Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

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.

On September 15th the exhibition celebrating the 80 years’ existence of the AS Roma fanclub finished. It was such a success – more than 200,000 visitors came to the ex-Mattatoio to see signed shirts, shoes of famous players of the past, Totti’s Pallone d’Oro and much more – that the idea was forwarded to create a genuine museum for the soccer team.

Local hero Francesco Totti himself has set up a non-profit organization in order to achieve this and Rome’s mayor, Veltroni, himself a Roma fan, has endorsed it. All that seems to lack is a suitable spot, which has to be located in Rome’s Testaccio area, where the team started in 1927.

Veltroni has promised that, should the rival team Lazio also want a museum, he would offer the same assistance.

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.