GUIDE TO ROME WIMUN 2014

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1 GUIDE TO ROME WIMUN 2014

2 SIOI-UNA ITALY Piazza San Marco (SIOI) is a good central place to start wanderings, close to both the medieval and Renaissance centre of Rome and the bulk of the ruins of the ancient city. SIOI and FAO enjoy the most central location in Rome! SIOI is located at Palazzetto Venezia in Piazza San Marco 51, next to Piazza Venezia, right in front of the Capitoline hill, few meters from the Roman Forum and the Colosseum! FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) FAO Headquarters are only 1.5 km from SIOI and precisely in Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, between Circo Massimo and the Bath of Caracalla! 2

3 Take the time for a walk from SIOI to FAO or vice versa and enjoy some of the most beautiful historical landscapes in the world! PIAZZA VENEZIA Piazza Venezia is a place that cannot be missed from everyone visiting Rome for its strategic and central position. The square as it is was built in 1870, what we still have about the original Renaissance is Palazzo Venezia, built in the fifteenth century, now a library of art and a very well known place for many exhibitions in Rome. As the majority of people already know Mussolini's speeches took place from the balcony of Palazzo Venezia during the period of fascism. On the other side of the square the impressive Vittorio Emanuele's Monument - Altare della Patria- which is open to the public and can be visited free of charge. The Altare della Patria was built in 1884 and is also called the typewriter for its shape. 3

4 PIAZZA DEL CAMPIDOGLIO AND THE CAPITOLINE HILL (3 MIN) On the right looking at the Altare there is the Capitoline Hill. While being the lowest and smallest of the seven hills of Rome (The Aventino, Capitoline, Caeline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinale, Viminale), the Capitoline is perhaps the most closely bound to the city s history, as it has been the hub of Rome s political and religious life since ancient times. Today the Michaelangelo piazza, reached by climbing a splendid flight of steps, is encircled by two identical buildings (Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, home to the Capitoline Museum) and Palazzo Senatorio, which serves as the seat of the Mayor of Rome. At the centre of Piazza del Campidoglio there is the statue of Marcus Aurelius. The Capitoline Hill hosts also the church of S. Maria in Aracoeli which is a medieval church behind the Capitoline Museum accessible from its monumental stairway of 124 steps. Musei Capitolini: Opening hours Tuesday-Sunday: 9 am- 8 pm; Last admission 1 hour before closing time. For further information, please check: Exhibition: Archimedes. Art and Invention Science - An exhibition on the figure of Archimedes organized in collaboration with the Museo Galileo - Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, with models he invented and archaeological findings from the ancient Syracuse, where the scientist lived in third century BC. 4

5 LARGO DI TORRE ARGENTINA (5 MIN) Largo di Torre Argentina is a famous square full of old ruins, inhabited in 100 BC. The archaeological complex is known as a "sacred area". The center of the square was discovered in 1926 and includes the ruins of four temples, representing the most important and sacred buildings of the middle and late Republican periods. It's also well known for the large community of stray cats living there. To the side of the square, you'll find Argentina Theater. PANTHEON (PIAZZA DELLA ROTONDA 10 MIN) The Pantheon is without any doubt one of the best preserved ancient monuments in Rome. It is a wonderful example of the reutilization from a Christian perspective of a sacred building consecrated to all Gods. It stands in the heart of the ancient Campus Martius, in one of the lowest parts of Rome, and its imposing facade dominates the southern side of Piazza della Rotonda. The original construction, of which only a few traces survive, was realized in the year 27 B.C. by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-inlaw of Augustus, whose name appears in the inscription on the facade. The monument was totally rebuilt between the years 118 and 125 A.D. by Emperor Hadrian who notoriously used to have his name affixed on the monuments he built. After several restorations, performed by the Severi Emperors at the beginning of the third century A.D., the monument fell in a state of neglect until 608, when it was ceded by the Byzantine Emperor Foca to Pope Boniface the Eighth that transformed it into the church of Sancta Maria ad Martyres. In 1625 the Pope Urban the Eighth, a member of the Barberini family, removed the bronze beams from the portico to make the four columns of the famous canopy by Bernini in Saint Peter s and eighty cannons for Castel Sant Angelo. In 1870 the Pantheon became the shrine of the kings of Italy and hosts the mortal remains of Victor Emanuel the Second, Humbert the First and Margaret of Savoy.Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) the supreme artist of the Renaissance is also buried in the Pantheon. Free entrance. 5

6 PIAZZA NAVONA (15 MIN) Undeniably the most elegant and cheerful of all Roman piazzas, it was built on the site of Stadium of Domitian in the 1st Century A.D. and still preserves its outline. Used in ancient times for various athletic games and competitions, although it never witnessed the carnage offered in the Colosseum, today tourists often enjoy sitting for street artists who, on request, in a few minutes either sketch a faithful portrait or draw a caricature of their models. In the very middle of Piazza Navona there is the Fountain of the Four Rivers, a masterpiece from Gian Lorenzo Bernini ( ). The four allegorical human figures assembled in various poses on rocks represent the great rivers of the four continents known at that time: the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata. Popular legend has it that the Nile is covering his eyes so a not to see the façade of the Church of St. Agnese in Agone, built by Bernini s great rival Francesco Borromini. 6

7 CAMPO DEI FIORI (12 MIN) A celebrated and picturesque market by day, Campo dè Fiori quickly turns into a hub for nightlifers in the evening. The piazza, in the morning heaving with people bustling among the fruit and vegetable stands, at night sees its restaurants and bars open for business. For centuries Camp dè Fiori was the stage for public executions. Here in 1600 the Dominican Friar, Philosopher, Mathematician and Astronomer Bruno Giordano was burnt alive. A domineering statue stands in the middle the piazza marking the exact spot of his death. An absolute must is a visit to the nearby historical streets, such as Via dei Baullari, Via dei Cappellari or Via dei Giubbonari, which are lined with an assortment of small shops still bearing the name of craftsmen who once worked there. TREVI FOUNTAIN (10 MIN) Work on the celebrated rococo fountain was first begun in 1732 by Nicola Salvi (who beat off competition to be awarded the commission by Pope Clement XII) and was completed by Giuseppe Pannini in The monument, whose water is supplied by one of the oldest Roman aqueducts, the Acqua Virgine, has been sculptured against the backdrop of Palazzo Poli and depicts Triton taming Oceanus shell-shaped chariot drawn by sea horses. Before moving off, do not forget to throw a coin in the fountain. Custom has it that travellers doing this will one day return to the eternal city. Those seeking a little romance, perhaps even an Italian love, should then toss a second, third coin to make sure wedding bells will soon be chiming. Not forgetting of course that the fountain provided the splendid setting for the bestknown scene from director Federico Fellini s classic film La Dolce Vita : a provocative Anita Ekberg swathed in a long black evening dress calls out for Marcello Mastroianni, Marcello, Come Here! as she glides through the fountain s sparkling waters. 7

8 PIAZZA DI SPAGNA (15-20 MIN) On entering the piazza, one is immediately taken aback by such elegance: the yellow, brownish ochre-coloured buildings, Bernini s fountain and the celebrated Spanish Steps rising up towards the Church of Trinità dei Monti, all helping to create a refined, eighteenth century atmosphere. It is therefore no coincidence that highfashion brands, such as Gucci, Bulgari and Valentino, all have show-piece shops just off the piazza. Home to English poets John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley, the world-famous piazza, located at the foot of the Pincio Hill, has always been considered both a priceless cultural gem as well as popular tourist attraction. 8

9 ROMAN FORUM (3 MIN) Via dei Fori Imperiali, a pedestrian area which leads from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), is bordered by the Roman Forum and the Trajan Market. The Roman Forum was the monumental center of ancient Rome. Around the square, crossed by the Via Sacra, were the most important public and religious buildings in the city. Currently you can visit the remains of the Forum (Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, Basilica Emilia, the Curia, the Temple of Vesta; Ara di Cesare Arch of Titus and Septimius Severus); access to the Forum is by foot only, from an entrance on the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The area of the Roman Fora can be seen for free from Via dei Fori Imperiali. To visit Trajan's Markets and Forum you must purchase a ticket at the Imperial Fora Museum ticket office. Hours: 8.30 am pm; the ticket is valid for two days and includes entrance to the Colosseum and Palatine Hill as well. 9

10 COLOSSEUM (10 MIN) Known properly as the Flavian Amphitheatre, this most famous of Roman landmarks takes its name from the giant statue of the emperor Nero that once stood near this location. Originally capable of seating some 50,000 spectators for animal fights and gladiatorial combats, the amphitheatre was a project started by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and completed by his son Domitian sometime in the 80s. The Colosseum when completed measured 48 m high, 188 m in length, and 156 m in width. The wooden arena floor was 86 m by 54 m, and covered by sand. COLOSSEUM: It may be two thousand years old but the Colosseum is still the symbol of the eternal city, every year drawing thousands of visitors, meaning long queues and an endless wait. In order to avoid the problem, a ticket may be purchased in advance through the tourist contact centre, by phoning or visiting the website Full entrance ticket 12 (valid 2 days, includes entrance to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill) HOURS: 8.30 am pm; Last admission 1 hour before closing time. Arch of Constantine: located a short walk west of the Colosseum, this wellpreserved monumental arch was erected (sometime soon after 315) to commemorate the victory of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, over his rival Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312. In general design, the Arch of Constantine imitates the century-earlier Arch of Septimius Severus (nearby in the Forum) - the quality of its sculptural decoration, however, betrays the slow degradation that Classical Roman sculpture had experienced in the 3rd century AD. Free to view. 10