Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

This Rome blog article is written for the tourists staying at the Hostel Chaplin Bed & Breakfast Rome and the B&B Little Italy.

Maurizio Anastasi, of the Rome Superintendency for Archeology, at an international art meeting in Ferrara, has announced plans to restore the Trajan Column, one of Rome’s most famous monuments, to its original splendor by using the innovative technique of “painting” the column with light beams.

The Trajan Column is one of Rome’s most famous and most visible artworks, standing almost 100 feet tall. Its spiral relief sculpture winds 23 times around the column and depicts the story of the emperor Trajan’s triumphs in Dacia (in what is now Romania).

It was erected in 113 A.D. and is made completely of marble, which used to be painted, like many Roman statues of antiquity, in many bright colors.

One of the best preserved of all Roman artworks, the monument has however lost what might have been it most distinctive feature — color. The city of Rome will now try to recreate these original colors, without causing damage to the monument.

This Rome information blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast in Rome.

Rome’s “long-noses”

Everywhere you go in Rome you will see water fountains in the streets. The water from these “long-noses” as the Romans call them is perfectly drinkable and even in mid-summer, when the temperatures are very high, so fresh that it would seem to come straight from the fridge.

The acqueducts

What most visitors to Rome are not aware of is that this is thanks to the aqueduct system invented by the Romans more than 2000 years ago.

The ancient Roman canalization system (260 miles, except for 35 of these, mostly subterranean) was built and maintained by a legion of workers (a legion, during emperor Augustus’ reignin the 1^st century B.C., consisting of more than 5000 men), under the supervision of the curator aquarum.

The aqueducts were ingeniously built, with possible repairs already in mind, by installing ways of access (with marble covers) at always the same distances from each other.

Rome’s oldest acqueduct

The oldest aqueduct is the Acqua Appia and dates from 312 BC. It is 16 kilometers long, nothing compared to the Acqua Claudia, which, with its 68 kilometers, is the longest acqueduct. Like most of the acqueducts, it passes by Porta Maggiore.

Hello Rene,

We are the Bolivians that were in the Chaplin last July. We want to thank you because we felt really good at the Chaplin, you were also very kind to our two year old child and you even took the time to help us fix his push-chair. If we ever have the chance to visit Rome again, we hope to stay at the Chaplin.

Best Regards,

Gabriela and Boris

This Rome information blog article about the Terme di Caracalla is written for the guests of the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast in Rome.

History of the Baths of Caracalla

The Terme di Caracalla costitute one of the biggest and most impressive monuments in Rome. They were built between 212 and 217 by Caracalla, the son of the Emperor Settimo Severio.

The word Terme comes from the Greek thèrmai, “warm springs”. In Roman times the Terme were public baths where the citizens of Rome used to come together in order to relax and to discuss things. The baths of Caracalla were among the most important and imposing ones: even today the height of its walls still impresses.

In the times of the Roman Empire 16 hundred people could visit the Terme di Caracalla, the ruins of which can be found on the slopes of the Aventine Hill.

Description of the Terme di Caracalla

The gigantic complex was structured with a big building in it center, surrounded by green spaces, with 4 gates of admission.

Inside the Terme the building is almost perfectly symmetrical, with a central basilica covered by three vaults (the frigidarium, the tepidarium and the calidarium). The gyms (palestre) and the dressing rooms can be found on the sides.

The order was to visit first the gym and the Turkish bath and to end in the frigidarium, which, unlike the tepidarium and calidarium was not heated.

The Terme di Caracalla were restored several times until Vitige, king of the Ostrogoti, cut off the water supply through the acquaducts.

In the 16^th century the two granite tubs that nowadays decorate the Piazza Farnese were found during excavations at the Terme di Caracalla. Other works of art that were found there can now be seen in Rome’s Vatican Museums and in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Napels.

This Rome informatie blog about the Terme di Caracalla is written for the guests of Rome Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel.

Adress:

The address of the Baths of Caracalla is Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52. (From Chaplin B&B Rome you walk to Termini station where you take metro line B to the Circo Massimo stop.

Opening hours of the Terme di Caracalla:

The Terme di Caracalla are open every day from 9am until one hour before sunset (the ticket counters close one hour before colsing time):

• From Januari 2nd until February 15th: 9am-5pm;
• from February 16th until March 15th: 9am-5.30pm;
• from March 16th till 24th: 9am–7.15pm;
• from March 25th till August 31st: 9am-7pm
• from September 1st till 30th: 9am-6.30pm
• from October 1st till 27th: 9am-5.30pm;
• from October 28th till December 31st: 9am–4.30pmOn Mondays the Terme di Caracalla can only be visited from 9am till 2pm.

The Baths are closed on:

January 1st and December 25th.

Tickets:

The ticket for the Terme di Caracalla is a ticket that is valid for 7 days for the following 3 tourist attractions in Rome: the Terme themselves, Villa dei Quintili and the Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella. The ticket price is 6 Euro, tourists between 18 and 24 years old from Europese member states only pay 3 Euros 3 Euro. European visitors to the Terme di Caracalla that are younger than 18 or older than 65 have free admittance.

Information and reservations:

Tel: +39 0639967700 (Monday-Saturday 9-13.30 and 14.30-17); Online booking: www.pierreci.it

Extra services:

There are audioguides as well as guided tours available. The Terme di Caracalla also have a museum store.

This Rome information blog about the Villa Torlonia is written for the guests of the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast in Rome.

The Villa Torlonia is a public garden in Rome, designed by the neo-classical architect Giuseppe Valadier. From the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel and Rome Termini it can be reached by taking either bus 90 or bus 36.

From the 17^th until the mid-18^th century the Villa Torlonia was owned by the Pamphilj family. They, as did others in the area around the Via Nomentana, used it for agricultural purposes. The Colonna family, who bought the property in 1760, continued this use.

The banker Giovanni Torlonia, who had bought the Villa from the Colonna’s in 1797, began construction in 1806 and his son Alessandro finished it.

Valadier transformed two already existing buildings into a Palazzo and into what is now the Casino dei Principi. He also built the Scuderie (Stables) and an entrance which was destroyed when the Via Nomentana was widened. He redesigned the park itself, creating symmetrical, perpendicular lanes intersecting at the palace. He also had classical sculptures placed in the villa.

In 1832, after Giovanni Torlonia’s death, his son Alessandro took over and hired Giovan Battista Caretti to add the Tempio di Saturno, the Capella di Sant’Alessandro, the Tribuna con Fontana, plus a number of buildings that don’t exist anymore.

Giuseppe Jappelli designed the southern part and Quintiliano Raimondi did the Teatro and the Aranciera (now the Limonaia). Unlike the neo-classical northern part, the southern part is characterized by the creation of lakes, winding lanes and a number of new buildings. In 1842 Alessandro has two obelisks erected, in memory of his parents.

Alessandro Giovanni then transformed the Capanna Svizzera into the Casina delle Civette and had theVillino Medievale and the Villino Rosso built.

In 1919 3^rd and 4^th century Jewish catacombs were found underneath the Villa. During the 1920’s, when the Villa Torlonia became his official residence (for the exorbitant sum of 1 Lira a year), Benito Mussolini and Prince Torlonia had an air-raid shelter built inside these Catacombs.

After the war the villa was abandoned, decay set in, and it was not until 1978 that it was bought by the City of Rome, restored, and turned into a public park.

The most important buildings in the Villa Torlonia are the Casina delle Civette, the Casino dei Principi and the Casino Nobile. The landscaped park also houses 13 garden pavilions representing exotic parts of the world.

The Villa Torlonia is entered from the Via Nomentana. Its official address is Via Nomentana 70 – 00161 Roma. For more information and for bookings the Cooperativa IL SOGNO (Viale Regina Margerita, 192 – 00198 Roma, Tel: +39(0)685301758, Fax: +39(0)685301756, mail: service@romeguide.it) can be contacted.
There is WiFi access in the park.

This Rome marathon blog entry is written for the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel.

Over 50 thousand athletes are expected to participate in the Rome marathon, which will be run Sunday March 16th and starts at the Imperial Forum.

The 14th edition of the Marathon of the City of Rome, as the event is officially called, will have 15 thousand athletes running competitively and another 35 thousand participants, amongst whom the “fitwalkers” and the “retrorunners” who will be there for so-called “Fun Run”.

Until Saturday evening it will be possible to enter the “Fun Run” by going to the “Marathon Village” in the Palazzo dei Congressi in the EUR area. For more information it is possible to call +39 (0)64065064.

The field consists of runners from 76 different nationalities, who will run one of the most beautiful marathons in the world, starting at the Imperial Forum and continuing along 42 kilometers and a bit of some of the most famous tourist attractions Rome has to offer, like the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps.

This Rome information blog about the Ara Pacis is written for Chaplin B&B Rome.

The original Ara Pacis

Augustus, in his Res Gestae, tells of the Senate’s decision to construct an Altar to Peace, following his conquests of Spain and Gallia between 16 and 13 b.C.

The dedication of the Ara Pacis took place on January 30^th of the year 9 b.C. (Augustus’ wife’s birthday). It had been placed on the Campus Martius, the Field of Mars, near the Via Flaminia, which at the time was the main road for pilgrims entering Rome from the north. That way all those travelers would know straightaway what a great man Augustus was.
At the same time as the Ara Pacis, a sundial – the sundial of Augustus - was built.

Unfortunately the inundations of the Tiber made the land rise and the Area Pacis got buried and virtually forgotten, until 1536, when by chance a piece of the altar was found.

The modern Ara Pacis

In 1903 Friedrich von Duhn recognized the Altar, of which, mostly through fortuitious findings, more fragments had been unearthed throughout the years, for what it was. Excavations were started and stopped when the Palace of the Via Lucina underneath which the Altar was found threatened to collapse.

In 1937, 2000 years after Augustus’ birth, the excavations were started again. The use of more modern technology enabled the rescue of the monument and on September 23^rd, 1938 Mussolini inaugurated the Ara Pacis.

Since it was impossible to rebuild the Ara Pacis in its original position, Mussolini chose to build the monument near Augustus’ Mausoleum. The Altar was to be protected from the Roman climate by glass, but because of the war and lack of time and money, it never got made the way the designer, Dita Vaselli, had envisaged it.

The glass got removed, and the monument got protected by, first, sandbags and later an anti-shrapnel wall: kind of ironic really, for an Altar for Peace.

Several attempts, in the early 50s, in 1970, and in the 80s, were made to clean up and restore the Ara Pacis, but soon problems began to manifest themselves again, largely due to Rome’s difficult climate with big temperature changes, humidity and, of course, the city’s pollution.

In 1995 the Municipality of Rome started thinking about replacing the Pavilion. The new museum complex for the Ara Pacis was designed by Richard Meier, an American architect, who came up with a design that was very controversial, in that it placed an extremely modern building in the midst of an area full of Rome’s ancient archeological treasures.

Ara Pacis opening hours, ticket prices and directions.

This Rome information blog about the Ara Pacis museum was written for the guests of the hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast.

Ara Pacis Opening hours

Tue-Sun 9am-7pm; Dec 24,31 9am-2pm (the ticket office closes an hour before closing time)

Closed

Monday, Jan 1, May 1, Dec 25

Ticket prices

Full price € 6,50; Reduced price € 4,50 (for European citizens beteen the ages of 18 and 25).

European citizens under 18 and over 65 years of age do not pay. Handicapped citizens of the European Union and one assistant or family member have free entry.
During special events or exhibitions the tickets prices may vary.

Booking

Booking can either be done online at www.ticketclic.it or by phone (+39-(0)60608) from 9am to 10.30pm. Individuals pay a 1 Euro booking fee.

Reservations are obligatory, but free for schools. Other groups (of a minimum of 12 people) pay a 25 Euro booking fee. Booking for those groups is obligatory on Saturdays and public holidays. Groups cannot book online.

How to reach the Ara Pacis from Rome Termini and B&B Chaplin Hostel.

The address of the Ara Pace Museum in Rome is: Lungotevere in Augusta - 00100 Roma. Take metro line A, get off at Flaminio and walk down the Via Ripetta. Or, get off at Spagna, walk down the Via Condotti, and continue down the Via Tomacelli till you come to the river Tiber.

Vatican Museums – Practical Information

This Rome information blog about the Vatican Museums is written for the Rome Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel.

Opening hours

The opening hours of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel have finally become slightly more visitor-friendly. The following are the hours for 2008:

On weekdays and Saturdays the Vatican Museums are open from 8.30am till 6pm. Last admission is at 4pm.

The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays and holidays, except for the last Sunday of every month (unless this is a holiday), when they are open from 8.30am to 2pm. Last admission at noon.

The holidays are January 1,6; February 11; March 19,23,24; May 1; May 22; June 29; August 14,15; November 1, December 8, 25 and 26.

Entrance tickets to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

Tickets are valid only on the date of purchase and are not refundable. Within 5 days from this date, with this same ticket one can visit the Vatican Historical Museum in the Noble Apartment of the Lateran Apostolic Palace. The price of a ticket is 13 Euros, except on the last Sunday of the month, when admission to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel is free.

Directions for the Vatican Museums

From the Chaplin B&B Rome take the metro line A to the stop Ottaviano-San Pietro. Take the first exit on your left and follow the crowds. There is a stop called Cipro-Musei Vaticani, but this is actually further from the entrance to the Museums.