Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

Beethoven In Santa Cecilia

In September The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome will start its new season with Beethoven’s nine symphonies. Eeach symphony will be performed twice, on consecutive days.

The Program

September 03/04 The Ninth Symphony conducted by Kurt Masur

September 05/06 The First and Seventh Symphonies conducted by Kurt Masur

September 12/13 The Second and Third (“L’Eroica”) Symphonies conducted by Georges Prêtre

September 19/20 The Fourth and Fifth conducted by Georges Prêtre

September 26/27 The Eight and Sixth (“La Pastorale”) conducted by Marek Janowski

The tickets

Ticket prices are between 10 and 25 Euros (but if you are younger than 30 you only pay between 7,50 and 20 Euros). Tickets can be bought on-line via Santa Cecilia’s website.
For information: +39 (0)68082058.

How to reach the Auditorium from Rome Termini

The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is part of Rome’s Auditorium. Renzo Piano designed a beautiful building and we recommend that you go there some time before the start of the concerts in order to be able to have a good look at it. From the Hostel Chaplin B&B Rome you take the de “M” bus from Rome Termini to the Auditorium.

The Appian Way is one of the most important among the ancient Roman roads, together with the Via Flaminia, the Via Salaria and the Via Latina. It used to run from Rome, via Naples, all the way to Brindisi, in the heel of Italy’s boot.

Construction of the Via Appia was started in 312 b.C. during the reign of the emperor Appius (hence the name) Claudius Caecus. The road was of enormous economical importance, since it was used to transport people and goods from the Bay of Naples. This, and the beauty of the road itself, earned it the nickname “regina viarum” (queen of the roads).
Not until later was the Appian Way doorgetrokken naar Brindisium.

The Via Appia Antica starts at the former Porta Appia, now the Porta San Sebastiano, and runs through the Parco Appia Antica. On the left side of the road the first milestone can be found and a little bit further Horatius’ and Geta’s grafmonumenten.

In the church Domine Quo Vadis the footprint of Peter can be seen. According to legend Peter met Jesus here and asked where he was going. “I am going to Rome in order to be crucified again” was Jesus reply. Peter turned around and ended up being crucified – upside down – himself.

The Catacombs of San Callisto and San Sebastiano lie along the Via Appia Antica and further down the road several Roman monuments and tombs can be found as well as the Circus Maxentius, smaller than but similar to, the Circus Maximus, and far better preserved.

The Parco Appia Antica is also well worth visiting.

From the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome you walk first to Termini and take the metro (line A) to San Giovanni (3 stops, but beware: Manzoni, the second stop from Rome Termini is closed at the moment). There you take bus 218 which goes all the way to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano.

Tango in the Roman quarter San Lorenzo

Every summer evening “San Lorenzo in Piazza” (San Lorenzo in the Square) organizes a different event in the Piazza dell’Immacolata, only 10 minuten away from the Chaplin Hostel Rome.

Tonight (August 30th, 2007) the tango will be the theme of the evening. “La Plaza de Tango” is organized by the tangoschool Riachuelo and anybody is allowed to participate. Admission is free and the event starts at 9,30pm. For more information call: 0669603218.

From Hostel Chaplin B&B Rome to Piazza dell’Immacolata

Piazza dell’Immacolata is situated right in the middle of San Lorenzo, one of Rome’s coziest and liveliest quarters. From Bed and Beakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome you turn left, and then right at the traffic lights till you see an arch on your left. You go undeneath the arch and take the second street on your right (Via de’ Luceri). Just keep walking and you will end up in the Piazza dell’Immacolata.

And since you are in San Lorenzo anyway…

Since our favorite pizzeria in San Lorenzo, Formula 1, is closed at the moment, we recommend dinner in the pizzeria SottoSopra, on the corner of Via degli Equi and Via dei Sabelli, and especially that you try the pizza ‘nduja (a specialty from Calabria) there.

What will take place at the festival?

Starting tomorrow (August 30th 2007) the 14th edition of the Festival di Teatro Urbano will take place in the Giardino degli Aranci in Rome (Piazza Pietro d’Illiria). The organization is in the hands of Emilio Genazzini and the Roman group Abraxa.

The festival last 4 days, until September 2nd and comprises everything from Italian theatre to, for those who do not speak Italian, probably moer interesting, acrobats from Thailand (Thursday) and Kenya (de group Afro Jungle Jeggs, Saturday and Sunday). There will also be fire-eaters and clowns to be admired.

The organizers define the show as “Bioscena”, which gets further explained as“art and theatre in the life: social conscience the energy of the party”. (Really!) It is the intention of the festival to make people aware of social problems in the world while offering art and entertainment.

For information about the festival you can phone: 0665744441 or 066570040.

Directions from Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome

From Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome it is quickest to take the underground line B from Rome Termini to Circo Massimo. Walk along the Viale Circo Massimo till you come to Piazzale La Malfa, turn left into the Via Valle Murcia which changes names and becomes Via di S. Sabina. Walk on till you find Piazza Pietro d’Illiria on your right.

We recommend that you combine your visit of the festival with an evening out in the Trastevere area, which lies just across the river.

Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna – Practical Information

Rome’s Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna is situated in the Viale delle Belle Arti, 131, in the Villa Borghese park. Tel. 0632298328.

The opening hours are from 9am till 7pm. Closed on Mondays.

The price of admission is 9 Euros.

Special exhibitions

Until September 16th: “Symbolism, from Moreau to Gauguin to Klimt”.

Directions from the Chaplin B&B Rome to the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna

From Chaplin Hostel and Bed & Breakfast Little Italy Rome you first take the subway (line A) to Flaminio (4 stops from Rome Termini from the Chaplin B&B and 5 stops from Vittorio Emanuele in case you found accommodation in Hostel Little Italy Rome) and then from Piazzale Flamino bus 231 to Viale delle Belle Arti.

From September 1st till September 30th 2007 every Saturday and Sunday at noon a concert will be held in the Chiostro di Paolo II (named after the palazzo’s founder, Cardinal Pietro Barbo, the future Pope Paulus II (1464-1471)).

The music that will be played will date from the middle ages and the periods of the rinascimento and the baroc. The musicians will try to interpret the pieces the way they were supposed to be played at the time they were written.

For more information and reservations you can call +39 (0)669994284.

From Chaplin B&B Rome and Hostel Little Italy Bed and Breakfast Rome you take bus 40E or bus 64 from Rome Termini tot Piazza Venezia.

The program is as follows:

Sep 01 “Insula Feminarum” played by La Reverdie
Sep 02 “Grida ed Intonazioni” by L’Homme Armé

Sep 08 16^th Century Neapolitan by Chominciamento di Gioia
Sep 09 More music from Naples, bawdy songs dedicated to the female

Sep 15 and 16 Bach’s Suites per Violoncello Solo by T. Lavronov en M. Tabbia

Sep 22 Music by o.a.. Pergolesi and Vivaldi by the group Ricercar Continuo
Sep 23 a.o. “Dolcezze Amarissime d’Amore” by C. Ansermet and P. Clerici

Sep 29 The Italian style from Corelli to Veracini played by Casazza-Mulé-Giorgi
Sep 30 “La Venexiana” by Luzzaschi e il Concerto delle Dame di Ferrara.

Some public holidays take of course place on the same day as in the rest of Europe (Xmas, New Year’s, Easter), but there are some holidays that exist only in Italy (April 25th, June 2nd) during which the entire country comes to a standstill. There are some holidays that also exist in other European countries, but are more important in Italy than in those other countries (August 15th, November 1st), or the other way around (Pentecost is not really celebrated in Italy). There is even one purely local holiday: Saint Peter and Paul, honoring the patron saints of Rome, is only celebrated in the capitol of Italy. In case you need accommodation in Rome in a period that ncludes a holiday, you would do well in trying to reserve a room as early as possible. Especially during the Easter, May 1st and New Year’s periods, Rome’s hotels, bed and breakfasts and hostels tend to be fully booked months in advance. And the rooms that are left tend not to be too cheap. (Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome and its sister hostel Little Italy B&B remain affordable, of course, though, like all other hotels, we also slightly raise our prices.)

The most important holidays in Rome and Italy are:

AS Roma supporters exhibition celebrates 80 years’ anniversary

As of tomorrow (Monday August 27th) one can visit the exhibition “80 anni di tifo per la Roma”(80 Years a Roma Supporter) Pavillion 9/c of the ex-Mattatoio (ex-Slaughterhouse) in the quarter Testaccio (not coincidentally one of the most quintessentially Roman quarters of the city of Rome).

The exhibition will continue until September 15th and is opened from Monday till Friday from 6pm till midnight and during the weekends from 10am till midnight.

Banners, balls and crutches

The 27 stands, together occupying 1500 square meters of space, each relate an aspect of AS Roma’s history, particularly of course the 3 championships won by the team.

Over 3000 photographs, 500 objects and hundreds of statistics relate AS Roma’s history. Apart from the obligatory banners and shirts there are also (at least for Roma’s tifosi) important relics like the autographed ball of the second scudetto (championship), shoes and shirts of famous players from the past and of course Francesco Totti: the shirt he wore when Roma won the Italian supercup a couple of weeks ago, the crutches he used during his injury two years ago, and the shirt in which he won the world cup, the only relic in the exhibition that is not colored yellow and red.

How to get to Testaccio from B&B Chaplin Rome

The quarter Testaccio from Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome can easiest be reached by taking metro line B to the stop Piramide.

Lazio and Roma

There are two big football teams in Rome both playing in the Serie A (the Italian Premier League). Roma (although the official name of the team is AS Roma, in Italy it is usually just called “Roma”), also partaking in the Champions League this year and Lazio, that still needs to qualify for the Champions League.

The two teams both play in Rome’s Olympic Stadium, one week Lazio will play the home match and the next week Rome will. This year Lazio will play the first home match of the season (Saturday August 25th, 6pm). Roma will begin their competition on Sunday August 26th  with an away match against Palermo.

Where to buy tickets for football matches in Rome

Tickets can usually be acquired in the stadium on the day of the match itself, though if you want to make sure to have a ticket you can also go to one of the so-called Roma Points or Lazio Points that can be found in Rome.

For both the Little Italy Bed and Breakfast Rome as the Chaplin Hostel Rome the closest Lazio Point can be found in Via Farini. From Chaplin Hostel you cross Rome Termini’s main hallwat to the Via Giolitti-exit. Once outside you turn right and then left into Via Daniele Manin. The Lazio  Point is on the third corner on your left side.
From B&B Little Italy Hostel Rome you take a right, then a right again at the end of Via Ferruccio, to turn left at the end of the street  (Via Napoleone III) till you come to the Lazio Point on your right.

The Roma Point nearest to both hostels/bed and breakfasts is in the Via Paolina. From Little Italy Bed and Breakfast Rome you walk to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. You walk on the left side around the church till you see the narrow side street called Via Paolina.
From the pension Chaplin Hostel you follow the directions above to the Lazio Point, which you pass on the way to Saint Mary Major. The Via Paolina is on the opposite side of the church.

You can also buy your tickets at Orbis. When you are on the Via Cavour-side of Saint Mary Major, on Piazza dell’Esquilino, with the basilica in your back, you face a rather wide street. On the left side you will find Orbis, where tickets for all kinds of events in Rome, ranging from concerts and theatre shows to football and rugby matches can be purchased.

How to get to the olympic stadium from the Chaplin B&B Rome

To get to Rome’s Olympic Stadium itself from Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Rome you first take metro line A to Ottaviano and then bus 32 till you see the stadium. From Rome Termini you can also take bus 910 and styay on till the last stop. This takes a bit longer, and requires a 10 minute walk to the stadium, but you will not need to change and, especially when the matches are played at night, you will have a far more beautiful view of the stadium all lit up than when coming from the other side.

La Città in Tasca – Roman park dedicates two weeks to children

Today August 25th, the 13th edition of “La Città in Tasca” (The City In Your Pocket) will begin in Rome. It is held in the Parco di San Sebastiano ( The entrance is in Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 55). The program is meant for kids between 3 and 13 and is a mixture of culture, theatre, exhibitions, and, of course, all kind of games. Every day until September 9^th various  kinds of artists, jugglers, clowns, etc. will perform for and play with the kids from 16,30 till 23 hours.

One of the recurring features is the “La Città del Artingioco” (The City of Art-in-Game), where the children can play with the works of contemporary artists.

Every Saturday and Sunday there will be a Punch and Judy show in the Teatro degli Accettella.

On September 8th, the day of the White Night, the fable “Ali di Seta” (Wings Of Silk) will be performed, with music and dance. On the same day Raffaello Simoni will play a concert, using musical instruments from all over the world.

Admission is free, except for special theatre shows, which will cost 6 Euros. Part of this money will go to the organization Save the Children.

How to get there from the Chaplin and the Little Italy B&B

From Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome you take metro line B to Circo Massimo, where you look for the Viale delle Terme di Caracalla. From Bed & Breakfast Little Italy Hostel you first take line A to Rome Termini, and change onto the B line.