Rome June 2012: Eataly has opened its biggest store in the world. The current location is in an abandoned air terminal built for the 1990 Italy World Cup event. Four storey complex with 20 restaurants, bars, coffee and diverse specialist markets for cheese, ham, pasta, olives oils and wines.

Oscar Farinetti said: “Welcome to the biggest place in the world dedicated to Italian food. Our aim is to make it the third most visited place after the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums”.

Seen the aftermath of January 2007 Turin debut and later succeeding in opening 18 others (eight in Italy) including New York and Tokyo; Farinetti seem to give correct business forecast but don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

Anyway, people have started chatting and twitting about this structure that gave a sense of joy for the employment (400 workers) it created in a time of economic crack down and restoring the abandoned store to life.

Eataly is not just a food mega store with the best Italian quality but kind of school that teaches children responsible food consumption and be food friendly.

Those visiting Rome for few days can take the opportunity to enjoy foodies in this station in just few  underground or train stops from the main tourist attractions of Rome.

Metro B: from Termini direction Laurentina and get off Piramide (Ostiense Station).

Train: from Tiburtina Station direction Fiumicino Airport and get off Piramide (Ostiense Station) .

Adu K

Just like urban fabric of Rome, Castel Sant’Angelo is an amalgamation of different historic periods.

First built between 135 and 139 A.D, it was designed as a mausoleum and funerary monument for emperor Hadrian, marble statues and cypress trees sat atop the tomb as well as a massive bronze quadriga.

By the 14^th century , the fortress was being converted into a castle by Pope Nicholas III, complete with impenetrable dungeons use to detain the enemies of the church, sometimes indefinitely, and a raised escape passage.

In the height of the Renaissance, Pope III, converted the castle into a luxurious papal residence, with frescoed walls, stuccoed ceilings and rich furnishings, now is one of the most visited museums of the city.

Every summer, the Castel San’t Angelo is a hub of after-dark activity, with concerts, events, tours and even a restaurant set up on its ramparts.

All months, not only the castle opens its doors long after its regular closing time, but several sections of the site that are generally inaccessible are open to the public.

The Medieval prisons, the Stufetta of Pope Clemente VII, and the most intriguing: the Passetto, can all be visited with free guided tour in English, Italian, Spanish and French.

If you want to visit Castel Sant’Angelo and more breathtaking monuments of Rome, check now our hotel deals for the best accommodation in Rome.

Click here to find for information about Castel Sant’Angelo.

Blogger: Rhodora

Rome 17 November: Italy versus New Zealand rugby Test Match. The visitors are favorite but Italy is not an easy team too.

New Zealand all blacks are famous for Haka (traditional New Zealand dance) show, which over the years has become identity of the national team.

In the RBS Six Nations games, Italy is scheduled to play France on February 3rd, Wales (last year’s winners) on February 23rd and Ireland on March 16.

Rugby is believed to has been first created in 1823 football game when a pupil -William Webb Ellis- picked up the ball and started running. Unfortunately there is no evidence to back this incident.

In a rugby game there are 15 players per team and play for 80 minutes. Amazingly the shape of the ball is oval but not for technical reasons rather for the fact that the first ball made by a coddler was from a pig’s bladder and when inflated became oval.

Adu K

Temprature in Rome during summer is too hot due to congested buildings, large number of people, climate change and more. Waiting outside the Vatican Museum under certain circumstances is boring.  Visitors run short of time before fully enjoying the museums, due to a large number of crowd waiting to enter the museum.

The new schedule gives visitors more romantic time and plenty of time to enjoy art with calm in a lovely cool night weather.

Since Vatican Museum started opening at night to the public three years back, the number of visitors has edged as much as thirty thousand visitors in last year alone.

The following museums are open by night: Pio Clementino, Egyptian, GallerieSuperiori (Candelabri, Arazzi e Carte Geografiche), Stanze Raffaello, Appartamento Borgia, Modern Religion Art Collection and Sistine Chapel. The schedule runs May 4th through July 13th but August is closed. And again restarting from September 7 to October 26.

The night visit is from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. every Friday. The last admission into the museum is 9.30 p.m.

Price vary from € 15 to  €22.

To book visit:

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

Adu K

Even if there are a lot of other reasons as to why visit Rome, I will mention just the major ones.

1 Art

Masterpieces, architecture, sculpture or paintings of famous artists like Michelangelo, Bernini, Nicola Salvi, Bramante, Sangallo, Maderno are present in Rome. Rome has good museums like Villa Borghese Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art (MACRO), Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, National Roman Museum, Capitoline Museums and Maxxi National Museum are some of the famous ones.

2 Architecture

Of all the 45 UNESCO heritage sites in Italy, Rome houses 12.  Pantheon, Coloseum, St Peter’s Square, Navona Square, Spanish Steps etcetera are some.

 3 Shopping

 Shopping in Rome depends where you do it. Garments in Via del Corso cost more than those in malls or stalls. As for stalls don’t hesitate buying a jeans for 10 euro or less it is a good buy.

4 Wine

Worldwide wine sellers are present in this city. But to enjoy the true Roman wines go to Enoteca (wine shops) and sip wine with porchetta (roasted pig).

5 History

Monuments, squares, roads, museums, Roman Catholic Basilicas, catacombs, Synagogue and more contain interesting history and architecture.

6 Food

Every region in Italy has its own traditional food. It is always better to try the local food. In Rome you can try some like baccalà (dried salt-cured cod), carciofi ( artichoke), spaghetti alla carbonara (pasta with a dressing made of eggs, small pieces of bacon and Pecorino cheese), bucatini all’amatriciana (tube-shaped pasta with tomatoes, diced salt pork, onions, red chilli pepper and white wine).

7 Culture

People come to this city for tourism, politics, business, religion, work, emigration etc. Spending a day in different parts of  Rome is nice. For example, the lovely Jewish Ghetto located near the Capitol Hill, Pigneto and Vittoria Emmanuele quarters inhabited by many migrants or Trastevere still dominated by Romans.

8 Automotion

Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini are best Made in Italy brands. Of course Rome is not home to any car company but showrooms to many more cars are available.

9 Budget Accommodation

Hotels or hostels are all year round available in Rome but it is advisable to book months before one gets here, the longer the booking date the lesser cost.

10 Religion

Vatican City -the political and religious center of the Roman Catholic- is believed to be situated on Apostle Peter’s burial place. The Vatican City is one of the most interesting places to visit.

For more info, contact: info@hoteldesartistes.com Ph +39 064454365

Adu K

Don”t miss your chance to see  PAOLO NUTINI  play live this summer.

Vermeer is the most famous name of a group of painters who worked during what is now known as the Dutch Golden Age of Painting.

The painter was born in Delft during the 17th century, and apparently he never left his home town. There is not much information regarding his personal life, that remains a mystery for the most part.

The most remarkable characteristics of his works are the calm they convey and the domestic situations they portray. Centuries later, the beauty of everyday life and people was acknowledged universally by artists (just think of Van Gogh and the Impressionists) and the calm that Vermeer taught us to appreciate  was used to achieve more mysterious and suggestive effects, like Dali and Magritte did.

The upcoming exhibition Vermeer and the Golden Age of Dutch Art, due to take place from October 2012 until January 20 2013 at the Scuderie del Quirinale Museum, is an excellent opportunity to know more about this master whose legacy is as great as his life is mysterious.

Don’t hesitate to write us to get more information about the city, or to check our website to get the best accommodation in the Eternal City at the most affordable rates.

Catacombs are believed to have been used as burial chambers, worship area and refuge by persecuted Christians/Jews starting from the second century A.D. Jewish catacombs, discovered in 1918, make part of the belowground graves enriched by frescoes.

The Catacombs in Rome cover many kilometers and some are four storeys below ground zero. They contain slots carved into walls, carvings, passageways, worship halls and/or frescoes. Paintings found in this below ground complex narrate biblical stories of both old and new testaments or simply religious symbols.

Catacombs of Domitilla, for example, spread over 15 kilometers of underground caves and are Rome’s oldest underground burial complex still containing bones.

Some of the catacombs in Rome are: Marcellinus and Peter, Commodilla, Generosa, Praetextatus, Priscilla, San Callisto, San Lorenzo, San Pancrazio, San Sebastiano, San Valentino, Sant’Agnese, Jewish and so on.

To visit the San Callisto, the most famous of all catacombs, take bus 218 from San Giovanni Metro A.

For the Jewish Catacomb, get off at Metro B Policlinico and walk to Villa Torlonia.

For more detailed info about catacombs or elsewhere in Rome please stay in Hotel Des Artistes and you will enjoy complete instructions at reception.

Adu K

Rome, you know, is a charming city. Of course, it’s even more on some days, at times, but especially, in some places.

 The construction of the Basilica of St. Peter, built on a Christian Cross plan  comparing to the original design of the Greek cross, has dismissed the prospect of the dome, no longer visible at close range. Never mind: the dome, known in Rome as “Er Cupolone”, dominates the Borgo and Prati districts.

But there’s one place in Rome, where you have the feeling of being in front of the St. Peter’s dome, and touch it with your hand. It’s Via Niccolò Piccolomini, near Villa Pamphili, a park situated between the areas of Monteverde Vecchio, Aurelia and Trionfale.

Via Niccolò Piccolomini is a small residential street in the heart of the city, one of those fascinating points, from where you can have s breathtaking view of the Eternal City.

The feature that makes this place a real gem, is that from Via Piccolomini, you can see the dome of St. Peter as you’ve ever seen.

 Via Piccolomini is a street in a nice residential neighborhood, close to Via Gregorio VII. From the beginning of the road can see the dome of St. Peter and, as is natural, approaching the end of the road, we expect to see the dome getting bigger and bigger. But no.

Follow the path, looking at the Dome. Something strange happens: the closer you get, and more the Dome goes away. If you step back, the dome will seem bigger and closer. A game of perspectives that makes it fascinating.

The reason for this optical illusion? It is not known. Perhaps it is a deception of proportion, perhaps due to the orientation of the road from the Dome. It doesn’t matter a lot since it is really an amazing little magic of Rome.

This is the reason why Via Piccolomini is such a special place. The perfect ending to an evening in the center or to start an very romantic walk.

For more advice on what to do in Rome and specially to get the best rates for accommodation, check our website or contact us!

Laura Pausini is one of the most visible ambassadors of Italian pop around the world.

The singer will be visiting the Eternal City after couple of years of absence: she will be offering concerts in Rome on the 31/12/2011, 01/01/2011, 03/01/2011, 04/01/2011 and the 06/01/2011 at the Palalottomatica Arena.  Those nights are going to be special for the city of Rome that has always supported this fantastic singer. These concerts are going to be unforgettable for everyone, as she will be presenting her new album .

If you are already a fan of Laura, or if you only want to get a full immersion course in sweet Italian pop, this is an opportunity not to be missed. And don’t forget to check our website or send us an e-mail to get the best rates for accommodation in Rome!