
Evangelina Mascardi, baroque guitar and Lincoln Almad, Jesuit harp
Tuesday, December 15, 8:30 pm

Chiesa di S. Luigi de’ Francesi
Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi, 20 (near Piazza Navona)
L’Arte dell’Arco:” Friends and rivals in the court of Queen Cristina of Sweden”
Wednesday, December 16, 9 pm

Chiesa di S. Maria dell’Anima
Via Santa Maria dell’Anima (Piazza Navona)
Musica Antiqua Latina, Händel in Rome
Thursday, December 17, 9:30  pm

Palazzo della Cancelleria
Piazza della Cancelleria (near Campo de’ Fiori)
Ensemble Ricercare Antico” Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, a German in Rome.
Saturday, December 19, 9 pm

POPULAR MUSIC

  
Editors
The English pop group released their third album, ‘In This Light And On This Evening’ last October.
Teatro Tenastrice, Via Giorgio Perlasca 69 (Prenestino)
Wednesday, December 3, 9 pm  -  www.ticketone.it

 Bobo Stenson
One of the most prominent jazz pianists on the European scene, Stenson began his career in his native Stockholm in the ’60s and has since performed with such greats as Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio
Friday, December 4, 9 pm  – tel  892 982www.listicket.it

Fausto Mesolella guitar and Mimmo Epifani mandoline
Ethnic Italian music.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio
Saturday, December 5, 9 pm  – tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

Glenn Miller Orchestra
The current incarnation of the historic big band is led by Larry O’Brien.
Auditorium della Concilaizione (Vatican)
Saturday, December 5, 6 pm – www.greenticket.it

Ludovico Einaudi: Nightbook
The pianist and composer, internationally  known for his minimal, atmospheric music, has composed an audio-visual event, performed here with Einaudi, backed by violin, viola, cello, guitar, percussion and live electronics, with live visuals by Matteo Ferroni.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia
Sunday, December 6, 9 pm  – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Peter Hammill, piano
One of the founding members of Van der Graaf Generator, the progressive rock group, Hammill began his solo career in 1971 with the album “Fool’s Mate.”
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli
Monday, December 7, 9 pm - tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

Gianmaria Testa
The guitarist and singer has released six albums and performed more than 1500 concerts throughout Europe and the USA. With “Da questa parte del mare,” (2007) a concept album dedicated to the theme of modern migration, he won the coveted Tenco Award for best album of the year.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio
Tuesday, December 8, 9 pm – tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

Deep Purple
The English rock group formed in 1968 were pioneers in the heavy metal and hard rock genres.
Palalottomatica, Palazzo dello Sport (Eur)
Saturday, December 12, 9 pm – www.ticketone.it

Joe Bonamassa guitar with Carmine Rojas bass,
Rick Melick keyboards, and Boogie Bowles drums
The  young American composer and guitarist began his career playing with B.B. King at the age of 12. He has gone on to become a major blues musician in his own right.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli
Sunday, December 13, 9 pm – tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

Cristiano De André
Ten years after the death of his father, legendary singer-songwriter Fabrizio De André, Cristiano begins a personal voyage through songs that have left their mark on the history of Italian music and literature. Having taken his place on stage beside his father nearly 30 years ago at the age of 18, he has gone on to keep his father’s music alive and to create music of his own, playing guitar, bouzouki, violin, piano and keyboards.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia
Sunday, December 13, 9 pm – tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

Diamanda Galas: Your Kisses are like Fire
Galas is one of the most unique vocalists on the planet, performing a wild show with her freaky voice. Her followers are ardent.
Aula Magna, Piazzale Aldo Moro (San Lorenzo)
Tuesday, December 15, 8:30 pm – www.greenticket.it

ROME GOSPEL FESTIVAL

Again this year, some of the most outstanding gospel groups make their way to Rome from all over the United States for this annual holiday celebration, at the Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli.
tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Harlem Gospel Choir
Founded in 1988, the group has performed with the Commodores, Michael Jackson and Prince. Their latest album is “I’m So Glad.”
Sunday, December 20, 9 pm

Lemmie Battles and the Virginia Mass Choir
The Grammy-nominated ensemble of 12 singers is currently on tour in Europe.
Monday, December 21, 9 pm

Craig Adams and the Voices of New Orleans
The son of legend Fats Domino, Gospel pianist Adams formed his group in 2002, winning the Big Easy Entertainment Awards in 2004.
Tuesday, December 22, 9 pm

The Anointed Pace Sisters
Nine women who began singing together in high school. Their debut album with Savoy Records entitled “U-Know” made the top ten in the Billboard Charts and stayed on the charts for over a year.
Wednesday, December 23, 9 pm

Voices of Deliverance
From Charleston, South Carolina, a traditional gospel vocal group.
Friday, December 25, 6 pm

J.J. Hairston and Youthful Praise
From Brooklyn, Hairston and his group were awarded the Soul Train Award for Gospel Artist of the Year, the GMWA, Excellence Award Choir of the Year in 2003.
Saturday, December 26, 9 pm

Cedric Ford and Heart of Worship
From Chicago, Ford’s album “Created2Worship” was released last May. He sings a modern, popular form of Gospel, influenced by artists like Stevie Wonder.
Sunday, December 27, 9 pm

Nicole Slack Jones and the Soul Sisters
From New Orleans, Nicole Slack Jones performed at Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas singing soul, jazz and funk with  “The Big Easy Groovers”.
Monday, December 28, 9 pm

Oscar Williams and Perfected Praise
From Detroit, Williams performed at the annual Vatican Christmas concert in 2002 and 2003.
Tuesday, December 29, 9 pm

Robin Brown and Triumphant Delegation
From Georgia, Brown has performed at Gospel festivals throughout the USA.
Wednesday, December 30, 9 pm

Reverend Jessy Dixon and the Chicago Gospel Singers
Called the “King of Gospel” by the International Herald Tribune, Dixon has recorded more than three dozen albums, winning seven Grammy awards.
Thursday, December 31, 10 pm with a toast to the New Year at midnight

OTHER MUSIC  

Orchestra of the 41st Parallel
An ensemble of 18 women, playing winds, strings, piano and percussion, perform music inspired by countries of the 41st parallel, from Southern Italy to Turkey, Uzbekistan, Greece and Albania. Among their themes are texts selected by Amnesty International, written by women who have been subjected to violence.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, Sunday, December 20, 9 pm  – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Devendra Bahart
With Noah Georgenseon guitar, Greg Rogove drums, Luckey Remington bass, and Rodrigo Amarante guitar. From the USA, Bahart’s music has been described as a indie rock and psychedelic folk. He presents his latest album, “What will we be.”
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi, Sunday, December 20, 9 pm  – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Renato Zero: Zeronove Tour
The Italian pop star, on the scene since the 1970s, is back in town for the second time in two months, playing to those who couldn’t get tickets to his shows in November.
Palolottomattica, Palazzo dello Sport (Eur)
Sunday-Monday, December 21-22, 9 pm  – www.greenticket.it

PMJO Jazz Orchestra: Christmas in Jazz
Annual holiday concert
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli
Saturday, December 26, 11 am  – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
   
Claudio Baglioni “Q.P.G.A.”
One of Italy’s biggest pop stars, Baglioni began his career in the 1970s, and has gone on evolve musically into more sophisticated sounds. He wrote the official Anthem for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia
Sunday-Wednesday, December 27-30, 9 pm – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
    
Paolo Fresu
The jazz trumpet player, one of Italy’s most respected musicians, explores the music of Corsica, with a backup group including Daniela di Bonaventura on bandeon and the seven-voice chorus A Filetta.
Audidtorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli
Thursday, January 7, 9 pm – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Joe Barbieri
Winner of the 2009 Lunezia PopOn Prize, the singer-songwriter presents his latest work, “Maison Maravilha.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Saturday, January 9, 9 pm – tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

Vernon Reid, guitar
With Jamaladeen Tacuma bass and Calvin Weston drums.
Born in London and raised in New York, Reid is remembered as the founder and composer of the Living Color band. He has released three solo albums and collaborated with musicians such as Tracy Chapman and Carlos Santana.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli, Sunday, January 10, 9 pm – tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Christmas Concert: Orchestra Popolare Italiana
Ambrogio Sparagna, conductor with vocalist Maria Pia De Vito
Christmas music of the Italian folk tradition
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli
Tuesday, January 5, 9 pm and Wednesday, January 6, 6 pm  – tel  892 982 www.listicket.it

OPERA, DANCE & THEATER

 Dunas
One of the most exciting contemporary dancer-choreographers, S. Larbi Cherkaoui, teams up with the flamenco virtusoso Maria Pagés in a unique dance dialogue. Presented by the RomaEuropa Festival.
Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano (Flaminio)
Wednesday, December 2, 9 pm
tel 06 326 5991 romaeuropa.net

Philip Glass: The Witches of Venice
With libretto and images by Beni Montressor. A ballet-opera for children and adults, in which a little prince searches for a little girl like himself, encountering would-be captors, dark passageways and other obstacles along the way.
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Petrassi
Saturday, December 5, 9 pm; Sunday, December 6, 6 pm; Monday, December 7, 9 pm. tel 892 982

The Russian Army Chorus and Dancers
A popular attraction, in Rome every year during the holidays.
Auditorium Conciliazione, Via della Conciliazione (Vatican)
Saturday, December 5
www.greenticket.it

Certi Notti
Performed by the respected Aterballeto company of Reggio Emilio, the principal producing and touring dance company in Italy, with music by the Italian star Luciano Ligabue, based on a song from his 1995 album “Happy Birthday, Elvis”.
Teatro Argentina, Largo Argentina
Thursday, December 17 – Sunday, December 20, 9 pm – www.teatrodiroma.net

La Traviata
The most recent Zefirelli production, a lavish affair, is revived for the holidays. The draw this time is the star power of tenor Fabio Armiliato and soprano Daniela Dessi.
Teatro dell Opera di Roma
Piazza Beniamino Gigli (Esquilino)
Friday, December 18 – Thursday, Deccember 31. – tel 06 48 16 02 55

Lo Schiaccianoci (The Nutcracker)
It’s that time again. The traditional version of Tchaikovsky’s ballet is performed by the Orchestra and Corp de Ballet of the Teatro dell Opera di Roma.
Teatro Nazionale, Via del Viminale (Esquilino)
Tuesday, December 13- Thursday, December 31 – tel 06 48 16 02 55

Lo Schiaccianoci (The Nutcracker)
Performed by the Balletto di Roma, in a modern version with choreography by Mario Piazza to Tchaikovsky’s music
Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano
Thursday, January 7

Lo Schiaccianoci (The Nutcracker)
This one performed by the Croatian National Ballet, with the original Petipa choreography. 
Teatro Sistina, Via Sistina 129
Monday-Tuesday, January 11-12 - www.ilsistina.com

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES 

Natale al Parco della Musica
The park around the Auditorium turns into a Christmas wonderland December 5-January 6. The grounds are merrily decorated with lights, the area pedonale will be transformed into a skating rink, and a Christmas village with goodies for sale, as well as all sorts of surprises, appears on the grounds.
Skating rink: Open through February 8 . Entrance €8
Junior Orchestra and Children’s Chorus: Two fine ensembles, the JuniOrchestra and the Voci Bianche perform a series of holiday concerts.
Christmas music at Sala Petrassi, Wednesday, December 9, 7:30  pm
Sala Santa Cecilia, Saturday, December 19, 9 pm  -  tel 892 982 www.listicket.it

Christmas Market in Piazza Navona
Each year, the Piazza Navona is filled with stands selling Christmas decorations, the ubiquitous old lady known as “La Befana” who delivers gifts on the day of the Epiphany, goodies to eat, gifts of all kinds, and little rides for little kids. December 1- January 6.

Christmas Market at Piazza Mastai

Presepi: The Italian Christmas Crêche
The presepe is almost more iconic than the Christmas tree, here in Italy, and there are displays all over Rome. One Hundred Nativity Scenes is a Christmas crib exhibition displaying around 200 pieces by Italian and foreign artists at Rome’s Sala del Bramante. Designs range from classical 17th-century Neapolitan and Sicilian cribs to more contemporary styles. At Sala del Bramante  in Piazza del Popolo 1, the annual display of 100 Presepi is already open  daily through January 6, 9:30 am – 8 pm.

Il Canto di Natale: Burattini di San Carlino
A masterful marionette show, in Italian, based on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” performed in the puppet theater on the grounds of the Borghese Gardens. Viale dei Bambini, Tuesday, December 8, 11:30 am and 4:30 pm; Saturday, December 12, 4:30 pm; Sunday, December 13, 11:30 am and 4:30 pm; Sunday, December 20, 11:30 am.  On December 20, there will be a special Christmas party, complete with a visit from Babo Natale, 4:30 pm. The Nutcracker will be performed puppet-style, December 26, 4:30 pm  and December 27, 11:30 am and 4:30 pm. €6,50 www.sancarlino.it Palalottomatica, Piazzale dello Sport (Eur)
Wednesday-Thursday, December 2-3, 7:30 pm; Friday, December 4, 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm; Saturday-Sunday, December 5-6, 11:30 am; 3:30 and 7:30 pm.
www.greenticket.it

Disney Live!

Golden Circus
Liana Orfei is back in Rome with her popular circus, a traditional affair with lions, tigers and tight rope walkers.
Tendastrice, Via Giorgio Perlasca 69
December 23 -January 10 (with a New Year’s Eve gala)

GETAWAYS – Outside Rome

What better way to spend a holiday weekend than by taking a drive out of town to discover the Christmas installations in small towns surrounding Rome? The traditional presepe, or crêche, can be as elaborate as a minature village complete with running waterfalls and a lighting system that changes from dawn to dusk. It can be life-size or larger, and sometimes it can include live animals. The most charming are the imaginative scenes from a magical land. Here are few options:

Lago di Bracciano
Just 36 kilometers northwest of the city in the back hills of a bucolic Roman countryside, Lago di Bracciano has been a favorite weekend retreat since the time of the Romans and ruins discovered in the lake basin suggest an earlier history dating back to the Etruscans and further to the first neolithic European villages built 5,500 years ago. The lake is surrounded by three charming towns: Bracciano, Anguilara Sabazia and Trevignano. In the town of Bracciano, the Renaissance Orsini-Odescalchi Castle (1470) dominates the lakefront from its promontorial position. Trevignano was built above the lake and is still protectd by the ruins of the medieval Orsini fortress. The entrance to the town of Anguilara is a tree-lined avenue ending in a towering 16th century gate

Anguillara Sabazia- The first original water crêches (presepe) in the northern Lazio region, a large sculptural installation featuring the sacred family sheltered beneath a hut, with a well-lit interior for late evening or night viewing from the jetty, facing the historic Piazza del Molo.
Dec 14 trough Jan 6th

Trevignano Romano- Crowds coming to visit the various displays in Trevignano are directed to the town’s prize creation, a  presepe perched on a hillside slope, constructed from cartapesta and set in a palafitta, a primitive habitation. Throughout the town, there are numerous examples of presepe.

Bracciano- The presepe vivente is the most important Christmas event of the three lake towns, with  living characters and animals. Again, this year, a crew of 80 participants in costume, along with 20 technicians will show off the  elaborate crafted scenes of biblical  proportion.
Visits begin on Christmas day.

Getting there: To get to the town of Bracciano, the Roma-Viterbo train line departs from the Roma-Ostiense and St Peter’s stations. (www.trenitalia.com).
Buses leave hourly from the Lepanto bus depot, near Prati’s Cola di Rienzo shopping area and the Lepanto A line Metro stop. To get to the town of Anguillara, the Roma-Viterbo train line’s Aguillara stop is about four kilometers from the town center, with shuttle bus service from the station. The Lepanto-Bracciano bus service stops directly in the town center. To get to Trevignano Romano take the bus to Bracciano then transfer to a local bus arriving at Trevignano.

By car, from Corso Francia  take the SS Flaminia to the G.R.A. (The freeway that  forms a ring around Rome), exit onto the SS. Cassia-Veientana-Viterbo highway towards Viterbo. Continue for 35 km exiting at Settevene (signs indicate Trevignano, Bracciano, Anguillara, etc.) and turn left crossing the viaduct. Follow the curving country road of Settevene Palo until you arrive at a crossroads with further indication (Bracciano, Anguillara, Trevignano).

Coming through the city, the Via Cassia brings you to all three towns. From Corso Francia take the Cassia. (Bear to your left at the fork where the Cassia and Flaminia intersect off Corso Francia).. Follow the Cassia past an area called La Storta. Continue several kilometres and take a left at the Braccianense. From there, continue to Bracciano, Anguillara or Trevignano.

San Gregorio da Sassola
Prior to Italy’s unification, Sassola was known as San Gregorio, in memory of Papa Greogorio Magno (Gregory the Great 540-604), patriarch of the territories to which Sassola belongs. Sassola dates back to the colony of Albalongo and 3rd century B.C. Etruscan kings who ruled Rome.  This years marks the eighth edition of the exhibition celebrating the art of miniature presepe, which will debuts at the Chiesa di San Biagio (Madonna delle Grazie), Sunday December 6, 12:30 pm, and is repeated December 26 and January 1, 4:30 pm  The Museo del Presepio, opened in 2005,  houses a beautiful collection of crêches created over various periods from diverse regions.  Via Vittorio Emanuele 14, 10 am-12:30 pm and 3 -7:30 pm – www.sgregoriopresepi.altervista.org

Other presepe to visit in San Gregorio da Sassola
· Chiesa Parrocchiale
· Chiesa “San Sebastiano”

Getting there: By car, take the  Autostrda A24 (1) Roma-L’Aquila exit Tivoli – follow the signs for for via Prenestina or follow signs from Rome for Tivoli – enter Tivoli Centro and follow indications for San Gregorio da Sassola

Risvondoli, Abruzzo
Rivisondoli, like the majority of the  region was destroyed during the disastrous earthquake of 1706 but rebuilt immediately thereafter. Tourism got underway with the arrival of the Italian royal family in 1915, and continues to this day, as the town is one of the most important ski resorts in Central-Southern Italy.
For the town of Rivisondoli, the presepe vivente  is a religious, folkloric and cultural manifestation. Since its  inception in 1951, the ritual has taken place yearly on January 5th. The newborn chosen for the occasion is determined by the last born child of the preceding year, while the woman who represents  the Madonna is selected in a special event on December 8th, the celebration of the Immaculate Conception. The event attracts crowds in the hundreds.

Getting there: By car take Autostrada A/25, (toll station Pratola Peligna – Sulmona) Piano delle Cinque Miglia, Rivisondoli. It’s about 161 km from the city.

OTHER SEASONAL EVENTS

• Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City holds the popular midnight mass.
• Murano in Venice, displays a seven meter tall tree of glass built by glass master Simone Cenedese. They hold a yearly program of decorations called Natale di Vetro, Christmas in glass.
• Torino - One of the best places for Christmas lights. Over 20 kilometers of streets and squares are illuminated by some of the best illumination artists in Europe from late November through early January.
• Near the top of Monte Ingino, above Gubbio, Umbria, a huge Christmas tree, 800 meters tall, is made up of 450 lights. In 1991 the Guinness Book of Records named it “The World’s Tallest Christmas Tree.” The tree is topped by a star that can be seen for nearly 50 kilometers. The tree is lit up every year on 7 December, the evening before the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
• Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Alps celebrates with a skiers torchlight parade – At midnight on Christmas Eve hundreds of people ski down an Alpine peak carrying torches.
• In Abbadia di San Salvatore, near Montalcino, the Fiaccole di Natale or Festival of Christmas Torches (Christmas Eve) is celebrated. Carols and torchlight processions in memory of the shepherds from the first Christmas Eve.
• Città di Castello, in Umbria, celebrates Christmas Eve in on the Tiber River. Towards evening, a group of canoeists, each dressed as Father Christmas, with their canoes illuminated by lights, make their way along the river to the bridge at Porta San Florido where a crib is suspended over the water. When they get out of their canoes, they give small presents to the children gathered there.
• Lago Trasimeno, also in Umbria, celebrates with Soul Christmas, Umbria Gospel Festival, December 8 – January 6.
• Pezze di Greco: Living Nativity Scene, December 25-January 3
• Celico: Living Nativity Scene, December 25
• Tarcento: Pignarul Giant Bonfire Festival, January 6
• Cividale: Historical Pageant and Costume Parade, January 6
• Gemona: Messa del Tallero Medieval Pageant, January 6
• Alesso: Twenty Year Festival, December 31
• Resia, Cicigolis (Pulfero): La Koleda, December 31
• Sauris, Cicigolis, Cave del Predi: Star Festival
• Paularo: La Femenate Bonfire, January 6
• Latium – Greccio: Re-enactment of St. Francis Building the First Nativity Scene, Christmas Eve
• Calizzano: Living Nativity Scene, December
• Roccavignale: Living Nativity Scene, December
• Diano Arentino: Living Nativity Scene, December
• Riomaggiore: Nativity Scene, December
• Milan: Epiphany Parade of the Three Kings proceeds from the Duomo to the church of Sant’Eustorgio, January 6
• Asti: Silver and Gold in the Night: New Year’s festivities organized by neighborhood committies, December 31
• Alagna: Ice Nativity Scene, Christmas Eve
• Cessole: Living Nativity Scene with Re-Enactment of Ancient Professions, followed by hot chocolate, vin brûlé, roasted chestnuts and grappa, Christmas Eve
• Maranzana: Living Nativity Scene with Costumed Parade and Re-Enactment of Ancient Professions, followed by vin brûlé and roasted chestnuts, Christmas Eve
• Moncalvo: Santa Claus gives gifts to the children, December 22
• Roatto: Bonfire Celebration and Exchange of Gifts, followed by panettone, spumante and bruschetta, Christmas Eve
• Schierano (Passerano Marmorito): Torchlit Re-Enactment of Christmas Eve in Costume, Christmas Eve
• Piana degli Albanesi: Greek Orthodox Ritual and Procession, January 6, incorporating traditional Albanian costumes and rituals.
• Acireale: Living Nativity Scene, December
• Cavalese: Trial of the Witches, first week of January
• Tesero: The Nativity Representation, December
• Bibione: Living Nativity Scene, Church of S.M. Assunta, December 24-25
• Siracusa – Santa Lucia Day, December 13, is celebrated in many Italian towns. One of the biggest celebrations is in Sicily where the city of Siracusa holds a huge parade carrying the saint on a golden coffin to the Church of Santa Lucia. On December 20 there is another parade to return her to the crypt
• Barga, in northwestern Tuscany. At 7:30pm on December 23, about 200 costumed participants congregate behind Joseph and Mary at the city gates. They then wander through the streets requesting shelter of the artisans, who also wear colorful costumes. Everybody winds up in the piazza just in time to see a comet star lead the Wise Men to the Baby Jesus’ manger.
• Capri – Local folklore groups perform in the Piazzetta on January 1 and 6; also in Piazza Diaz in Anacapri.
• Erice – The Rassegna Mediterranea degli Strumenti Popolari (Mediterranean Folk Music Festival) is held in this lovely art town late in December. Musicians come from all over the world with their bagpipes, tambourines, flutes, Jew’s-harps, lutes and other instruments, filling the beautiful old streets with their melodies.

 Also, special thanks to Martha Bakerjian from About.com Guide  &  http://www.initaly.com/ for the calendar information.

So it came to me as no surprise when I read this article on the challenges faced by the Sixth Fleet in Gaeta. At least they did not have to go to the Post Office and wait in line to pay their bill… and it appears the service was re-implemeted quickly. It pays to have some pull! Here’s the story:  

Italian utility companies are not usually super-efficient at disconnecting the services of late payers but this week a water company acted quickly and cut off an important client – the legendary US Sixth Fleet, which operates in the Mediterranean Sea out of the port of Gaeta. By doing so the company nearly caused a diplomatic incident.

The Sixth Fleet once had its headquarters at Gaeta but in 2004 it was combined with United States Naval Forces Europe and the staff as a whole now works from Naples. The USS Mount Whitney is the Sixth Fleet flagship and its only permanently assigned ship. Other US vessels are assigned to the Sixth Fleet as they enter the Mediterranean.

Under a confusing and bureaucratic distribution system in the Gaeta Area, Aqualatina s.p.a. supplies the water, whilst another private, local company delivers it. The delivery company charges high rates for out-of-hours work and passes these on to Acqualatina. It seems that the Americans got fed up with what they regarded as excessive charges and refused to pay any more bills.

Acqualatina then promptly interrupted their service.

Following an emergency meeting yesterday involving Gaeta’s Mayor and Prefect, the harbor master and representatives of both water companies, the matter has now been smoothed over. In future Acqualatina itself will deliver to NATO vessels in the port.

The motorino rules are simple in Rome; there are NO RULES! For people who live here – and who have been ”taught” this system – this can be a great advantage. For everyone else, it can be downright frightening! Motorini follow their own path, weaving through cars, driving on the opposite side of the center line, (against oncoming traffic), not stopping a red lights (That was for me?), driving on the sidewalks, driving through crosswalks along with the pedestrians, parking anywhere (including the sidewalks), with the primarily goal of getting from point A to point B as fast as humanly possible.  There’s always that age-old question in the US… if you come to a red light at 2 AM and you can see for miles in all directions, do you stop and wait for the light to change or just roll through it… In Rome, they think this question is ridiculous as many motorini drivers are not stopping at 12 noon – much less 2 AM!

The Vespa, the faceplate for the Italian scooter, was created out of the ruins of World War II. With a background in aeronautical engineering, Enrico Piaggio built the first prototype around 1944. Due to its unique shape, it was nicknamed the “Paperino” (the Italian name for Donald Duck). This design was not realistic and comfortable, so the bike was reworked, and the “Vespa” was born. Vespa in Italian means wasp! Piaggio’s goal was to create a mode of transportation for the masses… today he would be amazed at how his product changed the face of Italy. Certainly, the Vespa is a major part of Italy culture – and chaos!

 We’ve taken a motorino through Rome, driven to Civitavecchia, rode the ferry to Sardinia, drove the mountains in Sardinia and had incredible adventures. The ferry story bears repeating. We rode from Rome up SS1 to Civitavecchia on a 50cc – okay, so it’s not really legal to ride two folks on this version… and it’s not really legal to drive on the highway with this bike… but T.I.I. (This is Italy) so off we went. The trip took almost two hours as we were loaded down with backpacks, an ice chest, and other paraphernalia. Our top speed… down a steep hill … was about 40 MPH. We were both wearing shorts, flip-flops, I with no shirt and my wife wearing a bikini top.

As we arrived at the port we saw the line of cars waiting to get on the ferry – almost a mile long! But, like any motorino driver in Italy, we just pulled over to the left, and drove past ALL these cars in the opposite lane and went directly to the gate entrance. The guard looked us, smiled, and then “checked us in,” slapping a sticker on our windshield and said, “Go over there. That’s where the bikes park.” We got off our small motorino, and started looking for our shirts … and up pulled the real riders on their Harley’s and Trans-Alp bikes. They pulled off their leathers, gloves, etc. and they had some fun with us… but we were all “bikers” today! And of course we had an ice chest!!!!!!

The ferry arrived, off-loaded and now it was time to get on. Bikes were put on first – how cool is that! (We also got off first!). So we all climbed onto our bikes, the Harley’ s belching, the Trans-Alps bikes roaring, and us… putt-putting up the ramp among them. I’m sure folks with video cameras had a treat with that sight. Once on board they strapped our bikes to the side wall of the ship to make room for all the cars. Because we were first on board we also got the best seats on the boat! We spent the trip over to Sardinia watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with a multi-national crowd. It was quite a unique experience.

So yes, you can have great experience riding a motorino. BUT, I would advise against doing so unless you are an experienced motorcycle driver. Rome IS NOT the place to learn to ride a scooter/motorcycle. Frankly, it’s dangerous.  There are many challenges to riding a bike. First and foremost, there are the OTHER motorino drivers. These guys will cut in front of you, drive on the right side of cars, and race from light to light (if they stop!). I’ve been broadsided by a motorino driver who was texting as he rode his bike. We crashed to the ground, the red light we were at changed to green, and everyone behind us starting honking for us to get out of the way! Luckily I survived with only a badly bruised ankle and a slightly dented bike. You really have to be aware of the other motorino drivers and whoever drives the fastest and gets to that “hole” first, has the right of way.

Most motorino drivers DO NOT have a motorcycle license. You can drive a motorino up to 125cc with no motorcycle license required – a valid car driver’s license will suffice. Anything 150cc and up does requires a valid motorcycle license. So many of the folks driving these bikes have never had a motorcycle course, and probably have never even seen a motorcycle drivers’ manual. These are “bikes” in that sense of the word – which is many folks choose not to follow the rules – for cars or motorcycles! That lack of knowledge breeds a unique motorino driver – and many kids at the age of 14 are driving motorino also… You can see why you’re number one concern must be other motorino drivers.

The following YouTube video was posted a couple of years ago by abbracci. It is of a friend who who lives in Rome and filmed himself driving through the city on his scooter. It’s a little little choppy in the beginning, but it will give you a perspective of how folks do drive in Rome. Watch as he gets into traffic and you’ll get a better appreciation for how frightening this can be, If you rent a scooter, this is who you will be driving with.

But there are other worries too…. Taxi drivers, buses, and the assertive Roman drivers can make a trip quite harrowing. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving conservatively as they are certainly not! Lines on the road in Italy as just “reminders,” no one really follows them. A two-lane road in the US can become a 4 or 5 line road very quickly here. A friend described it to me quite accurately. He said when you drive here you react to the people around you –not the lines on the road. If the person to your left moves towards you, then you move to the right… and so does the person on the right of you… And then when a person on right adjusts and moves back toward you, you’ll go to your left. So traffic on a Roman road is not driving straight ahead… it weaves like a snake moving down the road, always changing direction and perspective.

That’s not your only challenge. Often times it’s just knowing where you’re going. Roads here change names often and don’t even think about reading a map while riding. We’ve done the GPS thing on a motorino with hilarious results. Then there are the bus and taxi lanes you cannot drive in… the highways and autostrada a 125 cc cannot drive on… the one-way roads that end abruptly… and don’t get me started on signage in Rome!

Things happen on a motorino very quickly – especially if you’re not familiar with the roads. There are pedestrians in crosswalks, red lights, and potholes. The cobblestone is wonderful to look at … but when you’re driving a motorino, some of these roads will loosen your fillings! And if you hit a pothole – of which there are thousands, brace yourself! When it rains, if you are an inexperienced rider, you do not want to be on a bike in Rome. Then you can’t see the potholes. If you don’t get wet, and you will get wet, you could drive into one of these without warning – OUCH!

So you still want to do drive a motorino. Okay, this is NOT the movie Roman Holiday, and you’ve been warned! I’d suggest you rent in Tuscany or in the countryside as driving there is a TOTALLY different experience than a large city like Rome or Naples. That said, here are some guidelines I’d suggest:

• Ride a motorcycle/scooter/motorino in your hometown before trying it in Italy. If you’re an experienced rider, all the better!
• Make sure your health insurance works over here (I’m NOT kidding!)
• Pick up an IDP (International driver’s permit) before coming over at your local AAA office. It is the law in Italy although I doubt a Scooter rental company will bother with this. You will probably need it if you have an “incidente.” See this post for more info: IDP Questions.
• Before coming, read up on signage in Italy and the driving rules here. SlowTravel Italy has a great section on all the different signage and driving rules.
• Bring your IDP (unless your country has an agreement with Italy) and a valid driver’s license as you will need these to legally ride a motorino.  
• Pick a reputable Scooter rental vendor. There are many and a few are, well… dubious. If the equipment is not first-rate, don’t rent there. If it’s held together by duct tape, don’t rent there!
• Read and fully understand your liability when you rent. Some companies offer “additional” insurance programs. DO KNOW what your responsibilities are BEFORE you sign on the dotted line.
• Take plenty of pictures of the bike BEFORE you leave the rental agency. Make sure they SEE you taking these pictures!
• Make sure the bike has “papers.” Ask the vendor what you will have to show if you are stopped by the police. This is important as you are a tourist and there are many “rolling roadblocks.” Not having proper paperwork is the responsibility of the driver. 
• Helmets are required in Italy so make sure you have those before leaving – Nuff said…
• If you are in-town, head for a side street and get used to the bike before hitting traffic.
• Have a rough idea of where you want to go – at least until you’re used to driving in the city.

That all said you’re ready to GO… And Good Luck!  we;ve had a great deal of enjoyment riding our motorino around Rome. It’s an easy way to see the city, drive through the narrow back streets, and get around. I sure our experiences are similar to motorcycle enthusiats everywhere. But do know that it will be different here in Italy – accept, embrace it, and enjoy it!

I’ll leave you with one last video from YouTube, riding a motorino through the streets of Naples – Be careful!

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!

They’ve been nicknamed Tourist Angels and will be quite visible on specially modified Segways, painted in the deep red colors that represent the city of Rome. They will be wearing yellow jumpers (or raincoats) with “Ask Me” written on the back. The Tourist Angels will speak a variety of languages including English, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, and of course, Italian. Hopefully you will meet one who speaks YOUR language! They will be working seven days a week and will help provide visitors with info on the city’s top sights.

The city’s tourism chief (and deputy mayor) Mauro Cutrufo announced that a 60-strong team of angels on electric chariots is being formed. As of yet, only sixteen chariots are in place to help the millions of visitors who descend upon Rome each year. “They will speed to visitors’ rescue when they look in trouble or simply at a loss where to turn next,” said Cutrufo. They will definitely have some full plates as Rome can be a little confusing! The angels are a mobile version of Rome’s telephone service for tourist information and cultural events; the number to call, which is also printed on the side of each segway, is 060608.

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.

In a recent article published in Il Messaggero, Alessandro Vannini, chairman of the Capitoline tourism, verified that there will be a one year experiment on a few of the most popular, cross-city lines. This experiment will start in late November. Paraphrasing Mr. Vannini, he said, “It’s a method to avoid some of the ticket abuses that exist, but also improve levels of safety and decorum on the buses, which are often frequented by vandals and pickpockets.”

The experiment will start with seven routes that cross the central areas of Rome. These bus lines are #’s 46, 49, 64, 70, 81, 490, and 492. Others may be added later as the scope of the test is enlarged. Tram lines may also be included as the test broadens. These bus lines were selected because these are most populated by tourists (many headed to the Vatican) and by locals coming to downtown Rome.

The “cost” of having a conductor ON the buses will be offset by the expected increase in ticket revenues on these lines… Suffice to say, there is a belief that some folks are not paying! This return to the position of a conductor on the buses evolved from a recent survey taken to create better service, safety, and environments on the buses – and to increase revenues.

So don’t be surprised if you jump on a bus in Rome after November and you’re asked by a uniformed conductor to, “Show me your ticket!”

The buses begin their routes at 5 AM – another plus for us early travelers as the Leonardo Express does not start until 05:52 AM. Currently, there are 33 runs during the day so this service is quite a viable option… and at only €8 a very reasonably priced option.

The buses start from Rome at 05:00 AM and run TO the airport until 21:15. Coming from Fiumicino, the buses start at 07:00 and the last bus departs from the airport at 23:30 (The last Leonardo Express does leave at 23:36).

Where can you purchase SITBus Shuttle Tickets?

Tickets can be purchased at: automatic distribution machines, tobacconist’s shops, coffee bars, newsagents and SITBus Shuttle points at your arrivals gate.

Purchase Sites near Termini Station

Map from www.gogglemaps.com

• Aci TRAVEL Caracciolo – Via Marsala, 14/A (under the gallery) – Located outside termini on the north side of the Station. RED PIN ABOVE
• Tobacco shop Bartolomei, Piazza dei Cinquecento – The piazza out in front of Termini Station. YELLOW PIN ABOVE
• News Termini S.r.l., – A newsstand inside Termini Station near Platform #24. LIGHT BLUE PIN ABOVE
• Tobacco shop Rossi Pietro – Located at the Caracciolo gallery, about 2 blocks north of Termini Station. GREEN PIN ABOVE
• Tobacco shop Pinto, Located in the Shopping Center at Termini Station.
• Grandi Biglietterie, Termini Station, also in front of Track #24. Also, LIGHT BLUE PIN ABOVE

Where can you catch the SITBus in Rome to get to the FCO Airport?

Departing Rome (Termini Station) to FCO – at Via Marsala, 5.

Rome Centre to FCO – at Piazza Cavour, 33.

Where can you catch the SITBus at the FCO Airport?

Outside Terminal C at Fiumicino Airport (FCO)

How often does the SITBus Shuttle Run?

Some of the rules for riding the SITBus Shuttle

You must have your ticket when boarding the bus and you must keep the ticket for the entire duration of the journey and present it every time you’re requested to do so by the company’s inspection, control and verification staff.

You must also validate the tickets (or be done by the ticket sellers) and if the validation machine is NOT working, you must immediately inform the driver or the SIT staff and write the time, day, month and year of use on the ticket. Failure to have a ticket or effectively validate your ticket can result in a fine ranging from 51.00 to 258.00 Euros (Art. 1 of Regional Law dated January 13th 1998 no. 3)

Children less than four years of age, less than one meter in height, and who will not occupy a seat, are free.

Every passenger can bring – Free-of-charge – one suitcase or one piece of hand luggage on the condition that it is not larger than 50 x 30 x 25 cm on any side.

The following baggage is not allowed:
- those exceeding 90 cm, on any one side
- those with sharp corners or edges
- inflammable or fragile materials

For links directly to their site in English, click below:
- SITBus Shuttle – Home
- SITBus Shuttle Reservations

Here’s the text translated (Badly) from their website:

On the night of 10/24 small “army” of engineers and workers will take to the field to change the signs of the terminal, roads, car parks and in all areas open to the public.

The change in signage is designed both to rationalize the existing situation but also to realign the signs to the situation as regards the designation of the Terminal, the big international airports. The new nomenclature of reference for the system of the terminals has been determined:

• Terminal A is renamed Terminal 1 (T1)
• Terminal AA is renamed Terminal 2 (T2)
• Terminals B and C (now merged) are renamed Terminal 3 (T3)
• Terminal subsidiary sensitive flight is confirmed Terminal 5 (T5)
• New name, literal B, C, D, G, H, of the boarding areas.

The Director of Aviation Safety and ADR, Elijah Gun, explained in ‘interview, all details of the project:

“Adapting to major hubs in the world, the airport of the capital take the system for identifying the number of terminals and distinguishes them permanently from the areas of shipment, which will be identified by letters A through H.

The revolution in signaling responds to a twofold, says Chief Aviation Security and Elijah Gun, “The renovation project will streamline the existing situation and bring the designation of areas of interest of passengers, terminals, and the interior of the terminals at what happens in the major international airports, with values similar to those of traffic at Fiumicino.

At the airport of Fiumicino infrastructure deployments have occurred gradually over time, which were identified under a name not consequential or misleading with respect to the actual location. For example, the embarkation areas are characterized by the letter C is located at Terminal namesake, is the Satellite West. This happened because, when it was installed the satellite, it was considered appropriate to continue the consecutive numbering of the outputs to those of the terminal is characterized by the same letter of the alphabet. The new releases of Terminal C, made following the Satellite, it continues the numbering, creating a “jump” difficult to understand logical for passengers. Likewise, the use of double A to identify one of the terminals does not match the names of the gates in it placed, identified with individuals.

Only operators engaged in continuous activity knows that some outputs identified by the letter A are outside the pier of the same name. This was because the airport was expanded, in some cases outside of any program, a process that lasted over the years and previous plans for infrastructure development did not take into account the need to harmonize related signs. “

What are the new features?

“The new signage change the previous setting: in the month of October, Terminal A, AA, B and C, respectively, become 1, 2, 3 (because B and C will be merged), plus the existing T 5 which will keep its current name. This is because the future terminal for flights sensitive, which will be located beyond the current area Ceremonial, to be the Terminal 4, in a perspective that takes into account the infrastructure that will arise in the future.

The same goes for boarding areas, whose letter of designation will identify the physical place and will take into account those provided by the development plan to 2020. The new name corresponds to a logic of long-term and use techniques dictated by international custom, consistent with what the passengers are accustomed to find in other airports in the world. The biggest problem orienting, focus principally on the operators, who will give references logistics dictated from memory and pay great attention, at least initially, to the new nomenclature…”

Why we chose the autumn to implement this project?

“This choice stems from the need to avoid possible errors in interpreting the new signs at the most “hot” year, when we can expect one, though partial, recovery of traffic. In autumn, in the presence of a smaller number of passengers, operators can consolidate the knowledge of the new names and limit the possible margin of error. “

Picture of the New Terminal Numbering System

For a close-up of this map, CLICK HERE!

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!

One of the most confusing aspects of traveling by train in Italy is which ticket to buy. There are probably – on some runs – more than ten different types and classes of tickets to purchase. And how do I get those great low-price tickets that I hear about?  As a traveler, and if you’re from the US – a non-EU citizen – your options are far more limited. In addition, most discounted tickets now are time-bound…. Which means you will save money if you buy in advance. Yet, the challenges of purchasing online through the Trenitalia website with a USA credit card are well-known. So for US travelers, it’s almost a “CATCH-22.” Despite these difficulties, it’s almost ALWAYS less expensive to purchase your tickets through the Trenitalia website (if possible) - or wait until you get to Italy to purchase the tickets….  then it would be to purchase your tickets through a “middle-man” such as RailEurope.

In this post we hope to clarify what some of those ticket options are and give you the best opportunity to get the least expensive tickets that best fit your travel needs. Much of the text – and ALL of the pictures - below are DIRECTLY posted from the Trenitalia website . My goal was to try and put all this info in one place and make it more organized. Trying to research on the Trenitalia site can be quite difficult. We will look at the primary tickets available and then the discounts that are out there. Some you can purchase… others for obvious reasons you cannot.

The Primary Tickets

BASE Fare

This is the ticket “most purchased” by tourists/travelers. It offers no discounts, but does have some flexibility. The BASE fare is the “basic” solution that has no restrictions. The “Flessible” tickets will be more expensive, and any discounted ticket (if available) would be less costly.  This is the ticket which the Flessible and discounted ticket prices are calculated from. On the kiosk screen, this ticket selection is BASE.

If you choose the BASE Fare, for a train with place reservation at the same time, you can make two booking changes for free until the train departs, and once within three hours afterwards. Also, if you decide to change your ticket, you can do so only once until the train departs, and pay a change fee of 20% of the ticket with the maximum of 3 Euros. 

The trains under the Base Fare are the Eurostar Italia Alta Velocità Fast, Eurostar Italia, Eurostar Italia Fast, Eurostar City Italia, Intercity, Intercity Notte (night), Express trains, Couchette, Wagon Lits and Excelsior.

Refund 

• Before the train leaves: refund less 20%
• After departure: until 3 hours after, refund with a deduction fee of 50%. The request may only be made at the place of departure or issue, provided that the place of issue and the place of destination are not the same. 

Flessibile Fare

 With the Flessibile fare (Flexible) you can change train whenever you wish, even at the last minute! You will be paying 20% more than the Standard fare rate (BASE), but you can enjoy the maximum flexibility in the use of your ticket. 

The trains allowed under the Flexi fare are the Eurostar AV, Eurostar AV Fast, Eurostar, Eurostar Fast, Eurostar City Italia, Intercity, Couchettes, Wagon Lits and Excelsior carriages.

Allowances:

• Change reservation - 
  • Before the train leaves: twice free
  • After it has left: once, within 24 hours, with no extra charge 
• Change ticket 
  • Once free until the booked train’s departure 
• Get another train 
  • This is allowed on the same day and until 24 hours after the train you have booked leaves without penalty, but subject to any differences in the rate for the other train 
• Refund 
  • Before the train leaves: refund less 20%
    After it has left, within 24 hours refund less 50% or a voucher for 80% of the fare. The request may only be made at the place of departure or issue, provided that the place of issue and the destination are not the same.
• No replacement vouchers may be issued 

The DISCOUNTED Tickets

There are quite a few discounts available to the traveler. Many do require “advance” purchasing and the difficulties of purchasing online with a USA credit card, as stated above,  are well-documented. Yet if you can find a way to buy online – or purchase in advance if you are staying in Italy for an extended time (more than 7 days!) then you can save some money. There are a myriad (or perhaps “maze” is a better word) of discounts out there. Unfortunately, many you will not qualify for.

The newest promos: Super -60%; Speciale -30%; Promo-15%

In the spring of 2009, Trenitalia started revamping their price structure (and later on their webpage). With the changes in prices, the AMICA ticket, always a favorite with US travelers, was drastically restricted – no more ES or AV trains. Thus, those quick trips to Florence from Rome immediately became more expensive. To replace the AMICA ticket, Trenitalia introduced these “deep-discount” tickets. Here on our webpage there are two postings regarding these Discounts:

 Summer 2009 Trenitalia Promotions

Spring 2009 Trenitalia Specials

 These links can give you more insight into these special prices. These “promos” are good for a limited time, but since April they have been renewed at the end of each “expiration” period. The next expiration date is 9/30/2009 and at the time of this writing, no new promos have been posted. Let’s hope they “renew” these, or better, bring back the AMICA fare on more trains! As per these specials, the Trenitalia site info is as follows: 

Super -60%

 With these new prices, the sooner you buy your ticket, the more you save! If you travel by AV, AV Fast, ES* or ES* Fast trains, you can make the most of the new offers: 

 With the Super -60%, you have 60% off if you buy at least 30 days before departure. You can buy through the Trenitalia site, the Call Center (+39 89 20 21- fee-paying number) or at travel agencies with the ticketless procedure.  Until 30th September, the Super Offer-60% lets you travel with a discount of about 60% in 2nd class only (with the exception of the Milan-Rome section, for which a differentiated discount applies). The offer is valid on the following trains and connections:

AV/AV Fast: from Milan to Rome and to Naples and return.
ES* Fast: from Rome  to Venice Mestre/S.Lucia, Padova, Verona, Genoa , Rimini, Bari, Brindisi, Lecce, Lamezia T., Reggio C., Villa S. Giovanni and return.
 
You cannot add the benefits of the discount to other reductions including the one applied to children. The ticket is personal so, when on board, you will have to show a valid ID document.
The offer has limited place availability, which vary according to day, train and class. 

You must buy separate tickets if you choose a journey that uses different trains. The 5% discount on web, call center and ticketless at travel agency doesn’t apply to o the Super- 60% offer.

Speciale -30% & Promo-15%

 With the Speciale -30%, you save 30% if you buy your ticket at least 15 days before departure.

The Promo solution instead lets you enjoy a discount of 15% when buying tickets at least 7 days before departure.  The Speciale and Promo offers may be bought through all sales channels: 

• on this site,
• through our Call Center (fee number)
• at the ticket desks
• from the approved travel agencies
• at the self-service machines in the main stations.

Amica Fare

 I always used the Amica fare. Now, with the new restrictions, I find myself rarely using this fare. Too bad! If you’re riding an IC train, it’s great. But the fact that Trenitalia dropped this from the ES and AV trains restricts your purchasing power for high-speed, nonstop (read: QUICK!) travel. For travelers, this ticket was wonderful because you could purchase it the day BEFORE you travel and still get 20% off the BASE ticket price. EVERYONE jumped on this ticket when available. Now, with the trains it is allowed on, the AMICA fare is less attractive and less available. But if the IC train works for you, jump on this 20% reduction. As described by Trenitalia:  

 The Amica offer is the economical solution that lets you to choose your journey in advance. It has limited seats, which vary according to day, train and class.  The new “Amica” offer allows you to travel with a 20% reduction off some of the medium to long-distance trains when booking by midnight of the day before departure. The minimum price is, net of the discount, at least 10 euro, subject to the minimum fares on the trains used.

 The offer is valid on ES*City, IC, ICN, Exp, CC, WL. The offer is not valid on: AV, AV Fast, ES*, ES* Fast, Excelsior and  Excelsior E4 and regional trains.

 Booking change 

• Before departure :free once for places available – for the Amica offer, paying the price difference – in the case of lack of places for this offer
  After departure: not allowed 
• Ticket change  Once until train departure paying the price difference and the change fee. 

Access to other trains 

• Allowed on the same day and up until 3 hours after the train’s departure or on first available train of the same or lower category by paying the price difference + 8 euro. On other days, travellers are considered as being without a ticket 

Refunds 

• Before departure: refund with 20% deduction fee
• After departure: not allowed 

Familia 20%

 Another great discount that is often available, and overlooked, is the Family discount. You can really save some money here. On the Trenitalia system, children under 4 do not need a ticket – but they will not get a seat on reserved trains unless you buy them one. With the family ticket, you can get some substantial discounts, on almost ALL classes of tickets. Here’s the Trenitalia explanation:

 Offer for journeys of family groups made up of 3-5 persons of which there is at least 1 adult and 1 child of under 12 includes ticket booking (free) and provides the following discounts:

- 50% for children of up to 12 (30% for couchettes and WL)
- 20% for others 

The minimum price net of the discount is at least 10 euro for each person aged over 12.  The offer has limited seat availability, which varies according to day, train and class.

 Trains allowed AV, AV Fast, ES*, ES* Fast, ES*City, IC, ICN, Exp, CC, WL.

Titolari di Carta Blu (Blue card holders)

 This card is available for physically and mentally handicapped people. You do have to apply for this in advance. Trenitalia explains it as follows:

 Those with physical or mental disabilities or those with right to accompanying persons. The Card is valid for five years and entitles the accompanying person to travel free (a ticket for two is issued). For journeys on the ES*, AV, TBiz, ES* City trains and with WL and couchette service, you must pay for, respectively, a ticket for an ES*, AV, ES* City or Tbiz journey and a service change for IC/ES* or IC/AV or IC/ES* City or IC/Tbiz (for ES* or AV or ES/ City or TBiz trains), or for a ticket for the WL or couchette service and a couchette or WL service change at the full price (for the couchette or WL service).

Conc. speciale III viaggi isolati - or -

Conc. spec. III con accompagnatore

 This is also a pass for the impaired; the visually impaired. There are required forms and paperwork (Mod. 28/C pass) which you will have to get in advance before you can use this ticket on the train. The Trenitalia text states:  

 This concession is reserved for the sight-impaired or blind passengers.  Sight-disabled persons can use a pass form “mod. 28/C” (valid 5 years) and ad hoc applications (mod. 28) for the journeys the companion makes individually.   

Conc. spec. VIII 30% viaggi isolati - or -

Conc. spec. VIII 30% con accompagnatore

 You will see this choice on the webpage and the kiosks but for most travelers this is not an option. It is for Italian citizens who were war and service veterans. The Trenitalia webpage information is as follows:  

 Special concession VIII for war and service invalids
This concession gives specific fare reductions to invalid war- and service veterans (Italian citizens residing in Italy) who have forms called “modello I” (No. 36), “modello I bis” (No. 37) or “modello I ter” (No. 38).   The Special Concession III makes provision that for individual journeys, a reduction of 30% is applied on the ordinary fare to which the service change is added at full price when using IC, ICN, ES*, ES* Fast, ES* City, AV, AV Fast, and Couchette and Wagon Lits services.

If instead the holder of model I (No. 36) or “model I bis” (No. 37) travel with the accompanying person, the concession allows a discount of 30% on the ordinary fare and a ticket issued which is valid for two persons:  The Excelsior and Excelsior E4 carriages are excluded from the reductions.  The conditions for the Basic ticket are applied to tickets issued under this offer.
When on board, as well as the journey ticket, you must show the concession document and a valid identity document of both the holder and the accompanying person.

Diritto Ammissione - or -

Diritto Ammissione personale FS

 You will see also see this choice on the webpage and again, probably NO tourists will qualify for these two deeply discounted tickets. These are tickets available to CLC cardholders and current and former Trenitalia employees (and their children up to the age of 25). On certain runs (regional trains) these tickets are free. On an IC Plus, the rider only pays the €3 seat reservation fee. On AV or Eurostar trains, the price is extremely discounted. The CLC card is no longer ”available” (since 2006) so unless you already have one, or you are somehow connected to the railroad… these fares are unavailable to you. Too bad, as they are GREAT fares!  

Global Pass

To use the “global pass” ticket option you must have an Inter Rail Pass. The Inter Rail 
pass is for 1st or 2nd class that allows unlimited travel on trains of the railway networks and other European transport companies that are part of the Inter Rail community. Young people under 26 are entitled to a special offer in 2nd class only, with great-value prices. 

There are 2 types of Inter Rail Passes:

Inter Rail Global, valid on the trains of all transport companies taking part in the offer. The validity of the Global Pass is from 5 to 10 days, 10 to 22 (Flexible), 22 days, or one month (continuous).

The Inter Rail One Country, which allows travel in only one of the participant countries. The One Country Pass is valid for 3, 4, 6 or 8 days in a month (Flexible).

 Unlimited use is not allowed in the holder’s country of residence; however, discounts and special prices are available to reach the home country’s border frontier. For those using Inter Rail in Italy, to travel by ES*, ES AV, ES* City, IC , EC, Cisalpino and Artesia trains, you must buy the related ticket at the Global Pass fare, including seat reservation.

 The 2nd class Passes are not valid on the Leonardo Express train operating between Roma Termini and Fiumicino airport.

 The Inter Rail ticket is on sale throughout Europe, from the ticket desks and authorised agencies. More information is available on the website: www.interrailnet.com

Carta Verde Rail Pass

 The green card (“Carta Verde”) costs 40 euro and allows young people (aged over 12 and under 26) discounts of 10% off BASE fares (first and second class) on all national trains, including wagon lits and couchettes and up to 25% off when travelling around Europe.

 The cards are valid for one year, are nominative and must be shown together with the reduced-fare ticket during the journey. Please note that it is not possible to buy discounted tickets for a date that is after the Card’s expiry date. In the event of loss, theft and destruction of the Card, by presenting a suitable documentation proof, you can request issuance of a duplicate by paying € 5,00 as cost refund. No refunds are allowed. 

Carta Aregento Rail Plus

 The Silver card (“Carta d’Argento”) costs 30 euro (free for customers of 75 years and over). It can be purchased if you have reached 60 years of age. It allows discounts of 10% off wagon lits and couchettes, 15% off the Base Fares (first and second class) on all national trains, and 25% off international connections. The Excelsior and Excelsior E4 carriages are excluded.

The cards are valid for one year, are nominative and must be shown together with the reduced-fare ticket during the journey. Please note that it is not possible to buy discounted tickets for a date that is after the Card’s expiry date. 

In the event of loss, theft and destruction of the Card, by presenting a suitable documentation proof, you can request issuance of a duplicate by paying € 5,00 as cost refund (to customers who have reached 75 years of age, the duplicate is issued free of charge).

SMART Tickets

Smart tickets are used for international travel to and from Italy. There are two classes of these tickets: SMART 1 and SMART 2. The Smart ticket is an offer which has limited seats and which is subject to special conditions of Sale and use. The Smart offer is made up of the two price levels: once the availability of seats offered at the first price level (the lowest) is used up, you can buy Smart tickets at a higher price in the second price category. The availability of the seats, for both price levels, is however subject to limitations. 

The smart price offer allows a one-way journey to be made at an all-in price on the international routes of the following trains: 

• Elipsos Train “Salvador Dalì”  Milan– Barcelona and return 
•  Cisalpino trains: Italy Switzerland and return 
•  Swiss Night Trains  Italy – Switzerland and return
•  Artesia Trains: Italy – Parris and return i e viceversa
•  Riviera Trains: Italy – Nice and return 
• Germany Day trains and  Germany Night trains: Italy-Munich and return
•  CNL Train Italy – Germany/Holland and return 
• Allegro Trains : Italy – Wien and return
• Eastern Europe Trains: Italy – Slovenia/Croazia/Serbia/Ungheria/Romania and return

Prices include reservation of seat (2nd class only), couchette or bed, and are differentiated depending on the accommodation chosen and requested journey section. The offer cannot be added on to other reductions in price for any reason (including those for children or groups) or to any special offers running on the purchase date.

The Smart tickets may be purchased from: 

• Trenitalia ticket desks 
• Self machines at the stations
• Approved travel agencies; 
• Call Center on 892021 (without area code, from land lines and mobile phones)
• Online from the Trenitalia website.
• You cannot buy these tickets on board the train.

Subject to seats availability, the Smart offer can be purchased:

• Up until 7 days before date of the chosen train’s departure, for these trains: Riviera, Switzerland Night, Allegro, Germany Day, Germany Night and Eastern Europe.
• Up until 14 days before departure date of the chosen train for Elipsos trains.
• Up until 30 days before departure date of the chosen train for the Artesia trains.
• For the Cisalpino trains (Italy – Switzerland), subject to seats availability, you can buy the Smart tickets at the first price level (the lowest) only up until 13 days before the booked train’s departure. The Smart tickets at the second price level (highest) can be bought up until 6 days before the booked train’s departure.
   

  GROUPS

   If you have a large group making a trip on the train, you can purchase a “group” ticket. As of yet, you cannot do this online.

   For groups made up of at least 10 paying persons who travel together, the Ordinary Groups offer entitles holders to a reduction differentiated according to the numbers in the Group.

   For journeys on Espressi (Express), IC, ICN, ES* City, ES*, ES* Fast, AV, AV Fast or in couchette or WL, the following reduction applies: 

  • 10% in first and second class for journeys made from 10 to 49 and more paying persons from Friday to Sunday, and 20% for the other days of the week;
  • 10% in first and second class for journeys made by 50 or more than paying persons on Fridays and Sundays, 30 % for those made on the remaining days.
  • For journeys of groups made on the Regional services, the 10% reduction applies irrespective of the journey day. Place booking is optional and can be requested at the price of 1.55 EU.  On some regional trains, groups are not admitted or they are admitted but only for limited sections.
  • At Regional/Provincial levels, the offer can be subject to updates, modifications or exemptions.

   

  You can book tickets for groups at all the station ticket desks, the Groups Centres and Trenitalia’s authorised travel agencies (It is NOT possible to purchase them on this site).
  At the reduced prices for groups the reductions apply for youngsters from 4 to 12 years.
  The discount for groups can be cancelled or limited for certain medium- and long-distance trains in the busy periods.

   Payment on account:
  In addition to reserving places by paying immediately, you can also book by paying a deposit of 5 EU for each group member and settle the remainder within five days before departure. If the balance is not paid, the places will be made available again and the group will not be entitled to a refund of its deposit. Before the final payment (until midnight of the fifth day before departure), you can change the departure date and number of travelling participants (in the case of increase, you must pay other 5 EU for each member added, in the case of decrease of the participants, you will not have the right to refunds of the unused places).

   Booking and ticket changes
  You can request the change of timetable or departure date free of charge:
  - twice before the booked train’s departure at any ticket desk, groups centre or travel agency
  - only once after the train’s departure and until three hours afterwards, only at the ticket desk and groups centre in the departure station of the train indicated on the ticket.

  The tickets for Regional trains do not allow for booking changes.
  Until five days before departure, you can also obtain a ticket change to alter the category of train, class, route, and number of participants by paying any price difference owed and the change fee of 20% of the ticket, for a maximum of 1.55 euro.

  Rules regarding refunds
  In the event of journey cancellation, you can apply (only until at five days before departure),
  the total or partial ticket refunds (use by fewer persons or for only a part of the route), which are given with a deduction charge of 20%. For journeys with Regional trains, you can apply for a refund within two months from the ticket issuance if it has not been validated.

  To obtain a estimate you can go to the Trenitalia Group Centres.

   

   Travelcards

   Travelcards are widely available throughout Italy. If you think what you’ve read so far is confusing… wait till we try and define travelcards! We’re going to do that in another post as that will be a LONG – and to most folks – unnecessary post. Travelcards are primarily for travelers who will do a great deal of train travel for an extended period of time. In an upcoming post, we will discuss travelcards – which could be an option for you. We’re going to limit this post to “point-to-point” ticketing.

    

  

  Buy Online

  If you can get your credit cards to work (challenging from the USA), then you can save 5% by buying online.  From the Trenitalia website:

  Buying tickets and Travelcards online to travel on AV, AV Fast, ES*, ES* Fast and ES* City is cheaper! 
  The  price of the high-band tickets is reduced by 5%* for tickets bought on-line, the Call Center (fee pay number) or at from travel agencies with the ticketless procedure.
  With the highly safe e-shopping Sanpaolo system, your privacy and safety on the online purchases is ensured. It is possible to use credit cards and pre-paid cards as well.

  PLEASE NOTE:  * The Round trip offer , the Premium-15%, the Special-30% and the Super -60% can’t be added to the 5% discount.

    

  Ticket validity

   Lastly, there is often confusion about how long is a ticket good for… whether you buy it in advance (regionale ticket) or you stamped it (validated) in one of those yellow machines. Here is the Trenitalia explanation for those questions:

   You can use the regional tickets, except those bought on-line, within two months of purchase (e.g.: a ticket bought on 23 March expires on 22 May) whereas the distance-validity tickets do not have any time limit.

   You must always stamp the regional tickets before boarding. After stamping, and except for special cases, the tickets for journeys within the region have the following validity:

  • 6 hours for distances up to 200 km;
  • 24 hours for longer journeys;

   For journeys made on Regional Trains that cross more than one region, tickets are instead valid for 6 hours from the time of stamping.

   Regional tickets bought on this site and printed from one’s own computer are valid for 4 hours from validation.

   Tickets bought with place reservation at the same time (ES*, IC Plus, WL, couchettes etc.) are instead valid for the day and train booked on. Booking changes are allowed according to the formalities of the type of ticket.

    

  SUMMARY

   I hope this explains many of the options you see when you “select” the type of fare you want to buy. If you’re purchasing in advance, the current “promo tickets (Super -60%; Speciale -30%; Promo-15%) are perhaps the best buy. If you cannot book online, and you’re riding an IC or IC Plus train, the AMICA is still a great deal. The most overlooked option is the Family Pass which can really save some money. For most folks, you’ll be purchasing the BASE ticket – which in Italy is a great bargain. Good luck in your train travels!

If you’re looking for a book to read or that “just right” guidebook you will find plenty of bookstores in Rome that only sell English language books. Many of the Italian bookstores also have a smaller English section. Do know that English books ARE expensive here in Rome. At these stores, you can also buy local publications in English or English language newspapers and magazines. Listed below are a few of the many bookstores in Rome that may have English language materials.

Almost Corner Bookshop
This bookstore is located in Trastevere. It has a variety of literature and guidebooks. Formerly known as The Corner Bookstore, this shop moved to a larger and better lit location. The owner Dermot O’Connell has created an intimate, cozy location. The store has best sellers and also great classics. There are also biographies, history books, novels – all in English.
Open daily from 10:00-13:30 and 15:30-20:00.
Via del Moro, 45
Tel: 06 583 6942 (Trastevere)

Anglo American Bookshop
This bookstore is located near the Spanish steps. It has a great many novels, books on art and architecture, and also academic books detailing the history and culture of Rome. It is an established bookstore with more than 45,000 books and has been in business in Rome for more than 25 years. A separate address down the street specializes in books on science and technology
Via delle Vite,102
Tel. 06 679 522 Fax: 06 6783890 (Spanish Steps)
Scientific/Technical Section at Via delle Vite, 27
Tel: 06. 678 9657 Closed Monday morning and Sunday
http://www.aab.it/

Arion Bookstore
This bookstore is a location where you can sit and enjoy wonderful books, while sipping a drink or cappuccino in an incredible environment. Hotel Majestic houses the Arion bookstore, one of Rome’s largest. There are readings by prominent Italian authors in the ballroom, and the bookstore holds autograph sessions and other promotions in the hotel.
Open Mon-Thu from 10am to midnight, Fri-Sat from 10am to 1am, Sun from 11am to 9pm.
Via Veneto, 42
Tel: 06 679 5222

Bibli
Bilbi is a spacious Italian bookstore where concerts, lectures, readings and panel discussions are often held. There is also Internet access, a tearoom, a courtyard dining area, and a baked goods counter. Most of the books are in Italian, but there are some English titles.
Via dei Fienaroli, 28 (Trastevere)
Tel: 06 5814534 / 06 588 4097
http://www.bibli.it/

Bookàbar Bookshop
A large bookshop located at the corner of Via Nazionale and Via Milano in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, the largest exhibition area in central Rome. The Palazzo also includes a cinema, an auditorium, and a Forum. The bookshop has a café, books, CD’s, and DVD’s. English titles are available.
Mon – Closed
Tue-Wed 10.00-20.00
Fri-Sat 10.00-22.30
Sun 10.00-20.00
Via Milano 15/17
Tel: 06 48913361
http://english.palazzoesposizioni.it/canale.asp?id=14

Borri Bookstore
The Borri is a huge bookstore located inside the Termini Train Station. On the third floor (top floor) there is a very large selection of titles in English. Open from 07:30-23:00 all week.
Termini Station
Tel: 06 482 8422
http://www.grandistazioni.it/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=5f7eb63813afb110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

Daseia
This music and bookstore has a variety of sheet music and books from international publishers. The shop features small music concerts and book presentation. There is free internet access and wine, coffee and snacks are also available.
Via di San Francesco a Ripa 60, Trastevere
Tel: 06 454 22111
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rome-Italy/Daseia-Music-Bookshop-Cafe/31794135047

la Feltrinelli
The Feltrinelli’s are the Italian version of Barnes and Noble. Their stores are everywhere in Rome. Most of the stores have an extensive selection of books, CD’s, DVD’s, video games, video gaming units, etc Many have a café (such as Largo Argentina). There is often a small selection of English and Spanish titles, including a comprehensive collection of Rome guide books and maps in most of la Feltrinelli bookstores.
http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/fcom/it/home.html

• la Feltrinelli at Fiumicino
  - Arrivals Terminal
  - Satellite Terminal
  - Departures Terminal
  - Terminal A
• la Feltrinelli Libri e Musica
  Viale Guglielmo Marconi 190 – 00146 Roma RM
• la Feltrinelli Libri e Musica
  Viale Libia 186 – 00199 Roma RM
• la Feltrinelli Libri e Musica
  A selection of English language books available in store along with a wide choice of music, DVDs and stationary. Open Mon-Fri 10:00-20:00, Sat 10:00-21:00 and Sun 10:00-13:30 and 16:00-20:00.
  Viale Giulio Cesare 88,
  Tel: 06 377 2411 Fax: 06 375 14023
• la Feltrinelli Libri e Musica
  Piazza Colonna, 31/35 – 00187 Roma RM
• la Feltrinelli Libri e Musica
  Via Appia Nuova 427 – 00181 Roma RM
• la Feltrinelli Librerie
  A selection of English-language books available. Open Monday from 14:00-19.30 and Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-19:30.
  Via del Babuino 39/40
  Tel: 06 360 01842 Fax: 06 360 01929
• la Feltrinelli International
  Feltrinelli opened a large international section in its flagship Piazza Exedra shop in 1996, offering a wide selection of English-language books on a variety of topics: literature, art, health, self help, gardening, religion. Books in English, Spanish, French and German. They also carry dictionaries and reference books for many languages.
  Via V.E. Orlando, 84/86 (Piazza Exedra near Piazza della Republica)
  Tel: 06 482 7878 Fax: 06 4827878
• la Feltrinelli Libri e Musica
  Largo Torre Argentina, 11 – 00186 Roma RM
• la Feltrinelli Librerie
  via V.E. Orlando, 78/81 – 00185 Roma RM

Herder Buchhandlung
Herder Buchhandlung is a historic German bookshop specializing in theological and philosophical works. You will also find a small selection of books in English and some children’s books.
Piazza di Montecitorio, 117
Tel: 06 679 46 28
http://www.herder.it/

Il Mare – International bookshop
This bookstore specializes in nautical maps and accessories. It has books and also CD/DVDs, video games, and software. Open Monday to Saturday from 09:30-19.30, closed Sunday.
Via di Ripetta, 239
Tel: 06 3612155 / 06 3612091
http://www.ilmare.com/

Libreria del Cinema
This bookstore features items dedicated to film. It sells books and DVDs, mostly in Italian. There are a few English titles. Here you can issues of Variety and other English-language film-industry publications..
Via dei Fienaroli, 31/d (Trastsevere)
Tel. 06.581 7724
http://www.libreriadelcinema.roma.it/

Libreria del Viaggiatore
This small, packed, bookstore is filled with maps and travel books, many of them available in English. If you’re looking for guidebooks on Rome, or the latest books on travel, this is a great placed to start. There are also rare volumes, coffee tables books, and vintage editions.
Open Monday from 16:00-20:00 and Tueday to Saturday from 10:00-14:00 and 16:00-20:00.
Via del Pellegrino, 78
Tel. 06.68801048 (near Campo de’ Fiori)

Libreria Godel
This shop features rare editions and out of print books. It also had calendars, postcards, posters, dictionaries, tourist guides and souvenirs. Open daily from 09:00-20:00.
Via Poli, 46
06 6798716 Fax: 06 6790331
http://www.libreriagodel.it/ita/home-eng.asp

Libreria Internazionale Gremese
The Liberia Gremese is an international publisher of high quality reference books, illustrated manuals and travel guides. They offer a wide variety of books on cinema, fashion, sports, art, and photography.
Via Cola di Rienzo, 136
Tel: 06 3235367 Fax: 06 3235374

Libreria Internazionale San Paolo
This bookstore, located near St. Peter’s, specializes in theology. Here you will find a huge selection of books in English, French and Spanish. Open daily from 09:00-13:00 and from 15:15-19:15, closed on Saturday afternoon.
Via Conciliazione, 16-20
Tel: 06 6864872 Fax: 06 68807651

Libreria Mondadori
This large store has a section containing English-language books. There is also an audio-video department. The store also sells greeting cards, gadgets, and toys. Open Monday to Saturday from 09:30-20:00.
Piazza Cola di Rienzo, 81
Tel: 06 3220188
http://www.negozimondadori.it/

The Lion Bookshop & Cafe
The Lion is the oldest English bookstore in Rome, dating back to 1947. There are more than 30,000 English titles in stock. There are sections on literature, art, cuisine and photography, and books on Rome and Italy. There is a small café with tea, coffee, and pastries. An excellent children’s section is available. The bookstore is conveniently located halfway between the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo.
Via dei Greci, 33/36 (near Piazza del Popolo)
Tel. 06.32654007 – 06.32650437
Fax. 06.32651382
http://www.thelionbookshop.com/script/index.php?l=uk&AffNo=0

Mel Bookstore
Here you will find English books, CDs and DVDs. There is a small coffee shop on the upper level. Open Monday to Saturday from 09:00-19:30 and Sunday from 10:00- 13:30 and 16:00-20:00.
Via Nazionale, 254-255
Tel: 06 4885405 Fax: 06 4885433
http://www.melbookstore.it/

Mel Giannino Stoppani – Children’s Bookstore
Probably the best children’s book store in Rome. There is a small collection of books in English.
Piazza Apostoli, 59/65, Rome

Messaggerie Musicali
This store has one of the biggest selections of CDs, DVDs, video games and books in Rome. If you’re looking for a foreign language magazines and newspapers, this is the place to start.
Via Del Corso, 472
Tel: 06 684 401

Open Door Bookshop
This book shop has been operating in Rome for more than twenty years. Most of the books are art related books in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish. They buy and sell books here.
Via della Lungaretta, 25
Tel: 06 5896478 Fax: 06 5896478
http://www.books-in-italy.com/;

Ricordi Mediastores
A huge selection of CDs, DVDs, video games and books right on the Corso. Open Monday-Saturday 09:30-20:00 and Sunday from 10:00-13:00/15:00-20:00.
Via del Corso, 506
Tel: 06 361 2370 Fax: 06 321 6860

Santa Susanna Library
This library is run by volunteers from Rome’s English-language Catholic Church. The library has more than 20,000 English titles. There is a good selection of current novels, books about Rome and Italy, and a children’s section. You can purchase a “Single membership” for €35 per year. You also pay a €25 returnable deposit. You are allowed to borrow up to five books for a period of two weeks, which can be renewed for an additional two weeks by telephone.
Open Tues and Thurs 10 am – 1 pm, Wed 3 – 6 pm Fri. 1-4 pm, Sun 10 am – 12:30 pm.
Via Venti Settembre, 15
Tel: 06. 482 7510 (near Piazza della Repubblica)

Touring Club Italiano
Store creates driving maps and guides. A great place to stop at before you take a trip through Italy/Europe.
Monday-Saturday 9:30 am-6:30 pm.
Via del Babuino, 20
Tel: 06-3600-5281
http://www.touringclub.it

Rome is blessed with a wide variety of places to shop… and you cannot enjoy Rome – or any city in Italy – without visiting a local market. Fortunately, in Rome there is an abundance of “local” markets. Markets in Rome sell foods, collectables, flowers, antiques… you name it you can probably find it here in a Roman market!

Detailed below is a list of markets all through town. There are MANY more markets than these listed below. In addition, there are also the vendors who just set up on the street corners. You can walk around many corners in Rome and find a neighborhood market. In the list below I hope to give a starting point. Good luck!

Monday – Saturday

Campo de’ Fiori
Piazza Campo de’ Fiori.
Bus 44, 46. 62. 64, 70, 81, 90, 90b, 492. 46, 62, 64, 90, 70, 186
7.00 AM- 1.30 PM
Rome’s most picturesque market is also its most historical. Its name, Campo de’ Fiori, which translates as field of flowers, sometimes misleads people into expecting a flower market. In fact the name is said to derive from Campus Florae (Flora’s square) – Flora being the lover of the great Roman general Pompey. A market has actually been held in this now rather shabby, but still beautiful, piazza for many centuries. Every morning, except Sunday, the piazza is transformed by an array of stalls selling colourful fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. One or two stalls specialize in pulses, rice, dried fruit and nuts and there are also flower stalls situated near the fountain.

Piazza San Cosimato – Trastevere
Piazza San Cosimato.
Buses: 13, 44, 75, 710, 718, 719, 280.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM
A traditional open-air, high quality, food market with stalls for flowers and household items.

Testaccio
Piazza di Testaccio
Buses: 13, 23, 57, 95, 716.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM
Rich and lively market, in a working class area sells mostly food. Mercato di Testaccio contains greengrocers and butchers, fishmongers and sellers of cheese and dairy products, housed in a more permanent structure.

Via Magnagrecia – S. Giovanni
Via Magnagrecia
Buses: 4, 87.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM
Covered, predominantly food market.

Via Sannio – S. Giovanni
Via Sannio. Metro A – S. Giovanni.
Buses: 118, 87, 16, 15, 81, 13.
8.00 AM- 1.00 PM, Sat until 6.00 PM.
Situated under the Aurelian walls, it is very similar to the Porta Portese market but much smaller. Mostly sells used and new clothing as well as camping goods. The centre of the market is covered, with stands on the surrounding streets. It sells mainly clothes and accessories.

Mercato dell’Unita – Prati
Via Cola di Rienzo.
Buses: 70, 81, 186, 280, 913.
7.00 AM- 8.00 PM
Covered food market, extremely interesting architecturally.

Ponte Milvio – Farnesina
Piazzale Ponte Milvio.
Buses: 911, 446, 201, 301, 168, 232, 220.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM
Predominantly food, well stocked and well known for its fish.

Via Chiana – Trieste
Via Chiana
Buses: 57, 168, 319, 38, 58.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM
Covered market, predominantly food and of good quality.

Piazza Alessandria – Trieste
Piazza Alessandria.
Buses: 36, 37, 60, 61, 62, 136, 137, 490, 495.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM.
Food market housed in a liberty-style construction

Via di Val Melaina – Nuovo Salario
Via de Val Melaina
Buses: 38, 137.
6.00 AM- 1.30 PM
High-quality food market, among the most economical in Rome.

Mercato Andrea Doria (Also known as Trionfale) – Vatican-Prati
Via Andrea Doria.
Metro: Ottaviano. Bus 23, 70, 490, 907, 913, 990, 991, 994, 999.
7.00 AM- 1.30 PM
This market used to stretch the whole length of this wide avenue. Now it has been reorganized into a new building! Apart from the magnificent displays of fruit and vegetables, it has numerous stalls selling meat, poultry, fish and groceries, as well as an interesting clothes and shoe section. Situated northwest of the Vatican Museums, it is a little off the normal beaten track and has remained very much a Roman market that caters for the needs of the large local population. It is one of Rome’s best stocked and cheapest food markets.

Mercato delle Stampe
Largo della Fontanella di Borghese.
8.00 AM to 7.00 PM
This market is a veritable haven for lovers of old prints, books (both genuine antiquarian and less-exalted second-hand), magazines and other printed ephemera. The quality varies, but it is a good deal more specialized than the banche or stalls near Termini station which area more obvious tourist trap. Italian-speaking collectors can enjoy a field day leafing through back issues of specialist magazines. Other visitors might prefer the wonderful selection of illustrated art books and old prints of Rome. It is a good place to pick up that Piranesi print of your favorite Roman vista, ruin or church – but be prepared to bargain hard.

Mercato di Piazza Vittorio – Esquilino
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.
Metro: Vittorio Emanuele. Tram 14, Bus 70, 71, 105, 516, 517, 11, 14
7.00 AM- 2.00 PM
Bustling Piazza Vittorio was, until recently, perhaps the most Roman of the city’s larger markets. Organized as a cramped corridor of stalls around a central garden, it is the place where bargain-hunting popolari, Rome’s bustling shoppers, buy their food. Stallholders offer cheap prices if you buy by the kilo. Lately it has become more international and now features African and Asian food stalls. Some stalls have moved to the new site in Via Gioiitu; it is also one of the cheapest and best stocked food market around with excellent fish and regional cheeses.

Fiera del Linro (Book Show)
Via delle Terme di Diocleziano
9.00 AM to 7.00 PM

Tuesdays

Mercato dei Fiori
ViaTrionfale.
Metro Ottaviano. Bus 23, 70.
10.30 AM to 1.30 PM
Essentially a trade market, the Flower Market, just north of Via Andrea Doria, is open to the public only on Tuesdays. Housed in a covered hall, it has two floors brimming over with cut flowers – upstairs and all kinds of pot plants on the lower floor. Anyone who has an interest in flowers will enjoy this wonderful array of Mediterranean blooms, which are on sale at giveaway prices.

Fridays

Mercato Villaggio Olimpico – Flaminio
Viale della XVII Olimpiade.
Buses: 910, 225.
08.00 AM to 1.30 PM
Stalls laden with food, household items, straw goods, jewellery, clothing; captures the flavor of a roving country market, excellent prices included.

Saturdays

Via Tirso and Via Metauro Market
Via Tirso 14-Via Metauro 21
Open Saturdays and Sundays; Closed on the fourth Sunday of the month
10.00 AM to 8.00 PM
Interesting antiques and jewellery
Phone: 06-855-27-73

Lungotevere Capoprati
Ponte Milvio
Afternoons from 15:00
Charming antiques market along the banks of the Tiber: antique furniture, collectors’ items.

Sundays

Eco-Solidale
Comunità di S. Egidio, Via del Porto Fluviale, 2
Metro: Piramide ‘B’ line, FS Ostiense
6.00 AM to sunset
Solidarity and antique trade at the “eco-solidale market”, organized by the the S. Egidio community – Charity sale of toys and bric-a-brac.
Tel. 06/8992234

Palatenda – Il Circo del Mercanti
Between Ponte delle Valli (Via delle Valli) and Via Conca d’oro
Metro: Tiburtina ‘B’ line, change for FS Nomentana
9.00 AM to sunset
Some 40 stalls of crafts, clothing and collectables
Info 339/1305115

Centro Sportivo
Via Angelo Battelli
All day
Open-air antique market, books, collectors’ items

Via Tirso and Via Metauro Market
Via Tirso 14 &Via Metauro 21
Open Saturdays and Sundays; Closed on the fourth Sunday of the month
10.00 AM to 8.00 PM
Interesting antiques and jewellery
Phone: 06-855-27-73

Via Francesco Crispi
All day from 10:30 (Closed during Summer)
Antiques and collectors’ items.

Piazza della Marina (also known as the Garage Sale at Borghetto Flaminio)
Piazza della Marina, 32
10.00 AM to 8.00 PM
A wide selection of various articles from clothing to small antiques, books, and handmade articles. Some high-end designer clothing.

Porta Portese
Off Viale Trastevere
5.00 AM to 2.00 PM
This is the largest market in Rome. Stallholders come from as far away as Naples and set up shop in the early hours of the morning – if you are strolling in that direction after a late night in Trastevere, it’s well worth pausing just to watch them. Anything and everything seems to be for sale, piled high on stalls gin carefully arranged disorder – clothes, shoes, bags, luggage, camping equipment, linen, towels, pans, kitchen utensils, plants, pets, spare parts, cassettes and CD’S, old LPs and 78s.Furniture stalls tend to be concentrated around Piazza Ippotito Nievo along with what they call “antiques”, though you may have to sort through an awful lot of junk before finding a real one. And then you will have to bargain for it. A lot of people go just for the fun of it and always end up buying something. A must if you have a Sunday morning to spare. For more info, see our separate post on Porta Portese  

Porta Portese 2
Viale Palmiro Togliatti and Via Predestina
Metro: Anagnina ‘A’ line
6.00 AM to 2.00 PM
Rome’s biggest market moves northwards, to the Prenestina area on the Viale Palmiro Togliatti, with 100s of stalls offering new and used items of all kinds.

Pulp Fashion
Via Monte Testaccio, 66
Metro: Piramide ‘B’ line
All day
Vintage clothing, tie-dyed hippy shirts, music and street gear.
Tel. 33975539923

Paradise at Hotel Parco dei Principi – Atelier Ritz
Via G. Frescobaldi, 5, in the elegant halls of Hotel Parco dei Principi
10.00 AM to 7.30 PM
This market aims primarily at women’s clothing and accessories.

Micca Market
Via Pietro Micca 7/a – In the Micca Club, a short way away from Porta Maggiore
Many funny and bizarre objects “Carnaby Street style” and the opportunity to listen to live music and to taste a “Milanese aperitif”
Tel. 06/87440079

Special Markets

Anticaglie a Villa Glori
Viale Maresciallo Pilsudski
Saturdays & Sundays
9.00 AM to 8.00 PM
Antique porcelain vases, paintings, furniture

Piazza Augusto Imperatore
Piazza Augusto Imperatore
First and third Sunday of the month
Just a short walk from the Piazza del Popolo or the Spanish Steps with 70 stalls of antiques, collectables and bric-a-brac.
Tel. 0636005345

Ponte Milvio
Ponte Milvio (Milvian Bridge)
Metro: Flaminio ‘A’ line, then No. 2 tram to Piazza Mancini
First Sunday of the month
On the River Tiber, large antiques, crafts and collectables fair.
Tel. 069077312 / 069042459

Mercantino dei Partigiani
Piazza dei Partigiani
First Sunday of the month, except August
This small flea market is held in the basement of a garage and sells furniture and objects from 1940s and 1950s. Sometimes you even see middle class housewives from smart districts selling family items. The prices are really low, a style Italians refer to as modernariato

La Soffitta in Garage
Underground car park off piazza dei Partigiani, Ostiense Station (Park-Si).
First Sunday of the month
10.00 AM to 7.00 PM
Show-market, trades, collection exchanges and antiques.

Piazza Mazzini
Piazza Mazzini
Metro: Lepanto ‘A’ line
Second Sunday of the month
Over 100 stalls of antiques, collectables and crafts,
Tel. 069044263 / 3389657690

MONTEROTONDO
Just outside of Rome
Second Sunday of the month
This market is called the “the island of treasure” antique market.
Tel. 06 906 74215

Underground
Via Crispi, 96
Second Saturday and Sunday of the month.
This is a relatively new flea market that is held in a huge 4-floor garage between Piazza del Popolo and Via Veneto. There’s a bit of everything here, including a certain Mario Ambrosini, a screenwriter who worked with Fellini, who sells the miniature gifts you find in Kinder chocolate eggs to collectors and members of the Kindermania club. Prices vary and are often on the high side – All year except July, August, September.
10.30 AM to 7.30 PM

Villa Glori
Viale Maresciallo Pilsudsky
Metro: Flaminio ‘A’ line, change for train to FS Piazza Euclide.
Second Sunday of the month
9.00 AM to 8.00 PM
100+ stalls of furniture, collectables, crafts, artisan artefacts, and clothing in the upmarket Parioli area.

Valnerina (Villa Chigi markrt)
Via Valneria
Second Sunday of each month
7.30 AM till Sunset
Antique books and magazines

ALBANO LAZIALE
Castelli Romani Park
Second Sunday of the month.
Antiquary and handmade products

Giardino d’inverno
Via Panama, 25
Second and fourth Sundays of each month
10.00 AM to 7.00 PM
A little bit of everything

Mercato Antiquaria dell’ E.U.R.
Piazzale Luigi Sturzo
Metro: EUR Magliana or Palassport, ‘B’ line
Third Sunday of the month
90 stalls of furniture, collectables and bric-a-brac in the Fascist-era EUR suburb of southern Rome.
Tel. 065915750

Hotel Hilton
Roma Hotel Hilton, Via Cadlolo 101
Metro: Cipro, ‘A’ line, then bus (907,913, 991, 999) or walk to Via delle Medaglie d’oro)
Third Sunday of the month,
Stalls of collectables and bric-a-brac.
Tel. 0636307220

Prati Market
Via Lepanto
Metro: Lepanto ‘A’ line
Third Sunday of each month
9.00 AM to 8.00 PM
This market exhibits and sells an array of handicrafts, antiques, and hobby articles.

Curiosita’ in Terrazza Peroni
Via Mantova, 24 – Fourth floor of the car park
Third Sunday of the month,
10.00 AM to 9.00 PM
This is located in the underground parking garage of the former Peroni brewery.

Hotel Palatino
Via Cavour
Third Saturday of the month and the fourth Saturday in May
Comic books

Mostra Antiquaria di Villa Lazzaroni
Via Appia, 520
Third Sunday of the month
Antiques

Piazza Verdi
Piazza Verdi
Metro: Policlinico ‘B’ line then #3 or 19 tram to Piazza Ungheria – North-east of Villa Borghese
Fourth/last Sunday of the month
130+ stalls in the heart of the sophisticated Parioli district. Antiques and modern antiques: furniture, miscellaneous items, documents, coins and stamps.
Tel. 068552773

Antiquari in Testacio
Piazza S. Maria Liberatrice
Fourth Sunday of the month
9.00 AM to 8.00 PM

Galleria delle Stimmate
Largo delle Stimante, 1
Fourth Sunday of the month
10.00 AM to 7.30 PM
Mostly household goods and some jewelry. Also has excellent buys on antique lace, serving dishes, and old cutlery.

Market of Piazzale Ankara
Flaminio neighborhood
Fourth Sunday of the month
8.00 AM till sunset
Antiques, paintings, furniture, books
Tel. 339/7484573

Curiosit d’altri tempi (Curiosities from other times)
Viale Kant
Fourth Sunday of the month
8.00 AM till sunset
Antiques

Fashion al Tiberio
Grand hotel Tiberio -Via Lattanzio 51
Second-hand market. About 50 stalls with accessories like silk foulards, pashminas, pochettes, earrings and even shoes. And then clothes (also by famous stylists like Giorgio Armani, Dolce e Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli), and handicrafts like embroidered bags and costume jewellery.
Info 338/8645063.

 Market information was pulled from these links… Go to these for more great info! 

• Rome Guide
• Roman Rental – Markets in Rome
• Rome – Anglo-info – Markets
• TRF – Cotober 2008 – Rome Markets

• Colosseo (2)
• Venezia
• Chiesa Nuova
• San Pietro
• Risorgimento
• Ottaviano (2)

This will certainly be a welcome addition to those of us who live near the Vatican, or have to go up Via Cassia. Here are a few of the lines you can currently use your ATAC Metro/Bus tickets on.

Metro Line B

Metro Line B was the FIRST metro line in Rome – and sometimes it shows its age. The B line connects the northeast side of the city with the southwest side of Rome. The B line currently has twenty-two stations, running from Rebibbia station on the northeast side of town to Laurentine station, which is just past the EUR. Metro Line B started way back in the 1930’s (sometimes I feel like it stayed there!). The Fascist party wanted to find a way to male rapid connections between Termini and the new district being created for the World Expo, scheduled to be held in Rome in 1942. With the coming of WWII, the Expo never happened and this section of the city was later renamed EUR. After the war, work on the Line B started again in 1948. It was completed and began service in February 1955. The section of the B Line that runs from Termini to Rebibbia was completed in 1990.

Metro Line B carries more than 300,000 passengers a day (sometimes I feel like they are all on MY train). The B line stations open at 5:30 AM and on weekends will stay open till 12:30 AM. These times are quite subjective, so be flexible, especially late at night, if you plan to ride the metro. The trains on the Metro Line B are not air-conditioned and are often “expressively” painted. It’s the older line and it shows.

Colorful Train arriving in a Metro B station

Metro Line B train getting ready to depart

Probably the most famour Metro Line B stop - the Colosseo. Great place to ride to at night to get shots of the Colosseo when it is lit

Metro Line A

Metro Line A connects the northwest part of the city with the southeast side. As of today, it has twenty-seven stations. The line connects stations Battistini on the northwest to Anagnina station on the southeast side of Rome. After much “discussion” this line was approved for construction in 1959. Metro Line A was laid out to run perpendicular to the first line, now called Metro Line B. They actually cross each other to form a somewhat disjointed “X”.

Work did not start on the A line until 1964 and the construction had tough sledding. Internally there was poor organization. Moreover, the original method of construction (cut and cover) caused numerous problems for residents and drivers. Roads were closed or narrowed and the traffic chaos was impossible – even by Rome Standards! So work was suspended for FIVE YEARS. When they re-started the construction they used the “bored tunnel” method, and although this solved many of the traffic claims, it did create many complaints. Seems the boring machine vibrations were causing structural damage to many buildings. It was quite challenging to build the A line. In addition, work was often halted when archaeological finds were made. Finally, the A line began operation in February 1980. In the late 1990’s, more stops were added (Ottaviano to Battistini ).

Metro Line A opens at 5:30 AM – okay, it’s supposed to open at 5:30 AM. It is scheduled to close on weekdays about 11:30 PM and on Saturday will close later, perhaps 12:30 AM. Again, these opening and closing times seem to be subjective … as I’ve been turned away in the winter at 10:30 PM? The Metro Line A is far more comfortable than the Metro Line B. The cars have air conditioning. They are cleaner and you can walk through the “interconnected” cars on the Metro Line A. It’s projected that almost 500,000 people ride the Metro Line A daily.

Metro Line A trains are like a long, "hollow" snake and you can easily walk from car to car.

Roma- Lido Line

The Roma-Lido line is probably most popular with beach goers in the summer. This line runs from the Roma Porta San Paolo station – “connected” to the Pyramide Metro Line B station – all the way to the seaside town of Ostia, stopping at station Cristoforo Colombo. For the initial part of this line, it runs parallel to the Metro Line B. We often travel the Roma- Lido Line when we head to the beach or to Ostia Antica. This above ground train line was completed in 1924. It started as a steam locomotion railway system. It has recently been modernized. Most cars are not air conditioned, but it’s usually pretty clean. The train runs from about 5:30 AM until about 11:30 PM. There are thirteen stops on the train and if you headed all the way to the beach, to the last stop (Cristoforo Colombo), plan on the trip taking right at forty minutes.

The easiest way to get to the train is to hop on the Metro Line B and head directly to Piramide. From the Roma Termini station, it is only 4 stops on the Metro Line B as you head in the direction of Laurentine.

Roma-Viterbo Line

The Roma-Viterbo Line is often called the Roma-Nord line. The starting point for this station is at the Piazza Flaminia Metro A line station. The Roma-Viterbo Line is operated in two modes. First, as an urban service from Piazza Flaminia to Montebello. This section of the railway operates much like a metro line, running about every 10-15 minutes. Once you get to Montebello, it changes to the suburban line which operates FAR LESS frequently. To use this route to go to Viterbo from Piazza Flaminia will take about two and a half hours.

The urban section of the system, Piazza Flaminia to Montebello , starts at 05:45am and ends at 10:54pm, except for Sundays and public holidays. It takes about 20 minutes to make this run.

On the suburban run, from Montebello to Viterbo , the service starts at 05:45am and ends at 11:06pm, except for Sundays and public holidays when trains run from 06:13am to 11.33pm. The trip takes about two and a half hours and trains come about every 25 minutes (less on Sundays and holidays).

This is a busy railway system, carrying about 75,000 passengers a day from Rome to Viterbo.

Outside the Piazza Flaminia entrance

Roma-Pantano Line

The Rome-Pantano line is a small regional railway. It carries about 35,000 passengers a day. Service starts daily at 05:30am and ends at 09:30pm. This is actually a narrow gauge tram which connects Laziali (a regional train station some 800 meters from Temini’s main concourse) with Giardinetti to the east just past the Grande Racordo Annular (GRA), Rome’s ring-road. This line will eventually become a permanent part of the new C line metro. If you’ve walked to the car rental garage at Termini, you probably walked right past this station without realizing it….

The Roma-Pantano Line, alongside Termini Station

Riding the Metro

It’s easy to ride the metro in Rome as there is only two lines. First, you’ll need a ticket. ATAC tickets, as mentioned above, are good on the metro, the bus, the trams, trolleys, and the Met.Ro trains. You can buy them at many outlets, including Tabacchi shops, newstands, and many kiosks located throughout town. For more info on the types of tickets and where and how you can buy them, go to these two posts on our website: Bus & Metro Tickets and Kiosks for Bus & Metro Tickets .

Once you have your tickets, head into the Metro station to the ticket stations pictured below. (The older spin-turnstiles you will see in the metro stations are for exiting only ).

Once you get to the ticket stand, enter your ticket on the “slot” on the front with the ticket, stripe UP and to the right… arrow in the front… as shown below.

If you have validated your ticket already on a bus, the ticket stand will “read” your ticket to see if it is still viable. If you bought a single-use ticket (good for 75 minutes), you get ONE ride on the metro system during your “75 minute” period. If you’ve already been on the bus and validated your ticket, it will read the ticket, check the “75 minute” time period, and if you’re within the time frame, the glass doors will open. If you have exceeded your time limit, or already been on your ONE metro trip, the ticket stand will recognize this, beep loudly, return your ticket to you, and REFUSE you entry to the metro system.

If you just bought your ticket, it will read the ticket – and STAMP it. Once it has determined that your ticket is okay, the doors will open. The ticket will “pop up” in the slot as pictured below. MAKE SURE YOU GRAB YOUR TICKET as you go through!

Now you have your ticket, and if it is your first usage, turn it over and you’ll see a “validation” time. Your ticket is good until the time runs out! If you have a full day, 3 day, or weekly ticket, that expiration time (and date) will be stamped on the ticket.

In the picture below, this ticket has just been stamped. A little hard to read, but the expiration time of this ticket is 09:29 AM – the red box shows the “STAMP” applied by the machine. (Same way the system works on the buses!).

So now I can ride the metro ONCE with this “75 minute” ticket… but once off the metro I can ride as many buses as I like UNTIL 09:29 AM. So you grab your ticket and off to the metro!

As you head down the stairs or escalators, you’ll see DIRECTIONAL signs like the two above. These signs were taken inside Termini station. On the top of the signs you will see posted the LAST STOP of the route. The sign on the left is headed out to the EUR and the last stop is Laurentina. On the right, the LAST STOP is Rebibbia. Find the station you’re headed to and follow the stairs/escalator!

In some cases you will see directional signs will ALL the station names listed, as shown below at the Cipro station.

If you see signs like this, it’s very easy to determine which way to your stop. If the Station name is posted in GREY, the metro train HAS ALREADY been there! So look for your station in bold BLACK! On the RIGHT sign above, the top station name in BLACK is Cipro – that’s where you are at… The next four stops: Valle Aurelia, Baldo degli Ubaldi, Cornelia, Battistini is where this train is headed… All the others above the name Cipro, the metro train has already been!

Once you get down to the platform there will be very FEW places to sit. On the Metro Line A there will be television monitors displaying the news and many commercials – all in Italian. There will be many forms of signage (pictures below). You may be better served to move closer to either end of the platform. The center of the trains – closer to the entry and exit platforms – are ALWAYS far more crowded than the ends. So a little bit of walking might get you a seat… or at least some breathing space.

Photo by roboppy, Flickr

You’ll see other signage in the metro station as you’re waiting on a train. One sign you’ll always need to look for is USCITA – That means EXIT, and as you get off the train, look right or left on the platform for the nearest EXIT. Here’s an example below.

The above sign is in Termini and we are on the Metro Line A platform, so the above sign is for directions to the Line B Platforms and the EXIT.

The sign below tells you the NEXT metro train will be arriving in 4 minutes. In Rome, usually you can multiply these “projections” by 1.5 as things tend to run a little slower. The train below will most likely arrive in 6-7 minutes. (Rome Reality!)

This sign warns you to stay behind the yellow line on the platform.

The platform sign below tells you which direction this train is headed. We are on the Metro Line B, headed to Laurentina .

Once on the train you’ll have signage (below) that will display all the stops… so if you mistakenly get on heading the wrong way… just look for the next stop, get off and head for the other side of the tracks (usually through a tunnel underneath, or over, the metro tracks). As you can see below, the sign inside the B line train will also show train, parking, handicap accessible, monuments, and other info. Metro Line A stops are not as well documented inside the trains.

While you are on the train… do hang on if you’re standing! The drivers all believe they are Formula One racers. They tend to “charge” into the stations and then challenge the braking capability of their trains. The doors on the trains will open and close automatically. And trust me, when they close, they CLOSE HARD! Don’t be caught in the doorway when they slam or you’ll get bruised.

If you are in a group – make sure EVERYONE gets on the same train. Always have a plan that if someone DOES NOT get on before the door closes that those folks on the train get off at the next station and wait for you – Remember, your cell phone WILL NOT work underground.

On the trains, your “Personal Space” may get challenged. From the Europeans standpoint… it’s nothing personal. We’re just going to get as many folks on this train as we can. So you may feel uncomfortable… be mentally prepared. If you’re getting off in a stop or two, start working your way towards an exit door on the train. “Permisso” works great as you wade through the crowds. On some of the trains, when the system is working, the PA will announce the next stop (Prossimo Fermata) and will tell you which side of the train the doors will open – Latto Destro (Right), Latto Sinistro (Left). So you might hear this as you’re entering a station…. Prossimo Fermata Termini, Latto Destro. If you’re getting on a train and only going one or two stops, DO NOT go deep into the train or allow yourself to get pushed further into the train… get inside and hold your ground! Let everyone go around you so you can stay close to the door. Riding the train is all about strategy and tactics! Don’t worry – the trains are usually only packed during rush-hour periods… often, you’ll be able to get a seat and REST!

At your exit stop…. Once you find the USCITA sign and exit the platform, continue to head out towards the turnstiles. At the turnstiles you WILL NOT need your ticket to get out (unlike London, for example). Just push your way through the turnstiles and you’re now outside the ticketed area. On some VERY random occasions, there may be a few Metro Police standing at the turnstiles as you go to exit. If this happens you WILL have to show your metro ticket. This to verify you did not race through the entry ticket stands without a ticket (jump the turnstiles as we would say). If they are there, just show your ticket and continue on through the turnstiles. This is one of the reasons you want to grab your ticket out of the ticket stands as you ENTER the metro!

Handicapped Access

There are improvements being made to the metro lines. Hopefully the new line C will be totally handicap accessible. Yet it can still be very challenging in a wheelchair to ride the Rome Metro system. Almost all the metro stations on Metro Line B are fully wheelchair accessible except Circo Massimo, Colosseo, and Cavour. Most do not have elevators but do have a wheelchair lift. On Metro Line A, only Cipro and Villa Aurelia have elevators. Bus #590 does the same route as the Metro line A and it has wheelchair access for those folks who may need it. For more info, try these links: Slow Travel – Accessible Rome, Anglo Rome – Notes for the disabled. The Roma Metro site also has descriptions of each stations facilities: Rome Metro – English website .

Pickpockets

Photo by Patrick Raymond, Flickr

I travel the metro almost every day. During rush hours (morning and late afternoon – see above) the metro train can get VERY crowded. When you are on the Metro Line A you will see cartoons on the video monitors warning you of pickpockets. The metro lines are certainly GREAT TARGETS of opportunity. Be aware when you use the metro trains. They can get so crowded you will not be able to move! The pickpockets do take advantage of these crowded environments. But if you are careful, use a money belt, and keep all your credit and cash “zipped up” in inside pockets, etc… you’ll have no problems riding the metro. I’ve been riding the metro and buses for about two years and I’ve NEVER been had an issue. Other than the pickpocket issues… the metros are safe.

You will meet many other “peoples” on the metro. Gypsies will hop on and walk through the trains begging for money. Just watch your belongings as they do often work in teams. While one person is pleading the case, others are “casing” you. In addition, you’ll see many folks who will sing or play an instrument. Some of them are quite good! And a few other folks too!

Photo by Jaxpix50, Flickr

Traveling on the Metro can be interesting AND exciting. It’s quite easy and the Metro Line A is air conditioned!!! So it’s a great way to get across town and beat the Roman traffic (and heat). Good Luck in your travels!

Some helpful Links

• Rome Metro – English website
• Rome Metro Map
• Rome Interactive Metro Map

Tickets are selling quickly for the evening affairs. We had the opportunity to see the Synchronized Swimming Finals and also some preliminary swimming heats. With the “upcoming” revisions to the swim suits being proposed by FINA, the world records being set here may last for a LONG time….

If you go, bring water! We carried our own “ice chest” in with water, ice, drinks, and an Italian picnic lunch. My wife complained  I was planning on moving in – No, I just wanted to be prepared. DO be prepared for the HOT sun. These are open-air stadiums so it is hot. Fortunately, we had seats under the umbrella pine trees that surround the facility.

You can ride the Metro Line A to the Ottaviano stop and then connect on the 32 and 271 buses to the Stadium stop (this is probably the easiest way for most folks)… Look for the pools on your LEFT – pictures below will detail that – and then jump off the bus. Or you can ride the #2 Tram from in front of the Metro Line A Flaminio to Piazza Mancini (major bus stop) and then walk across the bridge or perhaps catch the 280 bus…

In the Google Map above, the Red Circle denotes the location of the FINA World Championships. The Blue Box is Piazza Mancini…and the black dots in front of the pool competition area are the bus stops for the 280, 271, and 32. Here are a couple views from the street if you’re coming in on the buses.

Pictured below are the arrival gates… they did a very good job of dressing up the area. For those of you who come to the Italian Open Tennis tournament it’s in the same spot!

You can walk into the “park” area without a ticket. You only need a ticket to go into the competition venues. This open-air “market” has many sponsors selling and giving away items. The most popular booth? The one selling the official FINA T-shirts and memorabilia.

There’s also a kids area. Here you’ll see Nickelodeon with huge displays. Also, there are Play Station 2 areas. There is even an Internet Point inside the market area. Okay – I’ll probably get divorced for putting this picture on my blog… but our kids loved Sponge Bob when they were younger (now in their twenties) and so for them, here’s my wife doing her impression in the kids’ area!

Okay – when she reads this post, my short writing career will be over!

Our first event was the Ladies Team Synchronized Swimming. It was the first time we had seen this event “live” and it was incredible. How do they hold their breath so long? And all stay so “together?” Amazing!

Warming up for the FINALS…

The Italia Team – a crowd favorite. They had a “well-supported” routine with lots of cheering and shouting. These are the introductions at the beginning of the event when ALL the teams come out one-by-one. Biggest cheer was for these ladies – hands down!

Russia won the event, followed by an incredible performance by the Spanish Ladies (I thought they should have won!). China finished third. Italy was sixth and the USA finished in 7th place at the event we attended.

We came back a few days later for the swimming heats… mainly because all the evening tickets were $85-120… too rich for our blood. So we scheduled our dip into the swimming events so we could see Phelps and Pellegrini. We were not disappointed as both did quite well in their heats.

It was quite hot and mostly attended by friends and family. Everyone was coming back for the FINALS scheduled in other events that evening. Fan support in Europe is quite unique and we saw many celebrations. The folks from Montenegro had not won an event yet but there were by far having the best time when we were there!!!

When Michael Phelps came out (stepping onto Lane 4 starting blocks above) he was all business. We knew it was him before he got close to the pool as a TV camera was three feet from him his entire walk out… Then when he got out of the pool (after winning his heat) they were two feet away… The price of fame.

Above, the big screen shows the results and Phelps entering the pool.

After the events, the swimmers would walk under a canopy and by these folks – the press. Some stopped – most did not.

Only a few days left in the championships… If you’re in town, head over and enjoy the atmosphere. As you can see, the dress code here at this event is pretty liberal. Come and enjoy the sun, the European experience, and the competition!

The nature and landscaping is beautiful and the area has its share of archaeological treasures. There are three towns built on the lake’s shores: Bracciano, Trevignano Romano and Anguillara Sabazia. Lake Bracciano is now one of the primary sources of drinking water for the city of Rome. In the 1600’s the Acquedotto Paulo was built to take water from here to the Vatican.

The city of Bracciano sits on the northwest corner of the lake and has been inhabited since Etruscan times. The first thing you will see as you approach the city, by rail, car, or boat is the magnificent Castle. It’s considered one of the most important castles in Italy. Building on the castle started in 1470 and was completed in 1485. The king of France once visited the castle yet in recent times it’s most famous for visits by John Kennedy and Tina Turner. And of course, this is the castle that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were married at in November 2006.

There are many other important sites in Bracciano and the surrounding towns including baroque churches, agricultural settlements, ancient spas and Roman Villas, hot springs, the necropolis of Sabatia, the church of Santa Maria Assunta, Palazzo Baronale, convent of S. Stefano, archaeological sites, ruins, fountains, the Historical Italian Air Force Museum, Botanical gardens, and numerous restaurants around the lake. For more info, go to Lake Bracciano.

All along the lakefront there are “beaches” with chairs and umbrellas for rent. You also can see the small pedal boats and wind surfing boards available.

Parking is available but get there early. This is a one-way street near one of the beaches. On the right side of this picture is the beach… and on the left are many restaurants and cafes!

Here’s the view from the street parking. As you can see, you will be VERY close to your parked car!

There are many “native” guests also. Here a swan convinces some locals to “donate” some of their pana.

You can also play volleyball and water tennis with nets set up by the communities. Here, a group of Italian teenagers play an intense game. Note the friend cruising in the water just behind them!

At the lake you can also enjoy these activities!

Bicycle Tours and Renting Bikes

Sailing clubs and schools, windsurf & boat rentals

Guided Tours to historical monuments, museums, medieval town centers, parks, archeological excavations, botanical gardens; weekly program

To get there

Lake Bracciano is Northwest of Rome.

By Car From Rome 

Get on SS2 Cassia headed towards Florence and then follow the signs to Bracciano. It’s about 35-40 minutes from downtown Rome to Bracciano. You can also take the GRA around town to the SS2 Cassia exit. In the picture above, the red square is where the GRA (ring road) intersects SS2 Cassia.

After traveling north on SS2 Cassia, you’ll come to this split in the road… Stay straight under the tunnel onto SP493 to Bracciano. You’ll see SS2 Cassia splitting off the right. SP493, which is Variante Via Braccianese at this point, will take you to the lake.

By Train from Rome

You get get to Bracciano from multiple stations in Rome. The best choices are either Roma Ostiense, Roma Trastevere, or Roma San Pietro.

For Roma Ostiense: From anywhere in Rome, take the Metro Line B to the Piramide stop. There, walk under to the train station and take the FM3 train from Ostiense to Bracciano. Tickets are 2,70 € one-way and the journey will take about an hour and thirteen minutes.

For Roma Trastevere: Take the #8 tram from Largo Argentina (or other options) to the Roma Trastevere station and again, take the FM3 train from Roma Trastevere to Bracciano. Tickets are 2,70 € one-way and the journey will take about an hour and ten minutes.

For Roma Trastevere: Take the #64 bus from many spots in town (including Termini) to the Roma San Pietro station and again, take the FM3 train from Roma San Pietro to Bracciano. Tickets are 2,30 € one-way and the journey will take about 56 minutes.

The trains start from Ostiense about 4:37 AM and the last train returns from Bracciano about 10:45 PM. They run, on average, about every thirty minutes. The train station in Bracciano is located in the middle of town.

Stazione di Bracciano – Bracciano, Italy
Via dei Giardini, Bracciano 00062
telephone:+39 06 9980 1177

You’ll certainly enjoy your time at Lake Bracciano – We Do!!!

Above is an example of an ATAC ticket kiosk. The ATAC tickets are good on the bus, metro, trams, and the Met.Ro train lines. For more info on those tickets and where you can use them, see our posting on Tickets for the Bus, Metro, Trams, & Met.Ro Trains. The kiosk pictured above is located in a metro station but you will also find these in the streets of Rome. There are “English” directions posted on the kiosk – note “ticket machine” labeled on the top of the machine!

Close-up of the layout of the ticketing kiosk.

To purchase a ticket, look at the “monitor” located at the top left – Above is a close-up of that screen. On the bottom left of the screen you see a British flag, followed by the French, German, and Spanish flags… These are the language selections. Unless you want your transaction to be in Italian, push the bottom left button next to these flags!

Now you have a choice of the language you want… If it’s English, push the top button, to the right of the English arrow!

Okay, now your entire transaction will be in English. After you select the language, this screen pops up. Here you have the four different types of tickets you can purchase at this kiosk.They are the BIT, BIG, CIS, and the BTI.

The BIT is the Biglietto Integrato a Tempo ticket.The BIT costs €1 and is good for 75 minutes from the initial validation. The BIT tickets can be used on public transport within Rome which includes buses, trams, trolley buses, Cotral coaches, on the metro lines A and B, on Met.Ro regional trains: Rome–Lido, Rome–Viterbo, Rome–Pantano, and on Trenitalia Regional Trains (only in the Municipality of Rome and for one journey only, in one direction only, traveling second class).

The BIG is the Biglietto Integrato Giornaliero ticket. The BIG cost is €4 and is good for unlimited travel until midnight of the day you validated the ticket. The BIG tickets can be used on public transport within Rome the same way as the BIT

The CIS is the Carta Integrata Settimanale ticket. The CIS cost is €16 and is good for SEVEN DAYS of unlimited travel until midnight of the seventh day from when you validated the ticket. The CIS tickets can be used in the same way as the BIG and BTI tickets.

The BTI is the Biglietto Turistico Integratoanale. The BTI cost is €11 and is good for THREE DAYS of unlimited travel until midnight of the third day from when you validated the ticket. The BTI tickets can be used in the same way as the BIG, BTI, and CIS tickets. For more info on the types of tickets, see Tickets for the Bus, Metro, Trams, & Met.Ro Trains.

Now you would select the type of ticket you want by pushing the button the the right of your ticket choice.

If you choose the BIT button, which costs a Euro, this is the screen you would see. If you wanted MORE THAN ONE BIT ticket, just push the button to the right of the + 1 Ticket Arrow (bottom right) and it will ADD another ticket…. keep pushing until you have the quantity you need! NOW VERY IMPORTANT... On the top of the screen you can see a message that says, “Maximum Change 4.00 €.” Do not put a €20 bill in this machine for a €1 ticket – you will only get back €4 in change. So it always helps to have smaller bills (or even coin) when you are going to one of these machines.

As you insert money, the amount you have put into the machine will be listed. Above, I am buying a €1 BIT ticket and I have inserted a €2 coin into the machine. You can see the €2 next to the AMOUNT INSERTED line. This way you will always know if you’ve put enough money into the kiosk.

If you select a BIG (Biglietto Integrato Giornaliero) ticket, the per unit price – as shown above – would be €4

If you select a CIS (Carta Integrata Settimanale) ticket, the per unit price – as shown above – would be €16.

Once you have finished selecting the type and number of tickets you would like it’s time to pay for them. Looking at the picture of the machine above, you can deposit coins in the RED circled slot. You can enter bills in the BLUE circled slot. Coins and bills can be entered in any combination – and remember, as you are entering them the amount WILL be displayed on the screen (as shown in my €2 example above). So you will always know what the machine has accepted and how much more to put in. If your bank note is wrinkled or torn – or the machine just does not like it – it will be kicked back to you in the GREEN slot. You can put the bills in either way and either side facing up or down. These machines will greedily snatch your bill. So far I have NEVER lost money in one of these kiosks – a far cry from the units a couple of years ago. DO REMEMBER, you can only get back €4 in change!

Once you have met all the “financial requirements” the machine will start printing tickets. The tickets will be printed individually so if you buy 4 the message above might say, “Printing 1 of 4.” When all your tickets are printed and dropped into the BIGLIETTO RESTO bin (see above picture, just to the left of the GREEN circle) then your change (in coin) will also fall into this bin. MAKE SURE to get ALL your tickets and ALL your change before leaving. In many areas, “folks” will swoop in, under the premise of using the kiosk, to grab your change and/or remaining tickets. DO NOT leave without checking the bin!

And that’s it – very simple! Once you buy your tickets you DO NOT have to use them immediately. In fact, the tickets are good until your first validation. So you can hang on to these for a few days… leave town… and come back and use them then. When you go into the metro, these tickets will be validated as you go through the turnstiles. For many folks, you will buy these tickets in a metro station, just before you run to hop on the metro trains. In fact, you may see lines of folks at these kiosks in many of the busier metro stations. On the bus or tram, you will have to manually validate your tickets in one of the yellow boxes. For more info on that, check out Bus Riding in Rome! Now that you’ve got your tickets , you’re ready to go use the transportation system in Rome – Good Luck!

As with out previous Trenitalia posting (on April 9), I’ll try and keep you up to date on some of the changes/prices/promotions at Trenitalia . I’ve cut and pasted and added a few links and comments to their text, hopefully to make it easier to understand and to fulfill your transportation needs. Good Luck!

Summer Familia offer

For journeys from 1 July to 31 August 2009 on the AV and AV-Fast trains, take advantage of the Summer Familia offer. For the period of validity, the new offer replaces the ordinary Familia offer.

From 14 June 2009, you can buy tickets under the offer, which is intended for family groups of from 3 to 5 persons, made up of at least 1 adult and 1 child younger than 12:

Free for children younger then 12
20% for others (subject to the minimum fares).

The offer has limited seat availability, which varies according to day, train and class.

Travel smart. Choose Alta Velocità

With the new prices, the sooner you buy your ticket, the more you save! If you by AV, AV Fast, ES* or ES* Fast, you can make the most of the new offers: Super -60%; Speciale -30%; Promo-15%

With the Super -60%, you have 60% off if you buy at least 30 days before departure, through this site, the Call Center (89 20 21 – fee-paying number) or at the travel agencies with the ticketless procedure.

With the Speciale -30%, you save 30% if you buy your ticket at least 15 days before departure.

The Promo solution instead lets you enjoy a discount of 15% when buying tickets at least 7 days before departure.

These – all available until September 30, 2009 – may be bought through all sales channels:

• on this site,
• through our Call Center (fee number)
• at the ticket desks
• from the approved travel agencies
• at the self-service machines in the main stations.

Further information on Super offer
Further information on Speciale offer
Further information on Promo offer

See our previous posting on these discounts in our April 9, 2009 post: Trenitalia Specials!

The Abruzzo “Return” Offer

The Abruzzo “return” offer grants a discount of 30% on the return tickets when your destination is in the area of Abruzzo.

The offer is valid for both 1st and 2nd class for seats, couchettes and Wagon Lits on the services of ES*, IC, IC Night and Express, and runs from 1 July to 30 September 2009.

Tickets can be bought on this site, at all ticket desks, authorized travel agencies and from our Call Center (fee-paying number). Starting from 20 July also at the self-service points. You can also buy with the Ticketless procedure.

The Green and Silver cards are back!

The Green Card and the Silver Card, are available again. The Green card is for young people from 12 to under 26 years while the Silver one is for customers over 60 years of age.

The green card (“Carta Verde“) costs 40 euro and allows young people discounts of 10% off Base fares (first and second class) on all national trains, including wagon lits and couchettes and up to 25% off when traveling around Europe.

The Silver card (“Carta d’Argento“) costs 30 euro (free for customers of 75 years and over). It allows discounts of 10% off wagon lits and couchettes, 15% off the Base Fares (first and second class) on all national trains, and 25% off international connections.

Both the Green and Silver cards can be bought at the station ticket desks and from the authorized travel agencies.

Validity – The cards are valid for one year, are nominative and must be shown together with the reduced-fare ticket during the journey. Please note that it is not possible to buy discounted tickets for a date that is after the Card’s expiry date.

In the event of loss, theft and destruction of the Card, by presenting a suitable documentation proof, you can request issuance of a duplicate by paying € 5,00 as cost refund (to customers who have reached 75 years of age, the duplicate is issued free of charge).

Buy your ticket online and save 5%!

If you can get your credit card to work, then Buying online is not just easy and fast, but also more convenient and less expensive.

The price of the high-band tickets is reduced by 5%* for tickets bought on-line, the Call Center (fee pay number) or at from travel agencies with the ticketless procedure. Buying tickets and Travelcards online to travel on AV, AV Fast, ES*, ES* Fast and ES* City is cheaper!

With the highly safe e-shopping Sanpaolo system, your privacy and safety on the online purchases is ensured. It is possible to use credit cards and pre-paid cards as well.

The summer festival in Rome, now in its 32nd year, is called Estate Romana, or Roman Summer. It is not a singular festival but rather a “grouping” of multiple festivals with some running well into September. These festival events bring Romans, and tourists, into the parks, the streets, the piazzas, the ancient ruins, and even on the banks of the Tiber. Living here, it’s sometimes hard to decide WHERE you will go on a given night and WHAT you want to see! The choices – and the variety – are endless.

The River Banks

Often, we like to head down to L’Isola Tiberina, the island located in the middle of the Tiber River, right between the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere. Here you’ll find exotic cafes representing cultures from ALL over the world. From a booth selling Tibet trinkets to a café featuring Turkish coffee, you have many, many choices. There are also cafes from all regions of Italy. You can even watch a movie! There are two screenings each night of a variety of movies… some American, some Italian, some classics, many new, and some just “unique!” (For more info, go here: isoladelcinema.com). The “booths” here run from late June to the end of August. The cafes feature all kinds of music and some even have DJ’s. It’s always interesting to head for the island….and sometimes we DO NOT even get there… because along the river banks between the Garibaldi and Cestio bridge there even more booth, cafes, food stalls, shops, and bars.

Teatro di Marcello

This theatre was built by Augustus in honor of his nephew. It was also a castle/fortress in later years and now has apartment built into it. Talk about urban renewal! It also is a unique setting for a concert series. Currently the Proms Series is running at Teatro Marcello through the end of September. The performances usually start around 2030 (8:30 PM). If you get there early, you can often get a short guided tour of the ruins. For more information, dial +39 348 780 4314 or go to www.tempietto.it

Castel Sant’Angelo

If you saw the movie Roman Holiday, who can forget the dance scene on the floating stage just below Castel Sant’Angelo. Well, once again the stage is back and you can sway to the music. Below the castle, on the river banks, a stage has again been rebuilt and there are many cafes and bars. Up the stairs, surrounding Castel Sant’Angelo you’ll find multiple booths with shopping, cafes, entertainment, and even ping pong and foosball tables for the kids! We love this festival because it’s so close to our house. With multiple stages featuring all different kinds of music, you’ll find something you will enjoy. There are currently nighttime events being held at the Castel Sant’Angelo Museum so this is a happening spot. One of our favorites!

The Baths of Caracalla

Beautiful to visit in the day time… probably the MOST incredible outside stage in Rome! Operas are presented here each night starting on July 1. The begin around 9 PM. This year they are featuring three new productions A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tosca and Carmen. We saw Tosca in the Verona Arena…. But what a thrill it would be to see it played out here, as it takes place in Roma! This limited event ends on August 9 so get your tickets now! For more info, contact +39 06 481 60255 or www.operaroma.it

Ippodromo delle Capannelle

The Ippodromo delle Capannelle, better known as the racetrack, hosts Rome’s International Festival of Latin-American Music and Culture. This is on the south side of town, and takes a little work to get there, but well worth the trip. You’ll find clubs, cafes, restaurants, and lots of shopping. There are many major acts scheduled here including Oscar d’Leon, the Puerto Rican salsa singer Gilberto Santarosa, Issac Delgado with salsa queen La India, UB40, Marlene Kuntz, the Killers, Franz Ferdinand and White Lies, Nine Inch Nails, TV on the Radio and Animal Collective. Quite a varied playlist! To get there, you’ll have to take Metro A to Colli Albani Station, then jump on the 664 bus. For more info go to www.fiesta.it or www.RockinRoma.

A Night in the Park!

Rome is blessed to have many parks, and in the summer, festival events are featured in many. First, consider Villa Ada. This is a HUGE park, just north of Villa Borghese. This festival entry is called “Rome Meets the World.” It features artists from everywhere – You’ll see the posters throughout town and be amazed at the number and diversity of artists performing at Villa Ada. There are more than 50 concerts this summer. The concerts don’t begin until 10 PM, but go early, The gates will open about 8 PM so go in and have a picnic, open a 2nd bottle of wine, and wait for the show to begin. A wonderful way to spend an evening! For more info, go to www.villaada.org.

At the Villa Doria Pamphili there is a series of music and dance events from June 29 to July 27. These events are often more avant-garde than much of what you will see in Rome. The park of Villa Doria Pamphili is often ignored but well worth the visit! +39 06 581 6987, www.iconcertinelparco.it;

Rome’s jazz festival is a series of concerts on the grounds of Villa Celimontana. This park is located near the Baths of Caracalla and a very short walk from the Colosseum. Most of the performers are Italians with a few international names. The nightly concert series runs through the middle of September. These concerts start late, often at 10pm, but there are later shows at 11.30pm. www.villacelimontanajazz.com;

Parco della Musica

The Parco della Musica is better known as the auditorium. It is located in the northern part of Rome, outside the Aurelian walls in the Flaminio district. Uniquely shaped buildings surround the central outdoor amphitheatre. Outside of the Olympic Stadium concerts, this is where the “big names” will be playing during the summer. This summer we will have Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata, Lauryn Hill, the Buena Vista Social Club, James Taylor, David Byrne, and Burt Bacharach. Ticket prices vary as per event. Contact: +39 06 892982, www.auditorium.com

The Courtyard of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza

The International Chamber Ensemble holds its concerts in this famous courtyard, designed by Borromini. It is not too far from Piazza Navona and the courtyard itself is quite impressive. This year the Chamber Ensemble features music by Albinoni, Vivaldi, Barber, Mozart, Gershwin, Porter, and Kern.

Villa Adriana

For a truly unique and out-of-Rome experience, head to Villa Adriana, or Hadrian’s Villa, near Tivoli. Rather than drive or worry about transportation issues, reserve a place on a free shuttle bus (+39 06 802 41281). The shuttle bus leaves nightly from the Parco della Musica about two hours before the event – getting you there early enough for a quick tour – and then will return you back to the Parco della Musica at midnight. The Festival Villa Adriana offers quite an eclectic combo if dance, circus, and music events. From Duke Ellington to Flamenco dancing this is certainly a unique experience among incredible ruins. Performances start at 2100 (9 PM). For more information, +39 06 892982, www.auditorium.com/villaadriana;

There are many other events going on all through Rome… this week we have Roma-Fiction and throughout the summer Rome is hubbub of nightly activities. So don’t wear yourself out walking Rome in the day…. Save some energy for the nightlife!  For more information: www.en.estateromana.comune.roma.it. From this website, here is a list of events, sorted by date, of events happening this summer.

Art
Alessandro Mendini – Dall’infinitesimo all’infinito
from Thursday 9 April to Sunday 6 September, 9.00-19.00; chiuso lunedì
Museo dell’Ara Pacis – I municipio

Art
Musei d’Estate – Divus Vespasianus. Il Campidoglio e l’Egitto all’epoca dei Flavi
from Wednesday 22 April to Friday 4 September, 9.00-20.00 – chiuso lunedì; la biglietteria chiude alle 19.00
Musei Capitolini – I municipio

Art
Umberto Prencipe. 1879 – 1962. Realtà e Visione
from Wednesday 27 May to Sunday 13 September, Dal martedì alla domenica dalle 9.00 – 19.00. Chiuso lunedì (la biglietteria chiude alle 18.00)
Museo di Roma – I municipio

Art – free
Il fiore del meraviglioso
from Wednesday 27 May to Sunday 6 September, ore 10.00-19.00, chiuso lunedì e dal 10 al 31 agosto
Casa dei Teatri – XVI municipio

Art
Fotografia – Festival Internazionale di Roma (VIII edizione)
from Friday 29 May to Sunday 2 August, Martedì, mercoledì e giovedì ore 10.00 – 20.00. Venerdì e sabato ore 10.00 – 22.30. Domenica ore 10.00 – 20.00. Chiuso lunedì
Palazzo delle Esposizioni – I municipio

Events
Spettacoli del Planetario – Rassegna Musei d’Estate
from Monday 1 June to Wednesday 30 September, tutti i giorni