Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

Practical information

The Sistine Chapel is found inside the Vatican Museums. For the opening hours see elsewhere on this blog.
The nearest metro stop to the Vatican Museums is Ottaviano (6 stops from the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome and 7 stops from the B&B Little Italy). The stop called Cipro - Musei Vaticani is actually further away from the entrance to the museums.

General information

The Cappella Sistina (or Sistine Chapel) is both the most important work of art in the Vatican Museums and one of the most important chapels in the Apostolic Palace: it is the chapel where, during the conclave, a new Pope is elected. The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who ordred the construction work. It is rectangular and has the exact dimensions of the Temple Of Salomon, as described in the Old Testament. The chapel is divided into two parts, the bigger one being for religious cerimonies, the other one for the faithful.

Conclave

The religious function the Sistine Chapel is most famous for is of course the Conclave, when a new Pope is elected. A chimney is installed in the chapel’s roof. If white smoke rises from it a new Pope has been elected and if the smoke is black everybody will have to stay in St. Peter’s Square and continue staring at a chimney.
Chronology

It took 11 years to build the Sistine Chapel, after the architectectural design by Baccio Pontelli. The frescoes were finished in less than one year. Everybody liked them.

1473	Beginning of construction work
1481	(July) Beginning of work on the frescoes
1482	(May) Frescoes finished
1483	(August 9) Celebration of the first mass in the Sistine Chapel
1484	Construction work finishes.
1508	Pope Julius II commissions Michelangelo to paint the ceiling
1512	(November 1) Michelangelo finishes painting the ceiling
1535	Michelangelo begins the Last Judgment
1541	Michelangelo finishes the Last Judgment
1981	Restauration
1994	Restauration finishes.

In 1981 restoration of the Sistine Chapel was started. It took 13 years to complete the work. By then art critics had invented themselves and thus the restoration (and especially the use of bright colors) was pronounced to be controversial. There are 5 centuries between the original creation of the ceiling and its restoration, so it seems rather arrogant that somebody can even think of claiming to know what Michelangelo’s intentions were, but then again what do I know?

Frescoes

In medieval times world history was divided into 3 epochs, very roughly divided into: up to Moses, between Moses and Christ, Christian era. The wall paintings were historical and religious themes, chosen according to this division. They were executed by some of the most famous painters of the Quattrocento period.

The frescoes depict scenes from the Old and the New testament, linking the lives of Moses and Christ and, ultimately the Pope, whose God-given authority was underlined by the papal portaits above the Biblical depictions. The narratives began at the altar wall and ended at the entrance wall. Thirty years later Michelangelo’s Last Judgment would however be painted over the original scenes on the altar wall. The two most important scenes from the fresco cycle are Perugino’s Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter and Botticelli’s The Punishment of Korah having the arch of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, who gave the Pope temporal power over the Roman western world, in the background.
Ceiling

Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine chapel’s vault. Michelangelo had a special scaffold built, to minimize the damage to the ceiling. It took him 4 years to complete his masterpiece. A new mixture of plaster, intonaco, still in use today, had to be invented to stop the mold in the humid chapel.

The original idea was just to have Michelangelo paint the 12 apostles. When he refused the commission he was told he could paint whatever he wanted. Michelangelo chose to paint Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the Flood.
On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted Christ’s ancestors, with above this male and female prophets, and higher again nine stories from the book of Genesis.

Michelangelo only used male models since females were too expensive. The bright colors were used because they were easily visible from the ground.

Michelangelo’s Last Judgment

Michelangelo’s Last Judgment spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. It depicts the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as they are judged by Christ and the saints. The naked figures and their naked little genitals caused an uproar, to which Michelangelo reacted by painting the likeness of one of his fiercest critics onto the face of Minos, the judge of the underworld. When Biagio da Cesena, the person in question, complained, the Pope responded that unfortunately he could not do anything, since his jurisdiction did not extend to the underworld. In 1565, two years after the Council of Trent had condemned nudity in religious art, Pope Pius IV had the artist Daniele de Volterra paint over the genitalia. The church could thereby effectively be pronounced to have lost its sense of humour and its little genitals, but that is just a personal opinion and not really what my Rome blog is about.

I did not know anything about the Sistine Chapel before I started writing this, so basically this is an excerpt of the Wikipedia article. They also mention some quotes about the Sistine Chapel, but unfortunately they forgot Kinky Friedman, whose grandfather, if I remember correctly, in one of Kinky’s novels once dared declare: “If you’ve seen one Sistine Chapel, you’ve seen them all”.

Which is enough irreverence for today.

Introduction

Since Rome’s metro system, with only 2 lines, is clearly not sufficient for a city the size of Rome, visitors will sometimes find it necessary to take a bus. The bus company, ATAC, has an information office in the middle of the main bus square, Piazza Cinquecento, in front of Rome Termini’s main exit.

Most important bus lines can easily be found near the Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome and the B&B Little Italy Hotel, since both inns are located near Termini.
Tickets

In Rome bus tickets can never be bought on the bus. You always have to acquire them beforehand, at tobacconists and newspaper stands, or at the ATAC kiosks themselves (but the latter are few and far between). Especially if you travel around using single tickets instead of day, 3 day or weekly passes, it is best to always have a couple of tickets ready to use. The tickets are not valid till you have stamped them by inserting them in the yellow machines in the backs of buses.

Piazza Cinquecento

Piazza Cinquecento is Rome’s principal bus square. Upon entering the square from the principal exit of Rome Termini you will first find the taxi stands on your left. Coming out of Termini throught the main entrance you will find the special tourist buses taking you around Rome in one day. Most of the orange city buses are lined up on the left side of the square.

Major local bus lines

Some of the major bus lines are:

(Only the main stops are mentioned. These are not necessarily the beginning and ending points of the lines)

H Roma Termini - Piazza Venezia Trastevere
M Termini - Auditorium Parco della Musica

023 St. Paul’s Outside the Walls - Pza. Risorgimento
032 Ottaviano - Youth Hostel - Olympic Stadium
060 Pza Venezia - Via Nazionale - Via XX Settembre
062 Porta Pia - Piazza San Silvestro - Piazza Venezia - Largo Argentina
064 Rome Termini - Via Nazionale - Piazza Navona - Saint Peter and Vatican City
070 Via Lepanto - P. Cavour - Largo Argentina - V. Nazionale - Santa Maria Maggiore
071 Stazione Tiburtina - V. Giolitti - S. Maria Maggiore - P. San Silvestro
075 Viale Trastevere - Piramide - Colosseum - V. Cavour - Termini - P. Indipendenza
081 S. Giovanni - Colosseum - P. Venezia - V. Cola di Rienzo - P. Risorgimento
084 Repubblica - Termini - V. Cavour - P. Venezia
085 S. Giovanni - Colosseum - P. Venezia - P. San Silvestro
087 S. Giovanni - Colosseum - P. Venezia - P. Cavour
095 Piramide - Mouth Of Truth - P. Venezia - V. Veneto
170 Termini - Repubblica - P. Venezia - Bocca della Verita - Vle. Trastevere
175 Piramide - Colosseum - P. Venezia - V. del Corso - Barberini - Termini
186 S. Giovanni - Colosseum - L. Argentina - P. Cavour
492 Staz. Tiburtina - Termini - S. Silvestro - P. Venezia - P. Cavour - P. Risorgimento

Special tourist buses

The 110 is a hop on & hop off bus taking you past most of Rome’s major attractions in one day. It is run by the local bus company ATAC and, starting from Rome Termini, stops at P. Barberini, P. del Popolo, P. Augusto Imperatore, S. Pietro, P. Venezia, Pl. Ugo la Malfa and the Colosseum, before heading back towards Termini.

Interlocal buses

The interlocal buses do usually not leave from Rome Termini, but from other, smaller stations, like Tiburtina, Ponte Mammolo, Lepanto, Castro Pretorio, etc.

Airport buses

There are some buses to the airport of Fiumicino, but the service is not very regular, since the Leonardo Express train connection (11€, every 30 minutes) is very hard to compete with.

To Rome Ciampino, on the other hand, there are various private bus connections, a.o. COTRAL, SIT and Terravision.

Eurolines

Eurolines is a budget coach company connecting the biggest European tourist towns. Their office and terminal is at Tiburtina railway station.

Theft

On the buses, and particularly on the 64 bus between Rome Termini and the Vatican City it is even more necessary to be careful than on the metro. As on the metro, the pickpockets work in teams, but they have the added advantage that from the buses it is far easier to escape in case they get spotted. Hide your wallets, have your daypacks in front of you, when somebody asks you something make sure that this is not to attract your attention away from what happens behind you, etc.

For the 2008 Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel opening hours and an update on other practical information I have written a new article for the Chaplin B&B Rome blog.

Vatican museums - Practical information

Bruce Chatwin’s Patagonia

Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989), having abandoned a promising career at Sotheby’s a Londra, became a travel writer with an irresistable curiosity about the undicovered. In 1974 he began the trip to Patagonia reported in “In Patagonia“.

Bonnard and Matisse

China - The beginnings of an Empire

Rome metro lines

At the moment (January 2007) there are only two metro lines in Rome: line A (or the “red line”) and line B (or the “blue line”). The only point where the two lines cross is in Rome Termini. Two more lines (the “B1”, an extension to line B, and the “C” line) are under construction, and will be so for a while.

The nearest metro stops to the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome are Castro Pretorio (line B) and Termini (line A and B). The Vittorio Emanuele (line A) stop is the nearest one to the Rome B&B Little Italy Hotel. It is just around the block from the Bed and Breakfast. The Termini and Cavour stops are also within walking distance from the Little Italy.

Line A counts 27 stops. The first and last stops are called Battistini and Anagnina. The Manzoni stop is closed at the moment, for maintenance work. (Walk to the nearest stops, Vittorio Emanuele or San Giovanni, or even the Colosseo stop on line B, or take a bus: lines 360, 590 and 810 have stops near the Manzoni station.)

Line B has 22 stops. The first and last stops are called Rebibbia and Laurentina. On Sundays and public holidays it is possible to take (no more than) one bicycle with you on line B. You have to get an extra ticket for the bicycle unless you have a monthly or yearly public transport pass, in which case it is free. In stations that have a lift, its use is mandatory, otherwise you have to take the stairs. You are not allowed to take your bicycle on the escalators. You can take your bicycle with you on the first carriage.

The Rome metro stations open at 05.30am and the last trains start running at 11.30pm (except on Saturdays, when the last train leaves at 0.30am). At the moment, however, line A is being modernized, so the last train on that line starts running at 9pm. From that time, till 11.30pm line A will be substituted by two bus lines, called MA1 and MA2. The work is supposed to finish in January 2008. The expression “grain of salt” was invented with these and similar Italian deadlines in mind.

Rome’s main railway station and public transportation hub is Rome Termini. From here you can take bus, tram or metro to anywhere in Rome or elsewhere in Italy. The Rome hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast is only a two minute walk from Termini while the B&B Little Italy Rome is less than 10 minutes away.

Rome Termini Opening hours

Roma Termini closes after the last train has come in, at 00.40am (unless trains are running late) and opens again at 04.00am.

Phone number

The service number of Rome Termini is 06-4775 and can be called from 7am to 10pm.

Police and carabinieri

There is a police (polizia) station beside track number one. (It is actually quite a walk, at least 300 meters inside the railway station. This is where you will have to go in case of theft. The carabinieri have an office in front of track 16.

Tourist Information

After the railway station was privatized the tourist office got moved further and further from the main part of Rome Termini, since there is no money to made from giving people information. At the moment it is situated beside platform 24 (way down platform 24). The tourist office supplies you with free maps of Rome and sells the Roma Pass. It is not allowed to make hotel reservations for you. If you want to book a room in Rome Termini you will have to go to the Rome Hotel Reservation office in front of track 19 (Of course the fact that the privatized railway system gets a commission off the commission the Hotel Reservation claims to not be getting for their bookings has nothing to do with the fact that said Hotel Reservation office is a lot more visible and central than the tourist office and I am just a cynic for thinking that.)

The people walking around with badges saying they are (hotel) information people are clearly not (hotel) information people. Either they own the places they are sending you to, or they get commission from the hotels, bed and breakfasts and hostels in Rome they recommend.

Railway information and ticket offices

There is a small desk in front of platform 6 (facing the side where the platforms are, not facing the main hallway). The ticket office is in the second, smaller hallway, located between the main hallway and the bus square. To save time you can use the ticket machines that can be found near the main entrances of Rome Termini. For smaller distances tickets (so-called chilometric passes) can also be bought at tobacconists and newspaper stands. This also goes for the tickets to and from Rome Fiumicino airport. Remember to validate your tickets before you board your train in the small yellow machines you find at the beginning of the tracks.

Rome Termini luggage storage

You can leave your luggage for the day in the luggage storage one floor below the main level beside track 24. The rates are €3,80 for the first five hours (regardless of whether you leave your bags or suitcases for 5 seconds, 5 minutes or 5 hours, you will be charged €3,80). For the next 7 hours you pay €0,60 per hour and for every hour after that €0,20 per hour.

Post Office

The post office is located on street level beside track 24. If you need to send a package, you need to line up in the queue on the right. (Note that you can save a lot of time by buying normal stamps for postcards at tobacconists.)

Car rental

Most major car rental places have their offices beside track 24 as well. From the main hallway you walk alongside track 24, take any entrance on your right and turn left into a long hallway. Walk past the post office and all the travel agencies till you come to the car rental places at the end of the hallway.

Waiting room

There is a small waiting room to the left of track 1. The Club EuroStar travelers have their own luxury waiting room where the tourist office used to be, between the main hallway and track 4.

Money

There are cash machines near the Via Marsala and Via Giolitti exits and also at the level below Rome Termini. Note that during the weekends the ATM’s often run out of cash and will not be filled up before Monday mornings.

Supermarket

There is a supermarket one level below the main hallway near the Via Marsala exit. As with everything else in the shopping mall called Rome Termini, it is a lot more expensive than the alimenari or supermarkets outside the station.>

Trains

Most trains leave and arrive on any of the tracks from 1 to 24. The train from Leonardo Da Vinci (or Fiumicino) airport always departs from and arrives at track 24. Most of the trains that stay within the borders of the province of Lazio, however, leave from track 25 till 28. This is basically a station within the station, called Laziali. Walk all the way along track 24 to find those tracks. If you go one level below Termini you can use escalators for most of this walk.

Buses: Piazza Cinquecento

Piazza Cinquecento (or Piazza Cedera) as it is still called by, mostly elderly, Romans,is the main bus square in front of Rome Termini. There is a bus information office in the middle of the square. Buy your tickets before boarding at newspaper stands or tobacconists.

Via Marsala

Via Marsala is the street that borders Rome Termini on the north. The Terravision and SIT buses from Ciampino Airport have their final stops there (in front of the Hotel Royal Santina). Facing the hotel, you turn right and after 200m you will find the closest entrance to Rome Termini on your right.

Taxi

Rome Termini’s main taxi stand can be found right in front of the Piazza Cinquecento exit. A smaller one can be found at the Via Marsala exit, to your right when you exit from the platforms. A third stand is at Via Giolitti, but at the exit near platform 28 instead of near the main Via Giolitti-exit. The people who come up to you jangling car keys and parroting the word “taxi” are not recognized taxi drivers: ignore them!

Why is the central station called Termini?

Termini gets its name from the Baths of Diocletian (Terme Diocleziane, in Italian) across the road from the Piazza dei Cinquecento. The official name, as of December 23^rd, 2006, is actually: Stazione Termini – Giovanno Paolo II (after the late Pope John Paul II).

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

The address of Ciampino airport is: Via Appia Nuova 1651, 00040 Roma Ciampino (Phone: +39 06 65951). The official name of Ciampino is Aeroporto G.B. Pastine. It used to be Rome’s military airport, but nowadays it is used more than anything else for charter flights and low cost airlines. The airport is open from 6am till midnight.

From Rome Termini to the airport of Ciampino and vice versa:

1. By public transport:
• Take the COTRAL bus (either buy your ticket, which costs 1,20 Euros, beforehand from the tobacconist inside the airport or directly on the bus) to Anagnina and from there the metro (line A) to Rome Termini (Via Marsala). (Note that after midnight the 55N night bus subsitutes for line A.)
• Take a bus to the city of Ciampino and from there a train to Rome Termini.
• Both COTRAL and SIT have buses that go directly to Termini (Piazza Cinquecento, the main bus square, for COTRAL and Via Marsala for SIT). They are cheaper than the companies below, but not very regular.
2. Various airline companies have agreements with private bus companies. Sterling has its own bus and RyanAir and EasyJet use a company called Terravision. Tickets for the Terravision buses are sold on the planes and sometimes even in the departure airports. Both airlines recommend that you take these buses 3 hours before the expected departure time of your return flight.
3. As of October 1^st, 2006, there is a fixed rate of 30€ (plus 1€ per big item of luggage) for taxis from Ciampino Airport to the centre of Rome. Since, surprise, surprise, not all taxi drivers are aware of this yet, our advice is to check the rate before boarding and always make sure you have an official white (or sometimes yellow, in the case of very old taxis) cab. You could also just enter the taxi and refuse to pay more than the official 30€ when you get to your destination but that is probably more of a hassle than it’s worth.

To get to the Chaplin Hostel Rome it is easiest to take either the Terravision or the SIT bus since both stop more or less around the corner from the B&B, in the Via Marsala. Face the hotel Royal Santina, turn right and take the 4^th street on your left (Via del Castro Pretorio).

To get to the B&B Little Italy Hostel Rome it is probably better to first take the bus to Anagnina and then metro line A to Vittorio Emanuele.

Parking at Ciampino Airport:

Parking at the Airport of Ciampino costs either 3€ per hour for the first three hours (or fraction thereof) and 1€ per hour from hour 4 till 12. From hour 13 till hour 24 you park for free.

Daily rates are €18 per day for the first 5 days, and 8€ per day after that.

Rome’s main airport is called Leonardo Da Vinci, but it is more commonly referred to as Fiumicino, since it is near the city of that name. It is located 32 km from the centre of Rome. The airport also contains a big shopping mall with over 140 stores.

Accommodation near Fiumicino Airport:

There is only one hotel at the airport itself, the Hilton (Tel: 06 65258). Of course it is not cheap. Visitors to Rome with an early flight to catch on their departure days often try to book a hotel or bed and breakfast in Fiumicino city because they are under the impression tha that way they can reach airport quicker in the morning. Thanks to the Leonardo express, however, it is just as easy, if not easier, to just book your accommodation near Termini Rome (the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel or the Little Italy B&B) without having to change hotels on your last day and without having to spendthe last night of your holiday in boring Fiumicino instead of in Trastevere, Piazza Navona or at a cozy sidewalk cafe near Rome Termini.
How to get from Fiumicino to Rome:

The Leonardo Express, the train connecting Fiumicino to the main railway station, Rome Termini, costs 11€ for a one-way ticket, which can be bought at the normal ticket offices and at vending machines. To save time you are often better off buying them at tobacconists and newspaper stands. The first train from Rome Termini to Fiumicino leaves at 5.52am and the last one at 10.52pm. The first train from Fiumicino to Rome leaves at 6.37am and the last one at 11.37pm. It takes approximately 30 minutes and arrives at platform 24. If you want to save money you can take a train to Ostiense, Rome’s second railway station. From Ostiense you walk to the Tiburtina subway stop and from there you can take a metro (line B) to Rome Termini.

There are also buses that travel from Fiumicino airport to Rome Termini (Via Marsala) and vice versa. The company is called Terravision. It is slightly cheaper than the Leonardo Express (9€ one way, 15€ return; kids 5€ one way, 10€ return) but not very regular.

As of October 1st there is a fixed tariff of 40 Euros from Fiumicino to anywhere in the centre of Rome (including the Bed and Breakfast Little Italy Rome Hotel and the Chaplin Hostel Rome) and vice versa. Ask the driver for the price before you board the vehicle: for one, they are not all equally honest and also, taxis based in the city of Fiumicino instead of in Rome itself charge 60€ because they are not licensed to take a return fare back to the airport. (The reason they give is that they are not allowed to take return fares back to Fiumicino. Italy is a complicated country!) Ignore the illegal taxi drivers who approach you as soon as you enter the arrival hall.

Leonardo da Vinci airport is only 32 km away from the centre of Rome and it’s easily reachable by car via the Rome-Fiumicino motorway.

A limousine service does not cost more than taxis do usually. For information: Airport Connection Services: www.airportconnection.it (+39 06 3383221) Airport Shuttle: www.airportshuttle.it (+39 06 42014507)Most of the major car hire companies have offices in Fiumicino Airport:

Transportation within Fiumicino Airport

There is a Shuttle , linking the Long Stay car park to the Arrivals and Departures Terminals A, B and C. It is free of charge and operates at 20 minute intervals.

Lost property:

The lost property department (ADR/BSA Found Property Office) is in Terminal C (Follow the signs for Arrivals - Luggage Delivery).

Phone: +39 06 65953313 - 3541 (Mon-Fri 9-12.30: Thu 2pm-4.30pm).

Luggage storage:

There is a luggage department near the ground floor of the international arrivals area in Terminal C. It is open from 7am to 11pm. A photocopy will be made of your passport when you leave your luggage so make sure to have it handy.

For a luggage item of up to 110×80×40 (and weighing no more than 55kg) the rate is 2 Euros for the first 7 hours and 3,5 Euros extra for 7-24 hours. After that you pay 3,5 Euros per item per day. In case the suitcase is bigger or heavier the rate is 6 Euros per day.

Post offices:

There are two post offices in the airport, one in Terminal A and one in Terminal C. The opening hours are from Monday to saturday 8am-7pm.

Executive Center:

The Atahotel Executive Center is located in Terminal A (domestic flights) and open from 6am to 10pm. Meeting rooms, waiting rooms and temporary offices with fax machines and internet connections.

Web: www.atahotel.it Mail: info@executivecenter.com

Parking

The rates at the Multi Storey Car Park for the first day are:

• 1,50€ per 30 minutes for the first 6 hours
• 1€ per hour from the 7^th till the 16^th hour
• Free for the rest of the day

For the second day:

• 2€ per hour for the first 12 hours
• Free for the rest of the day

From the third day on:

• 2€ per hour for the first 10 hours
• Free for the rest of the day

The rates for the Short Stay Car Park at Fiumicino Airport are:

• Free for the first 10 minutes
• 1,50€ from the 11^th till the 30^th minute
• 1,50€ per minute from the 30^th minute till the 3rd hour
• 3€ per hour from the 3^rd hour on