As you’re watching the reports on the worldwide Coronavirus emergency, you might have noticed that images from Rome include footage of St. Peter’s Basilica partially covered in scaffolding. This is because a massive renovation effort has been planned before the lockdown was set: four years of works to restore the aesthetics and safety elements of […]
We know, we know. When you visit Rome (and Italy at large) you have just a few allocated days for your tours, visits and explorations. So what you do is try and fit as much as possible in there, giving priority to the main monuments, thinking you’ll find the time, eventually, for a second trip […]
by admin
Whether you’ve been preparing your trip to Rome for a while or you’re in the early stages of doing so, you will surely have read on multiple guides that you don’t need tickets for any of the churches in Rome: they’re free of charge. Said free entrance includes the main areas – the nave, the […]
So it’s official: the Copernicus satellite system has declared this month of June the hottest ever recorded. Tourists who were in Rome in the past few weeks probably don’t need that kind of validation – they felt it on their skin! Everywhere we looked we saw visitors fanning themselves with maps of the city, resorting […]
by C. P.
There is one more reason to visit the Scala Sancta this year: while in the midst of a long, delicate restoration process, the Christian landmark in the San Giovanni area will be open to visitors in its original form, but just until June 9, 2019. After that date, the renovation works will begin again. What […]
by C. P.
Over the weekend of May 11 & 12, Rome residents as well as tourists and visitors will be able to visit hundreds of sites where access is usually limited – for free! The event, called “Open House Roma“, includes a stunning list of ancient libraries, foreign academies, art galleries and studios or private palaces and […]
Somewhere else on this blog we introduced you to the local jargon of Rome, romanesco, but what we failed to mention there, other than the basics of this ancient language, is how full of humour it is & how sarcastic. Take for instance the expression “fare il giro delle sette chiese“. It literally means […]
by C. P.
When visiting Rome, especially if it’s your first time, you might be surprised at how common it is to be suggested to go visit churches. This is something that has very little to do with a religious sentiment: oversimplifying quite a bit, it can be said that churches were the museums of their time, […]
This just in! Some of our readers may remember that the former Minister of Culture, Mr. Dario Franceschini, had suggested the introduction of an entry ticket of €2 for entering the Pantheon. Said measure would have been addressed at tourists only, and wouldn’t have impacted actual faithful meaning to pray inside the former Roman temple. […]
Do you know Saint Peter’s is not the cathedral of Rome? Actually, the world’s supposedly largest church is located into a state independent of Italy, namely Vatican City, an enclave within the Italian Republic. Rome has its own cathedral at Saint John’s basilica, one worth visiting together with many other churches a little off the […]
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