rome blog

For seasoned travelers Rome has its secrets, but for those who are first timers or already know it but haven’t had time to look for sites where you can buy the same articles that are in big department stores at reasonable prices, this little text is going to help you tremendously in your next foray to one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

If you do not like getting away from downtown, you can find Discount fashion on the Plaza Spain dell’Alto. This place has all the top fashion brands at cheap prices and you will not believe that it is so close to everything. It is one of the few secrets that many people do not share.

Another good recommendations that we can give is Castel Romano Outlet. Iit will take your time to get there because it is 13 km from Rome at Castel Romano exit. If you go by public transport, which is not a bad option , grab  line B  metro, get off at the Laurentina stop and then take the COTRAL  bus going to Pomezia or Tor Vajanica, ask the bus driver for further instructions. If you are less adventurous, take a taxi. Open Hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 20:00 and Saturday they extend until 21:00. It is not open on Sundays and public holidays. There you can find everything you are looking for, clothes, shoes, accessories, and everything stamped with the best Italian and international brands.

If you are looking for exclusivity Bulgari Outlet offers a wide range of their products. To get there it will not be a huge effort because it is located in Via Aurelia, in the heart of Rome. It has everything in perfumery and cosmetics, scarves, clothing, ties and accessories, which, although outside the 2011 collection, it is  an irresistible offer. For those who only speak English, there will be no problem because they speak in Italian  and English, It Opens Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 18:00. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays it is closed.

For those who like to get in and out of shops, Fashion Distric is the place to visit. This outlet is on the Sol to Valmonte motorway and is a mini citadel where everything can by tried on and bought. A true paradise for those looking for cheap deals on clothing, shoes, accessories, perfumes and small and large details for your home or for gifts. A great place to go shopping now that we approaching the Xmas season. Their hours are from 10:00 to 20:00 every day and open until Saturday until 21:00H

But if you want to visit markets where you will pay little and without a doubt find the coolest fashion and what is not fashionable, the most famous place in Rome is the Porta Portese in Trastevere and the Garage Sale that withits 250 stands has everything you need. It is located in the vicinity of the Piazza of the Navy.

For more information:

http://castelromano.mcarthurglen.it/

Nancy Guzman

Autumn in apartments in Rome is a real alternative to be seduced by, so enter this date in your calendar and indulge in the pleasure of all that you can buy at a bargain price.

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Translated by: Marc
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Very close to the Colosseum, in a restored ancient theatre, there’s this peculiar museum which uses 3D technology (yes, they still use those glasses) to take a trip in time to Ancient Rome. After being guided into an archeological excavation, the visitors can be yet another spectator in the Colosseum during the gladiator combats, take a walk down the Roman Forum, presence a heated debate in the Senate and see up close the habits and daily life of its inhabitants.

Why visit this museum?

It’s not easy to image that the Roman Forum had the height of twenty Westminster Abbeys, which arms and fighting techniques the gladiators used to use, or the everyday aspects of the Roman people, no matter how eloquently a guide explains it to us. But here you’ll be able to find an accurate interpretation of Imperial Rome and feel that you can nearly touch what you’re seeing.

The buildings and the scenery of the theatre have been wonderfully reproduced and it’s worth a visit just for them, even if it’s only for the novelty of seeing the aspect of Ancient Rome in three dimensions and with the same sound which is used normally in cinemas.

For the elaboration of the content, they’ve used techniques from the famous film studios Cinecitta, and they’ve tried to respect the scientific rigor. The architectonic reconstructions follow a model by archeologists from UCLA and for the design of the fighters, they placed movement sensors in real people from a gladiator school in Rome.

Why think about it twice?

The recreation locates itself in Rome in 310 BC, when the emperor Constantine maintained a fight for power with Maxentius. There are more interesting periods of the Empire and they haven’t chosen a well known fragment of its history.

On the other hand, the combat at the Colosseum has unnecessary artistic licenses. It doesn’t take any interest away rom the show unless you’re a Roman history purist. It’s an experience directed to the general public, not as much to the big history fans. If that’s your case, you probably shouldn’t have high expectations on the storyline.

Address: Via Capo d’Africa 5, 00184 Rome

Opening Hours: Open from 9am until 7pm every day.

Prices: Adults 15 euros, children from 5-12 years and over 65s 8 euros. With Roma Pass, 12 euros.

There are discounts available if you buy your tickets at: http://www.3drewind.com/

Elena Alvarez

3D Rewind Roma will take you on an unforgettable trip around Ancient Rome, where you’ll be able to discover the intricacies of the construction of the Colosseum, have a chat with Julius Caesar or take a picture of yourself dressed like an authentic Roman. A very recommendable visit before seeing the Colosseum and the Forum because it will help imagine how Rome was like before the ruins. Choose one of our apartments in Rome and don’t miss out on this new experience.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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It’s not easy to agree on which is the most moving and emotive scene in ‘Spartacus’ (Stanley Kubrick, 1960), probably more a film studio in Greco-Latin sculpture and a film of desire, love and death that a film of war and Romans, despite probably being the most accomplished film of this genre of all time (but Spartacus, precisely, like all the great works, seems to have been made to question the concept of genre).

It’s also possible that the most moving scene is engraved in the own credit titles, where the producer Kirk Douglas gambled his integrity and his career with beautiful defiance with his decision that the name Dalton Trumbo, tragically victimised – his integrity made him spend eleven months in prison and later become an exile in Mexico, from where he elaborated scripts as a ghost writer or under a pseudonym – during the McCarthyist witch-hunt that hit Hollywood and American culture a few years after the Second World War, appeared with big letters on the screen as the legitimate author of the wonderful script of the film.

Of course no-one can blame those who believe that the best scene is the wonderful one where Varinia (Jean Simmons) makes Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) see with a memorable phrase of only two or three words that women are the true slaves of this world, because under any exploitation there’s always a gender exploitation, or in the way that their hands touch when she gives him food (punctuated by a soundtrack of a deep and shivering power of evocation), or the moment where the survivors are condemned to die on the cross in order not to betray the soul of the group to the shout of ‘I am Spartacus’, or the tragic moment which admirably links love and death in which Spartacus is forced to kill Antonino (Tony Curtis) to prevent him from bigger suffering (“I loved you like a father Spartacus” / “And I loved you like the child I will never see”), or those last and unforgettable minutes in which the character of Varinia, free thanks to a skillful final move by Graco (Charles Laughton), showing the gates of Rome, which she abandons on the road to Aquitaine, precisely to that son that she thought she’d never see, talking about his father, of who she will show to be free like he wanted to be, and the most heartbreaking and sad love declaration.

My favourite is, however, the one that after listening to Antonino recite a wonderful and shivering song one night about the return home, Spartacus is invaded by sadness of how little he knows the world, of knowing the he only knows how to fight, like any animal, of ignoring for example where the wind comes from. It’s then when Varinia tells him that the wind comes from a cave where a young god lives where, at night, among dreams, he breathes and yearns for his loved one.

Paul Oilzum

In the end maybe nobody has ever known anything about nothing, but that’s not a big deal while we have beautiful stories to tell each other. The film ‘Spartacus’ is one of them. Seeing it makes it hard to contain the desire to immediately rent apartments in Rome

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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The 60s wouldn’t have been anything without Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan wouldn’t have been anything without the 60s. In the same way, large part of the music from back then and now, wouldn’t be anything without Bob Dylan. Dylan could have summarised in his songs one of the highest points of North American poetry. Of course, he wasn’t really a ‘poet’, he was a singer.

But if one sees ‘No direction home’ by Martin Scorsese, there’s a segment in it in which the Beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg reveals in front of the cameras that Dylan was the person who would continue what he, Jack Kerouac, Gary Snider and Amiri Baraka among many other poets, had been learning since the 50s. And so, Beatnik culture had reached its consummation and its glorification with Dylan, as well as the spreading of its ideology.

And looking at things closely, the hippies were nothing more than a massification of Beat culture: vegetarianism, meditation, yoga, marihuana, LSD, speed, sex, road trips, interest for Eastern cultures and Pre-Columbine cultures, ayahuasca, peyote and Mexico, the American border a few steps away, where reality was quite another and it was only a few hours on the road in an open top yellow Chevy. The ‘American Dream’ gained another face. Of course the Vietnam War, May 1968, Woodstock and all those cultural events were used as a perfect frame so that Dylan could execute with precision his combination of Beat poetry, cramped singing via Woodie Guthrie and, of course, the crushing influence of Leadbelly.

Bob Dylan was therefore a perfect construction of folk. At the exact moment he travelled to New York and made his debut in the famous Café Wah? where, today, of course, not many revolutions are cooking. However, Dylan’s cleverness, as well as his talent and his great capacity to synthesize folk spirit from Central USA, as well as blues, catapulted him into being one of the most important pop stars of the time. Dylan had the guts to tell John Lennon enough of ‘I wanna hold your hand’ and get serious. ‘Revolver’ and the rest of The Beatles’ discography is a legacy of that encounter.

Then came that famous time in which “he went electric”, leaving behind the accoustic guitar and the harmonica to produce such important albums as ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ among others, causing controversy as well amongst the ‘blindest’ folk fans and joy among so many rockers and blues fans. It’s true that in the 70s Dylan lost his way a bit, however his legacy maintains itself with the years and his influence doesn’t stop being essential for any new rock, folk or blues musician. Dylan will be on the 12th of November in Rome, at the Palalottomatica stadium, and you can’t miss it. For more information on Bob Dylan and his concert in Rome, ticket sales, as well as his European Tour for this month, visit the official Bob Dylan website here: http://www.bobdylan.com/

Alexa Ray

Nothing better than getting apartments in Rome and being part of this great event.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Among all traditional musical genres, jazz is still the major source of inspiration and experimentation in the world. It was jazz, the one that influenced so many writers and artists, while inspiring them to produce experimental works that break with the formal barriers of different formats, used before. Thus, for example, the American Poetry Beat Generation, including Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, jazz used to create new improvisations in their texts, so their verses broke and conflicted, making the pace of their words new forms of intonation, meaning and poured into pages. If one carefully reads a novel like “On the Road” by Kerouac, you will notice that the rhythm is like a jazz piece to be choppy in its shakes and breathing mixture of writing. The jazz influence in arts continues in musical genres such as indie rock, metal and post rock, among others. Bands like Tortoise for example, have brought jazz to levels never heard before, bordering the minimal sound with percussion and keyboards that light up old, making the original experience of jazz, rhythm in essence, a walk through textures and new sound landscapes.

As you know, jazz arrived in Rome during the First World War, thanks to the American soldiers who brought this music to the Italian coast. After the war, jazz was very popular, and gradually made path for the Rome Jazz Festival. The Rome Jazz Festival is one of the largest jazz festivals in the world. This event brings together jazz musicians, composers and genre enthusiasts from Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, and is presented in the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. There is no better place to meet new people than a music festival in Europe. People are always open to meet new people, so you have the perfect excuse to link talking about music. That is, the beginning of the conversation is already guaranteed, the rest up to you.

In Rome you will also find a large number of tourism opportunities, ranging from the latest in contemporary art, classical sites and museums. Rome is generally seen as a city that opens its arms to just a few. The secrets to visit this beautiful city is of getting lost in its streets, squares and never stop moving around seeing everything that happens in it. The historical burden of a city usually tends to be overwhelming. For example walk through Berlin, always entails a return to the Berlin Wall and its former division, all that this generated, and its stories. Rome is similar but at other levels, and with a jazz background you cannot get carried away by the Rome’s autumn. For more information on this great Jazz Festival in Rome, visit the following website: http://www.romajazzfestival.it/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Rome and enjoy one of the best jazz festivals in the world. Highly recommended.

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Translated by: Hans
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Who hasn’t dreamt about having their house like in decoration magazines? That’s what the good taste of MOACasa de Roma tries to build in the common imaginary, and that’s how they’ve been doing it since 1977, which is how long since they’ve been an interior design reference.

But that’s not just what moves this company. They’ve also created cooperative work between various artisans who are experts in different fields of work and production of interior decoration furniture, who will be at Fiera Roma until the 7th of November.

Born from the MOA Cooperative, formed by 44 members who all belonged to the field of furniture production, this year they carried out their first exhibition dedicated to furniture, in the mark of the 150 year anniversary of Italian reunification. There they exhibited classic furniture and all the current design furniture line, and even the furniture which decorated the great mansions of past times and which marked a whole new world aesthetic tendency. Thanks to that, MOACasa has positioned itself on an international level.

Knowing that the current problem in big cities is interior space, MOACasa has looked to create furniture lines which give comfort, beauty and which accommodate themselves in reduced spaces generating the spacial illusion of amplitude and freedom of movement, so that the house can become a pleasant place.

But its purpose is not only beauty, good taste and comfort, commercial competitiveness is in its sights, and nothing better for that than having good prices, fair trade and clean production. That’s what the production of MOACasa focused on to create its image and to be one of the most successful shops.

If we go back in history, we’ll realize that man always tried to create artifacts which gave him pleasure and commodity in his intimate place, and this has its origin in the evolution and progression of humanity. However, the remains trace us back to Egypt, where the rises of the river Nile meant adapting the households to it. And so, the first furniture objects were stools or small wooden benches or, depending on the social class, they could be made of marble or types of wood which were for the richer kind of people Also, they developed the textile fabric to make different clothes with linen which gave the home a nicer atmosphere to live in. The rich social classes built deckchairs and went from the stool to the chair. That’s how the history of furniture began.

Today everyone has furniture and, for that, design is a bigger step towards the comfort stage and the good quality which post-modern society demands. That’s how furniture have transformed themselves into items which, in some cases, are practically a work of art.

For more information: http://www.cooperativamoa.com/

Nancy Guzman

If you’re a design lover and you like to change your environments but you need advice and window shopping before you buy, come to apartments in Rome and get yourself to MOACasa, which will surely have everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Rome is the Eternal City, but also it’s the location with the thousand faces: contemporary and ancient, pagan and sacred, chaotic and, at the same time, organized. For centuries different people with their different ways of facing reality have chosen it to establish their particular civilization. From the ashes of what it was, at times, the biggest empire on planet Earth, to the impressive baroque basilicas, temples and palaces, everything has its space in Rome. And the joyful, mundane, noisy and eminently profane city can’t (and doesn’t want to) shake off its sacredness, what keeps her united to Christianity. Because of that, initiatives such as the Pro Sacred Art and Music Foundation had to be born and grow in Rome.

But let’s go bit by bit so we don’t get lost. We consider sacred music that music conceived originally to be performed during religious services (‘St Matthew Passion by Johan Sebastian Bach, or the ‘Requiem’ by Mozart, for example), in counterposition with the one which was conceived to be inaugurated in theatres (symphonies, camera music and operas). There’s no need to give more details on the type of music that the music lover will encounter in this international festival which has been taking place since 2002 in the most impressive religious locations in Rome. And when I say impressive, it’s almost a warning so that the traveller does not get stunned in front of such beauty. From Santa Maria Maggiore, St John Lateran, St Paul Outside the Walls to St Peter in the Vatican, they’re used as singular locations for the incredible staging of this festival, which invites (I nearly forgot) the best choirs and orchestras in the world (from the Vienna Philarmonic to the Monte Carlo Philarmonic).

We have a location which is breathtaking, specific dates (between the 26th of October and the 9th of November, from the full moon until new moon), sublime music and the best performers. With such a great plan, there will be of course celebrity guests, from his Holiness the Pope, together with his full curia, to the highest level politicians who don’t want to miss out on such a great event which is, thankfully, available to everyone with just a click of a button. Here’s the website of the organizing foundation of the event where you can find a detailed programme (musical pieces, performers, timetables and specific locations): http://www.festivalmusicaeartesacra.net/.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, the traveller that has the chance to go to any of these concerts, has to know that the festival profits dedicated entirely to preserve and rehabilitate some of the Roman monuments (also sacred) which are deteriorated the most, under the motto ‘Artem salvat’ (art saves art). One of the Mausoleums (known as the ‘Mars’ one), the south side of the façade of the Basilica and the Fountain of Della Burbera, all of them in the Vatican, will benefit from such a great initiative.

Candela Vizcaíno

Remember that the tickets are available online. With all the hassle of the trip, don’t forget to book some of the excellent apartments in Rome In autumn, the city is wonderful.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Even acknowledging that the traveler goes into the wonders of the Eternal City, could be overwhelmed by the magnificence of the ancient art of this city, I will recommend a destination bit trite. Rome, of course, offers much to do and the vast majority of visitors make the three circuits linking the magic triangle: on the one hand, Baroque Rome (Quirinal or Trevi Fountain, for example), on the other, ancient remains (Roman Forum, Capitoline Museums, Colosseum, catacombs …) and, at the apex, the Vatican (although Museums are a good example of pagan art). However, there are more fortunate travelers who enjoy more time and want to deepen further in the history of Rome. There are also some who perhaps do not support the extreme noise of certain points of interest and prefer calmer enter in another part of this amazing city. Whatever your preference, traveler, pay a visit to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The temple is situated on the Esquiline, a neighborhood, in principle, of little interest, but full of small churches filled and with hidden treasures. The church of St. Pietro in Vincoli, for example, houses, nothing more and nothing less than the Moses of Michelangelo, while Santa Prudenziana, and Santa Prassede proudly displayed impressive fourth-century mosaics and IX. The traveler who is attracted to the Baroque frescoes can not miss the Daughet Gaspare San Martino ai Monti. But undoubtedly, the jewel of the Esquiline is Santa Maria Maggiore, a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin whose origin goes back to the V, but did not finish work until late eighteenth century.

But first things first. Santa Maria Maggiore is not lost as there is an Egyptian obelisk which points the way to this church founded as a result of a miracle: the snow one. The chronicles say that the Virgin appeared in a dream, in the year 352, Pope Liberius and ordered him to build a church where snow appeared. It turns out that on 5 August that same year, on the Esquiline, then completely abandoned it snowed one morning and, therefore, the Pope hastened to build the church. We performed a simple building consisting of three ships, which, as he advanced the devotion, it was progressively embellished. Thus, in the Middle Ages the floor completely tiled with impressive mosaics with the narrative of the life of Christ. The roof had to wait until the fifteenth century when it was added a coffered ceiling topped with gold brought from America (legend has it that Columbus himself). The facade and twin domes can be seen just a glimpse of the church were superimposed in the eighteenth century, when the flood of faithful forced to give higher packing monumental building. Beautiful chapels and frescoes they spread here and there. Undoubtedly, the best day to visit St. Mary Major is the August 5, when celebrating a special craft that are launched in the petals of white flowers in remembrance of the miracle of the Virgin.

Candela Vizcaíno

Many apartments in Rome are available for rent. Come and visit Rome! You choose the route and decide where to stay.

Contact Me 

Translated by: Hans
Contact Me

Even acknowledging that the traveler goes into the wonders of the Eternal City, could be overwhelmed by the magnificence of the ancient art of this city, I will recommend a destination bit trite. Rome, of course, offers much to do and the vast majority of visitors make the three circuits linking the magic triangle: on the one hand, Baroque Rome (Quirinal or Trevi Fountain, for example), on the other, ancient remains (Roman Forum, Capitoline Museums, Colosseum, catacombs …) and, at the apex, the Vatican (although Museums are a good example of pagan art). However, there are more fortunate travelers who enjoy more time and want to deepen further in the history of Rome. There are also some who perhaps do not support the extreme noise of certain points of interest and prefer calmer enter in another part of this amazing city. Whatever your preference, traveler, pay a visit to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The temple is situated on the Esquiline, a neighborhood, in principle, of little interest, but full of small churches filled and with hidden treasures. The church of St. Pietro in Vincoli, for example, houses, nothing more and nothing less than the Moses of Michelangelo, while Santa Prudenziana, and Santa Prassede proudly displayed impressive fourth-century mosaics and IX. The traveler who is attracted to the Baroque frescoes can not miss the Daughet Gaspare San Martino ai Monti. But undoubtedly, the jewel of the Esquiline is Santa Maria Maggiore, a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin whose origin goes back to the V, but did not finish work until late eighteenth century.

But first things first. Santa Maria Maggiore is not lost as there is an Egyptian obelisk which points the way to this church founded as a result of a miracle: the snow one. The chronicles say that the Virgin appeared in a dream, in the year 352, Pope Liberius and ordered him to build a church where snow appeared. It turns out that on 5 August that same year, on the Esquiline, then completely abandoned it snowed one morning and, therefore, the Pope hastened to build the church. We performed a simple building consisting of three ships, which, as he advanced the devotion, it was progressively embellished. Thus, in the Middle Ages the floor completely tiled with impressive mosaics with the narrative of the life of Christ. The roof had to wait until the fifteenth century when it was added a coffered ceiling topped with gold brought from America (legend has it that Columbus himself). The facade and twin domes can be seen just a glimpse of the church were superimposed in the eighteenth century, when the flood of faithful forced to give higher packing monumental building. Beautiful chapels and frescoes they spread here and there. Undoubtedly, the best day to visit St. Mary Major is the August 5, when celebrating a special craft that are launched in the petals of white flowers in remembrance of the miracle of the Virgin.

Candela Vizcaíno

Many apartments in Rome are available for rent Come a visit Rome!. You choose the route and decide where to stay.

Contact Me 

Translated by: Hans
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Located in the east wing of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, backing  the lovely Trastevere quarter, The Vatican Museums (http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html) are made by a memorable series of palaces built by the popes Julius II, Sixtus IV and Innocent III throughout the Renaissance to integrate into a single collection the artistic legacy accumulated formerly by earlier popes, and that has constantly expanded in works of art acquired by the new Catholic Church leaders, aspiring to the title in its own right, due to quantity and amount, as the largest collection museum in the world.

At the entrance we are  received by an intriguing and eloquent mosaic depicting the most famous passages in the life of young Ganymede, which we can see today at night in the form of the constellation of Aquarius. In Greek mythology, Ganymede beautiful beyond words, was the cupbearer of Olympus, displacing his predecessor Hebe, the daughter of Hera and goddess of youth, who’s mission is to serve the Gods nectar and ambrosia, giver of immortality, which was their beloved drink.

The most widespread and known the myth, which is included in the tile, transforms Ganymede into a Trojan prince son of Tros and Calíore who paid the consequences of his tragic beauty, unless his destiny is considered lucky in which case he was awarded the prize he deserved for his impressive appearance. One day, while walking through the fields of Troy tending the flocks of his father, an eagle landed on him and abducted him to be taken to the mountain of the gods. It was Zeus, the father of the Greek Gods. Madly in love with the outrageous beauty of the youngster, whom he wanted to have close by as a favorite lover, Zeus took the form of his most beloved animal, which later became a constellation, to consummate the famous kidnapping (some other versions have it  that Ganymede was kidnapped first by Eos, the dawn, inspired also by his love for the boy, and Zeus would have been limited to kidnap him  from her hands).

Perhaps it is not entirely inappropriate that this medallion with Ganymede’s history is placed at the entrance of the Vatican Museums. after all, out there the extraordinary exposed pieces reflect the same world of transformations, metamorphosis and plural and ambivalent sexuality as the scenes of the myths of classical antiquity, as suggested by Camille Paglia, the Renaissance rediscovery of the icon was in Apollonian homoerotic conceptualization

Paul Oilzum

Whatever your religious persuasions or sexual orientations are enter this Museum , when you rent apartments in Rome and you will find it difficult not to be seduced by the dazzling beauty that this mosaic displays

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Translated by: Marc
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