New Year's Eve in Rome

Fireworks, music, alcoholic beverages and other forms of noise making is part of the New Year's Eve celebration. New Year's Eve is celebrated with parties and social gatherings spanning the transition of the year at midnight.

Italians call New Year's Eve Capodanno (the "head of the year") or Notte di San Silvestro (the night of St. Silvestro). Traditionally there are a set of rituals for the new year, such as wearing red underwear and getting rid of old or unused items by dropping them from the window, but this is and old tradition, followed by quite nobody today.

Dinner is traditionally eaten with parents and friends. It often includes zampone or cotechino (a kind of spiced Italian sausage) and lentils. At half past eight pm, The President of the Republic reads a television message of greetings to Italians.

At midnight, fireworks are displayed across Italy. 

In Rome after having dinner with parents or friends, the rest of the night is meant to be celebrated in the streets with fireworks at midnight, music, alcoholics: everyone is greeting the New Year !

Italian Christmas celebrations

Christmas is celebrated in Italy in a similar fashion to other Western European countries, albeit with a stronger emphasis given by the media to the Christian meaning of the holiday and its celebration by the Roman Catholic Church, also reinforced by the still widespread tradition of setting up the presepe, a tradition initiated by Saint Francis of Assisi.

Christmas decorations, including the presepe, as well as the Christmas tree, are usually put up on the 8th December, a national holiday. On Christmas Eve in some areas it is a custom not to eat any meat. Some people, especially in the South, tend to celebrate on Christmas Eve; dinner traditionally consists of seafood, with the "feast of the seven fishes", followed by typical Italian Christmas sweets, such as pandoro, panettone, torrone, panforte, struffoli, caggionetti, Mont Blanc (dessert) or others, depending on the regional cuisine. It is quite common, for religious families, to attend midnight mass on the evening of the 24th of December. In Northern Italy it is more common to celebrate Christmas on the 25th with a family lunch, consisting of different types of meat dishes, cheese and local sweets. Traditionally, Northern Italy sees Christmas both as a secular and religious holiday, while Southern Italy puts a strong and deep emphasis on its Catholic meaning.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I WOULD LIKE TO WISH EVERYBODY A VERY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS .......HOPING THAT THE NEW YEAR WILL BRING HOPE, LOVE, HAPPINESS TO ALL OF YOU.....!!!

BEST WISHES TO EVERYBODY..!!!!

Best Rome Typical Events

Romans and Italians like very much to celebrate holidays. They like traditional holidays.

Rome's public holidays include Liberation Day (25 April), Labour Day (1 May), the Feast of the Assumption (15 August), All Saints' Day (1 November), the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (8 December) and the Feast of Santo Stefano (26 December).

Carnevale, week before Lent, children dress up and throw confetti around; nightclubs put on special parties, various venues.

Mostra delle Azalee, April, 3,000 vases of azaleas adorn the Spanish Steps to mark the arrival of spring.

During Holy Week (Easter) Catholics from around the world make pilgrimages to Rome's various basilicas and to hear the Pope give his address at the Vatican. On Good Friday there's a procession of the Cross from the Colosseum to Capitoline Hill.

Natale di Roma (Rome's Birthday), 21 April, fireworks on the Aventine Hill.

Settimana dei Beni Culturali (Week of Culture), April, free entry to all state-owned museums, public monuments and excavation sites.

Festa della Repubblica, first Sunday in June, military Parade, Via dei Fori Imperiali.

Ferragosto, 15 Aug, feast of the Holy Assumption, shops and restaurants closed.

Messa di Natale (Christmas Mass) and ‘Urbi et Orbi' Blessing, 25 Dec, St Peter's Basilica. 

Nightlife in rome

Trastevere is a lively area of town: a labyrinth of alleys and lanes, among coffee shops, restaurants, pubs and clubs with live music. The Testaccio district, areas around Via della Pace and Campo de' Fiori are also interesting for night life lovers. There are interesting club-bars even at Via Veneto. Among the best cafés-bars:

Supperclub

Via de'Nari 14

Tel.:  06 6880 7207

Anima

57 Via Santa Maria dell'Anima,  Centro Storico

Tel.: 066864021

Bar della Pace

Via della Pace

Tel.:  06 686 1216

Doppiozero

Via Ostiense 68

Telephone: 06 57301961

Spago

35 Via Monte Testaccio

Tel.:  06 5 744999

Stravinskj Bar

Via del Babuino 9

Piper Club

Via Tagliamento 9

Gilda

Via Mario dè Fiori 97

Big Mama  (live music)

Vicolo San Francesco a Ripa 18

Alexanderplatz (Jazz)

Via Ostia 9, Rome

Alpheus

Via del Commercio 36

Best museums of Rome

Rome is an ancient city, therefore is full of interesting museums to visit but I would like to suggest you the main ones of rome:

Borghese Museum Art Galery
Via Prenestina, 685

The Vatican Museums
(the Sistine Chapel, the Etruscan and Egyptian Museums, Raphael’s Rooms, the Gallery of Tapestries)
Viale Vaticano, Città del Vaticano

Galleria Doria Pamphili Via del Corso, 305

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
Via delle Belle Arti 131

Palazzo Massimo
Piazza dei Cinquecento, 68

Rome Modern Theatres

Romans give great importance to culture: here you have a list of the main theatres of rome:

Opera House Roma
Piazza B. Gigli 7 - 00184 Roma

Piazza Beniamino Gigli, 1 - 00184 Roma
tel. 06 48160255 - 06 4817003
e-mail: ufficio.biglietteria@operaroma.it

Teatro Nazionale
Address: 51 Via del Viminale, Rome, 00184
Phone: 06 481 601

The Teatro Nazionale hosts an important part of the Teatro dell'Opera's programme.

Teatro Sistina (Musicals)
Address: 129 Via Sistina, Rome, 00187
Phone:  06 420 0711

Teatro Palladium Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 8
Phone: 06 57 33 27 68

Mouth of Truth

La Bocca della Verità ("the Mouth of Truth") is an image, carved from Pavonazzetto marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. The sculpture is thought to be part of a 1st century ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods, probably Oceanus. Most Romans believe that the 'Bocca' represents the ancient god of the river Tiber.

The Mouth of Truth is known to English-speaking audiences mostly from its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn's and Peck's characters are not initially truthful with each other.

The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. The piece was placed in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin in the 17th century.This church is also home to the supposed relics of the saint, St Valentine.

Useful LINKS of Rome

The links below include a number of popular sites with information about travel in Rome.  

Rome Airport Links

Rome Ciampino Airport (CIA) Guide - useful Rome Ciampino Airport (CIA) information.

Rome Fiumicino Airport (Leonardo da Vinci) (FCO) Guide - useful Rome Fiumicino Airport (Leonardo da Vinci) (FCO) information.

Rome Fiumicino Airport (Leonardo da Vinci) (FCO) Airports Guides

Rome Flight Links

Cheap Flights in Rome - Search for Rome flights and airlines.

Discount Rome Flights - Search for discount flights in Rome.

Rome Flight Information - Search the latest Rome flight and airline information with Flight Tracker.

Rome Discount Flights

Rome Car Rental Links

Cheap Rome Car Rental - Cheap car rental in the Rome area.

Rome Car Hire Discounts - Search for car rental discounts in Rome, Italy.

Rome Discount Car Rental

Car hire Rome - cheap car hire in Rome and many other Italian cities and airports

Tiger Car Rental - Tiger Car Rental provides low cost car hire throughout Europe and Worldwide

Rome Car Hire - We specialise in car hire UK and offer discounted car hire in over 40 countries including car hire UK, Europe, USA, Asia, and worldwide

Rome Jazz FESTIVAL

The Roma Jazz Festival is a jazz event in the city of Rome. The Festival is organized by the International Music Festival Foundation (IMF).

In 1976, the Roma Jazz Festival was born amidst the ambiance of the “Roman Summer” demonstrations; however, after a few years, the festival took on its own identity in EUR area of Rome, performing on the main staircase of the Palazzo della Civiltà e del Lavoro. Subsequently, the event moved to the Tre Fontane area of Rome upon construction of the Euritmia performance venue. More recently, the festival transferred its location to the Foro Italico near the Roman Tennis Stadium.

Over the years, through the selection of new artist and musicians, the festival has focused on and voiced two central themes: The Great Jazz Cultural Expression of the 900’s and Jazz as Ecumenical Music so that, by way of the common language of music, the festival has united humankind around the world.

The Roma Jazz Festival has presented its listeners more than 900 concerts during its 33 annual celebrations, with a total attendance of one million people.

Still today, the artist involved in this festival are among the most revered Italian and International interpreters of this music genre:

• Miles Davis
• Dizzy Gillespie
• Sarah Vaughan
• John McLaughlin
• Gato Barbieri

VILLA ADA

This beatutiful  garden is  often chosen to organise jazz concerts in summer.

Villa Ada
The beautiful grounds are located just north of Rome and are both an ideal place to relax on a bench and enjoy the sunshine, or participate in the many activities that are available, such as the roller-skating rink, bike paths, playgrounds or to simply sit by the ponds.Villa Ada is the largest park in Rome with a surface of 450 acres/182 hectares. It is located in the northeastern part of the city. Its highest prominence is Monte Antenne, 7 m (220 ft), an ancient archeological site.

The public portion of the park is much larger than the private area. It contains an artificial lake and many trees, including stone pines, holm oaks, laurels and a very rare metasequoia, imported from Tibet in 1940. Entrance to the park is free. One may rent canoes, bicycles, or riding horses. There is a large swimming pool.

Since 1994, during the summer the park hosts the world-music festival and the "Roma incontra il mondo" (Rome meets the World) festival, against racism, war and death penalty.

The richest park of Rome

Villa Borghese 

The word 'villa' literally translated means suburban estate - the type developed by the ancient Romans and enjoyed by the wealthy. North of the city, Villa Borghese is a huge park that was part of the pleasure gardens that were originally laid out in the 17th century by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew to Pope Paul V. These days the gardens have changed dramatically and are now completely redesigned, appearing less formal and more natural. The park has many outstanding features, including:

• Galleria Borghese Museum - beautifully restored and home to a wonderful collection of art
• Piazza di Siena - a graceful amphitheatre
• Botanical garden on Via Canonica - including a lake, neoclassical Temple of Aesculapius and café
• Giardino Zoologico - a small biopark zoo, with many animals and often face-painting at the weekends
• Bike and roller-skate rental concessions
• Children's movie theatre

VILLA TORLONIA

Villa Torlonia is a villa and surrounding gardens in Rome, formerly belonging to the Torlonia family. It is entered from via Nomentana.

It was designed by the neo-Classic architect Giuseppe Valadier. Construction began in 1806 for the banker Giovanni Torlonia and was finished by his son Alessandro . Disused for a time, Mussolini rented it from the Torlonia for one lira a year to use as his state residence from the 1920s onwards. It was abandoned after 1945, and allowed to decay in the following decades, but recent restoration work has allowed it to be opened to the public as a museum owned and operated by Rome's municipality.

The Casina delle Civette (House of the Owls) results from a series of additions to the nineteenth century “Swiss Cabin”, which was originally intended as a refuge from the formality of the main residence. It was designed in 1840 by Jappelli. The outside of the house was faced with blocks of tufo, while the inside was painted in tempera. The complex now consists of two buildings, the principle house and the annex, connected by a small wooden gallery and an underground passage.

 

The museum in the villa contains a small collection of pieces of statuary from the Torlonia collection found in the Villa and several pieces found in the gardens. Giovanni and Alessandro were for almost a century leading figures in the field of art collecting. The works exhibited were in part produced by Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (1716–1799), an eighteenth-century sculptor, restorer and antiques dealer, following Giovanni’s purchase in 1800 of all the works in Cavaceppi’s studio.

Exploring Rome with 110 open

Explore Rome at your own pace on an extensive hop-on hop-off itinerary through the heart of Rome. The buses are open top which allows you to enjoy full 360 degree panoramic views as you travel along your route. You have the choice of a 24 or 48 hours ticket with which to make use of the 17 stops in the most beautiful, cultural and evocative areas of the Eternal city. The tour operates 365 days per year.

Highlights

• Hop-on hop-off double-decker bus tour of Rome
• Choice of 24- or 48-hour ticket
• Get on and off at 17 stops throughout central Rome
• Personalized audio commentary and onboard tour escort
• Option to add a 24-hour hop-on hop-off Rome cruise
 

ITALIAN as a foreign language

Italian as a foreign language: there are so many language schools in Rome teaching italian but I would like to add the importance of studying Italian Habits and Culture: the way they think,they way they act, feel, wonder, hope....

Learning a language opens the door to a culture and its people.....Learning a language opens one' s mind to discover new cultures and perspectives .

You can start every time you desire.... learning  Italian is becoming more and more important: Rome is inhabited by a great variety of chinese, south asian, african people and others coming from every part of the world.

Cultures are becoming more and more interconnected: that's why it's interesting and useful to learn italian and all of his dialects which really express the typical warmth of Italians.

Therefore it is important to choose a good Language School teaching Italian for foreigners: language schools have excellent equipment to teach italian;  simple, advanced learning methods thanks to  videotapes, cd-roms, films that help deeply the learning of a foreign language. 

Schools can offer higly formed and specialized teachers: they all have a master degree in Italian   Language and Literature; classes are made up only by  few students; therefore every single student is being taught a perfect Italian. 

Language schools offer many subsidiary activities that enhance learning a new language and culture; teachers always have a  friendly attitude, they meet every student's need, giving full advise to everyone of them.

Rome is becoming more and more internationally  integrated to the  Europen Union : that's why learning italian has become a priority.!!

Here you have just a  few of the many language schools in Rome:
 

http://www.centrostudiflaminio.it

http://www.centrostudiflaminio.it/Recupero_anni_Preparazione_esami_universitari.php

http://www.scudit.net/

http://cultura-italiana.it-schools.com/

Adorable Gustave Klimt !

Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism—nowhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil.

Klimt's paintings have brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art.

Klimt's work is often distinguished by elegant gold or coloured decoration, spirals and swirls, and phallic shapes used to conceal the more erotic positions of the drawings upon which many of his paintings are based.

Art historians note an eclectic range of influences contributing to Klimt's distinct style, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, and Byzantine inspirations.

Marc Chagall's poetic images

One of the best, moving exhibitions I have ever seen in Rome is MARC CHAGALL EXHIBITION: this unique, diversified painter created unique works in virtually every artistic medium, including painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic, tapestries and fine art prints. Chagall's haunting, exuberant, and poetic images have wide appeal, with art critic Robert Hughes referring to him as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."

As a pioneer of modernism and one of the greatest figurative artists of the 20th century, Chagall achieved fame and fortune, and over the course of a long career created some of the best-known paintings of our time. According to art historian Michael J. Lewis, Chagall was considered to be "the last survivor of the first generation of European modernists." For decades he "had also been respected as the world's preeminent Jewish artist.".   Using the medium of stained glass, he produced windows for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, windows for the United Nations, and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. He also did large-scale paintings, including the ceiling for the Paris Opéra.

Best Exhibitions here..!

The Palazzo delle Esposizioni is a neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural centre and museum on Via Nazionale.

It has housed several exhibitions (e.g. Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista, Mostra Augustea della Romanità, Gli acquerelli di Marc Chagall), and was temporarily modified during the fascist era due to its style being thought to be out of step with the times.

It has a 139 seat cinema, a 90-seat auditorium, a cafe, a 240-person restaurant, a library and a multi-functional room known as the Forum.

It's an amazing, outstanding PALAZZO right in the centre of rome: the most important and innovative exhibitions are held here.

http://english.palazzoesposizioni.it/mediacenter/FE/home.aspx

Great Luxury in Rome

Via Veneto is one of the most famous and expensive streets in Rome. The official name is via Vittorio Veneto. Federico Fellini's classic 1960 film La Dolce Vita was mostly centered around the Via Veneto area. This made the street famous in the 1960s–1970s and turned it into a center for upmarket cafes and shops.

Fellini and friends made this urbane avenue, with its abundance of tony outdoor cafés, famous. Today it is home to some of Rome's fanciest hotels. As you proceed down the Veneto, you will pass the imposing American Embassy on your left. Following a period of stagnation in the 1980s the street has now found a new life. Today some of Rome's best hotels are located there.

Via Veneto is home to the most expensive cafés, restaurants, hotels of Rome. Just near via veneto you will find TEATRO SISTINA which is one of the most famous theatres in rome : shows, concerts, theatrical performances are played here.

What a Romantic museum..!!!

The Keats-Shelley Memorial House in Rome is a museum commemorating the lives and works of the Romantic poets John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The museum houses one of the world's most extensive collections of memorabilia, letters, manuscripts, and paintings relating to Keats and Shelley, as well as Byron, Wordsworth, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Oscar Wilde, and others. It is located on the second floor of the building situated just to the south of the base of the Spanish Steps and east of the Piazza di Spagna. Keats Shelley Museum (Piazza di Spagna 26; www.keats-shelley-house.org) is an homage to the two Romantic poets, who spent their final years in Italy. In fact, the museum is housed in the building in which John Keats died in 1821.

The English poet John Keats, who was dying of tuberculosis, came to Rome at the urging of friends and doctors who hoped that the warmer climate might improve his health. The building at Piazza di Spagna 26 was remodelled as part of the project to build the Spanish Steps in 1724-25. The project was designed by Francesco de Sanctis, who wanted to frame the steps with an identical building on either side.

This is the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association: for further information visit the website

http://www.keats-shelley.co.uk/index.html

The Mouth of Truth

The Mouth of Truth is well known to English-speaking audiences mostly from its appearance in the film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn's and Peck's characters are not initially truthful with each other.

La Bocca della Verità ("the Mouth of Truth") is an image, carved from Pavonazzetto marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. The sculpture is thought to be part of a 1st century ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods, probably Oceanus. Most Romans believe that the 'Bocca' represents the ancient god of the river Tiber.

The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. The piece was placed in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin in the 17th century.

Professional Congress Hostess

The main duty of a Professional Congress Hostess is to set up and implement a congress or  a social event from the very start to the end of it.  She  takes care of fulfilling customers' needs  who partecipate to cultural, sport, religious events,  conventions, workshops, seminars,conferences, congresses, exhibitions.

She is asked to set  up and check the  list and number of partecipants,  welcome them at the entrance of the exhibition or congress, check down their personal information,  distribute brochures, dépliants and leaflets, accompany them in the rooms where the congress is going to take place, invite them to have lunch or dinner, give them any information about the congress schedule, about monuments, shopping, bank closing hours,transport & tourist information, give them language assistance for the whole  duration of the congress, let them know about social events taking place in the town that hosts the congress. 

 She is asked to fulfill customers' needs,  being a valid support to her boss,  informing him/her  of changes that may occur during the congress. She must speak at least 2 foreign languages, have a well round education, be sensitive, reliable, having elegant manners.  Great hotels, palaces, villas, embassies are the locations chosen  for these events.  She is also assumed  to have a very good knowledge of computer science and its main software applications.  

She is needed to have a higher diploma  in foreign languages or tourism; besides this she is asked to be good looking, having very good manners, being kind, reliable, punctual, efficient, taking responsibilities. She's also assumed  to be healthy, very calm and patient....it's not a job to be underestimated...! Only if you think to have all of these characetristics, please take your own risk and try.

Language Assistance & Welcoming Desk Operator

I have been collaborating with services agencies to set up and implement congresses and meetings,  of any size in ROME such as educational seminars, professional or educational tours, training courses, meetings, summits, stand alone events.

Working as a public relations operator means beeing  concentrated on ensuring clients' business success, working together to achieve their strategic objectives. It is important to establish  long-standing relations with many of them. Here you have a series of what is called the overall HOSPITALITY SERVICE for a congress:

• room block reservations and contracts with hotels
• handling of individual and group accommodation applications (on-line, by fax or by email)
• organisation of ground transportation services (private transfers, shuttle services etc)
• air-tickets reservations
• organisation of tours, dinners and social events
• organisation of tailor made events
• on-site support through hospitality desks
• meet & assist services at the airport

The Church Of The Artists

Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesanto are two churches in Rome.

They are located on the Piazza del Popolo  at the entrance of Via del Corso on the square. The churches are often cited as "twin", due to their similar external appearance: they have indeed some differences, in both plan and exterior details.

The "twin" churches of Santa Maria di Montesanto (left) and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (right), seen from Piazza del Popolo. Between the two churches Via del Corso starts. Although very similar, differences can been seen in this image in the two small belfrys and in the two domes.

Santa Maria in Montesanto is well known  as  The Church of the Artists : when famous movie  or stage actors/actresses, artists die,  the funeral mass is usually celebrated in this church: that 's why it is called THE CHURCH OF THE ARTISTS.

MIchelangelo's masterpiece..!

The Pietà is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by the renowned artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. The statue was commissioned for the French cardinal Jean de Billheres, who was a representative in Rome. The statue was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the basilica, in the 18th century. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed (See History after completion).

This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. The theme is of Northern origin, popular by that time in France but not yet in Italy. Michelangelo's interpretation of the Pietà is unique to the precedents. It is an important work as it balances the Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism. The statue is one of the most highly finished works by Michelangelo.

Some Important Places in rome

Renaissance and Baroque

Rome was a major world centre of the Renaissance, second only to Florence, and was profoundly affected by the movement. Among others, a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture in Rome is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo. During this period, the great aristocratic families of Rome used to build opulent dwellings as the Palazzo del Quirinale (now seat of the President of the Italian Republic), the Palazzo Venezia, the Palazzo Farnese, the Palazzo Barberini, the Palazzo Chigi (now seat of the Italian Prime Minister), the Palazzo Spada, the Palazzo della Cancelleria, and the Villa Farnesina.
Many of the famous city's squares - some huge, majestic and often adorned with obelisks, some small and pictoresque - got their present shape during the Renaissance and Baroque. The principal ones are Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, Piazza della Rotonda and Piazza della Minerva. One of the most emblematic examples of Baroque art is the Fontana di Trevi by Nicola Salvi. Other notable 17th-century baroque palaces are the Palazzo Madama, now the seat of the Italian Senate and the Palazzo Montecitorio, now the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy.

Myths never die !

Callas's voice was and remains controversial; it bothered and disturbed as many as it thrilled and inspired. Walter Legge stated that Callas possessed that most essential ingredient for a great singer: an instantly recognizable voice.During "The Callas Debate", Italian critic Rodolfo Celletti stated, "The timbre of Callas's voice, considered purely as sound, was essentially ugly: it was a thin sound, which gave the impression of dryness, of aridity.

Callas's voice has been difficult to place in the modern vocal classification or fach system, especially since in her prime, her repertoire contained the heaviest dramatic soprano roles as well as roles usually undertaken by the highest, lightest and most agile coloratura sopranos. Regarding this versatility, Maestro Tullio Serafin said, "This woman can sing anything written for the female voice".

Though adored by many opera enthusiasts, Callas was a controversial artist. While Callas was the great singer often dismissed simply as an actress. She considered herself first and foremost "a musician, that is, the first instrument of the orchestra.

An ENCHANTING place...!

VILLA D'ESTE

Tivoli  is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km from Rome. There are spectacular views out over the Roman Campagna. Tivoli's reputation as a stylish resort and the fame of the gardens of the Villa d'Este have inspired other sites named Tivoli.

Tivoli has a Mediterranean climate with warm and dry summers and cool and wet winters.The main sights of TIVOLI are:

• Villa Adriana, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site list from 1999.
• Villa d'Este, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site list since 2001.
• Villa Gregoriana

 The Villa d'Este is a villa situated near Rome. Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, it is a fine example of Renaissance architecture and the Italian Renaissance garden.

The garden plan is laid out on a central axis with subsidiary cross-axes of carefully varied character, refreshed by some five hundred jets in fountains, pools and water troughs. The copious water is supplied by the Aniene, which is partly diverted through the town, a distance of a kilometer, and by the Rivellese spring, which supplies a cistern under the villa's courtyard. The garden is now part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani.

The Villa's uppermost terrace ends in a balustraded balcony at the left end, with a sweeping view over the plain below. Symmetrical double flights of stairs flanking the central axis lead to the next garden terrace, with the Grotto of Diana, richly decorated with frescoes and pebble mosaic to one side and the central Fontana del Bicchierone ("Fountain of the Great Cup") loosely attributed to Bernini, where water issues from a seemingly natural rock into a scrolling shell-like cup.

Thermal Baths of Stigliano..

TERME DI STIGLIANO Srl
Via Bagni di Stigliano,
00060 Canale Monterano (RM)
Tel. +39 06 99805977 Fax +39 06 9963428
www.termedistigliano.it
info@termedistigliano.it

.....The Thermal Baths of STIGLIANO are situated just 50 km from rome......every season of the year they take care of you .....

The Thermal Waters of Saturnia

The Terme di Saturnia are a group of springs located in the municipality of Manciano, a few kilometers from the village of Saturnia.

One legend, according to the Etruscans and Romans, was that the Terme di Saturnia were formed by lightning bolts, thrown by Jupiter. During a violent quarrel between the two mythological deities, the bolts thrown towards Saturn had missed, causing the formations.

The sulphurous spring water, at a temperature of 37.5 °C, are well-known for their therapeutic properties, offering relaxation and well being through immersion. The main thermal waterfalls are the Mill Falls, located at an old mill as well as the Waterfalls of Gorello.

The yield of the source is about 800 liters per second, which guarantees an optimal replacement of water. The chemical make-up is sulfur, carbon, sulfate, bicarbonate-alkaline, earth, with the presence of hydrogen sulfide gas and carbon dioxide. The minerals dissolved in water amount to 2.79 grams per liter.

The area of Saturnia Spa presents, as a whole, a large and freely accessible area where it has developed the famed luxury spa of Terme di Saturnia, where, in addition to various thermal treatments, also produces thermal perfumes and creams for men and women.

The Lake of Bracciano...just outside Rome..!

Bracciano  is a small town in the region of Lazio, 30 km northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake (Lago di Bracciano, the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle. The lake is widely used for sailing and is popular with tourists; the castle has hosted a number of events, especially weddings of actors and singers.

The town is served by an urban railway which connects it with Rome  in about 55 minutes. Close to it lie the two medieval towns of Anguillara Sabazia and Trevignano Romano.

The main monument of Bracciano is its castle, Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, one of the most noteworthy examples of Renaissance military architecture in Italy.

3 km outside the city, alongside the road leading to Trevignano Romano, is the ancient church of San Liberato.

The lake is an important tourist attraction situated near Rome. As it serves as a drinking water reservoir for the city of Rome it has been under control since 1986 in order to avoid pollution of its waters. The use of motorboats is strictly forbidden, and a centralised sewer system has been built for all the bordering towns in order to avoid any spoiling of the water quality. This makes Bracciano one of the cleanest lakes of Italy. The absence of motorized navigation favours sailing, canoeing and swimming.

In the last few years the lake and its surroundings have been brought under further protection by the creation of a regional park, the Parco Regionale del complesso lacuale di Bracciano Martignano.

the most talented of Roman actresses..!

Anna Magnani was an Italian stage and film actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, along with four other international awards, for her portrayal of a Sicilian widow in The Rose Tattoo. Born in Rome to an Egyptian father and an Italian-Jewish mother, she worked her way through Rome's Academy of Dramatic Art by singing at night clubs. During her career, her only child was stricken by Polio when he was 18 months old and remained crippled.

She was referred to as "La Lupa," the "perennial toast of Rome" and a "living she-wolf symbol" of the cinema. Time magazine described her personality as "fiery," and drama critic Harold Clurman said her acting was "volcanic." In the realm of Italian cinema, she was "passionate, fearless, and exciting," an actress that film historian Barry Monush calls "the volcanic earth mother of all Italian cinema." Director Roberto Rossellini called her "the greatest acting genius" since Eleonora Duse. Playwright Tennessee Williams became an admirer of her acting and wrote The Rose Tattoo specifically for her to star in, a role for which she received her first Oscar in 1955.

La Dolce Vita

La Dolce Vita is a 1960 film by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come. Generally cited as the film that marks the transition between Fellini's earlier neo-realist films and his later art films, it is widely considered one of the great achievements in world cinema. In various interviews, Fellini claimed that the film's initial inspiration was in fact this particular style.

Brunello Rondi, Fellini's co-screenwriter and long-time collaborator, confirmed this view explaining that "the fashion of women's sack dresses which possessed that sense of luxurious butterflying out around a body that might be physically beautiful but not morally so; these sack dresses struck Fellini because they rendered a woman very gorgeous who could, instead, be a skeleton of squalor and solitude inside."The famous scene in the Trevi Fountain  was shot over a week in winter. Fellini claimed that Ekberg stood in the cold water in her dress for hours without any trouble while Mastroianni had to wear a wetsuit beneath his clothes - to no avail. It was only after "he polished off a bottle of vodka" that Fellini could shoot the scene with a drunk Mastroianni.

Rome Film Festival

Rome Film Festival is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The last edition was held from October 15 to 23, 2009. The actual complete name in Italian is Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma.

Even though it is quite a young festival at its second edition, the importance of the hosting city as well as the strong economic investment has placed the Rome Film Feast among the most important film festivals in the world, with huge media coverage and world-famous artists on attendance.

Besides, along with the festival, a film market called the Business Street is set up in the Via Veneto, well-known due to 1960s La dolce vita.

The Rome Film Festival award is a silver statuette shaped after the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius statue, placed in Michelangelo's Campidoglio Square, arguably one of the most recognizable symbols of Rome. Created by the Rome-based jewelry maker Bulgari, the prize will be assigned to the Best Film, the Best Actor and the Best Actress.

The Rome Film Fest’s Jury is composed by a president, normally a renowned director (2006 edition, Ettore Scola), and 50 Jurors, which, unlike most film festivals, are not film professionals. In fact, it is a People's Jury made up by common moviegoers selected both in Italy and Europe.

Italian Modern Cinema....

The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had discovered the medium, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.

A new generation of directors has helped return Italian cinema to a healthy level since the end of the 1980s. The sign-bearer for this renaissance is Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, for which Giuseppe Tornatore won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1990. This victory was followed two years later by another, when Gabriele Salvatores's Mediterraneo won the same prize. Another exploit was in 1998 when Roberto Benigni won three oscars for his movie Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) (Best Actor, Best Foreign Film, Best Music). 

Other recent films of note include: Jona che visse nella balena directed by Roberto Faenza, Il grande cocomero by Francesca Archibugi, Il mestiere delle armi by Olmi, L'ora di religione by Marco Bellocchio, Il ladro di bambini, Lamerica, Le chiavi di casa by Gianni Amelio, Io non ho paura by Gabriele Salvatores, Le fate ignoranti, La finestra di fronte by Ferzan Özpetek, La bestia nel cuore by Cristina Comencini.

In 2007 American director Quentin Tarantino said "New Italian cinema is just depressing. Recent films I've seen are all the same. They talk about boys growing up, or girls growing up, or couples having a crisis, or vacations of the mentally impaired." He received criticism from the Italian media and actress Sophia Loren who said "How dare he talk about Italian cinema when he doesn't know anything about American cinema?"

Cinecittà: the cradle of Italian Cinema

Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema.

As the home of Italian cinema, Cinecittà has seen the production of many classic films such as La dolce vita and Satyricon.

Since the days of Ben Hur, the studios have welcomed international productions, recent examples include Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Cinecittà also hosts TV productions, such as Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother, where the Big Brother house is built on Cinecittà's premises. It has also been home to the filming of the Passion of the Christ, starring James Caviezel and directed by Mel Gibson.

Additionally, the BBC/HBO series Rome was filmed there from 2004-2007, the show being widely acclaimed for its sets and designs.

nice places to spend the night....

MEO PINELLI

Situated near the glossy world of Cinecittà, the large film studio in Rome, Meo Pinelli specializes in taking good care of an international clientele from morning to night.
For breakfast, fill up on pastries and homemade sweet treats or go for the healthier choice: cereals, fresh yoghurt and fruit. At lunchtime things step up a gear and guests can choose between a buffet or the à la carte menu. The buffet is laden with the best of Italian cuisine made with prime ingredients. Afternoon teatime is a delight, especially during the colder months: warm up with sweet treats prepared by the chef and a cup of delicious hot chocolate. The ever-famous Italian aperitif time follows and brings with it a rich buffet, the best of Italian wines and a good selection of cocktails and blended drinks. After whetting your appetite with tasty appetizers why not stay for dinner; the menu offers meat, seafood dishes and excellent wood-oven baked pizzas. The staff often organize after-dinner themed events.
Open daily from 6am-2am.

The Military Order of the Knights of Malta

At the top of Aventine Hill in Via di Santa Sabina stands the Santa Sabina Monastery. Inside the church you will find beautifully decorated marble friezes, flooring, and a well lit nave, but outside in Parco Savello you can admire the second best views of Rome (after Janiculum hill) over and across the Tiber River towards St Peters. The Parco Savello is also known as the  Garden of Oranges (Giardino degli Aranci), is located on the Aventine Hill and faces onto the Tiber River, affording a breathtaking view over the city of Rome as well as the Pincio and the Janiculum hill. As you exit the monastery turn right and only a couple of steps away at the end of Santa Sabina you will find the square: "Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta", on the right hand side of the square you will find the large white sculpted entrance facade of the Military Order of The Knights of Malta.

In these gates you will find a brass keyhole where you can look through three lands (Malta, Italy and The Vatican) and see the Cupola of St Peters.