Rome Construction
 

We have reservations at the Hotel Campo de' Fiori for the first week in October. I had heard about all the construction in Rome this year. I just read in my local paper (what a surprise) that the Campo de' Fiori square is being renovated. The article mentioned the vendors have been moved to other squares. Yikes...the flower/food market is why we chose this location! Does anyone know about this construction? I was unable to locate any info on the internet about construction dates, etc. I was wondering if the construction at Campo de' Fiori will be complete by October. Thanks!

I can't answer your question, but I thought you'd like to know I read the scaffolding is coming off St Peters in September. So at least you should be able to see the new, clean dome!

According to an Associated Press article in Sunday's NY Times, "To repave the piazza [i.e., Campo di Fiori], Rome moved the merchants' stalls to two nearby squares, giving rise to a sad stream of tourists who trickle into the excavated Campo di Fiori day and night and pull out their maps, searching for teh foral avenue pictured in their guidebooks."

Yes there is some construction and a lot of renovation going on in Rome, but don't let that stop you from going and having a good time! Scaffolding is minimal on the Colliseum and St Pauls is totally coveredbut there is the rest of the city which is Scaffold free!

I was in Rome two weeks ago, and it's far from being scaffold-free. It was my first visit to the city, and I'm sure I gotta go back there again even without the Trevi Fountain wish, because most of the major sites were under a renovation project of some sort, making it difficult to appreciate many of them. Here's the bad news. Invisible under scaffolding: the Arch of Constantine, the interiors of Il Gesu, Santa Maria Maggiore, S. Giovanni in Laterano. Largely covered: Raphael's School of Athens, Michelangelo's tomb for Julius II, Bernini's fountains in Piazza Navona, and the facade of St. Peter's. Closed: the Capitoline Museums, S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. <BR> <BR>The Campo dei Fiori is a big rectangular hole now. The market's held just steps away in a space next to Palazzo della Cancelleria.

I stayed off an alley near the Plz. della Cancelleria and I guess I was lucky to get photos of the C. Fiori! I was a bit dismayed (though not hurt by ) all the scaffolding around Rome in October '98. There was still plenty to see as they seemed aware that tourists want to photograph and see everything possible in the Eternal. Only one of a pair of parallel opposing statues, for example, would be scaffolded. There was still plenty to see. A great tip, I think, is to go out late at night to do photography. My husband took my 14 year old son on a photo expedition from Cancelleria area out past the Vatican to do some night photography without all the people and cars, etc., in the shots. You should see the beautiful photos! And with jet lag, its a wonderful opportunity that you can turn around into something of use!

Pira--I'll be leaving for Italy on the 6th of September and was disappointed to read that the Capitoline museums were closed--do you know for how long? I am paying close attention to this post so I can plan my 2 and half days in Rome accordingly! Thanks for your help! cheryl

I was in Rome this spring. Yes, there is a lot of scaffolding, but who cares? I wouldn't cancel a trip because of it. There is still so much to see and just experience. You can buy a postcard of the exterior of Saint Peter's if you have to and you can still climb to the top of the dome and see the whole city spread out below. Piazza Navona in the moonlight is still magic. And it gives you a great excuse to go back, doesn't it? We loved Rome.

I don't think the Capitoline Museums will be opened any time soon. At the moment, some of the masterpieces from the museums are put on exhibit elsewhere in the city, in some sort of industrial building, an old power plant, perhaps. I did not go there, but it seemed to be an interesting juxtaposition of artifacts and setting. <BR> <BR>Anyway, there are several other museums, including Villa Borghese, Palazza Doria Phampilj, and the new museums of Roman art at Palazzo Massimo and Palazzo Altemps. Also, there's an excellent Bernini exhibition at Palazzo Venezia, and an El Greco exhibition nearby.