Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel...
by acemj
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is a marvel, however I was a bit disappointed with the experience as a whole. The Chapel itself is not disappointing- it's magnificent, but as you're walking through the Vatican Museum, there is no limitation to the number of people allowed into the Sistine Chapel so it's always very crowded in the Chapel. You're not allowed to speak, a rule which is enforce by security, but this solemn, silent atmosphere is completely defeated by the crowds. You are also not supposed to take pictures, but I squeezed this one off by getting lost in the crowds and not using a flash.
Mass in Jesus language
by abarbieri
Church of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio
Via di Campo Marzio 45/a
(not far from the Pantheon)
Eastern Catholic Church with syriac rites obedient to the Pope. Sunday Mass (10.30am) is celebrated in Aramaic.
The church is not open to the public but stays open for little time after Mass.
Urban and Regional Railways.
by breughel
Two metro lines are insufficient for a city as big as Rome (3 million inhabitants); a third is under construction.
There are many busses but they are usually crowded.
It can therefore be useful to take profit of the urban railways and regional railways who are accessible with the same ticket, for example BIT ticket, as the metro and busses within limits of territorial validity which are rather large. See my pic n° 4 and the maps on www.atac.roma.it
The 3 urban railways "Ferrovie Urbane" are:
Roma - Lido di Ostia;
Roma - Civitacastellana - Viterbo;
Roma - Pantano.
There are 8 "Ferrovie Regionale" regional railways of which the useful ones for moving inside the city are:
FR1 (Orte/Fara Sabina - Fiumicino Aeroporto);
FR2 (Tivoli - Roma Tiburtina);
FR3 (Cesano/Viterbo - Roma Ostiense);
FR4 (Castelli Romani - Roma Termini);
FR5 (Civitavecchia - Roma Termini).
I used to take the FR3 going to the North and deserving the Monte Mario area.
The trains are double deck, comfortable and clean inside but heavily tagged outside as well as the stations who don't look welcoming except the S. Pietro station (correspondence with bus 64) at about 700 m south from the Piazza S.Pietro. This train FR3 gives correspondence with Metro A at Valle Aurelia station and Metro B at his terminal Ostiense station.
All this with the normal BIT ticket at 1 €. In the week a train every 15 minutes, on Sunday every 30 minutes. As the BIT ticket is only valid for 75 minutes, have it validated when the train arrives at your station, not before.
The FR3 trains and stations seemed safe at least when I took them in day time.
Note that rails and platform are called "binario" in Italian
A good pizzeria
by Marpessa about Tosca Pizzeria
A good restaurant. Our waiter (host?) spoke such fluent English that I asked where in Australia he was from - he was actually Italian, but had spent a few years in Sydney.
My friends and I got there just as they were opening for dinner, so we sat at the tables outside and just relaxed, we weren't in a rush and were pretty much the only people there at the time - more came as we were leaving, but the service was still very quick, and we all enjoyed our meals (my friends had some kind of pasta).
Their full menu and prices can be viewed on their website (although you may want to turn your speakers off, the music on the website isn't that good - reminds me of the movie 'Fame') Once again I had a pizza Margherita (not a very exciting choice, but I like it :-) ). What I like about pizzas in Italy is that they are a good size and they always taste good, I've never had one that was under-cooked or tasted bad... I miss those pizzas!
Also try the Parma Ham and Melon, very nice.
' Nike: The Game and the Victory. '
by dandancho
The exhibition ' Nike: The Game and the Victory. ' shows Greek sculptures and will run until 07 January 2004, under the arches of Romes Colosseum. One of the most interesting artifacts is an early 5th century B.C.marble statue of Nike. Marble discus throwers, bronze sprinters and mosaics of wrestlers re-enacted the sporting heyday of ancient Rome. The collection brings together statues, busts, mosaics and pottery, some dating back as far as the sixth century B.C., from Italian cultural hotspots like Florence and Pompeii and farther-flung sites such as Paris and Berlin.
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The central nave - Apr 2010
Arco di Tito, Foro Romano, Roma, May 2007
Hail Caesar
Map with Villa Farnesina location in Rome
