jbarry5

bookmarking.

Dobermina

i was writing a lovely response and my computer crapped out !!! Mean evil machines....anyway.....I was saying, what kind of music do you like? Though Rome is excellent for all opera and lots of other kinds of concerts, even Italian pop music, it's not so great for internationally popular bands. This year was surprisingly promising, but it's not often that Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, and The Gotan Project all show up within a few months of each other, so don't go to Rome hoping for a Massive Attack show (these DO happen occasionally, but only occasionally) or Greenday or something. Anyway, the Feltrinelli bookstores have box offices with listings and I go there all the time, and you should check out the website for Circolo Degli Artisti Roma.....you'll be surprised what you'd find, and for cheap! (I dunno about you but was very happy joining them for Nouvelle Vague and Firewater).

Concerts aside, food and a whole month? Oh yes! So you definitely have time to daytrip to Monterotondo, a cute little town with a nice town hall/castle up a hill about 25km from Rome. Trains run frequently from Track 1 at Tiburtina station, and Friday is a good day to go since if I remember correctly they hold their mercato. From the station you just take the bus "up" to the historic center which is kind of obvious when you see it. That's where the mercato is, plus you can buy loads of home cooked goods and all there for a fraction of what it costs in Rome. For lunch or dinner, enjoy Trattoria Leone (or Ristorante, I can't remember)....anyway, type them into Google and you'll see and anyone in the center can direct you to it. Monterotondo is also quite visually beautiful and has lovely views so it's a nice day trip.....as is Tivoli, which others have mentioned, and honestly, some of my best Tivoli experiences have been in the dead of winter with no one else around really.

Ok, to eat....so you have time to travel around! Cool! Did you think of maybe renting a car for a daytrip or 2, just to some small towns and heifering out on cheap lovely food? If so, do say so and I can point you in some directions. One about 90 min from Rome is Castello dei Sorci (di Sorci? I think it's Dei but they're online anyway) in Umbria I believe....old castle, handmade daily dishes served banquet style, beautiful scenery, a tour of said castle, a giftshop, and it's "Haunted." And haunted by really good food....So totally worth it and lord knows the happy afternoons I've spent....

Closer to home? Sunday mornings at the Porta Portese market are the ticket and trips to Suppli on Via San Francesco A Ripa (right off Viale Trastevere), witgh not only roasted chicken and taters and great pizza by the slice but the best suppli/arancini in Rome, so take advantage.

Also on Via San Francesco A Ripa:
Ivo a Trastevere (Number #158) a nice selection, stellar pizza, super yummy and pretty cheap.

Augusto in Piazza Dei Renzi is a great authentic place that often has lines out the door on weekend nights and is a kind of "Whatever we're cooking" sort of place which is why I love it.....

For real REAL Roman food and no English menus...and lower prices....go to San Lorenzo. It rocks and you'll never eat better.

Sorry for my ranting, but happy travels and I'm always here for more specific info on places...hope it helped

Vttraveler

Here are some of the "new" (to us) things we saw on our last trip to Rome that I would recommend:

The spectacular view of Rome from the Janiculum (Gianicolo)
Piazzale Garibaldi, followed by a downhill walk to
Trastevere via the Fontana dell'Acqua and San Pietro
in Montorio, with Bramante's famous Tempietto

the archeo bus tour out to the catacombs, the Appian Way and the aqueducts

Pinacoteca section of the Vatican museums

Caravaggio paintings in San Luigi dei Francesi

Baths of Caracalla

early morning walk along Via Giulia

Some things on our "to do next time" list:
House of Livia on the Palatine (it was closed this
trip)

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (only open limited hours
Saturdays and sundays)

Villa Farnesina for Raphael frescoes

Day trip to Tarquinia for Etruscan necropolis and
museum

Gregorian chant at Sant'Anselmo

Museum of the Crypts of Balto

Palazzo Massimo

San Prassede (Byzantine mosaics)

Santa Maria del Popolo

bitten_by_the_bug

Plenty of good suggestions for experiencing Rome. Can I make a suggestion for experiencing Romans?
Head to the local shopping mall. Sure, there are malls back home, but not ones filled exclusively with Romans. Malls provide just enough familiarness that you can appreciate the differences, and but also enable you to focus more on the people than the environment.

Roma Est is a large shopping mall approx 15km to the east of city center.

Take regional rail line FM2 from Tiburtina to Lunghezza. Catch the bus in front of the station. I don't remember the #, but it should be easy to find out. Do not try to walk it, trust me - the sidewalk ends abruptly after you've already walked for a several minutes.
http://rome.angloinfo.com/information/17/busses.asp (public transportation info)
http://www.romaest.cc/aperture.html (mall hours in Italian, but you get the gist)

I was glad I went there with only 3 days in Rome; it might be a needed change-of-pace during your 30 days. Be Warned: you'll be used to Romans speaking English in the tourist areas, not going to happen at this mall. But isn't that kind of the point.

giannetta

Thank you thank you -all of you! So much to look forward to and many many suggestions that will be followed up on - train to Orvieto, which considering the dozens of trips we've taken to all parts Italy, we have NOT been there - it seems a must - "What? - you've never been to ORVIETO?! Bert - what was the question re. Venice "hooks in Venice?" I'm happy to answer it even if I don't know the answer ;-). I wonder if I can print this whole thread - I'll try - I want it with me in Rome.

giannetta

Zerlina, thanks for the romace.com link. It looks as if I'll have to wait until we are there as there are no 2010 listings but surely when we are in Rome and i look into that site I'll find what I'm looking for - opera, chamber music, etc.

giannetta

Dobermina, Monterotondo looks like a perfect day trip - love trains. I don't particularly want to rent a car but trains and buses are an adventure in themselves. We almost always rent a car so January will be a carfree month. - lots of other great ideas - thank you.

giannetta

Well - I was telling my husband about the suggestion re. traveling by train to Orvieto..... He tells me we've been there!! So much for never having been to Orvieto - now I actually do remember as the is quite beautiful but the Duomo was dressed in green netting and was closed. We visited a small church where there were ancient frecoes unlike anything we'd ever seen - the church vicor/priest was so happy to see someone actually interested that he gave us special treatment in telling us the history of the church, the frescoes etc. OK - yes, we've been to Orvieto and we can certainly go back!

laurie_ann

Here's a couple additional guides to Rome music venues. It's maybe a little too early for the listings at any particular venue to reflect January but you could check again just before you go.

http://www.timeout.com/rome/search/?tag_id=4286

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/ro...ment-nightlife

Enjoy planning your trip!

Dayle

giannetta,

Yes, do go back to see the Orvieto duomo. I actually think the small church with the ancient frescos you visited was the same one we visited. When we were there, it was abaondoned and they had just recently discovered the frescos. The historical committee president was the one who showed us around. Fascinating!

Also, do you remember doing the underground tour, the well, the Etruscan tomb excavation site below the town?

giannetta

Dayle, yes - I, too, think it was the same little church as the man who showed us around was excited about the discovery of the frescoes. We did not do the underground tour...another reason to go back as well as the duomo and a revisit to the little church.
Laurie_ann - I look forward to checking out your suggested website to find music; if not now, closer to our departure.
thank you -

giannetta

Laurie_ann, I've just looked at the lonely planet...web address you gave me and there are listing of concerts in January! The concerts I saw were all at Santa Cecilia and looked as if there were quite a few we would enjoy. - SO I've put that web address in my little travel notebook - thanks again,

franco

I hope it's not too late to add a thread with some really unusual suggestions: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ightseeing.cfm

Bert4545

Sorry this response is so late, giannetta. [Your thread dropped off the 'radar'.] You commented on my thread of Venice trivia about the 'lucky' hooks. [You can see things you have commented on, or you can click on my name and see my threads and things I have commented on.] Since you are Italian, I thought you might know a bit more about them than a non-Italian Fodorite.

sjj

My wife and I liked the ceiling in Sant'Ignazio, described here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Pozzo,

Caravaggio paintings in churches all over Rome, and the Michaelangelo Moses in San Pietro in Vicolo. Also, if you go the Galeria Doria-Pamphili, don't miss the Valesquez portrait of Pope Innocent X.

Steve_James

Hi Gianetta - If you are interested in opera there is a 'Beautiful Operatic Arias' concert twice weekly (- Tuesdays/ Saturdays) throughout January at S. Paolo Entro le Mura church in central Rome.

You can view the programme at:
http://tinyurl.com/ydrqzrz

Hope this helps ...

Steve

bob69

Last October we went in Tivoli garden and the Roman countryside Castel Gandolfi summer pope residence then a full day in Assisi very picturesque village we used a private limo company puntcual and comfortable cars at reasonable cost.i highly recommend them the driver was Maurizio www.limoitalyrooms.it is the company name.Enjoy

Steve_James

Bob69 - As a new member you may not know:

Fodors has a 'no advertising' policy on this forum

Infotrack

The St. Peter in Chains Cathedral (San Pietro in Vincoli) I found to be very interesting. It is not far from the Forum area.

Not only does it have the chains that are purported to have bound Peter, it has an interesting scupture of Moses by Michelangelo, done in the year 1515.

Graziella5b

One of the must places to visit which it is often overlooked is the Basilica of Saint St Clemente
this is no ordinary church because it has been built on top of ancient buildings which have been preserved in great part.Google more about this amazing place that should be included
in a visit to Rome.It is located at walking distance of the Coliseum.