One of the most important art galleries in Rome,Galleria Borghese houses part of the Borghese collection of paintings ,sculptures and antiquities.

The museum is located  inside a suggestive landscape garden,Villa borghese,the largest park in Rome after Villa Doria Pamphili and Villa Ada, surely the nearest to an ideal of eternal beautiness  as the number of buildings,museums, and attractions that it contains.Also in Villa borghese or nearby you will find the Galleria Nazionale d’arte moderna,Villa Giulia,Villa Medici,Casa del Cinema.

As regards the Galleria Borghese, here you can admire some of the most important creations by  Antonello da Messina,Giovanni Bellini, Raffaello,Tiziano,Correggio,Gian Lorenzo Bernini,Canova,Caravaggio.On my opinion, among all the famous  works that are inside its twenty rooms,some sculptures of  Bernini are worth to be seen for theirs dynamism and for the virtuosism,such as his Apollo and Dafne. If you are an art lover you must visit at least once in your life Galleria Borghese and from  december 2011 for three months  65

masterpieces given by Camillo Borghese to Napoleon in 1807 will return in Rome and be replaced inside the gallery. It’s an event not to be missed, and our hotel will be pleased to accomodate you in Rome!

Our blogger today: Lello

Tomorrow, May 14, museums all across Europe will open its doors to allow visitors to admire  some of the most important art collections in the world from a different angle. Of course the Eternal City won’t be the exception, so if you are now in Rome you’ll have the chance to experience the City in a way you never imagined: by night and for free.

Among the museums open tomorrow from 20.00 PM to 02.00 A.M there are The Capitoline Museums, The Borghese Gallery,Castel Sant’Angelo, the Pantheon and the contemporary-art museums MACRO and MAXXI. You could even visit more than one of those in an authentic museum-crawl night!

Besides, since most cutlural institutions have joined in the fun, there will be many free events in venues scattered all around the city: you’ll have the National Academy of Dance  at the Ara Pacis,  The jazz singer Maria Pia de Vito  at the Centrale Montemartini, just to name a few among the most interesting. You can check the entire list here (in English, don’t worry).

And after a long night admiring the cultural wealth of Rome there’s nothing more fitting than relaxing at Hotel Des Artistes or Yes Hotel. Contact us now to get our best rate!

In the center of Rome, between many fine shops and restaurants on one of the most luxurious and famous in Rome can begin a very special (and frightening) experience!

Here are preserved the mortal remains of nearly 4000 people. Given the narrowness of the place, the Capuchin brothers decided to make a virtue of necessity. In mid-1700 decided to decorate the walls with the bones of the dead buried there. The environment is, therefore, entirely covered with skulls, tibias, femurs, docks, vertebrae, scapula, phalanges, etc..

Capuchin monks were buried here until 1870. The burial ground for the Mass in the Chapel was reserved for the burial of the poor.

The rooms are 6, all of these decorative motifs made with the bones joined by a narrow corridor: Crypt of the Resurrection, Chapel of the Mass, the crypt of skulls, the crypt of the basins, the femurs and tibias of the crypt, the crypt of the three skeletons

The compositions made with the various bones of the body form rosettes, pilasters, stars, flowers, garlands and chandeliers and even a clock. There are also full of skeletons, such as the Princess Barberini with the right hand holding a sickle (the symbol of death) and the left holds a scale (symbol of divine justice that comes to souls after the death of the body)

The Capuchin Crypt can be one of the most memorable of your Experiences in Rome! Book with us at the hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel and you’ll definitely have an unique experience!

Our blogger: Vanda

As every spring from 1951 you will have the chance to admire one of the most beautiful sights the Eternal City has to offer: the stairs of the Spanish Steps will be embellished with flowerpots of azaleas as a colourful way to celebrate the arrival of the new season.

Why use Azaleas to celebrate spring? The answer, besides the fact that azaleas are beautiful and are in full flowering during April, is hard to guess. For some, the idea might be somehow connected to the legend of the Roman goddess Proserpine who escaped from her husband Pluto to go back to her mother Ceres, but due to a spell cast on her by her husband she had to spend six months on earth and the other six months in the underworld with him. According to the legend Proserpine, by going back to earth, gave start to spring and summer, while during the six months that she had to spend in the afterlife autumn and winter arrived on earth.

The dates can slightly vary in operation of the flowering of the azaleas, but the office of the tourism will provide all the necessary information.

If you’ll be in Rome in that period don’t miss this opportunity!!! The Spanish Steps are waiting to celebrate with you! Book at the Hotel Des Artistes or Yes Hotel located only a walk away from the Spanish Steps!

For those not in the know, the Etruscans were a civilization that flourished in Italy before the foundation of Rome with whose people they merged. They developed advanced techniques of sculpture that influenced roman art and left many objects and works of art that can be seen today in some specialized museums in Rome.

And is on this museums where you can get acquainted with the Etruscans in a different way. A group of comic artists were invited to stay for a week in different Etruscan locations and now their works are on display on the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome and in the museums of Tarquinia and Cerveteri. The exhibit has been organized in suggestive ways to underline the themes that had an impact on the artists, placing the drawings near some of the objects that inspired them.

The exhibition will be open until October 25 2009 and it’s a great opportunity to be introduced to the Etruscans and to the solid tradition of comics authors in Italy.

The Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia (National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia) is located on piazzale di Villa Giulia 9. You can get there easily using the public transportation from Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes. Stay with us and discover the beauty of Rome!

After a long restauration process and the reinforcement of walls and ceiling, now, after 30 years of closure, finally visitors from all around the world will be able  to visit the “Hall tenth" of the Baths of Diocletian in Rome.

Finally, now that the Baths of Diocletian are open again the Romans and tourists, the public can see the tomb of Platorinus.

Gaius Sulpicius Platorino was one of three coin minters in the city, in Augustu’s age. His tomb was discovered on the right bank of the river tiber in 1880. It contained decorated cinerary urns and two statues of Platorinus and his daughter.

The funerary objects have now been reunited and the tomb of Platorinus has been reconstructed. it is located in the Hall X, the museum’s renovated space at Diocletian’s Baths in Rome.

The tomb of Emperor Marcus Aurelius will also be open for exhibition in the hall.

In the museum in the coming months will be shown the grave of Macrino too. He was a proconsul for Marcus Aurelius and he was erroneously identified as the man who inspired the movie "Gladiator" by Ridley Scott.

In the X hall you’ll find exposed too tombs, sarcophagi and reliefs with portraits of the deceased. Besides the great tomb that reigns in the great hall, called the Platorini, there are also two chamber-tombs dug out of tufa stone, discovered in 1951 in Quirino Majorana that were part of a necropolis of Via Portuense between the end of the first and the third century AD. Among the other exhibits on display in the hall from a sarcophagus via Labicana with Dionysus and Ariadne, and two large marble sinks.

The central part of the room has been left intentionally left empty to allow his organization of concerts and conferences, so that it can become a place of cultural events.

In fact, from April 4 to May 2, on occasion of "The Night of Museums" every Saturday evening meeting is planned with music, theater, literature.

Now the baths of Diocletian come back at the city, and we wait for the other rooms to be opened.

The Baths of Diocletian are only a stone’s throw away from Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel, your home away home in the Eternal City!

If you loved the concept of a recent film with Ben Stiller you’re gonna love this idea: on may 16th 2009 many museums in Rome will be open to allow you to admire its treasures in a unique way.

Among the museums you”ll be able to admire you have Palazzo Massimo (near hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel!), The National Museum of the Diocletian Baths, and the Caracalla Baths. All these museums and monuments will be open from 8:00 P.M until 2:00 A.M. That day is Saturday, and as usual in Rome, you’ll have the subway working until 1:30, so getting around will be easy too. Besides, the entrance will be free- All you have to do is show up and have a great time!

This activity, that started on the year 2005, and is now followed on many other European cities is meant to invite citizens and tourists to rediscover museums and see them too as a place to develop social interactions. Many of the museums will organize special activities for that day, like Hadrian’s Villa, near Tivoli, where a night walk (with illumination of course) will take place.

Another tempting options are The Market of Trajan, The Capitoline Museums (an excelent choice!), The Pantheon and the Ara Pacis museum. All of them will be open during the night and the  entrance will be free.

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to enjoy the cultural richness of Rome under (literally) a different light. Hotel des Artistes and Yes Hotel are great choices for accomodation not only for its incredibly convenient location, but also for its great comfort standards

This year to celebrate the bimillenium birthday of Saint Paul, who is believed to have been born seven to ten years after Christ, between June 28th 2008 and June 29th 2009 "a series of liturgical, cultural and ecumenical events” take place. The Year is known as ”Paolina” and the various pastoral and social initiatives are set to inspire Christians worldwide. 

So now is a goodtime to go on a pilgrimage to the places which the great apostle visited during the final part of his life. These are some of the most important places.

A l’abbazia delle tre fontane – The Three Fountains Abbey 

The place where St Paul was locked in a cell before receiving martyrdom is found in  the abbey of the Three Fountains (ex.Waters Sages) on Via Laurentina in Rome. The church is S.Maria Scala Coeli inside the courtyard of the abbey. Then inside, underneath, the crypt opens, and there is a sixteenth-century altar devoted to St. Zenone and the Martyr soldiers that kept St. Paul prisoner before his decapitation.

To the right of the church crossing a small piece of land full of trees is the place where St. Paul was killed. As the story goes, he was decapitated and jumped three times on the earth below. On those points of contact, it’s said three springs of water miraculously gushed out, and thus the name “The Three Fountains”.

Il Carcere Mamertino:

The Jail Mamertino or Carcer Tullianum is the most ancient jail in Rome, known also as Jails mamertine.

Here St. Paul was imprisoned together with St. Peter .The story is that there was a miracle release of spring water in the jail and the two saints succeeded in converting the custodians of the jails. And it was from here that St. Paul was taken to be beheaded (The Church of the Three Fountains)

La Basilica San Paolo fuori le mura:

The great apostle was buried on the road that leads to Ostia, and for many centuries pilgrims visited his grave. Later, the Basilica was built on that spot, and today you can visit the sarcophagus of the Saint.

The values of the Saint are considered to have a strong influence on Christianity because his missions helped increase the number of Christians in the Greek and Roman world. After St. Giovanni the evangelist (St John), St Paul is the most wise and gifted writer of all the Apostles.

So don’t miss this great opportunity to visit these monuments of religious and historical importance in Rome. And for your own convenience, why not stop by Hotel Des Artistes? Being so centrally located it’s a great choice for your holiday hotel.

Today I would like to tell you about a small and a big story, regarding The mythology of Rome, the importance and the social function that it used to have in old roman society.

As in every capital city, in order to celebrate its greatness, everything was colligated with myth –the foundation of the city for example, goes back to “Enea”. For those of you who don’t’ know who Enea is, I’m going to explain quickly: Enea is the protagonist of Eneide, an epic poem written by Virgilius, who ran away from Troy and once in Lazio married Lavinia, Latino’s daughter. They had a son called Silvio, who founded the family of Romulus and Remus.

In reality, genuine mythology in Rome started with the adaptation of Greek mythology.

You probably already know about the story of Romulus Remus. The difference between Greek legends and roman ones is that while Greek divinities assume a behaviour prevalently human (they were implicated in loving wars, revenges) the Romans had a social function and they interacted with the normal unwinding of life.

At the beginning, roman working people were very humble – many were farmers and shepherds. So many of the Roman Gods related to this way of life – for example, Jupiter was the god of weather, the elements etc. 

Despite this, it’s possible to glimpse into the “res-publica” concept (the public government).

In this society two figures deserved a particular mention: the Pontiffs and the Vestals.

The pontiffs were the highest ranking priests because they used to decide bank holidays and public celebrations, most of the time the pontiff sovereign was an emperor.

The Vestals were priestesses devoted to Vest, they lived in chastity for 30 years before they were able to marry.

Sadly those who didn’t respect this law were killed in terrible circumstances – infact they were buried alive.

The main gods in Rome were : Jupiter, Giunone and Minerva, Diana, Venus, Ceres, Mars, and finally Mercurius.

In all of Rome it’s possible to research the signs and symbols behind the myths. For example Barbo’s Palace portrays Hercules while in one old heating stove at the Vatican palace you can admire Venus etc.

So why don’t stay here at Hotel des Artistes the perfect base to discover the beauty of myths in Rome?

The Real Name

What can be surprising when it comes to talk about evidence of the past one could find in Rome ?

You might remeber that film (see the picture)…Yes, that one. Russel Crowe was named Maximus Decimus Merida, but that was not the real name of the Gladiator. 

A great discovery was made recently in Rome by a group of Archeologists! The tomb of the Roman commander who inspired the Gladiator of Ridley Scott, a magnificent funerary monument that came to light on the Via Flaminia, in the Eternal City.

The inscription discovered in the marble mauseoleo, give the name of Marcus Nonius Macrinus, the soldier Roman patrician, who would be named many centuries later as Maximus Decimus Merida, the heroe with the face Russel Crowe, to fight in the arena..
The archaeologist of the Superintendence of Rome, Daniela Rossi announced in a press conference at the headquarters of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage this "exceptional discovery" this month. "It’s been at least twenty or thirty years since pieces of such importance were found in Rome"

The monument is located close to Vitorchiano street and was discovered by chance during the construction of a building. The works had been stopped immediatly.
It is remarkable not only because of the beauty of the pieces considered individually , with fragments finely decorated, but also for the fact mentioned by Daniela Rossi: ‘’It is possible to recreate the whole monument. The tomb has been kept almost intact, this was produced by the action of the silt of the Tiber, the tomb had been covered by a flood’’.

So this flood, almost two thousands years ago, give us now in the present the chance to know a little bit more about the life of Mister Marcus Nonius Macrinus.

Do not miss this opportunity and visit this tomb, once you are in Rome.

Book our strategically located YES hotel  and make your Roman stay unforgettable!