Sign in with FacebookLargo Castelbolognese, 10, Rome, 00127, Italy
The Vatican
shop on Via dei Cestari
The Streets of Rome, May 2007
Navona - renovation of the fountain 2007-08.
I was reading a guide book about Rome and the Vatican city. In the chapter about the Vatican city there's a map showing some interesting spots outside (and behind) the St. Peter's church. In several posts in this forum I read that the only places tourists can visit are St. Peter's church and square, the museums and the gardens. Does this mean that I can't visit the other spots shown on the guide book? The book is from 2005 so it could be that the rules have changed.
Another question: Rome the week before Christmas week = yay or nay?
TIA
I have just got back from Rome (2 weeks ago) and yes it is true.
In the week that my husband and i were in Rome we went to the Vatican 4 times,there is so much to see and it's just a great place to be.You can go to the top of the dome and get a great view.
On one occasion we had to go back later in the day as the crowds (tourist groups)were about a kilometre long wanting to get into the Vatican.
So your hubby and you paid for 4 tours?
To go into the Vatican ,St Peter's is free,unless you go with a tour group,(we don't like tours).
You have to pay around 12euro to go into the museum and 7euro to go up to the Dome(or 5 euro if you walk all the way up) we had to take the lift part way because it was 5pm and it closes at 6pm.
Got it :) but you guys didn't visit anything other St. Peter's and immediate surroundings, right?
The St peter square is open 2477. The basilica is free all day, but you have to queue for a baggage check airport-like. The museum (that includes the Sistine chapel) is accessed with a ticket from the opposite side of the basilica. All the rest is off-limits.
Ciao
Francesco
Thank you, Francesco, grazie mille.
There are Vatican tours available of the gardens and of two different excavated ancient necropoli in the Vatican, one of them directly under St. Peter's basilica. I highly recommend that one as most of the people I've taken to Rome say it was a highlight of their trip. You must email the Vatican, often weeks or months in advance. Find information about how to make a reservation from the Vatican website here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20040112_en.html
The other necropolis can be visited by emailing: visitedidattiche.musei@scv.va
For the garden tour (available less frequently during winter mmonths), check the Vatican website here: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Servizi_Visite.html
Be sure to tell them how many people, the language you prefer, and what dates and time of day you have available.
Cristina
Of course, Cristina is right. I bow in front of her!
Ciao
Francesco
Francesco, you may now rise!
Oppsss it's just that my back is blocked!
Cristina: Thanks for clarifying and for reminding me about the necropolis :D
This is a beautiful square surrounded by imposing buildings and topped off by a marvelous fountain in the centre. The centre fountain depicts four of the world's great rivers - each one personified. This picture is of a smaller, yet no less romantic, fountain at the northern end of the Piazza. In the afternoon the place is full of side-walk vendors selling arts and crafts. There are lots of people who paint in the square as well at that time.
One of the highlights the architect Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) has built in Rome. A wonderful little church with a secluded courtyard. A unique geometrical design leading to a complex rhythm of concave and convex forms.
Entrance through the gate at Corso del Rinascimento. (Closed during lunch hours).
Most important, Piazza Sta Maria Maggiore was the obligatory passage for my daily explorations going west, towards the centro historico, the Tiber and across to the Vatican and Trastevere.
I only went the OTHER way from the hostel when I wanted to reach TERMINI, as the block on that side is not interesting.
One place going that way is worth a look, and that's the park, garden and beautiful monument of the Acquario Romano at Piazza Fanti, at the corner from the hostel. The inside is used for conventions, concerts etc. The park closes round 7.30 p.m. in Summer, but I managed to be allowed in later as last conference organiser was picking things up and talking to the custodian.
The Acquario Romano was inaugurated in 1887 and intended to be a meeting place for the up and coming middle-class of the new Esquilino district.
The garden is dedicated to Nicola Calipari, who was killed in Irak in 2005, in an unfortunate foul-up by allied forces.
This is a stylish yet simple restaurant in one of Rome's prettiest little piazzas.
We were more than happy to follow the recommendations of the waiter, who knew the menu backwards.
He took our orders without writing anything down too, but we did get what we ordered, so that was fine.
We were sitting in an enclosed area, with a hedge around us, so werent gaped at by the tourists walking past, which made it more intimate and enjoyable. The house wine - the Rosso Novello, was excellent.
They have an excellent selection of hot and cold antipasti (including a whole, huge ricotta from which you are invited to help yourself) and simple but reliable pasta and meat dishes to follow.
The Roman Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, was commisioned in AD 72 by Emperor Vespasian. It was completed by his son, Titus, in 80, with later improvements by Domitian.
The Colosseum is located just east of the Roman Forum and was built to a practical design, with its 80 arched entrances allowing easy access to 55,000 spectators, who were seated according to rank. The Coliseum is huge, an ellipse 188m long and 156 wide. Originally 240 masts were attached to stone corbels on the 4th level.
Vespesian ordered the Colosseum to be build on the site of Nero's palace, the Domus Aurea, to dissociate himself from the hated tyrant.
His aim was to gain popularity by staging deadly combats of gladiators and wild animal fights for public viewing. Massacre was on a huge scale: at inaugural games in AD 80, over 9,000 wild animals were killed.
Roman gladiators were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Most were men, but there were a few female gladiators. These combats were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience around the Roman Colosseum. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on. The gladiatorial games continued until Christianity progressively put an end to those parts of them which included the death of humans.
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