Every year on June 29th, the city of Rome celebrates its patron saints: St. Peter and St. Paul. These two apostles are revered not only as the founding fathers of the Catholic Church, but also as enduring symbols of courage and martyrdom. We talked about the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul a few […]
by C. P.
Everyone knows that, according to tradition, ancient Rome was built around and on seven legendary hills: the Aventine Hill (Aventino, in Italian), the Palatine Hill (Palatino), the Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio), the Caelian Hill (Celio), the Quirinal Hill (Quirinale), the Viminal Hill (Viminale), and the Esquiline Hill (Esquilino). The truth is, however, more complex than that, […]
by C. P.
Visitors over the past few weeks may have noticed an upsurge in construction works in the city center, along with billboards celebrating “Roma per il giubileo”, Rome for the Jubilee. What is the Jubilee, and why is it important to know? Jubilee: what’s in a word First off, let’s talk basics: we are probably used […]
by C. P.
As the new Jubilee approaches, the directors of the Vatican Museums are making plans for an even wider range of visits to the sites they’re responsible for: already up and running is the new dedicated entrance to the Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis. What is the Via Triumphalis? The Via Triumphalis was an ancient road […]
A smaller affair than Christmas, Easter celebrations are still a momentous occasion for Italians around the world, and Rome is especially invested in this holiday. This year’s festivities, re-calculated according to the Catholic calendar (it must be the first Sunday after the Easter full moon, which is the first full moon on or after March […]
Power plays, revolutions, wars, and just the need for modernization. All of these are factors in the changing shape of Rome: what you now can appreciate in its current layering (Imperial-meets-Medieval-meets-Renaissance-meets-Rationalism… and so on and so forth) once looked very different, and hard decisions had to be made that brought about the destruction, plain and […]
As you plan your travel to Rome, you’ll have surely considered devoting part of your trip to the exploration of the Vatican area: St. Peter’s Basilica, with the Vatican Museums and – of course – the Sistine Chapel. This is on every tourist’s “must do”, after all, and there’s little deviation from the rule. At […]
Whether it’s in artworks at the Vatican Museums or sculpted into famous obelisks, there is no doubt that depictions of elephants immediately grab the attention of tourists passing through Rome: such an exotic animal is immediately noticeable, but not everyone knows that they are not a metaphor (at least, not always!) but the representation of […]
Peak season is here again, and mass tourism has made its comeback to Rome, which means the main sights are also being taken by storm – after two years of virtually non-existent international traveling, this was to be expected! In spite of it, some visitors at this time are really not prepared a Rome that’s […]
Over the past few days, the first half of the massive renovation works involving the church of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza were unveiled – even though they’re still ongoing, they are a very good signal for the city, as this Baroque masterpiece had been closed for 5 years, since it was partly damaged by the terrible […]
by C. P.
