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New Rooms Opened at Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo
Published on Thursday, July 20, 2017 by Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome has opened previously closed-off spaces, including a series of three rooms known as the Cambellotti Rooms, to the public for the first time, and is also providing new ways for visitors to interact with and understand the historic monument. Guests can access the rooms through a newly opened ceremonial entrance designed by architect Giov...
Rome Turns Off Some Drinking Fountains
Published on Friday, July 14, 2017 by A summer heat wave is prompting the city of Rome to turn off up to 30 of the city’s 2,800 public drinking fountains every day, much to the Roman public’s dismay. The fountains supply clean – and free – drinking water on street corners and in piazzas around the city, and some are concerned the shutoff will leave Romans, especially those who are homeless, dehydr...
Fendi Funds Renovation of More Roman Fountains
Published on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 by Fendi, one of Italy’s most famous and respected fashion houses, will finance the restoration of four symbolic fountains in Rome—an announcement which follows Fendi’s recent financing of the Trevi Fountain restoration and renovation of Quattro Fontane. The latest fountains to get some stylish funds invested will be the Janiculum Fountain, the Fountain of Moses...
Rome Bans Centurion Impersonators
Published on Sunday, December 6, 2015 by As Rome prepares for a Jubilee Year (otherwise known as a Catholic Holy Year), city authorities have banned actors who dress up as ancient centurion guards and charge tourists for photo opportunities of and with them. According to Reuters, new and extended security measures for the Jubilee include making sure visitors to the capital are not subjected to the centur...
Remains of Arch of Titus Discovered in Rome
Published on Monday, June 29, 2015 by Back in 81 AD, the Roman Emperor would have entered the Circus Maximus in grand style, standing in a chariot steered through the newly constructed Arch of Titus. But until recently, the only records of that structure existed in medieval-era documents; stone that wasn’t pilfered sank beneath the ground and was lost for eight centuries. However, this spring archaeo...
Gladiator School in Rome To Be Restored
Published on Friday, June 12, 2015 by Rome’s gladiator barracks, part of the city’s famous Colosseum, may soon be accessible to the public—thanks, in part, to the Kuwaiti government. An ancient tunnel linking those training chambers to the main arena could be restored with funds from a multi-million dollar grant from Kuwait, writes The Telegraph. The Ludus Magnus (Great Training Facility) was the...
Curbing Rome’s Car Habit
Published on Friday, April 24, 2015 by Via Urbana, a quiet cobblestone street, will be the first car-free street in Rome after a municipal council vote to make the street a wholly pedestrian area. Anyone who has ever visited The Eternal City will testify to its eternal din from scooters, cabs and honking cars of all shapes and sizes. But the noise is a secondary ill; the real problem is safety, since agg...
Rome’s Catacombs of Priscilla Reopen, Mapped by Google
Published on Thursday, November 21, 2013 by The Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome, eight miles of tunnels off the Via Salaria, reopened to the public this week after years of restoration. Catacombs were used for Christian burial in Rome from the late 2nd century to the 4th century.  These series of burial chambers, carved out of tufo (volcanic rock), were found outside the city walls as Roman law prohibite...