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

Our Blogger: Raul

Well, these days are strange in Rome. With so many cancelled flights due to the cloud of volcanic ashes hanging over Europe, not everyone is paying attention to one of the most interesting cultural campaingns to take place each year in Italy: the Culture Week.

Like every year this 2010 many interesting activities will take place and besides many of the most famous monuments in Rome can be visited for free! Yes, from April 16 to 25 you will be able to visit the Roman Forum, the CoIosseum and many other great monuments for free, or almost: by instance, to visit the Capitoline museums you would pay only 4,50 Euros, since there is an additional axhibition taking place right now.

We have selected for you some of the most interesting options when it comes to activities. You will find our picks at the bottom of this page.

And don’t forget: your best options for accomodation in Rome are Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel. Contact us today, or make a reservation through our website!

Our Blogger: Marcelo

Stoic and fatalistic. Introverted. Painter of daily life. A sense of humor and a frank manner mixed with a conservative vision about politics. A man who simply accepted things as they were. Edward Hopper (1882 – 1967), one of the most popular and well known American artists of the twentieth century will be in Rome from February 16^th.

For the first time in Italy! An exciting exhibition that arrives to Rome after a great success at the Palazzo Reale in Milan (More than 1,600 daily visitors). The Exhibition in Rome is organized with the support of Fondazione Roma and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. It will be entirely dedicated to all aspects of Edward Hopper’s extraordinary career.

Explore Edward Hopper artistic conception in which  “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world’’ while , “So much of every art is an expression of the subconscious’’ and ‘’ and little of importance by the conscious intellect.”

Our Blogger: Marcelo

“Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit.”

-Horace

From the 24^th February the exhibition ‘’ I Giorni di Roma: L’età della Conquista, Roma e il mondo greco’’ will allow you to explore the classic art even deeper into its roots and learn more about the cultural influence that Greece had over Rome, because as the Roman poet Horace said (and that’s the quote we’re using for this entry): “Captive Greece took captive [with its culture] her uncouth conqueror“.

The Capitoline Museums, placed in the legendary Capitoline Square (designed by

Michelangelo, no less) is the location chosen for this event. The decision is more than natural since the Capitoline Museums (the first public museum in history) are thematic-centred in the classic period.

Impressive marble statues, fine works in bronze and terracotta sculptures, ornaments and home decor items made of bronze and silver. Everything in order to bring you back in time and portraitf a period during which the ruling elite felt, with increasing awareness, the strengthening of its prestige and expressed it through art.

The conquest of Greece (the decades between the end of the third century BC and half of the first century A.. C)  opens an entire new prospective to the Roman society. The exhibition will focus on this very great moment in Roman History allowing visitors to better understand the strong influence of the Greek culture in Rome.

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Where: Piazza del Campidoglio

From: February 24, 2010
Until:  September 05, 2010

More info: http://museicapitolini.org/ http:// www.beniculturali.it

The Capitoline Museums are located at only fifteen minutes by bus (40 or 492)  from our locations: Hotel Des Artistes (www.hoteldesartistes.com) or Yes Hotel Rome (www.yeshotelrome.com).

Our Blogger: Vanda

From on October 24 up to February 14 th 2010, to the Museum in Rome Trastevere, you can assist to a photographic show from the title “Before and after the Wall.”  The exhibition has the purpose to tell the history of the wall in Berlin through forty photos taken during the last forty years in Berlin, the show it will put in prominence all the changes that this city has suffered from the creation of the wall up to its demolition and its transformation into a ”monument” of a past that cannot be forgotten.

The photographers authors of this interesting show are: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Leonard Freed, Bruno Barbey, Ian Berry, Guy Le Querrec della Magnum Photos, Gianni Berengo Gardin a Mauro Galligani, Giovanni Chiaramonte, Nicola Gnesi e Davide Monteleone and the great French agency Eyedea.

The museum is open every day, except Monday, from 10:00 until 20:00 but the box-office is closes to the 19. Price ticket: 5.50 European (whole) 4.00 European (meeting place). Address: Piazza di Sant’Egidio, 1/b

At Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel we will be more than happy to give you all the necessary information to visit this and many other famous museums in Rome. Make a reservation and get ready for the experience of a lifetime!

Our Blogger: Raul

Thinking about a different way to greet the new year? You will be hardly pressed to find a most exciting city than Rome. The eternal city will offer you excitement, culture, and tons of fun to start the new year with the right foot.

Rome houses one of the most interesting art collections in the world: the Vatican Museums, where you will be able to admire the Sistine Chapel. How’s that for a good way to start your year? Not to mention the Capitoline museums, the Trevi fountain, and of course the Coliseum.

Every year a concert is organized at Piazza del Popolo (subway stop Flaminio) to celebrate the new year. And that night fireworks can be seen at Trastevere and Castel Sant’Angelo. But the Roman tradition is to attend a cenone (litterally, a “big dinner”) at a restaurant to celebrate the new year with your relatives and closest friends. The typical dish on this occasion is the Cotecchino e Lenticchie, that’s, sausage and lentils. Near Yes Hotel and Hotel Des Artistes there are many typical restaurants where you will have the chance to experience a truly Roman New Year’s Eve.

Our hotels are conveniently located, with buses and subway stations at a stone’s throw, and the Colisseum is only half an hour away from us. So don’t hesitate to book now with us your accomodation for the New Year or Christmas, and while you are at that, take a look at our special packages!

Happy New Year!

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 !

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.

If you take a little walk in Rome you’ll notice her immediately. She’s everywhere: in the logo of the soccer team of the city and almost on every public object or document you see.
Of course I’m talking about the Capitoline she-wolf from the Capitoline Museums with which I assume you’re familiar, at least visually and for which you can get more about your Rome city tour information .

If the romans seem to be so fond of this bronze sculpture is because it tells the story of the city. Legend has it that King Numitor was overthrown by his brother Amulius who ordered the two grandsons of Numitor to be thrown into the Tiber so they won’t live to take revenge on him. But sadly for the traitor the twins (whose names are Romulus and Remus, in case you haven’t figured it out) were cared by a she-wolf who suckled them until a shepherd found them and raise them allowing the brothers to give back the throne to his grandfather and to found the Eternal City. (If you want to get the complete picture Romulus and Remus wound up fighting- and I mean serious fighting. Romulus killed his brother and gave his name to the city becoming also its first king.)

logo of the AS Roma soccer team

Even if the sculpture seems to be the perfect representation of the foundation of the city, originally the she-wolf was alone. Sometime during the renaissance the twins were added to the sculpture, that by the way was believed to be an Etruscan masterpiece until a couple of months ago when an Italian specialist discovered that the wolf is actually much younger, having been created during the High Middle Ages.

Just for the sake of the trivia you must know also that there are two replicas of the she-wolf in the United States, one in Cincinnati and the other one in Rome, Georgia, a gift, in Mussolini’s words, “from ancient Rome to new Rome.�

The she-wolf is hosted in the Capitoline Museums, Piazza del Campidoglio 1. To get there is very easy if you are a guest of Hotel Des Artistes or Yes Hotel: go to Termini and take there the bus 170 for six stops. The museums are open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 AM to 20:00 PM.

The Gardens of the Vatican are often considered as the most beautiful in the world. Fact is that they are filled of rare plants and flowers, and its fountains, towers, and paths and grottoes simply make it gorgeous. Only a 5 minute walk from the metro station Ottaviano-San Pietro and in easy reach from My Hotel Rome

In the past some of its areas were dedicated to various food cultures or were forrests.

During the Renaissance the gardens were embellished with ancient statues and fountains were built. And as from 1870 when the Vatican became the only residence of the Popes, the Gardens became more important as a result and more attention was paid to its care. While you are in the area, do not miss either a tour of the Vatican Museums.

Many great italian artists are the authors of some of the works done in the 1500 and 1600s, and to name a few, Antonio Tempesta, Giambattista Falda and Giovanni Maggi.

One of the most striking sight is certainly the Leonine wall which used to protect the Vatican from the invaders. The fountain of the Sacramento and the fountain of the Torri are great sights too. You will no doubt also be surprised by the grandness of the Tower of the Radio with its huge plate (radio vaticana) and the helicopter landing space reserved to the Pope.

During spring the gardens are at their best, the air filling with the perfumes of the exotic flowers and the parrotsm brought back from a trip, singing from the heights of the huge secular trees.

If you also wish to join the Papal audience of Benedict XVI at the vatican, you can book here now.

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.