Hotelrome.net Blog : A guide to news and events in Rome

Writer : Raoul

I have been living in Rome since 1990 and i didn’t know this museum existed until a friend told me about it. The building is an eighteenth-century palace that has been demolished and enlarged a number of times, and it’s impressive even only from the outside. Its original owner was Mary Elisabeth Bradhurst Field, a member of the New York high-society.

The actual Oriental museum was opened to the public in 1958 and was dedicated to Giuseppe Tucci, who was one of the most important orientalists of the twentieth century. The museum is divided into seven sections: Islam, Far East, Southeast Asia, Tibet-Nepal, Gandhara, Pre-Islamic Near East and India. Most of the collections are findings made by the Italian government in countries like Afghanistan, Iran , Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet. Recently the museum has added some other interesting features like a specialized library, a photo archive, and an archive of Oriental collections.

The Oriental Rome Museum is situated on Merulana street not far away from Termini station and major good hotels in Rome at number 248 and is open Thursday,Wednesday,Thursday, Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and Saturday, Sunday And all Holidays from 9:00 am to 7:30 pm.Monday is the closing day.

You can buy the tickets to this Rome museum  there or call this numbers to make bookings: 0039/0646974837 0039/0646974831

The entrance fee is 6,00 euro, with free admittance for citizens from the European Union under 18 and above 65 years and for students of Preservation of Artistic Goods, Architecture and Arts

(Historic-Artistical and Archaeological course).

The museum is located near the Termini Station, so it’s really easy to make a visit if you are staying in one of our central Rome hotels such as Hotel Des Artistes Rome or our Yes Hotel Rome, both three-star conveniently located hotels that will make your trip easier and will allow you to visit this and other interesting attractions without much effort.

You are a fan of museums? Read more about other great Rome Museums !

Our Author: Giuseppe

Football or soccer (in Italian Calcio) is a team sport played between two  teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. The goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their head to intercept a ball. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.

Futsal ( or Calcetto) can be translated as ‘indoor football’. Futsal is played between two teams of five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper, and up to seven substitutes per team. The game is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines. Futsal is also played with a smaller ball . The origin of Futsal can be traced back to Montevideo, Uruguay where in 1930 Juan Carlos Ceriani devised a five-a–side ball kicking game with adjusted size goals for youth competition in YMCAs.

The international governing body FIFUSA (Federación Internacional de Fútbol de Salón, International Futsal Federation) was created in 1971 to administer the game, and held its first futsal world championship in São Paulo in 1982. Due to an apparent dispute with FIFA over the administration of fútbol, FIFUSA coined the word fut-sal in 1985.

Some professional players start out with futsal to build fundamental skills. Brazilian players Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Juninho and many more started out playing futsal. In Brazil, the majority of children start out with Futsal rather than association football since it requires less space and many schools in the country do not have a field to play traditional association football. There are also some notable players like Falcão who continue to play futsal at the club level.

You can check your country’s Futsal World Ranking here.

Calciotto is a sport halfway between Calcetto (5 players against 5) and Calcio (11 against 11). This sport is gaining more and more sympathy and support; in 2005 the first official body, the Football League, was created which made the first regulations and organized the championships of Serie A and Serie B.
Being a sport like Calcio, it shares many of the rules. However it has its own regulations. The length of time (two, as in football) is 25 minutes.

So, if you are passionate about Football, or Soccer, or Calcio, you choose how to call it, just do not hesitate to visit me at an elegant and sports friendly YES Hotel in Rome, and we can chat and share opinions about the most spectacular sports game in the world!!!

Our author: Jonadab

The fair BTC International (Fair of Congress Tourism) is one of the most important events of the b2b sector to organize events. It will take place in Rome from the 6th till the 8th of November this year.

Every year hotel chains, tour operators, airports, tourist agencies  contribute to increase the professional quality of the event. Thanks to the fair BTC Rome  the technical staff working in the field is put in touch with such realities, like tourism of conferences, focused on ensuring of matching of demand and supply of this industry and consequently any valuable partnerships it may bring to. The International Marketplace BTC is in fact a landmark event that whole industry of  conferences are awaiting in Italy.

In the two days when the fair is taking place there will be organized seminars and mini -courses with refreshments and trainings in collaboration with the most notable industry associations. Again this will be  in the Area Events, a section of the exhibition completely dedicated to agency communications and events. In this space, agencies and suppliers will show their services, products and professional skills. There will be dynamic and light posts, a new place and especially the spectacular projects for the promotion of events will be shown as this event is done behind the scenes with the creativity and professionalism of specialized companies in the sector. Events inside the BTC will also an area dedicated to moments of depth on current topics such as eco-sustainability and new trends in marketing. Area events will be staged at the pavilion 14 of the new exhibition complex in Rome- Nuova Fiera di Roma.

BTC’s mission is the creation of better conditions to facilitate the matching of demand and supply in the Meeting Industry. With experience is seen today only point of reference for the whole conference industry and to incentive Italian market and this appointment is a not-to-miss opportunity, really is a must for the most qualified international operators.

My practical advise for you is to visit and enjoy hospitality of an elegant boutique Hotel in Rome- YES Hotel Rome, where you feel the real professionalism and charm of local operator, while enjoying the beauties of the Eternal City, and visiting this greatest Congress Event of the Year!!!

Our writer is : Diana

Apparently the original game (Enalotto) was invented in 1949 by Dante Benedetti from Florence.

Story goes that Benedetti couldn’t afford the registration so his paternity was never recognized. 40 years later Enalotto got removed, and a new fresh start of this game is given with the inauguration of the Supernalotto in 1997, which jackpots are among the richest in Europe.

Lucky enough?

The goal is to match six numbers out of 90 and that’s the reason why it is one of the most difficult games worldwide (even the luxurious jackpots of Euromillions in USA are played sorting out fewer figures).

Just think that statistically the asteroid 99942 Apophis destroying our planet in 2036 is more likely to happen than you (or me…) winning Superenalotto. Frustrated maybe?

You should not ! Ever since SuperEnalotto got popular it has been gambled by a growing number of average Italian people.

Winning Enalotto ?

How does it work?

The six winning numbers are drawn in six different regional Lotto draws, taking place in the cities of Bari, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo and Rome.

A Jolly number is also picked up from the Venice draw.

If you are willing to fork out a little extra money, you can include an additional number, called Superstar number, taken from the extra National Lotto of Rome (Lotteria Nazionale).

Record Payoffs

On May 4, 2005 one single ticket won a jackpot of 72 000 000 euros (over 90 million dollars). A winning, amounting 44 billions liras, was won years before near Bari and in 1998, 100 people won 63 billions liras.

Today jackpot got up to 100 millions euros, reaching the sixth place in the world list, eager to try? You can try with the now famous technique the Italian gamblers have been using which seems to be more successful , which is to gamble as a group, which means you can put down more money and obviously you split the payoff thereafter. But then if it is an 8 figure winning, that should not be a problem.

Where do I purchase my winning Superenalotto ticket ?

Most tobacco shops all over Italy sell Superenalotto tickets.

Good luck, and as the Italian saying goes “In Bocca al Lupo !”

And if you plan to come to Italy take a look at our wide Italy accomodation selection.

Several decades ago children were obsessed with beautiful Barbie and her boyfriend Ken, before that we all played with little baby dolls, but even dolls grow up, become mature creatures, gain magic powers, practically evolve. I want to talk today about the Winx. Today’s kids are really obsessed with these magician dolls, or fairies. It is an authentic Made in Italy product. I a real commercial success, I would add.

Winx Club is a cartoon animation film created by the Rainbow Spa Italian studio, based on an ori

ginal idea of Iginio Straffi and distributed in several countries. In Italy it was broadcast on Raidue and Rai satellite channels for children. The cartoon has also inspired a musical, a comic homonym and a host of merchandising products (cheese, branded accessories, figurines) with a target market focused on boys and girls with age ranging from 5 to 12 anni. For all fans of Winx, is about to get off Winx On Ice, the musical on ice produced by Front stalls seat in November that slip in the main Palasport Stadiums, and then win in the three years to come almost all European countries (primarily in Spain, Portugal, France and especially Holland, where the ‘these authentic Italian Winx are even more popular than in Italy), South-East Asia and, who knows, maybe one day  America.

The star of this show will be Carolina Kostner. Carolina Kostner is without doubt the most good Italian skater of the moment.  But soon will become also an actress. The beautiful skater, in fact, has been chosen to interpret the role of one of the Winx fairies, in the show on the ice that will take, for the first time, in the Datch Forum in Milan: Carolina Kostner will be part of the cast of the show " Winx on ice. " To the joy of girls, and beyond. 30 skaters on stage, strepitose sets, special effects and an amazing soundtrack will present to the public a show full of mystery and magic. So why wait? Book your tickets now for this show here in Rome! Do not forget to book our lovely family oriented Hotel- YES Hotel, where you and your kids can relax and ejoy good time!

The SHOW will take place in the the Palalottomatica on the 2-6 of January 2009!

When we speak about Italy, of course, we start thinking about people… These  hectic, messy, chaotic, gesticulating and loud Italians. But we also often think about Mediterranian beauty. To my mind, Italian males are quite handsome, or more handsome than Italian females. But this strictly anti-sexist and quite personal opinion, I hope young Italian ladies won’t start throwing stones at me. But there are always nice expections to the rules. Remember Sofia Loren, Carla Bruni, or Monica Belucci? Yes, Italian beauties have no rivals on the world stage! So, today, I will talk about the winner of  Miss Italy 2008, which was recently held in the vacation town of Salsomaggiore.  And the winner is… Miriam Leone!

Miriam Leone is the winner of 69th edition of  "Miss Italy".  She was one of 100 finalists in the beauty contest "Miss Italy 2008, and already was given a title of the   "First  Miss of the Year 2008 ". Imagine, that she was pulled in again into competition by the jury, after not qualifying for finals.
Miriam Leone - full blood sicilian girl, born  on the 14th April of 1985 in Catania (a town in the Italian region of Sicily, the administrative center of the same province) and lives in the city Arcireale. Her astrological sign is Aries, she is tall of  1,76 m,  and has enchanting copper-red  hair, which highlight her beautiful bright green eyes.
Father  of Miriam Ignazio, is a retired teacher, her mother, Gabriella works  as an office employee,  her brother, Sergio - a student of  piano at the Conservatory in Catania. She herself, as well as her brother, studies at the University at the Faculty of Arts, and  has only two exams left to graduate.
In addition, Miriam works at the local radio,  her hobbies are - climbing of the active volcano Etna and writing poetry.

So, the gist of this post is to come to visit beautiful Italy with its beautiful and sympathic people, and gourgeous women! Do not miss the chance of your life and spend some romantic moments in Rome. Our Yes Hotel is a great romantic place and offers you a great service!

Our author: Diana

   On October 17th (ending Oct 20th) the  third edition of the Wellness Spa & Beauty Exhibition is landing in Milan. Extraordinary the number of the expected partecipants (over 300 Italian and foreign exhibitors) and impressive the location area, the fairgrounds of Fiera Milano, covering more than 28,000 sqm with 14-18 pavilions, just nearby the airport Malpensa and accessibile by underground.

The Exhibition will inaugurate the partnership between Les Nouvelles Esthetiques (outstanding scientific magazine with 27 editions all over the world since 1976) and Fiera Milano. That is basically the main reason why during this same fortunate occasion, the 29th Italian Conference on applied Aestetics – Les Nouvelles Estetiques Congress will take place.

The scope, as said before, will be wider than in last editions since international rapresentatives are expected to partecipate both as relators and exhibitors. The main target is to create a meeting point in the field of the Beauty and the Aestetics and to foster the networking at international level for the mutual exchange of information and technical skills.

It will also be the opportunity to make the point in a field, the one of aestetics, which experienced interesting innovations and introductions in the last years and give the chance to the newcomers to take the most of this field. If you happen to visit official capital of Italy Rome these days which also offers a lot of Exhibitions and Fairs,  but this time do not forget to plan a visit to an Industrial capital of Italy-Milan and do not miss this aestetics and pleasure appointment for your mind and soul!

Sabina. A very picturesque area, that time in centuries, has changed little, in urbanism and traditions. It is a very famous area in the Lazio, is part of the interesting outskirts of Rome. Its fame comes not only from the natural beauties that contains: it exits a curious legend related with Sabinian women, and the news about the quality of its olive oil has been well spread during centuries.

The legend says that in Rome in the very earlier times the population was predominantly male. To fix this, Romulus, its founder , had an idea: to organize sports festivities in honour of the god Neptune and decided to invite the neighbour towns for the competition. Those of a particular population, Sabina, went to Rome with their wives and children. While the games were celebrated one of the Romans gave an specific sign to which every roman kidnapped a woman and then drove to the men (as planned).

The Romans tried to convince the women saying that they only did so because they wanted to be their wives, and they should be happy and proud of becoming a part of a people chosen by the gods.
The Sabinian men had a different opinion, angry by the insult of treason and rape of their women, attacked the Romans. When it was about to happen what appeared to be the very final battle, the Sabine woman stood between the two combatants to stop the killing because, they saw clearly that winning the Romans the would loose their parents, and winning the Sabinians they would loose their husbands and sons. The Sabine woman managed to make them come to a reconciliation and finally the celebrated with a banquet..(So are the woman there so beautiful that they worth such a battle? Check and see :-) 

The Sabina Lazio olive oil comes from olives harvested by hand and squeezed cold, without manipulation or chemical solvents. Which is the secret of the flavor and colour of this oil?

Take under consideration the following factors:

Climatic characteristics of the area of cultivation and the ground limestone, permeable and dry. Many varieties of olives used, alone or in combination: Carboncella, Leccino, Raja, Frantoio, Moraiolo, Olivastrone, Salviana, Olivago and Roscioli.

A long and patient work.

An excellent nutritional value, the many beneficial properties that make it a unique seasoning and unproven.

So as a result of this, the quality of the product is very high.

Some other little secrets:

- Do you like the onion in ’salad but has a decided taste too? Let marinate for a few hours in ‘oil sabina: become more gentle and delicate.
- Prepare a special dressing for your salad leaves soak in a liter of oil sabina some dry red chilli, two branches of fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, a clove of garlic and three cloves. Seal the bottle and let rest at least 20 days at room temperature. Shake well before use.
- A cake lighter and healthier? Replace the butter with oil sabina and a jar of low-fat yoghurt. It will be lighter, soft and tasty.

Now the beauty of Sabina combines mountainous landscape with large cultivated areas (cereals, olives and vines in particular), forests of beech and chestnut trees, castles on top of hills with stone houses just further down, also landscapes of rolling hills of sand, clay and conglomerates, silver by olive trees. Don’t forget to try their cheeses made with milk from sheep, goat or cow as well as interesting products of spontaneous growing as mushrooms, truffles and wild berries. Enjoy the atmosphere "naive" and the still unspoiled beauty of the wild landscape. 

Visit Farfa in Sabina and the Abbey. The Abbey of Farfa deserves a long visit, given its history back till the Middle Ages and the extraordinary natural splendour. Not far, at Canneto-Casale Bertini there is an olive tree with a circumference of 6.1 meters and a height of 10.
Nearby in Nerola, dominated by the castle Orsini, one can enjoy a restful view of the beautiful countryside. From Nerola can make two trips (short) to Scandriglia and Montorio Romano, where you can buy the oil extra-virgin olive oil.
In Castelnuovo di Farfa , visit the sixteenth century Palazzo Perilli, where is the Museum of Oil of Sabina. In this original museum, the history of oil is illustrated it proposes at the same time a way through the exhibition of works by contemporary artists and listening to music that creates an enchanting atmosphere.

Keep on the way to Cottanello where you can see the beautiful castle of Hermitage St. Cataldo. It contains frescos in the early’300. The place is fascinating. Also there is a Villa Romana of the I century A.C, that keeps mosaic floors in both black and white with coloured pictures of unusual elegance.

How to get there (very easy indeed). Do not forget to choose as a hub in Rome- a beautiful, like Sabinian women, hotel- Yes Hotel.

By Car: A1 exit Fiano Romano, continue on SS via Salaria, follow the signs to Castelnovo of Farfa.

By train: From Tiburtina train station, about 1 hour trip.

Our writer is : Jonadab

Elisa Toffoli, or simply known as Elisa, is one of the most appreciated Italian singer and famous here in Italy.

Elisa was brought up in North Italy in Friuli, in the small town of Monfalcone.

She started her career as a singer very young, in fact with the debut album Pipes and Flowers, then only 19 years Elisa was discovered by the general public and was a revelation. Although the Italian singer lived almost all of her life here in Italy , most of the lyrics are in English. Elisa composes mostly rock and pop, but there are many influences of the various music genres like blues and electronic. The year 2001 was a very important year for the young Italian singer : Her the song titled "Light" wins the of the most important music contest in Italy that takes place every winter in Italy, the Festival of San Remo. Elisa is even one of the few Italian singers to be exported and broadcasted even in the United States, and on the 15 July 2008 her album "Dancing" saw its release in the States.

Elisa singing

The success of the very record is mainly because "Dancing", was used for a choreography of a famous American programme "So You Think You Can Dance?". From after the MO of Dancing is extracted as a single the song "Rainbow" which comes out in a remixed version . In the video produced for this remix dancers perform .That was a very intense year for Elisa, very committed with tour both in Italy and abroad.

Did you know ? Elisa sang a duo with the great Luciano Pavarotti (Voglio vivere così) , Andrea Boccelli (la voce del silenzio) but also with Tina Turner (Teach me again) and italian singer Tiziano Ferro (White Christmas)

Now the singer is preparing for the great concert held in Rome on 30 September 2008 in Palalottomatica in Rome, not to be missed !

Here is the list of prices depending on the location (various sectors):

TRIBUNA:€57,50;TRIBUNA LATERALE:€46;TERZO ANELLO:€40,25;TERZO ANELLO LATERALE:€28,75.

After a small break, I came back with the stories about the Capitol Hill of Rome.

I hope you will not be annoyed with my historical outline, but will learn something new and next time you come to Rome you will surprise you friends with your knowledge.

So let us start…

In Rome there are many legends of the glorious past of its ancient empire. One of these concerns Castor and Pollux.

The introduction of the cult of Dioscuri, or Castori, is closely linked to a specific episode: the battle at the lake Regillo that saw the Romans opposed to Latins.

The Latins were allies of the Tarquinio Superbo, seventh and the last king of Rome. He was the dynasty of Etruscan Tarquini and he reigned from 535 a. C. to 510 a.C., when he was banned from Rome. It was an important date in Rome, because with the Tarquinio Superbo ending the Etruscan hegemony on the city of Rome, which began with the reign of Tarquinio Prisco. After the last king, Rome became free and the Repubblic was founded.

The battle of Lake Regillo is one of the first legendary Roman victories. Legendary because we don’t have precise references (documents seems to have been lost in the fire following the invasion of the Brenno’s Gauls). Legendary also because it says that the outcome of the battle, initially unfavourable to the warriors of Rome, has been decided by the appareance of mythological Dioscuri: Castor and Pollux.

Tarquino, already chased away from Rome, attempted to regain power.

The Roman dictator Aulus Postumia Albino, departed from Rome with large forces of infantry and cavalry and met the enemy army at Lake Regillo, in the territory of Tuscolo. After a first phase with uncertain outcome, the battle was about to turn in favour of Latin ranks when Aulus Postumia prayed Jupiter that granted his victory’s wish. In the clamor of battle, two mysterious knight appeared between the forces in the field, and they led the Roman armies to victory. Leaving the battlefield, the two young appeared again inside the walls of Rome and they announced the successful victory over the Latins at the citizenship, and then they would be disappeared into the air(I talk about this another day*).

There are different statues of Dioscuri that can be admired even today in Rome, for example, on the Quirinale hill and on the balustrade of the piazza del Campidoglio. Here, at the top of the stairs, there are the colossal groups of the Dioscuri, Castor from one side, and Pollux from the other side.

The legend of Dioscuri is the introduction of a greek myth in Roman tradition. In fact, Castor and Pollux, in Greeks centres of southern Italy, were considered the “Numi Tutelari” of chivalry, which was established exclusively by characters in the aristocracy. The recruitment in Rome of a cult of aristocracy could mean the need for a strengthening of political power by the classes of “Romans gentilizi”, at a time when the transition from monarchy to republican institutions could involve strong social tensions.

From the mythological’s side, more simply, the Dioscuri represent the will of the gods of the birth of a Roman empire free from foreign yoke, as will by that time.

Our historical adventure, of course, does not end here, and I heartly welcome you to visit Rome and enjoy all these treasure by yourselves. My suggestion is to stay in bugdet and cosy hotel Nice Hotel and enjoy history in its relaxing atmosphere.