Rome convents
does anyone know of the Santa Guiliana Convent and how to contact them? also has anyone stayed at San Giuseppe della Montagna convent???
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Sorry Alice, that didn't give you the info I thought it would.:-(
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Ok, try this e-mail address as it seems the convent is not listed on the site I sent you earlier. Best wishes.
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that's ok, there are several others there I can check out, my daughter lives in Milan and can call a couple of them. I think that sounds fascinating.. a convent in ROME!! The San Giuseppe della montagna was recommended by Fodor's so I am just trying to find out more, if possible.
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thanks, I'll try that.
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alice92 - We too are planning to stay in convents in Italy. There are quite a few posts on Fodors with recommendations. There is also a book with locations, reviews, prices, contacts, etc. called "Bed and Blessings". Most recent edition, July 2005.
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This is from the book Bed and Blessings:
Instituto Santa Giulianna Falconieri Via Calasanzio, 1 Rome 00186 Tel (06) 688 03344 It seems to be one of the nicest. It has a great location. I stayed in Alma Domus. I found it to be clean and basic. It is also in a good area (near the Pantheon). |
Instituto Santa Giulianna Falconieri is a wonderful convent run by an American sister from Illinois. We've stayed there at least four times. The location is fantastic, as it is around the corner from Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori in the historic center of Rome. The nuns serve a continental breakfast. The curfew is midnight, but not strictly enforced now that they have a night guard. The rates in April-May were 80 euros with bath ensuite, 75 with bath immediately outside the room. The convent is immaculate and the nuns are very gracious. If you need additional info, please ask.
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Athena, That's interesting that the curfew is not being strictly enforced. I'm really glad to hear that. I'm staying there in Sept and was worried I might have to leave the opera early to get back in time, since from what I can determine, it will last until 11:30 or maybe a little after. Thanks!
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Hi Athena,
I would like to stay at this convent in the November time frame. Would you happen to know what the rates might be for a room with bath ensuite? If not I will contact them directly. Also, I know this may be a silly wuestoin but I have sleeping problems and was wondering if the beds were comfortable? I am torn between staying at a hotel and paying the extra money for better amenities or a convent for the less expensive option, but I don't want to feel like I am compromising comfort. Thanks! |
Tonianyc,
I've recently booked at Santa Giuilana for next year. The 80 Euro rate that Athena gave is good for the double en suite for the rest of this year. There are only two rooms with en suite bath, though. One is a very large room for 3-4 people, and the other is the double. Otherwise, there are 4 hall baths for every 7 rooms, which is a good ratio. |
My own typo gives me a chance to say that the correct spelling is Santa Giuliana!
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Thank you, KT. What a great rate!
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We have also stayed there (in a/the big guest room). The building and location are great.
When you get there, the entrance is ten or twenty feet back on a side road/alley. |
Tonianyc,
If comfort is very important for you, you may want to consider a hotel. The beds in the convent are generally single beds, a little narrower than an American twin. While the mattresses are firm, thay are not luxurious. Neither are the blankets or the linens. Also, street noise can be a problem. We've solved this one by brining earplugs. Another factor to keep in mind is that November can be chilly and damp in Rome. Also evenings and mornings are often quite cool, perhaps in the 50's. In order to keep the prices low, in the approxiomately 10 convents I've stayed throughout Italy, the sisters turn the heat on for only a few hours in the morning from around 6-9 and from perhaps 8 or 9 to 11 at night. At other hours it can be very chilly, especially when bathing. One plus to keep in mind is that even if your room at Santa Giuliana does not have a bath, all rooms have a sink. Also, all the rooms in which I've stayed a quite large, larger than many hotel rooms in Rome. I don't mean to discourage you. We love the convent and will keep going back. Sister Kathy, who runs the convent, as well as all the other sisters are very gracious hosts. I just want you to know it may not be as comfortable as a hotel. |
Hi Athena,
Thanks for the info, it's definately true what you say. Since hotel rates are a little lower anyway during that time frame it may be more worth it to stay at a hotel versus a convent. Comfort is very important when travelling. Thanks again for the inputs. |
Thought I'd just jot some notes about my search for convent accommodation that I've been doing recently. I'm on a tight budget - 120 euro or less per night. I've seen a lot of people on the threads teasing those who are trying to see Rome "on the cheap" but that is actually a lot of money for me, and may be cheap by Rome standards but not by mine. I am sure there are others out there who just can't afford $300 USD a night in Rome.
So anyway; I got Bed & Blessings out of the library based on recommendations from Fodites. It's a great little book but I'd suggest buying it as our library had an out of date copy (and its Boston public library system so its a pretty extensive collection). I got frustrated with old prices and disconnected phone/fax numbers so hopefully the 2005 edition will serve you better. My old version didn't have email addresses and I've since discovered that many of the convents are now on e-mail so I hope that's been addressed in the latest version. Prices seem to be ranging 120 Euro to 180 Euro per night for one room, 2 pple, in the high season. Not extravagant but not the bargain I'd initially hoped for. Most that have responded to me have been around 150 euro. I've discovered a few websites. Apologies if these are posted in other threads - I'm just trying to be helpful putting them all together. http://www.go-to-italy.com/English/religious.htm http://www.nerone.cc/tourist/convents.htm http://www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html (this has definitely been mentioned before) http://www.romeguide.it/relig_search...mp;Submit=Find And some of the convents now have their own sites: Casa di Santa Francesca Romana http://www.sfromana.it/english.html Procura Missionaria Suore Pallottine http://www.procuramissionariepallott...RUTTURA(i).htm Some of the convents in the book seem to have become very hotel-like and are appearing on booking websites: Paolo VI http://www.romeby.com/paolovi/ Santa Guiliana were very friendly and quick to respond by email but fully booked. A shame because everyone seems to say good things about them. Santa Francesca Romana looks amazing (check out their webpage listed above) and the prices are good, but they have not responded to either webbooking requests or email so I don't know if they're just crazily overbooked? I've read good things about them here and other travel chat groups. I've you've got more planning time than me then they'd be worth trying to book into. I have ended up at Casa Tra Noi which seems to get favourable reviews. I'm a little dissappointed its not in a gorgeous old building but at my price range that was just a dream! We're paying 112 euro per night for our double room. I'll let you know what it's like. FYI - Bed and Blessings is really thin on Venice convents. I think it only has 2 options. We had decided to go convent -cheap in one city so we could afford to spend more in another and we had to do the convent thing in Rome where the choice was greater. I'll let you know how I get on. |
I’ll be looking forward to your report.
If you are still looking for more information in Venice, you might want to check out Lodging in Italy’s Monasteries by Eileen Barish. I have the following links to convents in Venice: http://www.santafosca.com/statiche/ostello/costi.asp http://www.donorione-venezia.it/ing/home.htm |
BostonPippa, my experience looking a few months ago for next spring was that there are lots of convents with doubles for less than that--more like 80 Euros, or even less, for a double. Maybe prices are going up a lot, or maybe they charge a lot more in high season, or maybe it's just because I was really digging around and found some of the less well-known and hotel-like ones (though I did end up at Santa Giuliana, which is well-known). If you really want to save money, are willing to fax instead of e-mail, and don't care if the place has zero atmosphere, try looking around the Vatican or the Gianicolo. The Rome Tourist Office has a huge list of convent accomodations. Go to www.romaturismo.com/v2/en/main.asp and click on "Holiday Homes" (! that's what they call them). Here's a list of accomodations from a religious conference held this spring: www.pusc.it/pec/conv05/en_ac_sp.htm And here's an article from the Catholic News Service that lists some: www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/guest.htm |
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