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

Planning a night out while in Rome? The night life of the eternal city starts late: first you have an aperitivo-drink in some trendy bar, then dinner, with a nice grappa to finish… And just take your time: most clubs or discos only open their doors around mid-night, and usually it’s considered a bit embarrassing to get there before 1 o’clock…

But where to go? There just seems to be too much choice: the whole neighbourhood of Testaccio is cramped with discos and salsa-clubs, and the historical center and Trastevere have some sort of semi-secret club for “members only� around every corner. Well, there’s something for everybody, and most clubs have a different theme each night: 80’s, which are still very popular in Italy (a must-go for an 80’s fan or a rocker is the Zoo Bar, Via di Monte Testaccio 22); “house�– the one big favourite of the Romans (try the “Alpheus�, Via Del Commercio, 36, tel: 06/5747826), latino rhytms that have a faithful fanclub (check the “Caruso� at Via di Monte Testaccio 36)…

If you feel like dressing up and partying in a more “exclusive� ambient, the place to go is the “Gilda�, a favourite of the Roman VIP’s! The famous night club is located in the historical centre, close to the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain, on Via Mario De’ Fiori 97. To get in you should dress up a little, and call them in advance to get on a list, even though parties of unaccompanied ladies usually have no trouble getting in any club, most of them overcrowded by male clientele.

As to your accommodation, be sure to book a hotel with no curfew: the Roman night is long! Try the Hostel or Hotel Des Artistes centrally located near the Termini station.

The origins of Halloween are set in Europe, since this was a pagan Celtic festival : Celts of Britain, Ireland and France first celebrated Halloween. The immigrants who settled in America brought this tradition with them and since then the trend has been largely embraced in other many English speaking countries mainly. The name “Halloween� derives from All-hallow-even, since it is the eve before “All Hallows’Day� (All Saints’ Day)
Nowadays, most western Europe countries, following the fashion of the American pop culture, have been assiduously celebrating Halloween every 31st October.
In Italy Halloween has taken roots only very recently and is popular mostly among the children and the young people. Its increasing popularity makes it a must for the trendy person and more and more parties are organized every year. In Rome here are a few clubs that have a party : The Gilda, The Piper, which are among the famous discos, located in central Rome close to the American Embassy.

For the children : If it is an occasion for making up and dressing up it can also be an opportunity for an outing to the Museo Explora dei bambini (Explora Children’s Museum). Between 28 october 30 october there will be “Aspettando Halloweenâ€? (Awaiting Halloween) and then on 31 october and 1 november : “Festa di Halloweenâ€? (Halloween Party). The visits last 1 h 45 min. Among the sponsors of the Explora Museum are the newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, but also the Comune di Roma. The museum produces its own electricity thanks to the photovoltaic panels (see picture). Across the world are also other children’s museums : the most famous are in Boston, New York and Paris (La Cité des Enfants) . Explora is in walking distance from Villa Borghese city park and Piazza del Popolo, and also close to the good and cheap Bed and Breakfast Jonella and De Capuccini.

If you are tired of walking around the city here is an alternative entertaining and relaxing way of sightseeing : cruising the river Tiber in the afternoon. The guided tour lasts 1 hour and 10 mins and starts from the Ponte Sant’Angelo. You first cruise towards the Tiber Island, then to Ponte Risorgimento and then back again to Sant’Angelo dock. The comments, in English and Italian will help you have an even more enjoyable trip. The tour leaves at 4.00 pm, the rate is 8,75 euro and for bookings click here.

For those who still have not seen the Ostia Antica site, now is time to get there by boat ! You will discover a wild Tiber just steps out of Rome. A definitely original trip that takes 2 hours and 20 mins, leaving from the central Rome Ponte Marconi at 9.15 am and dropping you in Ostia Antica at 11.30 am, leaving you with 2 hours to visit the excavations of the Ancient port of Rome, and then hop on again at 1.30 pm and arrive in Rome at 4 pm, in time for a nice gelato. The round trip is 13 euro and for more details read here.

Finally, for a romantic dinner while you sail the Eternal City under the city lights here is the Premier Dinner Cruise on the Tiver River. This exclusive tour leaves at 9 pm and you will enjoy 2 hours and 15 mins with a lovely aperitif followed by a very refined dinner, with music accompanying you during the whole trip. The rate per person is only 51,25 euro and we recommend you book it now !

… And since you will be most likely staying a few days in Rome we can only recommend you to stay in a central location and either you prefer a budget accommodation or a 3 star hotel the choice is yours.

While visiting Rome you have surely planned to see the Colosseum, one of the absolute must monuments of the antiquity. Right now there’s one more reason to go and see it: there is an exhibition on the theme “Iliad”, the most important epic poem of the antiquity.

The exhibition tells the tale of each of the 24 chapters of the poem using archeological material such as sculptures, reliefs and inscription, starting from a supposed bust of  “Homer” himself, and re-creating the main protagonists of the tale, starting with no less than the Olympian gods themselves.

The material present at the exhibition comes from various museums, including the Capitoline Museum in Rome. The opening hours of the exhibition are from 8.30 AM till 6.30 PM until the 28th October, and as from the 29th October it closes at 4.30 PM. The exhibition will stay open until teh 18th February 2007. To book a guided tour call the number 06 3996 7700.

To read more about the Colosseum see this link. To book your Rome accomodation easily accessible, just 5 minutes metro ride from the Colosseum, try the popular My Hotel.

 

 HENRI MATISSE

until 28 february 2007  in the Complesso del Vittoriano in the heart of Rome.  Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse’s works are to be seen in the Vittoriano   which has over 200 drawings,  documents, letters, documents, postcards, oils, sculptures,  watercolours, and gouaches available to see for the visitors.
Two different styles for these great painters of the 20th century and yet united in this special exhibition. These art lovers were inspired by the same topics : people, landscapes and nature. However they proposed their views in completely different ways.
Matisse was the leader of the Fauvist movement in the early 1900’s, while Bonnard was part of  a post impressionist movement, Les Nabis. As this exhibition in central Rome is definitely worth a visit also take advantage of our great prices while you stay in Rome and book our Nice Hotel.
 

 

 

 

 

Is getting married again at 79 years old. The worldwide famous italian actress is originary from pretty small town Subiaco, 70 kms from Rome, near Tivoli. Nerone had his Villa built in 60 DC in Subiaco, and more recently Subiaco has become well known for its monasteries.

Gina Lollobrigida moved to Rome where she studied the Belle Arti. In order to pay her studies,  she worked as  a model and  in 1947 she came in 3rd place in the  Miss Italia pageant.  She got married in 1949 to Milko Skofic, a doctor, who then became her impresario and  later divorced him in 1971.

Gina Lollobrigida featured in various italian films and eventually got noticed by the Hollywood big industry. Her first american apparition was in “Beat the Devil” in 1953 with Humphrey Bogart, a film written by John Huston and Truman Capote. She starred with famous actors such as Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, but also italian Marcello Mastroianni.

 

From  the 70’s Lollo spends more time in her studio : a dedicated sculptor and photographer who goes back to to her first love, the Belle Arti.

In the late 80’s  Gina features in an american soap “Falcon Crest”, and in “La Romana”, an italian remake movie. In 1996 she is awarded the “David di Donatello” for her career, a reminder of the same award she had won in 1956 as best actress.  The  academy, set up 50 years ago,  is situated in the heart of Rome by Villa Patrizi, close to comfortable hotels such as My Hotel Rome and  Bed and Breakfast De Cappuccini, in the Via Veneto area,  in walking distance from the Galleria Borghese and the Villa Borghese, Rome’s central park.

The world-famous Roman flea market of Porta Portese takes place on the Via Portuense, the street starting staright from the Porta Portese (”Portese gate”) itself. This antique city gate was one of the main entrances in the city of Rome in the antiquity and then rebuild in the 17th century. The gate led through the Aurelian city wall in the direction of the sea-side town of Portus, hence the name of the gate and the street.

Even today the street is quite crowded with  traffic, except on Sundays: the street is closed for traffic and before sunrise every Sunday morning the area of Porta Portese starts filling up with merchants and street vendors setting up their booth or just distributing their merchandise on sheets spread on the street. By 7 AM most they are all ready for the day’s work and shoppers start arriving, and by 8 AM it’s crowded!

The market is huge, it goes on several miles along the street and you can find all you could possibly need in the incredible wealth of merchandise that’s on offer: clothes – brand new or second hand – shoes, handbags and other accessories, lingerie, suspiciously expensive looking watches, furniture and decoration items, cook ware, books, bicycles and any kind of vintage or antique treasures… Just dig in, it’s the shopping lovers’ paradise! The market stays open until about 2 PM.

And how to get there? The market is located in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the city, Trastevere, close to the banks of the Tiber. For example from the Termini station you can catch the bus number 75 which will take you directly in front of the market, or take the metro line B to Piramide and then walk towards the river, about 10 minutes. See the location of the market on the Rome city map. For your accomodation in Rome book the Nice Hotel, conveniently connected with the market by the bus line 75, and perfect for anyone who wants style and quality at a decent price!

 

 

Today ends the first edition of the international  film festival in Rome, which has proved to be a real success and full of glamour : Think of Monica Bellucci’s red Dior dress …

The winner of this year festival is a black comedy, a russian film “Playing the victim”, inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Nominated as the best actress is Ariane Ascaride in “Le voyage en Arménie”.

Last but not least to close the event will be Robert de Niro who will also present his latest film “The good shepherd”, in the sala Sinopoli.

This event will most likely be taking place next year too, and more people yet will be tempted to a getaway vacation. Autumn is an ideal season to visit Rome, which is still sunny and warm, perfect to walk around and idle. So, for your next trip,  we suggest My Hotel  in central Rome and do not wait, book it now.

Why not see the Eternal City from a different point of view: that of a typical Roman, travelling on 2 wheels, on a scooter, or a vintage Vespa à la Audrey Hepburn… There’s a reason why the Roman residents prefer scooters and motorcycles to cars and buses, and I’m sure you, too, will find that on a nice, sunny day it’s so much more fun cruising on a scooter than sitting in an over-air-conditioned tour bus!

In the rush hour traffic the best and only way to move fast is on foot or with a scooter, and that’s why the city is crowded with scooter rental stores. To get you going check these places for scooter and bicycle rental.

If you don’t feel safe enough in the Roman traffic on your own, or simply want to combine cruising with a cultural experience, the best option is to book a scooter tour; for glamorous vintage tours of Rome see here.

For your accomodation I recommend the cheap and chic Nice Hotel, or the 3-star My Hotel, both located conveniently close to the Termini station and several scooter rental companies – not to mention the central metro station and the crossroads of dozens of bus lines, just in case you got tired of living dangerously…

Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard, close friends and log-time correspondents in their own days, are now to be seen together in Rome! The exhibition of the two French artists, organized by the City of Rome, the region of Lazio and a committee of top experts, consists of 230 works of the two artists presenting all their different techniques from oil paintings to sculptures to drawings. The exhibition also includes documents coming from private collections all over the world.

The works are organised according to the subjects depicted, and tend to underline the profound similarities between the expression and creativity of the two artists.

The exhibition has already been opened to the public on the 6th October 2006, and will stay open until the 4th February 2007 in the Vittoriano exhibition complex on the Venice Square (Piazza Venezia) built as a monument to the king Vittorio Emanuele.

The entrance of the museum is on the Via San Pietro in Carcere on the side of the building. The opening hours are from 9.30 AM to 7.30 PM, except on Fridays and Saturdays, when you can go and get your art experience even after dinner, until 11.30 PM, and on Sundays until 8.30 PM. For more information call the following number 06 6780664. For the location of the museum Vittoriano see the Rome city map here.