International Urban Theatre Festival Rome

Rome Events Alert: In September the annual Festival Internazionale del Teatro Urbano invades streets all over Rome, aiming to transform urban spaces into theatre spaces and the pedestrian into the extraordinary. The first day - the "off" festival - is dedicated to young performers and alternative theatre.

The agenda of the festival organisers is to reclaim the theatre and combat indifference with surprise "guerilla tactics". The various events take place in set locations throughout the city, on street corners and in other random urban sites in need of "carnivalisation". The event is free and lasts from 5pm until 12am. For more information on the Festival visit www.abraxa.it. Also need Rome apartments rentals.

Outside of Rome: Travelling around Florence

The surroundings of Florence are put into second place due to Florence’s art and culture, but if you're in the city for more than a couple of days, you might want to spend some time outside. Luckily, Florence is surrounded by Tuscany, an attractive scenery, medieval villages, soft hills, monasteries, churches, cosy ristorantes, shaded forests, green hills and vineyards. The Province of Florence has a vast and varied territory, rich in gently rolling hills and mountains, streams and valleys.

One of the most famous attractions is Sienna with its well-conserved medieval streets and piazzas where the annual festival of the Palio, a dramatic horserace takes place, the Campo. This is the secular heart of Siena, a sloping amphitheatre of a square, surrounded by cafe tables, crowds of tourists and locals. Walking uphill, you arrive at the monumental green-and-white-striped Duomo, the city’s cathedral.

In the beginning of its history, Siena was a Roman colony and the town kept its pride from the past, including many statues and reminders of Romulus, Remus and the legendary she-wolf. Later, Siena became a prosperous and important medieval town, even a rival to Florence, but the Black Death in combination with the decline of the banking business changed its fortune.
Maybe due to the economic and cultural stagnancy, maybe due to the consistent efforts to maintain the internal customs, Siena has kept alive its unusual and renowned traditions. There is a reason why "Siena opens up its heart more than any other place," as the famous inscription reads on the Porta di Camollia.

Gelaterias de Roma

There’s no real proof that ice cream was actually made in Italy although both Florence and Sicily have been staking claims since the 16th century. Rumours have it that 3000 years ago, the chinese liked to flavour snow with fruit but whereever the truth lies, one fact still remains; ice cream always tastes better in the Eternal City.

Rome’s Gelateria Giolitti (via Uffici del Vicario 40) is one of the best in the city and has long been a haunt for artists and politicians. The chocolate and nougat Coppia Olimpica, shaped like an Olympic torch that’s filled with zabaione (eggs and Marsala fortified wine) and the coffee based Coppa Mondiale (in the colours of the Italian flag) are two of the specialities.

Il Palazzo del Freddo (via Principe Eugenio 65) is the oldest and largest ice-cream parlour in Italy. Their specialities are Caterinetta which is an unusual chilled cream cake named after the French Catherinettes who were independent, unmarried woman of the 1900’s and Sampietrino, a delicious choc-ice textured like the old Roman cobbled roads.

If you really want a treat, head to Il Gelato di San Crispino (via della Panetteria 42) who make the wonderful zabaglione ice cream which is prepared with a 20 year old liqueur or the delicate Armagnac cream, made with a prized 1985 Laberdolive.

Porta Portese – Europe's premier permanent garage sales

At Rome’s largest open-air flea market which is held every Sunday morning Trastevere off Piazza Ippolito Nievo, there are hundreds of sellers from Trastevere and the surrounding Castelli Romani selling everything from shoes to sheets to fruits and vegetables along at least a mile long strip. During the Second World War, this was the city’s black market and until now you can feel a hint of illegality.

It's best to arrive early so you can snag the best merchandise and avoid the crowds. As on every flea market you have to bargain! The price they’ll offer you is much to high and even they don’t expect you to pay it. However, if you've ever been impressed with the bargaining power of Spanish people, you haven't seen the Italian doing it. So try to bargain hard and get some good deals. And, as at any other street market, beware of pickpockets.

Rome Events - coming soon

There are some great events coming up in Rome in the next few months and tickets are available for many of these events. Some events I myself am looking forward to and plan to get tickets for are:

• Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2008
• Harlem Globetrotters Italian Tour 2008
• Katie Melua on the 29th April in Rome

One of the best sources for Rome tickets is via http://www.ticketone.it/ which in many ways is the Italian equivalent of Ticketmaster in the UK and U.S. Ticketone seem to always have tickets for the latest classical concerts, theatre, major sports events and other music concerts.

Estate Romana Festival in Rome

The Estate Romana Festival in Rome starts in June and lasts until September. The varied program at the Estate Romana Festival offers jazz, rock, classical music, film, sport, theatre and children's fun to fill Rome's evenings. Events take place in parks, courtyards, art galleries and around monuments throughout the city, with giant screens erected to show popular films at late-night viewings.

The programme combines a colourful mix of entertainment from around the world. Open-air film screens are set up in Vittorio Emmanuele Square, on the River Tiber Island and on the top of Gianicolo Hill in Trastevere.

There is also a Cabaret Festival held on the Oppio Hill, next-door to the Colisseum. For a little impression of what is happening during the Estate Romana Festival.

Tivoli - Outside of Rome

An unknown treasure in Italy, only 30 km from Rome, is Tivoli, the former Tibur, which was already used by Romans in recent times as holiday resort and now reminds us of Italy’s great past and antiquity. Tivoli is located at the falls of the Aniene river, where it issues from the Sabine hills, from where you will enjoy a spectacular view over the Roman Campagna.

Nowadays it’s famous for its magnificent villas, like Adrian Villa with the reproduction of the Athens Academia and the city of Canopus. Another one is Villa d’ Este where there are 2 different parts of the garden which are joined by 3 big fish ponds the Fountain of Neptune. Numerous paths divide the part on the slopes of the hills, as well as charming fountains.

The most beautiful ones are Fountains of the Dragon, Fountains of Proserpine, the Fountain of Tivoli, the Hundred Fountains and the Fontana del Bicchierone, to which even Bernini contributed. The second part is distinguished by mock-grottoes with themes of fantasy.

When you are in Rome and have enough time take the metro Line B to Ponte Mammolo, then the blue COTRAL bus to Tivoli. To see both villas you should start with Villa d'Este, then take the local orange bus. At the end of the day you can either take an orange bus back to Ponte Mammolo metro station in Rome, or you walk a little bit farther to the main road (Via Tiburtina) where the blue COTRAL bus runs more frequently.

The Photoshow exhibition in Rome, Italy

It is that time of year again and I cannot wait because the PhotoShow takes place next week! I love taking photos and my digital camera is one of the first things I always pack before going on any trip, no matter where I am travelling to.

This show is a great exhibition and is one that takes place at the Nuova Fiera di Roma between the 5th and 7th of April and at only €8 you will have access to more than 250 exhibitors. The exhibitors in past shows have included people covering all areas to do with Digital PhotoGraphy

If you are in Rome, Italy next week I recommend this exhibition and you can find out more from the official exhibition site at http://www.photoshow.it/ and www.clipdisplay.com for exhibition stands.

ATP Masters Series, Rome, Italy

After the huge tennis tournaments in London and Paris, great tennis returns to Rome with the Masters Series at the Foro Italico. The world's best tennis players compete for the titles won by Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic in 2007. The men compete from 3-11 May, and the women from 10-18 May.

Aside from the Grand Slams, the ATP Masters Series is the highest-ranking tennis competition in the world. Its tournaments attract the cream of the sport's elite as they vie for the coveted title of world number one.

The series includes four tournaments in North America and five in Europe, culminating in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, which rotates through major world capitals and showcases the year's top eight players. The series were introduced in 1996 and former World No. 1 Andre Agassi holds the record for the most titles with 17. The Rome ATP event is bound to be good and you can try and get tickets from http://www.ticketone.it/

Rome Property of the Month

The property we are highlighting this month is 'Casa Laura' which is in the Spanish Steps area of Rome and which is thus perfectly located for all Rome attractions. Casa Laura can accommodate up to 5 people and comes with 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms.

One of the real atributes of this property rental in the Spanish Steps area is that it is very close to Piazza di Spagna and is also quite close to Piazza del Popolo.

There are also many decent and reasonable priced and quality restaurants close to Casa Laura. You can book Spanish Steps holiday rentals property with Holiday Velvet. For tourist information you can contact the official Rome Tourist Information Centre.