One of the events more expected this summer in Rome is the concert of a talented and sensual English singer: her name is Florence Welch, playing with her band, “the machine”, she’s already been defined as heiress of Kate Bush, Siouxsie e Pj Harvey and very soon she has became the pop diva more appreciated and cuddled on the English stage , climbing the charts of half the world and conquering the Italian radios too with the single  You’ve got the love.

After staying at the very first position on the English charts and winning the  Brit Awards with the album  Lungs, there are rumors about a  collaboration of her with Thom York , the singer of Radiohead.

HThe band’s debut album is a very original work that doesn’t betray the best English tradition, being able anyway to  go beyond the definition of independent rock . This album was made inside a debunked synagogue with the help of  two among the most sought-after producers   : James Ford (already working for Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys) and Paul Epworth (Bloc Party).

When Florence was very young at school she was a “peculiar character”  who used to read Poe and Jack The Ripper, to listen to the Velvet Underground and make gothic drawings  ( so that her mates used to define her as “macabre” ) : a teenager’s past a little bit dark transformed into an absolutely bright present; Florence says “ I love singing, I love dancing, I love playing the drums. The fact that someone pays me for doing it, well is just incredible”.

Florence has also been chosen by the Blur to open their concert in London and Manchester in June 2009. The band’s Roman concert will take place at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica, located only a short bus trip away from Yes Hotel and Hotel Des Artistes.

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!

Get ready to skate in the Eternal City.

You can get to the perfect Holiday spirit also in Rome ! Have you always wanted to slide gracefully over the ice without falling? This unfortunately takes lot of practice and won’t happen over night. You don’t have to be a professional to go with the flow and enjoy an unusual kind of fun also here in Rome!

One inside ice skating ring is already open and the outside ones will be opened by mid December. And they will be open until February or March. The outside ice skating rings you will find close to the city center, by Castel Sant’Angelo at Piazza Adriana is “Grizing Village” open everyday from 10 until 24, “Sottozero” near the Auditorium Parco della Musica, open mon-fri from 14 until 21, sat from 10 until 24 and sun from 10 until 21 and “Ice Park” at piazza Re di Roma open mon-fri from 14 until 24 and sat-sun from 10 until 24.

All of these places they rent the skates as well. The inside skating ring “Iceland” is located at EUR, easily reached by metro B. Opening hours and other details can be checked at www.iceland90.com/orari.php but during the weekdays the ring  is open for the public in the evenings and sat-sun for the whole day.!

Well, what are you waiting for? Now there will be nothing missing on you perfect Christmas and New Year vacation in Rome! If you are wondering about accomodation, check the websites of Yes Hotel and Hotel Des Artistes, or drop us a line at info@hoteldesartistes.com and info@yeshotelrome.com. We’ll be more than happy to give you our best offer, either for our accomodation-only options or for our special packages for this season.

While people are visiting Rome is not unusual that they ask for a shopping centre where to buy clothes and souvenirs. Unfortunately (or fortunately) inside the city we don’t have such big mall; they are located quite far and sometimes it’s not so simple to reach those areas using the public transportation.

But in the city there it’s possible to visit free open markets where you’ll find many bargains- maybe not brand clothing but there, besides getting a good price you’ll get as well a glimpse into the most picturesque romanity.

The most famous street market one is Porta Portese but it’s open only on Sundays. During week days your best option is Via Sannio, where you’ll find cheap clothes, past seasons stock, military articles, camping, hunting and fishing stuff.

This market is actually open every day from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm and it’s closed on Sunday.Most of the stands from Via Sannio in fact moved on Sunday to the Porta Portese market.

Some curiosities: generally in Sannio street you can buy the “ brand clothes” with substantial discounts in comparison with the usual prices but be careful: in fact most of the things you see there are actually good imitations of famous designer’s ideas.

But not everything is counterfeit, on Via Sannio you’ll find too many second-hand things: a great chance to get a vintage piece of wardrobe that will add a unique touch to your look.

What might be special for foreign tourists is the atmosphere of this tangle of stands: colours, voices and characters who live together inside this small world.

Some colourful characters you can meet at Via Sannio are: the tree of junk, Sylvan the dirty, Gino the musician, Joao the Philippin, Mustafa the optician, Ric and Jan the leather-goods dealers, Mara the seller of sleepers, Fidel the revolutionary, Lella the ragwoman, Tarcisio the infamous, Jimmy the graphic artist, Ahmed and Anal the Libyans, the crazy hatter, Max the business man.

For more information about this peculiar urban celebrities you can check out :

http://www.ziofringuello.com/viasannio.html

Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel are the best in accomodation in Rome. The knowledgeable staff and the high standards of service will make your stay in the Eterna City memorable, and their great location will allow you to explore many hidden angles of the “real” Rome, like the market in Via Sannio.

Directions: from Termini station line A until San Giovanni in Laterano and then you’ll see it just on the corner.

There are some practical issues that are common to all tourists visiting the eternal city. Most of them are impossible to know if you haven’t been to Rome, so here we show you a couple of things you might like to know before arriving.

Be aware of pickpockets

Rome is not a violent city. The only real danger are pickpockets. Be ware of them on the subway, or generally, wherever you find yourself in a crowd. They might steal something from your bags or backpacks or try to rip your purse to get what’s inside.

Be aware of taxi drivers

In Rome you cannot wave a taxi. There are two ways to get one: either you catch one from a taxi parking place (they’re located strategically, but that doesn’t mean that you’re garanteed to have one near) or you call one. A couple of numbers to get a taxi in Rome are 063570 and 064994 (add 0039 if you’re using a cell phone with a non-italian SIM card), but since the automatic system that manages the calls is not bilingual, you might need to ask for help if you’re not fluent in Italian. By the way, once you get a cab be aware of the drivers! Make sure they use the meter to calculate the fare.

Get a Roma Pass

The Roma pass  is a special ticket that costs 20 euros and gives you access to the public transportation system for three days and to two museums you can choose from a list. The possibilities include some of the best museums in Rome, like the Museum in Villa Borghese, the Capitoline Museums and the Colosseum. In case you decide the Roma pass is not for you, there are other options (that include only transportation, though). The BIT is a ticket valid for 75 minutes, the Daily ticket costs 4 euros, the three-day ticket costs 11 euros, and the week-ticket 16 euros. Tickets can be bought in all the subway stations, newsstands, and Tobacco Shops.

A final word on airports

It might sound silly, but make sure you know the airport where your plane is departing from. There are two airports in Rome: Fiumicino (also known as Leonardo Da Vinci airport) and Ciampino. If you are staying in a hotel near Termini station, like hotel Des Artistes or Yes Hotel, arriving to any of them is not difficult at all: there’s a train called the  Leonardo Express  that goes to Fiumicino from Termini and leaves in the minutes 22 and 52 past the hour, starting at 5:52 with the last train at 22:52. For Ciampino, there are a couple of bus companies that will take you from the station to the airport. The ride takes half an hour, depending on the traffic, and the prices are 4,50 or 6,00 Euros.

Now, if you want to save a couple of euros after a shopping spree in Rome, you can take a train to  Fiumicino Airport from Tiburtina subway station. The ride takes twice as long, but the ticket costs half the price than that of the Leonardo express. Your cheap option for the Ciampino airport is a bus that will take you from Anagnina (the last station on the red subway line) to the airport. That option should cost 2.20 Euros altogether, but make sure you get the right departure times so you won’t have problems getting there on time!

Last, but not least, make sure to get a room in a well-located hotel, near the most famous attractions in the city, Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel are two great options!

 

Euroma2-Shopping Mall

Italy is a country of contrasts,  and no matter how much you earn you will be always attracted by the beautiful shopping malls full of fascinating fashion shops and pretty products. Another mall, or commercial shopping center has been open in Rome these days. It claims to be the the biggest shopping center in Europe, claims also to be one of the most elegant and fascinating.

So, what is EUROMA2 ?

Well, tastes differ…I personally found it a bit kitch, and maybe too luxurous, maybe with a bit less of style than in times of Michelangelo, but it has a lot of positive and practical features too.

Some historical outline of Euroma2 project. This mall makes part of Central construction plan that the municipality of Rome has sought  as a compensation in 2003 in the construction of parks  Volusia  and Pratone Valley in this area. Located in between the Pacific Ocean Avenue, by the Steet Cristoforo Colombo and street of Decima, apart from Euroma 2, there will be also be constructed two tower buildings designed by architect Purini, high around 120 meters, and will become a new headquarters of the Ministry of Health.

There will be also outlets for the house articles, electronics, sports and personal care shops. A beauty centre and a hairdresser alternate by an erboristeria, a laundry, and two jewellers, perhaps even Fendi. The shopping center will host  also a bank, Carifac, Cassa di Risparmio di Fabriano and Cupramontana.
The management of Euroma 2 is in the hands of the Scci, Société des Centres Commerciaux Inc.

So, let’s talk about practical sides of this shopping mall. First of all, in one place you will find 230 different shops, especially some brands that were not presented in Rome a year ago, like H&M are expanding their market in the central Italy and already have captured many hearts and pockets of Roman shopaholics. Also there are present Zara, Nuvolari, Oysho, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear Ottics.

This center has a large supermatket IPERCOOP where you can find a variety of products from agriculture to high-tech at very reasonable prices.These 230 different spots represent boutiques and restaurants situated on three stores, multilevel parking for 4000 posts. To cut the symbolic openning band was invited a famous show girl, ex Miss Italia Cristina Chiabotto. 

You will find a mega center of electronics TRONY, which was assalted by the customers on the openning day of the 23rd June 2008 with many and many incredible offers and discounts. And last but not the least…

LUXUROUS SALES

July the 5th 2008 to August the 15th 2008

Openning hours Monday 12-22,

Tuesday-Sunday 10-22

If you are an architect, or an arts researcher (why not study masterpieces or monsters of modernity in cement and metal), or maybe  you are a raffinated shopper, who is in love with Italy and Rome, then your credo is Time is Money, and you value quality-price equilibrium solutions, then do not hesitate plan your trip to Rome, book fashionable YES Hotel by Termini Station, and then visit the Luxurous and Fashionable Shopping Mall Euroma 2.

 

A question that can be easily answered. Just walk down any Roman street and you will quickly see that Rome is the most romantic city in the world.  Everyday you will see couples hand in hand, staring into each others eyes, kissing a whispering “Ti amo” from dusk till dawn. Many come to Rome for romantic vacations, such as honeymoons, wedding proposals, and anniversaries. Between gorgeous lookouts, intimate piazzas, panoramic bars, and the general ardour of the natives, Rome is one sprawling romantic setting.
There are many romantic things you can do. You can take your lover for a gentle row around Villa Borghese’s idyllic lake, surrounded by trees and temples. Boats can be rented from 9:30am to sunset daily. Getting there is not difficult. Simply take Buses 116 and 490 from Termini station.

 

The Pincio is also worth a visit if you are on holiday with your special someone.The Pincio gardens have secluded corners, umbrella pine bowers, and spectacular stone balustrades overlooking the rooftops of the centre of the city and across to St. Peter’s. Recommended during the lingering glow of sunset, or at night. To get to the Pincio just take the metro line A in the direction of Battistini and get off at metro stop Flaminio.

 

 

Another place to go that can’t be left out would definetly be Ponte Milvio. Get hold of your padlock chain it to the bridge and throw the key away to make sure you will be together forever. 

 

Campidoglio hill is also definetly one of the most beautiful settings at night. With it’s beautiful intricate design imbedded in the piazza and overlooking Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum you can’t go wrong with this one. After a Romantic day and a romantic day together, the best thing to do is come back to a beautiful hotel.

 

 

This is the papal coat of arms of pope Urban VIII or otherwise known as Maffeo Barberini. He was responsible for a lot of the architecture and for encouraging many talented artisits and sculptors to come to Rome and leave their talent behind for many generations after to enjoy.

 

 

Among the few artists he had brought to Rome were Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Bernini and Borromini. They were all given commissions for various artistic endeavours including, Fontana del Tritone, Palazzo Barberini and various other works in the Vatican. He was also the last pope to claim lands for the papacy by force. When you go have a look at the Pantheon you can thank Urban VIII for ruining it. He is responsible for having removed all the bronze decoration and rooftiles and melting it down to make cannons and various other things from bronze including the canopy above the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica.

 

He was however a great patron of the arts so he can be at least respected for some of the fantastic fountains, sculptures, frescoes and paintings that were created directly because of his patronage. However, there is a saying that “What the barbarians did not do to Rome, the Barberinis did” So the three bees have a love hate relationship with the city of Rome.

 

The first thing you should do is lose all sense of time and forward planning. Throw your itinerary out of the window and go on an adventure. Have fun getting lost and discovering something new. Don’t follow the crowd all the time. Go off track and down some old beaten path and you may find a few surprises. If you manage to do this you will enjoy Rome a lot more because this is how the city is.

 

Take a stroll along the Tevere and go have a good look around the Forum and old market areas. Take your time don’t rush and sample all the ice cream and pizza to your hearts content. Sit down and have a coffee or a glass of limoncello and live the good life for a while. Rome is a city that is meant to be discovered by walking. All the sites are close enough to get to on foot and its also a lot cheaper doing it this way too. Plus you will also have an excuse to treat yourself to lunch at the many restaurants in the nice side streets running off from all the piazzas after you have worked up an appetite.

 

There is so much to see in this city that you could spend a life time here. As you casualy walk down the many streets and into the piazzas there will always be something that will catch your eye and will pique your curiosity. Be lead by your eyes and not by a piece of paper. Go where your curiosity leads you. You can also relax in one of the many parks found in Rome and make like the locals and lounge around on the grass or spend some quality time with that someone special. Don’t overlook the romantic side of the city. There are many quiet spots to go to and lots of perfect settings to have dinner or an afternoon drink and watch the sun set over the ancient skyline with its many beautiful buildings.

 

 Rome is also a great place to go to to have a really good party. The district of San Lorenzo is always alive with its students who always have time to party and socialise. The beach at Ostia is also only a 55 minute train ride away. The remains of the aniceint port of Ostia ar also really close. So you can always do a bit of sight seeing and then closer to the evening head of to a bar or club and paint the town red.

Rome is not just a city with a whole bunch of old ruins. It is still very much alive and is buzzing with activity. There is plenty to do and see for the whole family and it is full of activities for the young and old. You will never forget your holiday in Rome and you will be retelling your holiday stories for a long time afterwards.

Good advice to stick to in Rome good location. Whilst on Holiday it is worth while searching for accomendation based close to Termini station. From Termini you are able to travel all around Rome, and also take trains to other cities around Italy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                  

When visiting Roma you are very likely to come across the letters SPQR.
It is used as a signature for the government; you will see it on coins, public documents, and also dedications of monuments and public works. In modern usage, SPQR appears in the coat of arms of the city of Rome, as well as on many of the city’s civic buildings and manhole covers. Benito Mussolini used it in his propaganda about the “New Roman Empire.SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus (”The Senate and the Roman People”), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic,

 Here are some other interesting information about “S.P.Q.R.”

• In the movie Gladiator, Maximus has SPQR tattooed on his left shoulder.
• In the movie Titus, the radio microphone into which Saturninus speaks has the call letters “S.P.Q.R.”
• The experimental band This Heat wrote a song entitled “S.P.Q.R” which appears on their 1981 album Deceit.
• The SPQR logo also appears at the base of “The Angel of Independence” statue in Mexico City. Its relevance there is not clear.

Movies

Rome hosts the Cinecittà Studios, which is the centre of Italian cinema, and some of today’s biggest box office hits were filmed there, A given example is Gangs of New York.It was founded in 1937 by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, the studios were bombed by the Western Allies during World War II. In the 1950s, Cinecittà was the filming location for several large American film productions like Ben-Hur, and then became the studio most closely associated with Federico Fellini.After a period of near-bankruptcy in the 1980s, Cinecittà was privatized by the government of Italy. 

 

……….Did You Know?……….  

 1) A reason why maybe Italy heads international fashion. Starting only in 300 BC, there were barbers in Rome.

2) The Italian flag is inspired by the French flag introduced during Napoleon’s 1797 invasion of the peninsula.

3) The famous children’s story, Pinocchio , was written by an Italian.

4) Italy’s contributions to science include the barometer, electric battery, nitroglycerin, and wireless telegraphy.

5) Eyeglasses are an Italian invention.

6) While “romans” is actually the root word for “romance”,  

                                                                                          
 

For information on great locations in Rome, Please visit: www.hotelrome.net