festival Archives - Revealed Rome

Happy Birthday, Rome!

April 20, 2011 No Comments

Happy birthday to the world's most fascinating, historic, and beautiful city (yes, I'm biased): Rome! Tomorrow, April 21, marks the city's 2,764th birthday. (Although by now, who's counting?)

That means, of course, that Rome's going to celebrate in style. Including with free museum openings, shows, and other festivities.

At the top of our list of free, fun ways to celebrate Rome's 2,764th:

All day. Free museums. Rome's municipal museums are free, including great, off-the-beaten-path gems like the MACRO, Montemartini, and Ara Pacis. Here's a complete list of free museums on April 21 (in Italian).

9am. Ceremony with Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno. Rome's mayor lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Vittorio Emanuele monument, Piazza Venezia. Pomp and circumstance ensues.

11:30am. Concerts at the Campidoglio. Today it might be best known for Michelangelo's architecture, but back in the day, this hill was one of Rome's most sacred. Stop by for some music while the Granatieri of Sardinia look on.

11:30am. Reenactment of Rome's founding. At the Circus Maximus, the Gruppo Storico Romano performs the tale of Rome's 753 B.C. founding. Who will you root for: Romulus or Remus?

3:30pm. Inauguration of the "Bridge of Music." The bridge, in the Flaminio neighborhood near the MAXXI and other cultural gems, gets inaugurated to the sounds of the band of the metropolitan police corps.

4pm. Concert at the Capitoline museums. At 4pm, the Orazio Vecchi choir will give a free concert in the Pietro da Cortona room. Arrive early to get a seat.

6pm. Historical reenactment of Palilia. In front of the Bocca della Verità, the Gruppo Storico Romano will "perform" the pagan Palilia ceremony, a celebration of spring's arrival that Romulus himself was said to have participated in.

9pm. A "spettacolo" of light projections, performances and music. At 9pm at the Forum of Augustus (in the Imperial Forums), there'll be a show called "Roma/Amor, the birth and resurrection of the Eternal City," celebrating Rome from 753 B.C. right up until today.

Events, Museums, Rome

Free Museums, Fireworks and More for Italy’s 150th Anniversary

March 14, 2011 No Comments

Despite some reservations about whether Italy’s ever really unified, Rome’s going all-out to celebrate the reunification’s 150th anniversary. From this Wednesday night through Thursday, events, concerts and lots of free museum entrances are all part of the package.

The festivities kick off on Wednesday night with “Notte Tricolore,” a night of culture-focused fun. And there’s a lot going on. Here’s just a selection:

Free museums, open late: Among other sites, the Quirinale (with its temporary Lorenzo Lotto exhibition), Musei Capitolini, Castel Sant’Angelo, and Palazzo Barberini will all be open from 8pm to 2am — and free. (Yay!) And don’t miss the Museo dell’Ara Pacis (also open 8pm-2am, also free), since the Ara Pacis will be “colored” using lasers to show you what it actually would have looked like back in the first century B.C. Usually, this is only done during the summertime

Light shows: Rome’s ruins get prettied up with light shows — from 7pm, check out the Colosseum, Fori Imperiali, and Hadrian’s Temple in Piazza di Pietra.

Dances: At 7pm, there’s a dance show at Teatro Piccolo Eliseo (Via Nazionale 183) for €2. Polka and other genres will be part of the “Dance for Unity” in Palazzo Barberini at 8pm.

Concerts: Feelin’ funky? Check out the Mo’ Better Band Funky Street Band — either at 8pm in Piazza dei Cinquecento, or at 11pm in Piazza Vittorio. Risorgimento songs are on the schedule at the Piazza del Quirinale concert, starting at 8:30pm. Chiesa Nuova hosts a sacred music concert, with pieces by Rossini, Verdi and Wagner, at 8:30pm, 9:30pm and 10:30pm.

Fireworks: At midnight, keep your eyes peeled — fireworks will take place over Celio.

Here’s the complete Notte Tricolore program (in Italian).

Meanwhile, Thursday’s a nationwide holiday.

Happy culture-vulturing!

Art, Events, Museums, Rome, Tips & tricks

Rome’s Best Summer Events: Go Before They End

August 3, 2010 No Comments

August is upon us — and with it, the winding-down of some of Rome’s best summer festivals and events, or “Estate Romana”. A recap of Rome’s best summer offerings… and when they end:

Ending August 3. The saldi (summer sales). If you miss these, you’ll have to wait until January!

Ending August 8. Opera at the Baths of Caracalla (shown above). This year: Aida and Rigoletto.

Ending August 9. The “Roma Incontra Il Mondo” festival with nightly concerts at the Villa Ada, a lovely, enormous park in Rome.

Ending August 15. Rock City, a festival in the Park of the Aqueducts featuring nightly concerts and restaurant stalls. (On the smallish side, but fun).

Ending August 19. Lungo il Tevere Roma, an enormous nightly festival at the Tiber River.

Ending August 31. L’Isola del Cinema, showing films nightly at the island on the Tiber River (both foreign and Italian).

Ending September 4. Nightly jazz concerts at the Villa Celimontana.

Ending September 4. All’Ombra dell’Colosseo, a pool (with events like aperitivo and concerts) in the Colosseum’s shadow.

Ending September 5. La Forma del Rinascimento (“The Shape of the Renaissance”), with works by Donatello, Bregno, and Michelangelo, at the Palazzo Venezia.

Ending September 5. L’Età della Conquista (“The Age of Conquest”), an exhibit on the founding and Greek influences of the Roman Empire, at the Musei Capitolini.

Ending September 8. Colori dell’Ara Pacis, a light show showing the Ara Pacis as it would have been. Wednesday nights only.

Ending October 3. The Colosseum’s Gladiators exhibit.

Archaeological sites, Art, Events, History, Museums, Rome

The Ara Pacis in Summer: As It Was Meant to Be Seen

August 2, 2010 No Comments

On Wednesdays throughout the summer, you can see the Ara Pacis — the elaborately-carved, beautifully-preserved ancient altar dating from 9 B.C. — as it was meant to be seen: with color.

It's hard enough to imagine ancient Rome as it would have been: marble temples, colossal monuments, extraordinary baths. But what most visitors to Rome don't realize is that you have to take something else into account, too. You have to imagine everything painted. That's right: everything. The monuments, the sculptures, the buildings. It wasn't all shining white marble; it was also reds and yellows and blues. And greens and purples and pinks. And….

The difference that color makes is dramatic. There may be no better example of that than the Ara Pacis. Created in honor of Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C., the monumental altar symbolizes the peace and prosperity that the first emperor brought about. When you go to see it at the Museum of the Ara Pacis, it appears elegant and elaborate — but when it was painted, it would have been much more than that. It would have been striking in its vibrance.

Don't believe me? Here's the panel of Aeneas sacrificing to the Penates (the household gods), with color and without, left. The color makes a big difference, no?

From now until September 8, from 9pm to midnight (last entrance 11pm), on Wednesdays only, you can see the Ara Pacis colored as it would have been (or so the best guesses have it) with lasers. At € 8 for the entrance, it's pricier than the usual € 6.50 entrance. But unless you want to get a super-close look, you don't even have to pay: Standing outside the glass-walled Museum of the Ara Pacis might be good enough.

Either way, make sure you see it. It's a special event, and it ends soon.

For more information, click here. For a map, click here.

You might also like…

Summer Jazz Concerts in Rome's Villa Celimontana

On Palatine Hill, Ancient Frescoes in the House of Augustus

On Hot Summer Nights, a Cool River Festival

Archaeological sites, Events, Rome

Summer Jazz Concerts at Rome’s Villa Celimontana (Updated for 2013)

July 28, 2010 No Comments

If Rome’s other summer events—including its festival on the banks of the Tiber River and its outdoor pool near the Colosseum—aren’t enough for you, make sure you check out the nightly jazz concerts at Villa Celimontana.

[Update, 2013: In a total travesty, the historic festival was canceled last year and not renewed this year. The reason: lack of funds.]

Villa Celimontana is one of Rome’s loveliest public parks. Once the 16th-century estate and villa of the Mattei family, it’s also strewn with the remnants of ancient temples and palaces, including columns, statues and a temple altar. There’s even an Egyptian obelisk inscribed to Ramses II that came from the
hill’s Temple of Isis (and, originally, from Heliopolis’ Temple to the
Sun).

Issues of archaeological sensitivity aside, there’s no better place for summer concerts. The venue is small enough to get a good glimpse of the band and has excellent sound and lighting, not to mention a handful of restaurants and bars. (They’re a little pricey, but not insane). As the sun sets over the cyprus trees, the breeze kicks up, and the music begins, there might be no better way to enjoy a Roman summer night.

Doors open for the concerts at 9 each night, and the music begins at 10:10. To get your ticket for one of the more popular concerts, or to grab a seat at the table at one of the venue’s restaurants (which lets you order snacks, drinks and even a meal), be there on the earlier side. The concerts will run every night until September 4. Tickets usually cost €9 to €12, but more popular bands can cost up to €25 — check in advance. The schedule for upcoming concerts includes the Brazilian band Toquinho (July 31), pianist Aaron Goldberg (August 3), Italian blues band Blues di un Re Minore (August 20), and American singer Diane Schuur (August 30).

For more information about the concerts, click here (official website is in Italian). For a map, click here. Entrance to the concert is on Via della Navicella, number 12.

You might also like…

The Janiculum, the 8th Hill of Rome

Can You Drink from Rome’s Water Fountains? Really?

Events, Outdoors, Rome

The Swimming Pool in the Colosseum’s Shadow

July 6, 2010 3 Comments

I just wrote a piece on the Colosseum’s swimming pool for the Guardian’s travel section. Suffice it to say that this was some of the best research I’ve ever done for a story. Check it out!