From October 2nd 2009 until January 24th 2010 the Borghese Gallery in Rome will host an exhibition celebrating the works of the artists Caravaggio (1573-1610) and Francis Bacon (1909-1992).

Ten of Caravaggio’s works and sixteen paintings by Francis Bacon, on loan from prestigious museums all over the world (both London’s Tate Gallery and New York’s Metropolitan are represented, as well as a painting from Rome’s own Santa Maria del Popolo church) are exhibited under the title Caravaggio e Bacon Capolavori in Mostra.

The reason for the exhibition seems somewhat arbitrary: The two artists are linked by the centenary of Bacon’s birth and the 4th centenary of Caravaggio’s death.

Galleria Borghese is the only Roman museum requiring advance booking. This can be done by phone (+39) 0632810 or via the internet (http://www.ticketeria.it).

Official website of the Borghese Gallery

Although the lines at the Vatican Museums in Rome are nowhere near as long as they used to be (some years ago the opening time was changed from 10am to 8.30am) waiting times of several hours ae still not exceptional. This is of course a big problem when it is raining or in the summer months of July and August when the temperatures in Rome can be well over 30 degrees Celsius.

As of November 2009 the wait will be less uncomfortable, since it has been decided to broaden the sidewalks on the Viale Vaticano and the Viale dei Bastoni di Michelangelo, the two roads leading to the Vatican Museums’ entrance. Moreover, an awning will cover these sidewalks and protect the visitors from the sun and the rain.

Another change that will take place, initially only on certain dates but later on a permanent basis, is that the Vatican Museums will also be open in the evening, from 7pm until 9pm.

When in Rome: Swimming World Championships

• The 2009 swimming world championships will start on July 17th in Rome

• The event will be held at the Foro Italico near Rome’s Olympic Stadium

Elewhere in Europe it has alredy become a tradition, but this year, for the first time, Rome will also celebrate its museum night. On Saturday May 16th 2009 around 60 Roman museums will be open to the public until 2am the following day.

Various specially organized events will also take place: free concerts, lectures and other happenings will be held in a number of Rome’s museums.

Guided tours of the rose garden, the zoo and the Villa Borghese park are amog the more interesting events.

Both the musea and the special events will be free.

For more information you can either call +39 060608 or visit the website www.beniculturali.it.

This Rome information blog is written for the English speaking guests of the B&B Little Italy Rome and the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

In case the Chaplin and the Little Italy are not what you are looking for or you prefer a hotel to a bed and breakfast in Rome, we recommend the Venere website for finding both luxury and cheap accommodation in the Eternal City. You fill out your budget and which quarter of Rome you would like to stay in and you will be supplied with a list of available Rome hotels, bed and breakfasts or apartments in Rome for the desired period. Guest opinions facilitate your choice. Booking online.

Every year for the past 24 years in Italy one week of the year has been proclaimed the country’s cultural week. In the course of this cultural week all Italian state run museums and other tourist attractions are free.

For the year 2009 the cultural week starts on April 18th and lasts until the 26th. April 25th being an Italian holiday anyway, it has been decided to add this date to the free museum week.

As of tomorrow therefore all state run monuments and museums in Rome (this includes famous and important attractions like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Borghese Gallery and the Capitoline Museums) will therefore let you in without paying.

Several non state run attractions participate by either lowering the admission cost or by not charging an entrance fee at all.

Remember that a visit to the Borghese Gallery will be free during the cultural week, but that a reservation will still be required.

The Vatican Museums, the Catacombs, etc, are not run by the state and do therefore not participate in the initiative.

In case you have more information about the free museum week in Rome, or photographs, please help us make this website better by providing us with your feedback.

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When in Rome… Piazza della Rotonda

This When in Rome… blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome.All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome In 1575, under the order of Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni, Giacomo Della Porta designed a plan for a fountain to be placed in the centre of Piazza della Rotonda. Four different sculptors cooperated to carry out the project, a large marble vase with vertical water jets that came out from four large masks on the sides. In 1711 Pope Clemente XI Albani had the vase substituted with the obelisk of Pharaoh Ramses II from the Temple of Isis and the 4 dolphins at the base of the pedestal were carved. There are several restaurants and cafes on the Piazza della Rotonda, but the prices for even a cup of coffee there are not for the faint-hearted. Turn right when you have your back to the Pantheon and you will discover an area full of small boutiques and jewelry stores.

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When in Rome… Pantheon information

This When in Rome… blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome. All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome The Pantheon is located on Piazza della Rotonda in Rome and is open from 9am till 7pm. Entry is free. It can be reached from the Via del Corso by walking northward from Piazza Venezia and turning left when you see the sign or by following Corso Vittorio Emanuele from Piazza Venezia and then turning right when you see the signs. The official name of the Pantheon is Santa Maria ad Martyres (St. Mary of the Martyrs). In 609 or 610 Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon to the Blessed Virgin and the Martyrs and proclaimed All Saints Day (then May 13th, nowadays November 1st) to commemorate all the martyrs. This was necessary because demand exceeded supply: There were way too many martyrs for the number of days in the year. Among the famous people buried in the Pantheon are the painter Raphael and the first king of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia.

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When in Rome… Pantheon, the monument

This When in Rome… blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome.All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome  The Pantheon’s dome is more than 40 metres high, which made it the largest dome in the world until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed. At the top of the dome is a large opening, the oculus, which is 9m wide and the only source of light. The immense vault seems to be suspended overhead without support. The interior (both width AND height) measures 43.4 meters. The oculus was there so that prayers could easier ascend to heaven. There are sixteen monolithic granite columns supporting the portico, which used to be covered with bronze, but was stripped and melted by Pope Urban VII in order to make the canopy for Saint-Peter’s high altar and cannons for Castel Sant’Angelo. There used to be statues of gods in the niches surrounding the portico. The bronze doors are still the original ones. The original marble floor was restored in 1873. Some of the bricks used by Hadrian have the date 125 AD on them.

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Not too long ago I wrote a Rome blog article about bike sharing in Rome. Tourists in the Eternal city could, at several established tourist spots in Rome, pick up bicycles, ride around town for a while and then leave them at other pick-up points in the city.

After no more than a couple of months the initiative is to be discontinued tomorrow (Saturday March 14th, 2009) and visitors to Rome will have to revert to walking or using the city’s public transportation system.

When in Rome… Cy Twombly’s Cycles And Seasons

This Rome information blog is written for the English speaking guests of the B&B Little Italy Rome and the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

In case the Chaplin and the Little Italy are not what you are looking for or you prefer a hotel to a bed and breakfast in Rome, we recommend the Venere website for finding both luxury and cheap accommodation in the Eternal City. You fill out your budget and which quarter of Rome you would like to stay in and you will be supplied with a list of available Rome hotels, bed and breakfasts or apartments in Rome for the desired period. Guest opinions facilitate your choice. Booking online.

Cy Twombly (1928-) has spent the bigger part of his existence in Italy, so it is only logical that the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome should dedicate a retrospective to his art.

The exhibition is titled Cy Twombly: Cycles and Seasons and will last until May 24th 2009 in the Viale dlle Belle Arti in Rome, the seat of the GNAM.

The majority of the approximately 70 works of art (drawings, paintings and a number of sculptures) that can be seen were made during Twombly’s European period, and combine his experimental, more American style with the more traditional European influences.

Twombly is 80 years old and has been living in Italy since 1957.

In case you have more information about the Cy Twombly exhibition in the GNAM, or photographs, please help us make this website better by providing us with your feedback.

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