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Holiday in Rome
Discover the charm of holiday in Rome thanks to the support of ROIS TRAVELS. ROIS offers you the possibility to customize at the most every single package tour.
Our organization is at your disposal to offer you holiday in Rome in complete relaxation and stay studied and developed with creativity and innovation to give you unforgettable moments and sensations.
What to See during the Holiday in Rome: St. Peter
The list of attractions, which merit a visit during the holiday in Rome, is infinite. In addition to the Coliseum, the Forum, the Thermae of Caracalla, we recommend a memorable destination: St. Peter and his curiosity.
Michelangelo’s only signature
The famous Michelangelo’s «Pietà» can be admired in the first chapel of the right aisle of the S. Peter Basilica. It is one of the most important Master’s works and the only bearing his signature.
The great artist in that moment was 24 years old and was little known. He placed his signature on the belt through the breast of the Virgin.
The «Coronation Wheel»
The «Coronation Wheel» is in S. Peter, recessed into the floor just beyond the door of the nave. It is a large disc of porphyry, a beautiful red marble. It comes from the old St. Peter, from the ancient basilica built by Constantine. On that round stone, emperors took place when the pope crowned them emperor. On this great "rota" the powerful Charlemagne, king of the Franks, knelt on Christmas night of the year 800, when Pope Leo IV crowned him «Roman emperor» by placing on his head the imperial diadem.
On the same "rota" many other emperors were crowned, including Lothair I, Ludovick II, Lambert of Spoleto, Berengar, the two Ottonian, Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard") and Frederick II.
Stages of Motherhood
Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644) commissioned Bernini to depict the various stages of motherhood, from conception to the birth of a child, on the pedestal columns of the St. Peter Basilica canopy, to dissolve the vow that he would have done waiting for the heir who would be born to his nephew Taddeo.
This is an allusion made in a certain sense "in comics". Indeed, we have here a real "series" of last months of woman pregnancy: from the contractions of the parturient face until the last papal coat of arms, depicting the small head of the baby already born.
St. Peter statue
The bronze statue was made to realize, according to tradition, by Pope St. Leo the Great (440-461) after his meeting with Attila (452).
It is said that it was molten reusing the metal of the Capitoline Jupiter statue, the ancient Romans most sacred simulacrum. The simulacrum that for ten centuries, from the Capitoline hill, had seen their protected become the masters of the world. Therefore, the same mass of metal, which was adored for a thousand years in one place, changes temple, theological horizon and name. After a bath of fire in the foundry, it moves slightly and it is ready for others thousands of years of uninterrupted worship.
The St. Peter statue bears clear signs of pilgrims and tourists special reverence. They pay homage to it during their holidays in Rome. The statue’s right foot is very worn out due to the reverent kisses that millions of faithful have given it over the centuries.
Practical Informations
St. Peter Basilica: from April to September, it is opened daily from 7 to 19. From October to March, it is opened daily from 7 to 18. The access to the Vatican City is only permitted to visitors with proper attire: no shorts are allowed, miniskirts, tank tops, etc.
Pilgrims and Tourists Information Office
St. Peter's square, 00120 Vatican City
Tel 06-698.84466 / 06-69884866
Cupola: from April to September, it is opened daily from 8 to 18. From October to March, it is opened daily from 8 to 17. The entrance is in the portico of the Basilica.
Sacred Vatican Grottoes (Tombs of the Popes): from April to September, it is opened daily from 7 to 18. From October to March, it is opened daily from 7 to 17. The entrance is in the right transept of the Basilica.
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel: they are opened weekdays from 8.45 to 13. From March 16 to October 31, they are opened Monday to Friday from 8:45 to 16, Saturday until 13. The last Sunday of the month are opened with free admission from 8:45 to 13. For information: tel. 06-69883333, 06-69884466, 06-69884866.
Vatican Gardens: the access is possible in the morning by booking a tour at the Information Office of Pilgrims and Tourists in St. Peter's square, tel. 06-69884466, 06-69884866.
Audience and others ceremonies with the Holy Father: to attend the audience, which takes place on Wednesday morning, and others ceremonies celebrated by the Holy Father, you have to book free tickets sending a fax (number 06-69885863) to Papal Household Prefecture, opened weekdays from 9 to 13. Tel. 06-69883114, 06-69884876, 06-69883273.
Tickets can be picked up the day before the ceremony or the same morning at the Prefecture. The entrance to the Prefecture is in the "Bronze Door", located at the end of the colonnade on the right of the Basilica.
Holiday in Rome: Fashion Shopping
In the women’s haute couture, Valentino is probably the Roman designer most famous on the international stage. Among the other famous designers who work in Rome there are Renato Balestra, for handmade suit and beautiful evening gowns, and Roberto Capucci, who uses fabrics with beautiful patterns for classy dresses. Raniero Gattinoni produces elegant suits and blouses both made to measure and in ready fashion. Evening gowns are Mila Schon's specialty. Among the other Italian fashion majors, with stores in Rome, are included Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferrè, Versace and Trussardi.
In the men’s haute couture, men who seek the elegance found in Rome a wide choice of clothes. Almost all the haute couture designers have a shop for men's fashion, like Valentino Man and Versace Man. The style is naturally more sober and discreet and often it is a sport or a casual style. Accessories signed by Valentino are relatively affordable. Battistoni is probably the most prestigious designer who only gives attention to men's fashion. Gucci, always in Via Condotti, also has shirts of similar quality. In a beautiful baroque palace, Carlo Palazzi sells stylish readymade clothes. Trussardi produces classic tailored suits.
Holiday in Rome: the Curiosity
Christopher Columbus’ Gold
The ceiling of Santa Maria Maggiore is all in gilded wood. The precious metal used for the decoration was the first gold arrived in Europe from America, donated by the King of Spain to Pope Alexander VI Borgia, who had Spanish origin. The gilding was completed in 1498.
Caesar’s "Money"
On Capitoline Hill, where now stands the monastery of the Franciscans monks, who take care of the Araceli church, was located the sanctuary of "Juno Money". In the temple stood the Romans mint, the place where they minted the coins. The name "moneta" also exists in English "money", it derives from this sanctuary, which has now disappeared. In the temple was located a statue of Juno with a frown and serious expression, as if the Goddess wanted to reprimand anyone. "Reprimand" in Latin is said "Moneo" and "Moneta", in fact, it means "she who warns". Over the centuries, the expression of a face statue, now destroyed, remains just in a word etymology, used in various languages.
The Old Boat
The sculptor Pietro Bernini, father of the more famous Gian Lorenzo, is the author of the Old Boat Fountain in Piazza di Spagna. The idea of a fountain with the form of broken and old boat full of water was born after the terrible Rome flood in the early 1600s. When the Tiber overflowed its banks and left in this square the wreck of an old boat. The fountain is a work of great beauty, but it is also a work of skilled hydraulic engineering. Using the water already flowed into the Trevi Fountain, the low pressure of the liquid forced Bernini to study a basin lower than the road level.
The Perspective Gallery
The Borromini's Perspective Gallery is one of the most curious architectural marvels in Rome. It is located in Palazzo Spada, near Piazza Farnese. The tunnel is very long, and the statue at the back looks very big. In reality, it is not. The gallery is four meters long, and the statue is fifty centimeters tall.
The effect was achieved by building the columns smaller and smaller and following the same procedure for the floor panels and the ceiling coffered. While the initial arc is three meters high, that at the end is so low that one must stoop to pass under.
There is another example of these false perspectives, which is worth a visit during the holiday in Rome. It is in the dome of the St. Ignatius Church, near via del Corso. The dome does not exist. It is just a giant canvas, placed on the roof of the church. It is a work of a monk, Brother Pozzo, who in the seventeenth century painted the dome and the nearly two hundred figures, which adorn it.
Why Holiday in Rome
Discover the charm of holiday in Rome thanks to the support of ROIS TRAVELS. ROIS offers food and wine tours but also much culture, traditions and naturalistic tours for rewarding sensory experience.
Our organization is at your disposal to offer you holidays in Rome in complete relaxation, stays studied with creativity and innovation to give you unforgettable emotions and the possibility to customize at the most every single package tour.
Contact ROIS TRAVELS: we will study the best offers for you! |
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