Lazio Explorer

Like any city, Rome gets awfully crowded at Christmas time. Thankfully, Comune di Roma have come up with a cunning plan (in Italian).

Until the 24th December, and then from the 2nd to the 30th of January, Comune di Roma have put on three specially designed free shuttle bus routes to take people from the outskirts to the city centre. A PDF map of the routes can be downloaded from this link.

(from www.comune.roma.it, no copyright infringement intended)

The "Shopping 1" shuttle bus (navetta) theoretically runs every 7 minutes and runs from 8 December to 30 January. It follows a circular route, starting/ending at Porta Pinciana, and runs from 15:30 to 20:30 from the 8th to the 10th Dec and then 10:30-20:30 in the run up to Christmas (including Christmas eve).

The "Shopping 2" shuttle bus runs from Tor di Quinto to Augusto Imperatore from the 8th to the 24th December, with departures every 15 minutes between 10.30 and 20.30.

The "Shopping 3" bus serves north Rome and connects Via Pieve di Cadore to Piazzale delle Canestre. It runs from the 8th to the 24th December, every 15 minutes from 10.30 to 20.30.

In addition to these buses, ATAC are running more metro services at the weekends. On top of that, until the 24th December, you can buy 2 bus tickets for the price of one, i.e. you only pay €1 for three hours travel and then €0.77 for successive hours.

If you prefer to cycle, you can use Romes bike-sharing scheme for €0.50 per half hour (you'll need to register first, which as far as I'm aware only residents can do at the moment). A map of the bike stations can be found here.

If you must drive (seriously, is it worth it?), you can take advantage of free parking or greatly reduced rates at many of the city's car parks (e.g. at Villa Borghese). You simply need to get a receipt from one of the city centre shops (a directory of which can be found here) to qualify for reduced parking for 2 hours.

As if that wasn't enough to tempt you into Rome city centre, during the weekends running up to Christmas there will be an extensive pedestrian area between Largo Arenula and Piazza del Popolo. A map of the whole area can be downloaded as a PDF from here.

Buon Shopping!!


PS If it all gets too much and you need to concentrate purely on shopping, check out my previous post on Rome's many outlet shopping malls?


(all information taken from the Comune di Roma website)

We've all been there, your Italian fails you so you resort to gestures. Should be easy, right? Everyone knows Italians speak with their hands. How hard could it be? Well, the most important thing is to know exactly what you're saying! That's where this handy blog post comes in...

All images taken from http://my.lifeinitaly.com/threads/9880-Italian-gestures

So do you agree with the meanings of the gestures above? My adopted Italian family use them all the time (well, most of them) and I'm only just learning what they all mean. Are there any other gestures I should know? Or, like me, have you had a funny experience with Italian hand gestures'?

It's that time of year again, when, if you're anything like me, heading into town becomes a nightmare as you have to squeeze past stressed shoppers (or more recently protesting students), with everyone running around like headless chickens as they go back and forth from shop to shop to find all the best bargains.

However, if you're in Rome, and you fancy a break from the city, why not head to one of the out of town shopping outlets? I've always found these more fun, after all, they are designed for shopping, rather than Roman chariots.

Here are a few near Rome:

Parco Leonardo

This centro commerciale houses over 216 shops, covering houseware, womens clothes, a few clothes shops for men and an absolutely massive Auchan, which has pretty much everything you could ever need. It's open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m, including Sundays, and even has some nice places to stop for coffee or pasta. This interactive map details all the shops and restaurants.

Parco Leonardo is so called as it is very close to Fiumicino airport, which is officially called 'Leonardo da Vinci'. This means it's really easy to get to. From Rome, you can take the train (FR1) from Roma Tiburtina, Tuscolana, Ostiense, or Trastevere (or from even further afield, such as Stimigliano, as I do!) More information can be found here.

By car, take the GRA to exit 31 (follow the signs to Fiumicino airport) and then follow the signs for Parco Leonardo (on Autostrada Roma-Fiumicino).

Porta di Roma

Like Parco Leonardo, Porta di Roma contains over 200 shops, including Ikea and a massive Auchan, along with a cinema.

Porta di Roma can be reached by bus from Stazione Termini. Bus line 38 leaves Termini every 10 minutes (direction Baseggio). There is also a free shuttle bus from Piazza Bologna to Porta di Roma every hour from 9:30am till 10pm (thanks to fellow twitterers Gillian and BuzzInRome for this info).

Porta di Roma ('door of Rome') is as you'd expect just off the ring road (GRA). Take exits 9-10 for Settebagni and follow the signs for Bufalotta, then Centro Commerciale Porta di Roma.

Castel Romano Designer Outlet

If you crave top designer brands, you'll feel right at home at the Castel Romano Designer Outlet. Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, La Perla, Zegna Outlet, Etro, CK Jeans, Camper, Diesel and more, all at factory prices. They often have very good discounts (on last year's stock, if that makes a difference to you) and it's even quite a pleasant place to walk around. It's open all week 10-8pm (9pm Friday-Sunday).

Castel Romano is just 25 km south-west of Rome, at the Castel Romano exit off the Via Pontina SS 148 (exit 26 of the GRA). I'm not sure if you can get there with public transport.

and here's one a little further afield:

Soratte Outlet

This is a new outlet commercial centre found in North Lazio, near Sant'Oreste. It's smaller than the rest, with just over 50 shops, but consequently is quieter and sometimes has better offers. The shops are of the high street variety, rather than designer, but we still enjoy having a look around. They are open from 10am-6pm and there are also some restaurants on site (I say that with a pinch of salt as they are of the Burger King variety). If you are interested in better food, or fancy mixing shopping with a bit of sight-seeing, check out a previous blog post on Sant'Oreste, a nearby town.

From Rome you can take the A1 autostrada (Rome-Florence), taking exit Ponzano R. - Soratte to Sant’Oreste. On their website they claim this will take 27 minutes, although I would give it 40. Alternatively, take the SS3 (Via Flaminia) up to Sant'Oreste and then follow the signs over Monte Soratte to the outlet. See here for further directions, and a handy map of the journey from the autostrada to the outlet. The nearest train station is Stimigliano, which is served by trains from Roma Trastevere, Ostiense, Tuscolana, or Tiburtina (direction Orte) and costs less than 7EUR for a day return.

There are a few more Outlets near Rome, such as Roma Est and Valmontone, but I haven't had chance to go to these yet, so if you've been to them let me know how they compare to the ones I've listed here.

Buon Shopping!

OK, it's been a while since the last one, but since this super-cheesy song was playing a lot on the Radio when I spent my first 3 weeks in Rome (when I met my wife), I figured I couldn't do another Translate Tuesday without covering this song. Enjoy! (and apologies for the cheesiness) 

 

 

Il Mondo Insieme A Te Lyrics

 

It's been two weeks since my last post. Two weeks of sun, sea and fantastic Mayan ruins. Do you know where I went?

Perhaps it would help if I gave a few more clues...

As I said, it was somewhere Mayan...


... with one of the new seven wonders of the world,

Chichen Itza

 as well as more modern fare.

Campeche

Palenque

... as well as by the sea...

Tulum

Yes, I went to MEXICO!!!!!

And I can thoroughly recommend it!

Well done to Dona for guessing correctly!! (How did you know?)

(all images copyright lazioexplorer.com)

I'm taking a two week vacation!

Can you guess where I'm going?

One of the things that I love about Italy is the passion for food. It's an obvious thing to say, but from the top to the bottom, Italian's love food, preparing it, eating it, talking about it. As an Englishman, this is a revelation and a welcome new world to explore (even if, by default, they don't give any weight to my opinion...). The Italian commitment to culinary excellence is only surpassed by the Italian aspiration to have a strong opinion about food. Perhaps unsurprisingly therefore, the 'which bottled water is the best' discussion is a common debate in most Italian families. In our household, and the household of most Italians we know (living in the Provinces of Rome and Viterbo), the discussion is pretty quick, with an obvious winner - Acqua di Nepi*.



Acqua di Nepi is found in most restaurants in the province of Rome (i.e. the area around Rome) and the province of Viterbo and is generally regarded by my adoptive Italian family to be a sign of quality. I have to say, that while I'm not usually a fan of frizzante, Acqua di Nepi frizzante (the green label) is wonderfully sweet with a soft sparkle, and I'm defintely developing a soft spot for it.

Nepi itself is also worth a visit, if you get the chance. It's a wonderful town about 30km south-east of Viterbo and about 13km south-west of Civita Castellana. As of 2005, there were 8,438 inhabitants. We were there two weeks ago and enjoyed a lovely walk around the pedestrianized town center, taking in the Borgia castle (from the outside, it was closed on the Sunday we were there) and the outstanding views over the surrounding ravines, right on the edge of the town. We particularly enjoyed hanging around in the square in front of the town hall, which was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and has a working bell tower. Just in front of it there's a fountain that is believed to have been designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. On the left (when you're looking at the town hall) there is the Cathedral of the Assunta, built in the 12th century over a pagan temple. It was rebuilt in 1831 after French troops had set it on fire during the Napoleonic Wars (according to Wikipedia). Nepi was pretty sleepy when we visited, but it has a certain charm, perfect for a Sunday stroll, accompanied by a bottle of Acqua di Nepi of course!


Getting there from Rome:

By car - Take the SS2 - via cassia from the GRA, then follow the signs for Nepi (it's pretty easy). I'm afraid I don't know if it's possible to get there from Rome with public transport :-(

* Oh yeah, and only drink it out of the glass bottles, as not only is this classier, but it saves on the mounting piles of plastic we're throwing away. Seriously, don't drink from plastic bottles. See this excellent blog piece from Italexpat's blog for more info.

Recently, we organised for about 36 people to fly to Rome for a celebration. We always knew it was going to be tough, moving 36 people (of varying degrees of travel-savvyness) around, but we suggested people hire cars and bring a satnav, and we were prepared for the worst.

Now, Italian road signage is not the best, Italian drivers are not renowned for their driving prowess or etiquette etc. etc., but you know what, our biggest problem was with the car rental at the airport, both airports to be precise!

Now, in my day job, I'm a scientist, and this kind of thing excites me, so bear with me. Six groups of people hired cars, four from two car rental companies in Fiumincino, two from the same car rental company in Ciampino (these are the two airports in Rome). Of the four in Fiumicino, two experienced problems. Of the two in Ciampino, well, both experienced problems and one experienced more than one problem! (Grazie a Europcar, by the way...) So on balance, we can say from the empirical data that Fiumicino fared better than Ciampino, but lets look in more detail at what actually happened.



Fiumicino:

Budget car rental company:- 2 groups went with this company. Both experienced additional charges at the airport, on top of the price agreed and paid for on the internet. These charges included a road tax, a further insurance charge, a full tank of petrol (I think this one is actually legitimate) and extra mileage coverage ("oh, you're not just driving it to Rome, then you need this further cover"), all of which was on top of the agreed price. One unhappy family paid an extra €189 in total.

Ciampino:

There were a number of problems in Ciampino, the first of which has very little to do with the car rental companies.

When you arrive at Ciampino, you are greeted by about three coach kiosks (terravision, National Express and the local bus/metro option) and a caffe bar. At no point do you see any signs as to where the car rental places are. Even if you ask around (and this is on two different occasions), no one knows. Thankfully, we were with one of the groups and we knew that you actually have to leave the terminal and cross the road to a bus shelter with the words 'Autonoleggio'  (i.e. car rental) written on it. Once there, you wait for a small navette bus to come into view. This bus won't have any markings and the driver won't be looking out for you, so you need to keep your wits about you. The bus came sporadically about 3 times in two hours, although our two hours may not be representative (12-2pm on a Thursday afternoon)

Europcar car rental company:

The group we were with (my parents and sister) had hired a people carrier with Europcar and had confirmed everything including the price by e-mail and phone before leaving the UK. Once at the Europcar kiosk, they were informed that they would have to pay an extra €40 'insurance' charge, on top of the agreed price. They argued this (I know it's only €40 but my sister is not one to be argued with), ended up having to phone with their own phones back to the UK (the office in Ciampino said they couldn't do this themselves), who confirmed that they shouldn't pay the extra €40, while the guy at Ciampino said that the UK office was wrong and that they have to pay it. In the end, they got the guy to write a letter confirming that they did pay the extra charge, and then, after over 2hrs of trying to sort everything out, managed to get the car and get on the road.

Anyway, I don't want to write a totally negative post, as I know these things happen and often it's no ones fault, but I do feel there is a 'cowboy'-element to all of this and I expect these are not isolated experiences either in Rome or in other airports. The thing is, you're at the airport, you need a car, so you almost have to pay whatever they want, then try to get everything sorted out afterwards. It just leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. I guess you just have to be careful when renting a car, and be prepared to stand your ground when they spring unexpected 'charges'.

OK, that's my rant over. If you want any more information on this kind of thing, I've found this article in The Guardian newspaper (UK) on rental car problems: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/oct/17/avis-car-damage


Oh, and the two groups at Fiumicino who had no problems? They were with Hertz*




*Although I'm sure all car rental companies are the same ;-)

... fly Ryanair into Rome Ciampino!



This is just a short post to jot down a piece of advice I always forget to give to people until they've landed.

If you're flying into Rome Ciampino (in which case you'll most likely be flying with Ryanair), then remember to sit on the right-hand side of the plane for the best view of Rome! You'll get to see the Stadio Olympico, the Vatican, Piazza Venezia, Piazza della Repubblica and the Colosseum, all as you fly past at low altitude on the final descent to the airport. Honestly, it's an amazing view, and a great introduction to Rome.

One of the strange things about Lazio, and perhaps Italy in general (I don't know - is Lazio representative of Italy?) are the variety of laws that change between one area and the next. One example is the toilet seat law.

Now, Italy is a civilized, modern country, and this post isn't going to be all Italy-bashing, so you can stop right there. However, I think it's fair to say that, as with any country, sometimes Italy could perhaps be accused of occasionally having laws that don't quite add up, or that don't quite make sense.

In the province of Rome, i.e. the area of Lazio associated with Rome, toilet seats are required by law in public toilets. OK, fair enough. Of course, there may be the occasion toilet lacking in a seat (see the Stadio Olympico if you doubt me), but this is simply an oversight that will be fixed asap (apart from in the Stadio...)

In the neighboring province of Viterbo... well, you see, there they do things differently. A toilet seat is considered unhygienic and in fact, is illegal in a public toilet. Wow. I was shocked by this. It's illegal? Apparently you can be fined and everything. Is this true? Well, my Italian isn't up to researching legal documents, but, I've been to at least 5 restaurants in the province of Viterbo (Vazianello being my favourite, incidentally), and they all tell me the same thing. How can one area think they are a good thing and by law force restaurants to have them, and the area next door, still in Lazio, say that they are illegal and will fine restaurants if they have them?

Amazing.

Do you have any stories of bizarre laws in Italy?

Allora, here we go...

The Church side


Things you need:

• Baptism/first communion/confirmation records from your church (even if it's now miles away)
• A few weeks for the local preparation (which in this case was 2 hours over the course of 3 weeks)
• A few months for the whole process to work it's way through. Expect nothing to happen in August (as the Priest will most likely be on holiday), and expect things to take longer than expected at both ends. 

I would definitely recommend starting this process asap as we were lucky to get onto the last marriage preparation course of the year (despite it only being in July!).

For us, for start to finish, the process took about 7 months.

Good luck!

PS In my next post I'll detail the civil side of getting married in Italy.

Don't you just love the Etruscans? There they were, making civilisations and breaking bread, years before the Romans came along and flattened them. Seriously, I'm actually really interested in them, perhaps moreso than the Romans. After all, I heard about the Romans at school, and I come from a town founded by the Romans, so I'm kinda bored of them. The Etruscans however, they've got something of a knowing smile that I find hard to resist. So what's happening in the Etruscan world?

Well, archeologists have discovered another set of Etruscan remains, this time in Tarquinia, an ancient city in the province of Viterbo (Northern Lazio). They've uncovered a Royal crypt, created in the mid-7th century BC, illustrated with strange markings that could carry a religious meaning. Unfortunately, the article I've found (on ANSA) doesn't say anymore, so if you find anything else out about these remains at Tarquinia, do let me know, as I plan to visit there in about 2 weeks.

OK, I was thinking about why I've set up this blog, and, after reading the excellent blog from Dreaming In Italian, I've realized that one of the reasons was to improve my Italian and knowledge of Italian culture. With this in mind, I've decided to give myself a challenge.

For one Tuesday a month (or thereabouts, I have a demanding day job as well), I'm going to pick an Italian song from YouTube, and then attempt to translate it. Now, first of all, my Italian isn't great, so this is really a challenge. Secondly, I may not be perfect, so please do disagree with me and correct me (but please don't be too harsh!!)

OK, here goes....

For my first 'Translate Tuesday', I've picked a song by Tiziano Ferro called Il Regalo Più Grande. Initially, I didn't like Tiziano Ferro songs very much. Coming from the UK, I found them too wordy and not catchy enough. However, they've grown on me since then, and this one is actually one of my favourites. I can catch most of the words when listening, so this should be a good test to see if I actually do understand as much as I think!
 


So here's my translation:

Voglio farti un regalo
Qualcosa di dolce
Qualcosa di raro
Non un comune regalo
Di quelli che hai perso
Mai aperto
O lasciato in treno
O mai accettato
Di quelli che apri e poi piangi
Che sei contenta e non fingi
In questo giorno di meta`  settembre
Ti dedichere` 
Il regalo mio piu` grande    

I want to make a present (i.e. give you a present)
Something sweet
Something rare (precious?)
It's not a communal gift (i.e. to share)
something you have lost
never opened
or left on the train
or never accepted
It's the kind of thing that you open, and then cry
Something that satisfies, where you don't pretend
In this day in the middle of September
You've decided this
My greatest gift.

Vorrei donare il tuo sorriso alla luna perche`
Di notte chi la guarda possa pensare a te
Per ricordarti che il mio amore a` importante
Che non importa ciu` che dice la gente
Perche` tu mi hai protetto con la tua gelosia che anche
Che molto stanco il tuo sorriso non andava via
Devo partire perche` so nel cuore
La tua presenza a` sempre arrivo
E mai partenza
Il regalo mio più grande
Il regalo mio più grande

I would like to donate your smile to the moon because
it is the night that watches what I think of you
To remember that it is my love that is the most important
It's not important what the people say
Because you have protected me with your jealousy and also
no matter how tired your smile did not go
I must leave something in your heart
Your presence is always arriving there
It never leaves
My greatest gift
my greatest gift.

Vorrei mi facessi un regalo
Un sogno inespresso
Donarmelo adesso
Di quelli che non so aprire
Di fronte ad altra gente
Perche` il regalo più grande 
A` solo nostro per sempre 

I want to make you a gift,
A dream expressed,
Let me donate it know,
Those things I do not know how to open,
In front of other people,
Because this is the greatest gift,
That is only for us for always.

Vorrei donare il tuo sorriso alla luna perche`
Di notte chi la guarda possa pensare a te
Per ricordarti che il mio amore e` importante
Che non importa ciù che dice la gente
Perche` tu mi hai protetto con la tua gelosia che anche
Che molto stanco il tuo sorriso non andava via
Devo partire perche` so nel cuore
La tua presenza e` sempre arrivo
E mai...

I want to donate you smile to the moon because,
The night can then see what I think of you,
To remember that my love is important,
That it's not important what the people say,
Because I will protect you from their jealousy and also,
Even when you're tired your smile will never leave,
I must leave because I know in my heart,
That your presence is always arriving,
It must never...

E se arrivasse ora la fine
Che sia in un burrone
Non per volermi odiare
Solo per voler volare
E se ti nega tutto questa` estrema agonia
E se ti nega anche la vita respira la mia
E stavo attento a non amare prima di incontrarti
E confondevo la mia vita con quella degli altri
Non voglio farmi più del male adesso
La`’amore amore 

And if the end arrived now,
That or to fall in a ravine,
Not for wanting to me to hate,
Only for wanting to fly
And if it denies all that extreme agony to you
and if it denies to you also the life I breathe
And I was careful not to love before we encountered
and confused my life with that of the others
I do not want anything that makes me evil
The love my love 


Vorrei donare il tuo sorriso alla luna perche`
Di notte chi la guarda possa pensare a te
Per ricordarti che il mio amore e` importante
Che non importa ciù che dice la gente
E poi 

I want to donate you smile to the moon because,
The night can then see what I think of you,
To remember that my love is important,
That it's not important what the people say,
It must never...
And then

La`amore dato amore preso amore mai reso
Amore grande come il tempo che non si e`arreso
Amore che mi parla coi tuoi occhi qui di fronte
Sei tu sei tu sei tu sei tu sei tu
Il regalo mio più grande

Given love taken love, love never rendered
Great love like the time that surrendered,
The Love that speaks to me here with your eyes at the front,
It's you, it's you, it's you, it's you, it's you,
My greatest gift.



What do you think? Is it a reasonable translation? I have to say, translating it, I'm less fond of the song. It makes Tiziano Ferro sound like a stalker!
 
;-)  

(ANSA) - Rome, July 30 - A selection of the original plates used by 18th-century artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi in etchings that helped reshape popular images of Rome has gone on show in the Italian capital. They are on show at Rome's Palazzo Poli until August 17. [Read More]

The heat is well and truly on right now. Earlier today, Rome reached temperatures around 38 degree C! Thankfully, Romans have been through all this before and have a pretty handy solution. What do you need when it's baking hot? Water.


There are over 2000 of these water fountains, called 'nasoni', dotted around Rome. The water is perfectly drinkable, and often lovely and cool (thanks to all those underground channels).

There are a few maps detailing where all these fountains are in Rome, some of which are incomplete. The best I've found so far are on the acea website (they are a water utility company), here. You can even download a map to take around with you on your travels. Let me know if you find a better one somewhere.

All you need is an empty water bottle, and you're good to go!

Need to escape the city heat? You need to get out into the countryside and explore! How about a day-trip to Sant'Oreste?

Italy is in the middle of a heat wave, but what can you do to keep cool? Well, other than staying out of the sun for as much of the day as possible (leaving it for mad dogs and Englishmen), other suggestions include modifying your diet and drinking plenty of water.

According to the Coldiretti farmers' union (and ansa.it), meals on hot days should include starches like pasta, rice and bread with ample portions of lettuce, onions, radishes and 'sweet' fruits like peaches and nectarines. Heavy food should be avoided as well as alcohol and foods seasoned with too much black and red pepper as well as salt. Coffee should also be consumed in moderation.

More information is available on the UK NHS website.

The main thing is to use common sense though. Stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day (usually lunchtime till dinner time), drink plenty of liquid and eat lots of fruit.

Oh, and of course, apply plenty of sun cream!!

Oh yes!! Tourists wanting to visit any of Italy's top 40 sites of cultural interest will soon have the chance the dodge the ticket queues by buying their admission in advance on their mobile phones (currently only the iPhone, although they claim they will open this up to other smartphones as well at some point). [Read more]

Well, the first step to becoming a Roman is to actually go there. Here, I'll explain how to get to Rome from the UK by plane.

Rome has two airports - Leonardo da Vinci, the main airport commonly referred to as 'Fiumicino', is 30km (~18 miles) out to the southwest of Rome. While Ciampino, a smaller airport, is 15km (~9 miles) southeast of the city.

Fiumicino airport:

Airlines flying from the UK to Fiumicino include: British Airways, Alitalia and EasyJet. They fly from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, London City, London Luton, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Fiumicino to Rome

To get to Rome, the Leonardo Express train can be taken to Stazione Termini (the main train station in Rome) and costs around 10 euro. It arrives at and leaves from platform 27 at Stazione Termini and takes about 30 minutes. If you prefer to drive, Fiumicino is connected to Rome by an autostrada. Follow the signs for Rome out of the complex and exit from the autostrada at EUR, following the target sign for the centre. From there, Via Cristoforo Colombo will take you directly into the centre.

Ciampino airport:

Ciampino is the airport I know best, as this is the one I use from Stansted. Ciampino can be reached from London Stansted (with Ryanair), London Gatwick (with Easyjet), Bristol (Easyjet), Glasgow Prestwick (Ryanair), Liverpool (Ryanair), Edinburgh (Ryanair) and Nottingham East Midlands (Ryanair) among others.

Ciampino to Rome

Stazione Termini in Rome can be reached by Terravision bus for 8 euro return (children under four go free). The journey takes 40 minutes. See the Terravision website for more information and to reserve tickets (they might be more expensive if you just turn up). Cars can be rented from Hertz, who have a deal with Ryanair and are found in the terminal.