There’s information here on both cities and more remote destinations - from the top to the toe of the beautiful boot.
Regular readers might think I’m overdoing it a bit with the constant posts about how friggin’ hot it’s going to be in Italy this summer, but I can’t help it - it’s what I’m reading and hearing. And really, you don’t even have to wait until August to feel the heat. It’s apparently already stifling just about everywhere. So, in addition to my previous ways to stay cool this summer, I’d like to introduce you to two cold beverages (courtesy of Shelley of At Home in Rome) you can enjoy
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When you’re wandering through the ruins of what were once Rome’s grandest buildings in the Roman Forum or trying to imagine what the Colosseum must have been like in its heyday, sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the rubble. A good guide can help, but some people are just more visual learners. For them - and for anyone else who thinks it’s cool (which might be everyone) - now there’s Rome Reborn.
Thanks to long years of hard work by archaeologists, historians and computer experts from around the world, people …
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Most tourists who visit Italy stay in the northern half of the country - they visit Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice and maybe places like the Cinque Terre and Siena. But most people don’t venture to the country’s southern half. You might be surprised to learn that the North-South divide is more than just a tourist’s whim. The invisible barrier that separates northern and southern Italy also in many respects separates the haves from the have-nots - and recent reports say the gap is getting worse.
Unemployment rates tend …
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It’s summer, which means every country with a tourism budget is pulling out the stops to get people to choose them over the other worthy vacation candidates. Italy is no exception, and there have been several articles in English newspapers and online news outlets over the past few months highlighting some of Italy’s choice destinations. Here are just a few recent ones:
With hotel prices rising along with the value of the Euro, it might be more cost-effective to rent yourself an Italian villa instead.
The New York Times’ top restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, headed to Puglia not …
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Picture, if you will, a hot summer day in Rome. You’re a tourist, and you’re visiting Rome’s big sights, many of which are outdoors or require long waits in outdoor lines, with little to no protection from the rays of the oppressive sun. Perhaps you’ve chosen to visit the Roman Forum at midday. Perhaps you’ve not gotten up at the crack of dawn to get an early entry to the Vatican Museum. Perhaps you don’t find yourself close enough to those lovely burbling fountains when you need them. Whatever your situation, you are going to be thirsty - and that’s where the Aqua Store comes in.
Situated in the Galleria Centrale of Rome’s Termini train station, the Aqua Store, opened in 1999, is an entire shop dedicated to that most humble of beverages - water. The idea behind the store is that there are many different types of waters, and they are useful for different kinds of people at different times in their day or life. When you go into the Aqua Store, you are confronted with a dazzling array of choices in modern refrigerated containers, but don’t be overwhelmed. A handy touch-screen questionnaire (in Italian, mi dispiace, but I imagine you can find either an employee or a new Roman friend to help you translate) will help you choose the right water for you - you simply answer a series of questions, and out pops a recommendation.
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If you’re looking for things to do in Rome, you should definitely have a day trip to Vatican City on your list. The Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica are both well worth the time - and although the Vatican is technically its own country, you won’t even need your passport. You can, however, send a postcard or two with Vatican stamps from the Vatican post office. Keep reading for tips on visiting Vatican City, especially during the extremely busy summer tourist season. You can also jump directly to information about the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as how to get to Vatican City.
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When I first visited Italy in 2001, I’d read a bit about the Capuchin Crypt in Rome and knew I had to see it. The Crypt is a tiny space underneath the Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione church in which the bones of more than 4,000 Cappuchin monks have been artfully arranged to decorate the walls of several tiny chapels. It’s not as if people died here in order to become three-dimensional wallpaper, however - it’s just that so many people wanted to be buried here (because the soil had originally been brought from Jerusalem, making it very desirable as a final resting place for those who couldn’t make it all the way to the Holy City) that they eventually ran out of space. So what better way to make room than to exhume clean skeletons and use them for decorations, right?
I never would have described myself as a fan of the morbid. I hate horror movies and I cringe during even movie scenes of surgery. But the Cappuchin Crypt fascinated me. The chapels are all along one side of a small hallway, and it’s a dead-end (no pun intended) so you walk all the way to the end and then walk back. Some of the bones are stacked along the walls, some have been propped upright as complete skeletons and dressed with their monks’ robes; but most have been used to create designs on the walls and arched ceilings. According to the official website, each chapel has a name - one is the Crypt of the Skulls (it’s the one with all the skulls, of course) and another is called the Crypt of the Pelvises. I’m no biology whiz, so I’m not sure I would have known they were pelvic bones had the name not given it away. In one of the chapels there is even a little grim reaper overhead (seriously, it feels like the monks had a pretty good sense of humor, doesn’t it?). In the very last chapel is a sign which reads, “As you are, we once were. As we are, you will someday be.” It gives you the chills (in a good way).
Visitor Information
The Cappuchin Crypt (sometimes also spelled Cappuccin Crypt) can be a little hard to find - it’s beneath the Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione on Via Veneto near Piazza Barberini. It’s open Friday through Wednesday from 9:00am until 12:00 noon and again from 3:00pm until 6:00pm, and it’s closed on Thursdays. There’s no entry fee, but a donation is requested. The postcards are excellent, and a must since you’re not allowed to take pictures. The official website is here.
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Some of you may remember a post I wrote about the husband’s and my last trip to Italy, where we stopped outside Bologna to see a Ferrari Formula 1 car on the legendary car maker’s own test track. (That’s the outline of the track to the right - no, it’s not a weird crop circle.) Well, I got a nice note from a reader called Ian not too long ago who had a very similar experience:
My wife and I just returned from 2 weeks in Europe, where she indulged me to go …
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It’s June now, so we’re officially into the beginning of the summer travel season. If you’re looking for things to do in Italy this June, here are a couple items you might be interested in:
The folks at Italofile have compiled a list of “What’s on in Italy” for the month of June. The list includes a summer festival in Rome which begins on June 14, flower festivals in a few different cities, a couple medieval events in Tuscany and the “Festival of Two Worlds” in Spoleto. Check out the whole list and see if any of the goings-on …
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Americans are generally quite familiar with the idea of Happy Hour. It’s usually a great thing - you get huge portions of good food for pennies on the dollar, as long as you buy a drink. Which, after many an American workday, is a much needed thing anyway. Happy Hour is a fantastic way to stretch your dining dollar, but until recently it’s been completely unknown in Italy.
Nowadays you can find the odd bar, cafe or restaurant in Italy which has a Happy Hour menu, though they’re still comparatively rare. Elizabeth writes about one place in Rome that’s doing Happy Hour here, and notes that they’re not just doing what we might call “bar food,” but honest-to-goodness real food. She says that after 6:30 you can pay €10 and get a drink with a plate of food. It’s buffet style, and you can choose from pasta, rice salads, sandwiches, shrimp, etc. Elizabeth adds that there’s an important cultural difference between Italy and the United States which is honored in this Happy Hour menu - it’s not called “supper” for a reason:
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