Sep 03

The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel by Night | Unusual Top Quality Rome Tour

By ItalyTravelista Italy, Italy Museums, Rome, Rome Museums, Rome Nightlife, Vatican, Vatican Museums No Comments »

Vatican by Night 2010

The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with more than four million visitors every year, more than 7 kilometers of alleys and more than 1400 rooms to tour host one of the most incredible collections of art and masterpieces in the world enjoyed by parents and kids alike. The Vatican Museums are among the greatest museums in the world displaying works from an immense collection going back to ancient Rome times built up over the last 5 centuries by the Holy See starting with Pope Julius II who founded the Vatican Museums in the 16th century.

By touring the Vatican by night visitors are able to admire not only the breathtaking collections that include the Upper Galleries of the Vatican Museums (Candelabra, Tapestries and Maps), the Raphael rooms and the Sistine Chapel but will also have access to the Egyptian Museum, the smallbut memorable Pio-Clementino Museum and it’s Octagonal Courtyard home to some of the best Vatican’s classical statuary.

That’s just the beginning with more good news for October 2010 with the exceptional events «Che c’è di bello» that blend music, theater, cultural and art exhibitions. To attend these Vatican by night events tickets must be reserved in advance through the Vatican State official website or by contacting our VIP Vatican consultants that will be glad to design a one of a kind Vatican by night itinerary customized just for you and you private party.

These memorable artistic and cultural shows will start at around 8,30 PM and last for about an hour leaving then plenty of time to continue the tour of the Vatican and will be performed at some stunning Vatican venues such as the Terrazze della Pinacoteca, with its breathtaking views over the St. Peter’s Dome, the Gregorian Profane Museum, Raphael Loggia, the Cortile della Pigna (courtyard of the pine cone), part of the much older Cortile del Belvedere, and also in the so called Braccio Nuovo, a masterpiece of Rome neoclassical architecture.

Here below please find the detailed Vatican events scheduled for October 2010:

  • Friday October 1st «Arte della leggerezza e leggerezza nell’arte” with music by Barber, Grieg, Debussy and Milhaud (Terrazze della Pinacoteca)
  • Friday October 8th : « Spes mea cara. Omaggio a Maria» with Maestro Luca Salerno (Salone di Raffaello)
  • Friday October 15th «Australian Night» meetings with the aboriginal australian culture and show performed by local aboriginal australians with introduction by Nereda White (Terrazze della Pinacoteca enhanced by a visit to Missionary Ethnological Museum
  • Friday October 22nd Traditional Russian music conducted by the Moscow’s Cathedral Choir (Cortile della Pigna-Propilei enhanced by a visit to the Icons’ Room in The Vatican Pinacoteca museum)
  • Friday October 29th Il Bel Canto at the Museum with music from Verdi’s Il Trovatore

Would you like to tour the Vatican Museums with Nancy Aiello Tours? Please, contact Nancy Aiello Tours to learn more about our fun and comprehensive private guided Vatican City tour designed just for you and your party. Professional Italy tour planning company Nancy Aiello Tours provides private guided Vatican and Rome tours, Florence tours, Venice private excursions with English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Hebrew and Russian speaking qualified licensed touristic guides.

For your private guided tours of Italy contact Nancy Aiello Tours at info@nancyaiellotours.com

Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

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© Copyright 2010, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours specializes in personalized private guided Vatican, Rome & Italy Tours for Leisure & Business Travelers including underground Rome and her hidden treasures.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.

If you are interested in publishing a version of this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours.

Tour Italy at Your Own Pace with Nancy Aiello Tours

Touring Rome with your family? Check out our NEW Family Rome Tour Website

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May 27

Tour Rome | Contemporary Art Museums and Events in Rome

By ItalyTravelista Italy Museums, Rome, Rome Museums 1 Comment »

Rome Newest Museum | Rome Art Exhibitions 2010

The end of May 2010 marks the beginning of a new era for the Eternal City projecting Rome into the world of avant-garde art and architecture. The cradle of Classicism and Baroque, revered for its past and wealth of art and architecture, Rome now looks toward to take her place among the capitals of contemporary art alongside New York, Paris and London with new contemporary museums and contemporary art events.

The first event is the long awaited opening of MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Art designed by the Anglo-Iranian architect Zaha Hadid, which takes place on May 30 with the launch of the project “Space”, the first thematic display of collections of art (Alighiero Boetti, Anish Kapoor, William Kentridge, Sol Lewitt, Giuseppe Penone, Grazia Toderi, and Francesco Vezzoli among others) and architecture inspired by the fluid forms of Zaha Hadid as an interpretation of the museum’s interdisciplinary vocation. It took 11 years and 150 million euros to build the coiled, concrete 27,000 square meter structure dubbed “the silvery boa” that houses two museums, MAXXI Art and MAXXI Architecture, and provides areas for live performances. Here follow a photo gallery from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. To enjoy ItalyTravelista’s MaXXI photo gallery visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125761&id=1518296367&l=4b0a747a19

Two other exceptional events taking place from May 27 to 30 will make of Rome the global capital of contemporary art, at least for a week.

Prior to the official opening of Macro Summer on June 1st modern art lovers on May 29 and 30 have the opportunity to tour the new wing of MACRO, Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which will offer additional space with respect to the gallery housed in the old Peroni beer distillery. Beside enjoying the beautiful new wing designed by Odile Decq visitors will also be able to preview the exhibits in MACRO’s Via Reggio Emilia galleries. These include: “Aaron Young: Slippery When Wet”, “Jacob Hashimoto: Silence Still Governs Our Consciousness”, “Jorge Peris: Micro, Aureo, Adela”, “João Louro: My Dark Places”, “Oscar Savio: Architecture in Black and White” while works by three Italians, Gilberto Zorio, Luca trevisani and Alfredo Pirri, complete the line up.

The other event is the 3rd edition of the international art fair and festival “Roma. The Road to Contemporary Art”. This four-day art fair, held in the pavilions of the former Testaccio slaughterhouse, will host around 70 international galleries offering a rich program of events, starred chef’s dinners, guided tours, meetings, conversations, presentations, artistic and musical performances, concerts, dj-sets, and video projections to animate daily the fair grounds at Macro Testaccio. Beside the Fair coordinates a set of events and exhibitions held around Rome. Cose Mai Viste (Things you have never seen), Accademia delle Accademie, Spirito, hosted in the Monumental complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia, Piazza d’Arte at the Casa dell’Architettura-Acquario Romano and the new program Academies Feast developed in cooperation with 9 among the most important international Academies and Cultural Institutes in Rome.

Despite nearly three thousand years of history Rome still has the strength to reinvent herself offering exciting new art venues and events amid the glories of antiquities.

MAXXI – National Museum of XXI Century Art
via Guido Reni, 4a
www.maxxi.parc.beniculturali.it

MACRO
Via Reggio Emilia, 54
www.macro.roma.museum

Roma. The road to contemporary art
MACRO Testaccio
Piazza Orazio Giustiniani, 4
www.romacontemporary.it

Would you like to share your Italy travel tips with us? Please write us your comment and we’ll be happy to post it!

Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

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© Copyright 2010, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours specializes in personalized private guided Vatican, Rome & Italy Tours for Leisure & Business Travelers including exhibition and contemporary art guided tours led by qualified official Rome tour guides.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.
Tour Italy at Your Own Pace with Nancy Aiello Tours

If you are interested in publishing a version of this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours.

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May 21

Tour Italy Bomarzo Park 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go

By ItalyTravelista Italy, Rome, Rome Day Trips, Rome Travel Tips, Rome for Kids, Travel Italy 3 Comments »

The Park of Monsters near Rome | Rome family day trips

As the owner of an Italy based tour planning company I happen to read a lot of Italy travel books and Susan Van Allen’s Italy travel book “100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go” is an informative, fascinating, entertaining book, and certainly a must if you plan to visit Italy. I am glad Susan accepted to offer offer my fellow Italy lovers the opportunity to read her take on the most amazing park in Italy.

The Park of the Mosters in Bomarzo, Italy.

In 1564 when his wife died, Prince Vicino Orsini dedicated this place to her. He called it his Sacred Grove. In 1954, Giovanni Bettini found it abandoned, cleaned it up, and renamed it The Park of the Monsters—better for marketing. It’s actually a combo of the two names, which is what makes it so uniquely alluring. It’s set on a wooded hillside where you meander along gravel paths under sun-dappled light and then along the way, popping up in haphazard places, you come upon immense bizarre statues of mythological creatures.

There are about two dozen of these creations in all, most carved directly from the hill’s rocky outcroppings, which explains the unplanned arrangement. There’s a winged mermaid, a sleeping nymph, a sphinx, a colossal Ceres, a tortoise, a whole house that’s set up purposely tilted to astonish you. The most famous of all is a giant screaming monster’s head—so giant you can walk into its mouth, where you’ll find a tongue turned into a picnic table. The inscription carved into this sculpture sums up the park’s surreal atmosphere: All Reason Departs. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding what the heck Orsini was thinking when he created this place. Some look at the statues’ tortured faces and say it was his expression of grieving for his wife, Giulia Farnese. But Orsini began this project before she died.

Their marriage was a good one. He was a military officer, gone a lot while Giulia took over the small town Bomarzo reins. He, of course, had his share of other women, during the marriage and after she died. As far as he knew, Giulia was a perfect, faithful wife. Twenty years after the Sacred Grove was completed Orsini built a temple in her honor that’s the most logical structure in this whole place. The Sacred Grove seems to be more of an expression of Prince Orsini’s intriguing, artsy character. While everybody else in those High Renaissance days was building grand, structured gardens to flaunt their wealth, the Prince turned his back on all that, wanting to create something that was not at all pretentious. It’s not even attached to his castle, but farther down the hill.

Also he didn’t have the money to compete with the Farneses and the d’Estes, so instead of grandeur, he went for shock and awe. Wherever a stone jutted out of the hill, he’d have his workers sculpt it according to his whim. He was a creative type who wrote poems and surrounded himself with the literati. This was his place for contemplation and meditation. It was his dream world where he mixed images from classical Greek, Roman, and Asian times. Like every other prince who had a garden, Orsini had illustrious guests come to visit. But he was always glad when they left, preferring the pleasures of simple country life and his shepherd girls. While other Renaissance gardens were kept up by families over succeeding generations, his was forgotten. Only the locals knew of it, and believed it was a haunted place. In 1938, Salvador Dali, in the midst of a creative crisis, heard about the Sacred Grove, left Spain, and cut his way through a tangle of weeds to see this “sleeping garden.” He became so inspired he made a film that included it and painted The Temptation of Saint Anthony that featured an image of an elephant— clearly inspired by one of the park sculptures. Giovanni Bettini bought the park in 1954 and restored it back to life. A visit here is a relaxing, enchanting experience, where you enter into the mythological dream world of the Prince.

The Park of the Monsters > Daily 8-1 hour before sunset

Golden Day > Wander around the Sacred Grove. There’s a camp lodge-style snack bar there, where you can get a caffè and panino. Eat and stay a short drive north at agriturismo Castello di Santa Maria, a beautiful former convent surrounded by olive groves that serves up exquisite meals.

About the author > Susan Van Allen’s love for Italy stems from her maternal grandparents, who emigrated from Southern Italy. She was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up on the Jersey shore amidst wonderful food and drama. When she first stepped off the train into Roma Termini in 1976, she got hooked on Italian travel. Since then she’s explored the country up and down the boot–visiting relatives, immersing herself in the country’s masterpieces and culture, taking language and cooking classes, and going on boating, biking, and hiking adventures. When she’s not in Italy, she is based in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and makes scrumptious lasagnas.

Would you like to share your Italy travel tips and pictures with us? Please write us your comment and we’ll be happy to post it!

Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

Join ItalyTravelista on Twitter

© Copyright 2010, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours specializes in personalized private guided Vatican, Rome & Italy Tours for Leisure & Business Travelers including underground Rome and her hidden treasures.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.

If you are interested in publishing a version of this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours.

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Apr 24

Rome by Night | Walking Tour of Rome | Free Rome Tour

By ItalyTravelista Free in Rome, Italy, Rome, Rome Entertainment, Rome Nightlife, Rome Travel Tips, Rome Walking Tours, Vatican 2 Comments »

vatican rome night tour nancy aiello tour Rome by Night | Walking Tour of Rome | Free Rome Tour

Explore Rome, the Eternal City after dark! Rome lovers think Rome is most beautiful at night when its ancient Rome landmarks, St. Peter’s Square and Rome’s magnificent renaissance squares and baroque fountains designed by Bernini and Michelangelo are illuminated in all their glory! Beside it’s another thing to do in Rome for FREE! ItalyTravelista has three walking Rome tours to suggest where parents and children alike can enjoy the charme and elegance of Rome at night at their own pace!

Tour Ancient Rome by Night

Start off your illuminated Rome tour at Piazza Venezia Square to enjoy the Vittoriano Monument and ask your kids whether the huge white monument looks more like a “Wedding Cake” or a “Typewriter”! Then proceed along Via dei Fori Imperiali where on your left is Trajan’s Column and on your side the ancient Roman Forum. In the background rises the majestic Coliseum and to its right the Constantine’s Arch built in 315 AD. Turn right and take Via di San Gregorio until you reach Via dei Cerchi. Turn right and on your left you will see the Circus Maximus where the famous chariot races depicted in the Ben Hur movie took place while on your right rises the magnificent Imperial Rome palaces of the Palatine Hill. Walk the length of the Circus Maximus and turn right onto Via di San Gregorio. On your left stands the Arch of Janus built around 356 AD by Constantius II just next to the beautiful medieval Church of St. George al Velabro and further ahead on your right take a peek at the unusual circular 6th century Church of San Teodoro. Follow around until you reach Piazza della Consolazione. Take the stairs leading up to the Capitoline Hill but before you actually reach Michelangelo’s square stop for the most stunning view over the illuminated Roman Forum!

Nancy Aiello Rome Tours

Tour Christian Rome by Night

Begin your pleasant walk at Piazza Farnese square to enjoy the Farnese Palace lit up and wonder about the great artists of the Renaissance like Michelangelo and Della Porta who worked on this magnificent Renaissance palace now home to the French Embassy. Walk through Campo dè Fiori square lined these days with bars and restaurants but where on Feb. 17, 1600 Giordano Bruno was burnt for heresy onto Piazza della Cancelleria to admire the beautiful Palazzo della Cancelleria, the first palazzo in Rome built from the ground up in the new Renaissance style, and then across the main street to Piazza Navona the most baroque square in Rome. Cross the Tiber river on the Ponte Sant’ Angelo and look at the marvelous Saint’ Angel’s Castle. The highlight and end of your night walking Rome tour will be the breathtaking view of the illuminated St. Peter’s Basilica.

illuminated rome nancy aiello tours Rome by Night | Walking Tour of Rome | Free Rome Tour

Tour Renaissance and Baroque Rome by Night

Your enjoyable walk starts at the charming Piazza del Popolo square designed by Valadier in the 17th century reminiscent of Bernini’s plan for St. Peter’s Square. Pass the two baroque twin churches and stroll down the antique dealer street of Via del Babuino (the Baboon) for a few blocks and then take a left onto the fascinating Via Margutta, home to several artists including the famous Italian director Federico Fellini. At the end of Via Margutta you reach the Spanish Steps. From Via due Macelli go down Via del Tritone and follow signs on your left for the most beautiful baroque fountain in Rome: the Trevi Fountain.

Nancy Aiello Rome Tours

When visiting Rome do tour Rome by night! Pretty much all of the major attractions that you see in Rome during the day are lit up at night. And yes, definitely worth seeing again, and again.

Ciao from Rome :-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

Join ItalyTravelista on Twitter

© Copyright 2010, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours specializes in private family oriented Rome and Vatican tours led by friendly and entertaining official Rome tour guides designed to satisfy the curiosity and attention spans of the whole family visiting Rome.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.

If interested in publishing a version of this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours.

Castel Sant'Angelo bridge | St. Angel's Castle

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Apr 18

Rome for children | Family Oriented Rome Tours | Kid friendly activities in Rome

By ItalyTravelista Free in Rome, Italy, Rome, Rome Entertainment, Rome Travel Tips, Rome Walking Tours, Rome for Kids 1 Comment »

kids rome tours | family oriented rome vacations

Summer is approaching fast and Rome, Italy is the ideal place for families with kids to spend their holidays. Rome’s rich archeological, artistic and cultural heritage are so remarkable that Rome’s historic centre has been listed by UNESCO as World Heritage site. Rome is a wonderful and very safe place to visit with kids, with lots of fun and informative family oriented activities bound to keep the troops entertained. What are the secrets behind a memorable Roman trip with children? Get every family member involved when planning your trip to Rome, keep your schedule loose as there are so many things to do in Rome, and to get the most out of your Roman Holiday when in Rome allow quality time at quality venues to enjoy Rome at your kid’s pace. Here is Italytravelista’s list of child friendly activities and sights to be visited in/around Rome that will keep the whole family happy and entertained without breaking the bank!

Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

When you look down at the Roman Forum from the terrace on the Capitoline Hill you see the center of the world and the world’s biggest and most ancient jungle-gym. Kids can hide behind the 2000 years old ruins, run on the grassy mounds near the temple of Julius Caesar and have fun at the Farnese Gardens, the first botanical garden in the world. Remind your kids that all the palaces in the world are named after the Palatine hill because the Emperors built here their Palatial houses.

Colosseum

In the Colosseum tell your kids the tales about gladiators and wild beasts. Manned elevators could bring up to 1,000 warriors at the same time or else hundreds of hungry lions…or both! Superb engineering went into the Coliseum. 50,000 spectators could be seated to enjoy the ugliest show of all: death to men and beasts. Tell your children the thumbs up or thumbs down that originated here as the Emperors decided freedom (up) or death (down) for the gladiators.

Colosseum in Rome with children | Family oriented Rome vacation

Gladiator School in Rome

Kids will love a day at the Gladiator School and learn how to become a Roman gladiator. During this two-hour lesson, a gladiator instructor teaches kids and adults how to fight with authentic weapons used by the gladiators of ancient Rome. Lessons are organized and led by members of the Historic Group of Rome who specialize in the re-enactment of Roman life and gladiatorial combat.

The Baths of Emperor Caracalla

The Baths of Caracalla were the largest thermae in the world when completed in 217AD whilst today is a huge playground largely neglected by the hordes of tourists where to enjoy a sunny day with the dramatic Roman ruins in the background. A short stroll from the Caracalla’s Baths leads to the very off the beaten path museum of the Walls of Rome. Located just inside the Porta San Sebastiano kids can march along the Aurelian Walls, just the way the ancient Roman Legionaries used to do.

Early Christian catacombs

There are 69 catacombs on the outskirts of Rome and thousand of tombs but only 5 of the catacombs are open to the public. These underground dark labyrinths are spooky enough to delight and perhaps even frighten most kids!

The Mouth of Truth (Bocca della verità)

Remember the scene with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the film Roman Holiday? For fun show the kids the original lie detector which is located in the portico of the Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin, one of my favorite medieval churches in Rome. According to a medieval legend if you put your hand into the mouth and tell a lie you’ll be bitten!

A day at the Mouth of truth | Rome with children

Church of the Immaculate Conception or Capuchin Kript

A spooky place which just might fascinate the older kids! The bones and skulls of thousands of Capuchin monks have been crafted into decorative tableaux. No photos allowed and small donation is appreciated by the friars.

Piazza Navona Square

The joyous curves of this sensuous square typify baroque Rome with masterpieces by both Bernini and Borromini. In 86 A.D. Emperor Domitian built a long U-shaped stadium here and since then Piazza Navona Square has served as a glorious outdoor theater. There is much street entertainment going on in this beautiful square including mimes, puppet shows,caricaturists and painters. A great spot for a tartufo ice cream gelato.

Saint Angel’s Castle

Castel Sant’Angelo is just like Rome, layer upon layer, building upon building. This is the most magnificent of all the Roman Imperial tombs that became a fortress in the Middle Ages, a Papal Castle in the Renaissance, and a museum today. Kids can visit the papal prison complete with winding dark scary corridors, secret passageways, real cannons and cannon balls. The view from atop the castle is terrific!

Janiculum Hill

Above Trastevere on the rim of the Janiculum Hill in front of the statue of Garibaldi, is one of best places to view Rome. Pony rides and merry-go-round are near. A puppet show in Italian runs every afternoon and donations are welcome. At noon sharp kids will be amused by the firing of a cannon just below this lofty square, a tradition dating back 100 years when it signaled lunch time for the workers.

Villa Borghese Gardens

Cardinal Scipione Borghese did for Rome what the Medicis had done for Florence. Villa Borghese was the show-place for this 17th C. artistic flowering. The cardinal invited Jacob More from Edinburgh to landscape this vast area. The English style park is 4 miles in circumference and contains statues, green trees, bike friendly itineraries and a small lake. After a tour of the Borghese Gallery these gardens are the perfect spot for a family picnic.

Rome gardens with kids | Nancy Aiello Borghese Gardens Rome Tour

Rome’s playgrounds for young children

Rome offers various opportunities for a day out or nice break from ancient ruins and baroque churches. Villa Celimontana, right up the street from the Colosseum, Villa Ada, to the north of central Rome, and Villa Pamphili, the largest park in Rome not far from the Janiculum Hill, are the perfect spots to enjoy walking, biking or perhaps a soccer game with the local kids. Again perfect for picnics.

Rome day trips

Leave the Eternal City behind for a day on your family Roman holiday and visit Tivoli to enjoy Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’ Este with its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music. Peek into Roman antiquities at ancient Rome’s port at Ostia or visit the hilltop town of Orvieto with its fabulous 14th century Roman Catholic cathedral and Etruscan underground passages.

nancy aiello day trip from rome

“For a great selection of places to stay with discount prices visit Rome Hotels for more information.”

Would you like to share your Italy travel tips and pictures with us? Please write us your comments and we’ll be happy to post them!

Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

Join ItalyTravelista on Twitter

© Copyright 2010, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours specializes in private family oriented Rome and Vatican tours led by friendly and entertaining official Rome tour guides designed to satisfy the curiosity and attention spans of the whole family visiting Rome.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.

If you are interested in publishing a version of this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours.

Rome for kids | Caracalla Kids Playground

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