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

My dear readers, as promised, here is our next appointment of full immersion into Ancient Roman life, and we will talk about famous roman feasts-Saturnals.

Let’s suppose you want to know when the fun is in Rome. Well you could have some good time nowadays but real fun was during Ancient Rome Period while celebrating what they used to call Saturnalia.

The Saturnalia was a festivity offered to the God…Saturn of course, and officially was celebrated on December 17 and, in Cicero’s time, lasted seven days, from December 17-23. Augustus limited the holiday to three days and Caligula extended it to five. Nevertheless , everyone continued to celebrate for a full week in practice because when fun begins is not easy to stop. Catullus describes it as "the best of days,"

Saturn was identified with Kronos. The Temple of Saturn, the oldest temple recorded by the pontiffs, had been dedicated on the Saturnalia were a sacrifice and banquet was performed. You can see today the columns remaining from that temple in the forums area.

During the holiday, all restrictions were relaxed and the social order almost inverted. So by that, gambling was allowed in public. Slaves were permitted to use dice and did not have to work! Instead of the toga, less formal dinner clothes were allowed. Slaves were treated as equals, permitted to wear their masters’ clothing, and be waited on at meal time.

Now hear what Lucian tell us about the party "During My week the serious is barred; no business allowed. Drinking, noise and games and dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping of frenzied hands, an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water—such are the functions over which I preside."

As you can imagine, the equality regarding to slaves treatment was only temporary ; and Petronius refers of an impudent slave being asked at some other time of the year whether it was December yet.

Saturnalia was an occasion for celebration, visits to friends, and the presentation of gifts, particularly wax candles (cerei), possibly to signify the returning light after the solstice.

If a time of relaxing and enjoy, the season also was at the same time an occasion for murder. Few examples: the Catiline conspirators intended to fire the city and kill the senate on the Saturnalia, when many would be preoccupied with the festivities. Commodus was strangled in his bath on New Year’s eve while Caracalla plotted to murder his brother. Just part of the Roman habits.

By the end of the first century AD, Statius proclaims: "For how many years shall this festival abide! Never shall age destroy so holy a day! While the hills of Latium remain and father Tiber, while thy Rome stands and the Capitol though has restored to the world, it shall continue" The Saturnalia continue to be celebrated as Brumalia (from the term bruma, winter solstice) reaching the Christian era, finally, by the middle of the fourth century AD, its rituals had become absorbed in the celebration of Christmas. Dear friends, pack your luggage and come to Rome to explore and learn and to PARTY!!! My suggestion for your stay in Rome is YES Hotel, located just near the station, and my suggestion to get a deeper knowledge about Saturnalia is a book of

Lindsey Davis- SATURNALIA!

So long, my dears, and to be continued…

Today, my devoted readers, I want to introduce you to a fascinating journey to the Ancient Rome, we had already a nice preface of Julius Ceasar’s death, and we will continue this odyssey to the mysteries and curiosities of ancient Roman life, and so you will be knowledgable enough to do tour guides for your loved ones when you visit Rome in future.

Today we will talk about the CALENDAR! And will learn how ancient romans organized their time and life!

In the past, calendars were cause of more than headache, my friends. In order to set up things occasionally some days were just scrapped by authorities.

For example, the pontiffs of Ancient Rome used to intercalated days to the calendar, but they made little mistakes, so that by the time of Julius Caesar, the calendar was… three months off.  Julius managed to solve , the trick was extend the year 46 BC to 445 days. So they made you 80 days younger for your next year birthday.

His reformed version of the calendar contained 12 months (instead of the original from the 7^th century B.C, ten months (March – December) and 304 days )with the present amount of days and a leap year.  Nevertheless, his calendar was 11 minutes longer than a true solar year. In honour of Julius Ceasar this calendar bears his name- Julian Calendar.

Let’s consider now the modern Gregorian calendar, which was developed by Pope Gregory XIII during 1582.  That year, ten days were simply scrapped from the calendar, and the Pope ordered three days should be omitted from the calendar every 400 years. So imagine, you are in 1582 and they just blow away your birthday. Should one celebrate or not?

The names we have for the months are another legacy from Ancient Rome’s culture, here it goes a description on the matter:

• January: Because of Janus, god of gates and doors.  On January first, Romans offered sacrifices to Janus so that he would bless the new year.
• February: Derived from Latin februa, signifying festivals of purification celebrated in Rome this month.  It was originally 29 days but one of those days was transferred to August.
• March:  The Roman war god Mars.
• April:  Latin, aperire, meaning to open, probably because it is the season during which buds start to open.
• June:  Uncertain.  It could be derived from the Latin goddess Juno, or the Junius clan of Ancient Rome.  The Latin juniores means "youth," and the month June may contrast the month May, which is   dedicated to maiores, or age.
• August: Named after emperor Augustus, due to many important events in his life happening in this month. 
• September – December:  The Latin septem, octem, novem, decem, meaning seven, eight, nine, and ten, in reference to the number of each month in the year.  June was originally Quintilus (five) and August sextus (six).

At the beginning, there was no seven day period, or except in the east, where some days were named as the planets.  The first reference to a seven day week is found during the reign of Augustus. Gradually would be extended throughout the empire.  The days were as follows:  Dies Lunae (Monday), Dies Martis (Tuesday), Dies Mercuri (Wednesday), Dies Jovis (Thursday), Dies Veneris (Friday), Dies Saturnae (Saturday), and Dies Solis (Sunday).

Feriae (dies ferialis) were called the holidays for visiting temples and perform rituals and sacrifices to the gods.  The term was used also for birthdays.

Originally "feast days," on holidays the local aristocracy would pay for meals for the poor. A quite funny celebration was The Saturnalia, held in December during the winter solstice.  Celebrating the festival, masters and slaves would trade places, gifts were exchanged, and business activities suspended. 

To be continued, my curious ones…

If you are a passionate gym attender, enjoy and love swimming, can’t live without aqua-gymnastics, and at the same time you are an admirer of beautiful synchronized swimming competitions, then do not miss your chance to see one of the most beautiful swimming world championship in Rome in 2009. 

FINE-International Swimming Federation is helding its regular world championship in Rome. All the official athletes, trainers and members for 13th the FINE World Championships will gather in Rome (Italy) from the 19 July to August 2 2009.

The Eternal city is ready to give a warmest welcome to  all the representatives of FINE the 15 years after the organization of the seventh edition of these samples in 1994.

The organizers are going to make sure that 13th the FINE World Championships will be also remembered like one of corner-stones in the history of the FINE . The Federation invites the best athletes coming from 193 National Federation Members, for the five water disciplines, to be presented in Rome.

The performances of our swimmers, the technical perfection of our divers, the competitions between the squares of water pole, the effort of the divers, the competitions among the water polo teams and the grace in the movements of the synchronized swimmers, will make enjoy thousands of spectators all over the world and million viewers.

The natural attraction of Rome, its history and the cultural inheritance, its sense of the hospitality and the sympathy of its citizens are the best guarantee for one great spectacle. Since the designation of Rome in July 2005 as city host of these water sports the FINE continues to work on making a contact with the Organizing Committee with the purpose to guarantee that best one succeeded in 2009: high quality of the structures, important programs of marketing and sponsoring, high levels for TV production and the broadcasting. 

From the name of the Swimming Federation is expressed gratefulness to the Organizers of 13th the FINE World Championships. Their enthusiasm, their aid and their continuous attendance contributes to the image of this competition that the FINE wants to create : a Water Festival with best Stars of the Italian Sport, like Federica Pelligrini. 

Years and Locations of Earlier World Swimming Sports Championships

The International Federation of Swimming has been founded in 19 July 1908 in occasion of the quarter edition of Olympic Games. The representatives of eight European nations (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and Hungary) gathered in London, near the Manchester Hotel, with the aim to unify and to render standard the rules of swimming, diving and water ball ; To establish one list of the supremacies of the world, of which exercising the control and supplying to the modernization; to define and to assure the norms organizational directives and of the Olympic manifest of the three disciplines.

Federica Pelligrini’s World record

You are welcome in 2009 to Rome TO ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL COMPETITIONS!