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THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE IN ROME
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ART AND CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT GALLERIES MUSEUMS NEWS
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CONT
EDITORIALS 4. THE DEATH OF JOHN KEATS Mary Wilsey
10. SORRY ITALY: TOURISTS RETURN LOOTED TREASURES Andy Devane
16. TRACING THE ORIGINS OF ROME'S CIRCUS MAXIMUS
MISCELLANY
14. LAKES AROUND ROME 24. ROME FOR children 26. STREET ART guide 28. MUSEUMS 30. ART GALLERIES 47. CULTURAL VENUES 55. RECIPE 56. puntarella rossa 58. USEFUL NUMBERS
WHAT'S ON
36. EXHIBITIONS 42. ART news 47. Opera 47. Classical
Martin Bennett
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE IN ROME
Poste Italiane S.p.a. Sped. in abb. post. DL 353/2003 (Conv. in L 27/02/2004 N.46) art. 1 comma 1 Aut. C/RM/04/2013 - Anno 13, Numero 2 FEBRUARY 2021 | € 2,00
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Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty By Edith Schloss
ENTS 4
THE DEATH OF JOHN KEATS
10
34
TRACING THE ORIGINS OF ROME'S CIRCUS MAXIMUS
EXHIBITIONS
43 ART NEWS
Literature
THE DEATH OF JOHN KEATS KEATS MADE THE ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO ROME HOPING THAT THE MILDER WINTER CLIMATE WOULD CURE HIS CONSUMPTION, BUT WITHIN THREE MONTHS HE WAS DEAD Mary Wilsey
4Severn's | February • Wanted Rome sketch2021 of Keats on theinnight of 28 January 1821. Keats-Shelley House Collection Rome.
Literature
T
his is a tale of two young men who travelled to Rome and took up lodgings in Piazza di Spagna. One of them had tuberculosis and thought a winter in Rome might give him a longer lease on life. The other was there to accompany his sick friend but he also made the trip from London because he thought it would benefit his career as an artist and win him a Royal Academy scholarship. They arrived in Rome in mid-November 1820 after a long journey by sea from London to Naples and then overland to Rome. Just over three months later, on 23 February 1821, John Keats died in a small room on the second floor of Piazza di Spagna 26 with only his friend Joseph Severn at his side. He was just 25. It was a difficult and lonely death. During the first few weeks after their arrival in Rome both men recovered their spirits after the difficult journey. Strangely Keats' doctor, Dr James Clark, was not worried so much about his patient's lungs as about his stomach and his acute depression. At Dr Clark's suggestion Keats hired a horse and managed to go riding and walking on the Pincio, making friends with a fellow consumptive from England. Keats' sense of humour was beginning to return and he managed to make some caustic remarks about Pauline Borghese Bonaparte who was out riding with her entourage. Canova's reclining half naked statue of Napoleon's sister had recently gone on display. But he was so affronted by her eyeing up his riding companion that he avoided the Pincio to ramble the streets of Rome instead. Things looked up to such an extent that Keats talked about starting a new poem to Sabrina, the water nymph of the river Severn (no accident in the name) who featured in both Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Milton's Comus. Severn set about trying to make contact with Canova and others in the artistic community. But at the beginning of December Keats had a haemorrhage and didn't leave the house again. Severn had little idea how difficult the next two and a half months would be. Keats on the other hand was clear about what was ahead although he had hoped initially that a warmer climate would delay the disease for a while longer. He had trained as an apothecary before dedicating himself to poetry. Keats had also nursed his mother and his brother Tom until they died of the same disease. He quite knowingly bought
The Death of Keats By Luke Wright
What better way to start a journey than with friends? I’m sure yours tried their best: a backslap, a bon voyage or two beside the Thames. But later, as you listened to the salt-splash on the hull, the black spell on your lungs and mind, clot-coughing in your coffin bunk, as drear-night England slipped behind, her leafy glades, her rills, the dryads that you’d conjured gleaming from the lunacy of ink, each snubbed out on the high seas dark as Lethe what hope was left that you might yet behold your set again? That you might marry her and let love be a surgeon to your soul, a lady’s hand to deftly pick the burrs of bad luck from you. Poor chameleon you’d been a friend, a libertas, a trickster rampant reader, poet, nurse, but when the turning of her white carnelian became a simple act of grief, you fixed there, sallow in the shade of the condemned. Then back on land you dragged your tin-can chain of failure strung with the locked hearts of critics, rattling in censorious refrain, past the bleached bones of bandits hung from gibbets, past the red-cloaked Cardinal who shot the songbirds from the sky with perfect aim and onto Rome, the fountain in the square: Bernini’s sculpture of the sinking boat which took on water, surged it out again suspended in final desperate prayer. No moonstruck couplets waited in that room, no flowery luxury, no beauty in the black blood on your sheets, no chirp, no bloom just wretchedness to see her handwriting, the mucus boiling in your throat, the sap of spittle on your lips, the rasping rage, the spectre of your brother at the last. As memories burst like tubercles, you spat T wang dillo dee to your barbaric age, you bolted upright, clung to Severn, gasped and then collapsed and tumbled weightless through the sky, till softly on a forest floor you landed under light-hung leaves, and drew at last an unencumbered breath and saw the band of shepherds come as in your dream. You knew them as your friends. They walked towards a glade and gathered there around an altar spurting fountain-like into a stream which future-flowed from sight, and bore the words: Here lies one whose name is writ in water. Luke Wright is a poet and theatre maker, www.lukewright.co.uk He was specially commissioned by Wanted in Rome and ArtHouse Jersey to write this poem to mark the bicentenary of the death of Keats. Wanted in Rome • January 2021 | 5
Literature laudanum – a mix of opium, morphine and codeine frequently used at the time – before he set out from London. But Severn confiscated it fearing, rightly, that Keats would overdose and commit suicide. Dr Clark's cure was to put him on a drastic diet of anchovies – considered good for circulation and an anti-inflammatory – which along with the bloodletting to lower his blood pressure only made him weaker. From December onwards things went downhill and both Severn and Clark were understandably worried about Keats' desperate state of mind. Keats had not only left behind the love of his life Fanny Brawne in London but he also considered himself a failure as a poet after a series of bad reviews of his poem Endymion. He had little doubt at this stage that death was just a matter of time.
England was blocked for a while because Keats' publisher considered that the two young men were spending too much. That Christmas was dismal. Severn and Clark were now Keats' sole carers. Letters arrived from England, also from Fanny Brawne, but Keats couldn't bear to open them. They were left unread with instructions to Severn to put them in Keats' coffin when he died. Severn was so busy nursing Keats that he was too exhausted to write home. However in a letter on 11 January to Fanny's mother, Mrs Brawne, he wrote: “For three days I have never left him...What enrages me most is making a fire – I blow – blow for an hour – the smoke comes fuming out – my kettle falls over on the burning sticks – no stove – Keats calling me to be with him – the fire catching my hands and the door bell ringing – all these to one quite unused and not at all capable – with the want of every proper material come not a little galling.”
Coughing, bleeding, bloodletting, diarrhoea, a high temperature, a starvation diet ordered by Dr Clark, fits of uncontrollable anger plus suicide attempts Today standing in the were what Severn had Keats and Severn rooms to manage in the weeks in the Keats-Shelley ahead. Not to mention Museum in Piazza the hygiene problems di Spagna where the two storeys up when Daisies on the ceiling of Keats' room (recently restored) original fireplace is still there was no modern and daisies on his grave. intact, the force of the sanitation. The only whole tragic scene comes streaming back. heating in the cold Roman winter came from a small and smoking fireplace in Keats' bedroom. By the end of January Keats was desperately ill, All this was made even worse by it being which is obvious from the sketch Severn did of Christmas (Severn describes it as the "strangest the sleeping poet with his hair wet with sweat and saddest he ever spent"). Nor was it possible and his face drawn. But the agony was to go on any longer to hide the fact that Keats was dying for almost another month. Luckily at this stage from a contagious illness. Severn knew that the Dr Clark had found an English nurse. Although Rome authorities had tough regulations against Keats did not like the idea of anyone near him the spread of tuberculosis. And by this time except Severn and Severn in turn was worried the landlady must have realised that one of her about an added expense, the nurse proved a lodgers was very ill. In the events of his death all lifeline. Severn was finally able to take time off the furnishings in Keats' room, and maybe also from his constant vigil. Severn's, would have to be stripped and burnt to avoid further infection. Severn's constant Keats battled on, hoping to die. He sent Severn concern, in addition to his friend's illness, was off to check out the Protestant cemetery where how he would pay for the clean-up after Keats' he would be buried and both were enchanted by death. The money they were relying on from 6 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
Literature Opera don't be frightened – thank God it has come." By 23.00 that night the agony was over. For Severn the waiting was over too. Dr Clark stepped in and took over. He organised for casts of Keats' face, hands and feet and arranged an autopsy which showed the terrible condition of Keats' lungs. Early on Monday 26 February Keats was buried in the Protestant cemetery, just as the Carnevale festivities that year in Rome were ending. There were only nine mourners, most of them friends Severn had made during those 14 weeks in Rome.
Keats and Severn are buried side-by-side at the NonCatholic Cemetery.
what Severn found, particularly the daisies that Keats then asked to be spread over his grave. There was political unrest and artillery fire on the streets and the English were packing to flee the city as the Austrians marched to Naples to crush the liberal revolt against the autocratic King Ferdinand. It was thought the pope might have to leave too. Severn had no choice but to remain. On 19 February both believed that Keats was near the end and as Severn wrote later in one of his letters home Keats had thoughts only for his friend: "He told me not to tremble for he did not think he would be convulsed – he said. Did you see anyone die – no – well then I pity you poor Severn – what trouble you have got into for me. Now you must be firm for it will not last long – I shall soon be laid in a quiet grave." But it was not to be quite yet. The next morning Keats was still alive and in despair not to have died during the night. Keats lasted another four days, without the laudanum to take the edge off his suffering, with just Severn, Dr Clark and the nurse to help him through. Then late on 23 February his last words to Severn: "Severn lift me up for I am dying – I shall die easy –
Severn returned from the cemetery to find that the health authorities were already at work, burning all the infected furnishings in Keats' room and, as a last straw, the landlady handed him a bill for all broken crockery during their stay. It was too much for Severn who swept the lot to the floor in rage. Dr Clark gathered Severn up and took him to his home on the other side of the square. Severn lived on to become a well known artist and portrait painter, then British consul in Rome in 1861 during the difficult period of Italian Unification. When he died in 1879 he was buried next to Keats and his baby son Arthur, who had died in Rome in 1837 when he caught his head between the rails of his cot. The Keats-Shelley200 bicentenary The Keats-Shelley Memorial Association is marking both the death of Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley in a number of events which started early in 2020. There have already been poetry readings and a concert now visible on the Keats-Shelley House YouTube platform. A digital panoramic tour of the Keats-Shelley House in Piazza di Spagna with a personal guide is now online and there are a number of video stories planned about the life of the Romantic poets and the history of the museum. There will be an exhibition later this year exploring the importance of Shelley's poem Adonais, his elegy on the death of Keats. There will be a commemorative gala dinner at Palazzo Doria Pamphilj hopefully in October this year and a festival of contemporary poetry in Lerici to mark the drowning of Shelley there on 8 July 1822. Events are being postponed if necessary due to covid-19 but not cancelled. For details see website. Keats-Shelley House, Piazza di Spagna 26, tel. (0039)066784235, www.ksh.roma.it. Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 7
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Tourism
SORRY ITALY: TOURISTS RETURN LOOTED TREASURES FROM ANCIENT COINS AND MOSAICS TO PRECIOUS SAND, A GROWING NUMBER OF TOURISTS ARE RETURNING ARTEFACTS STOLEN FROM ITALY'S CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES Andy Devane
S
everal years ago a bulky package arrived out of the blue at a wine bar near Piazza Navona in Rome’s historic centre. When the owners of Il Piccolo opened the weighty parcel they were surprised to find a bubble-wrapped sampietrino – a Roman cobblestone – that had been sent all the way from the UK. Accompanying the unusual contents was an anonymous letter from a British tourist overcome with remorse for the theft. The note
stated that the visitor had taken the cobblestone “as a souvenir” while on holiday in Rome the year before, requesting the owners of Il Piccolo to return it to “the street between Piazza del Popolo and Pincio.” The prodigal return of the humble sampietrino was to precipitate a recent trend in restituting far more valuable artefacts, often years after the theft, usually compelled by a guilty conscience. The phenomenon of pilferred items winging their
An American tourist sent a chunk of marble back to Rome, possibly taken from the Roman Forum.
10 | January 2021 • Wanted in Rome
A church confession led to the return of 208 ancient coins to Paestum.
way back to Italy appears to have picked up over the last year, perhaps due to covid-19 lockdowns and people stuck at home facing their ill-gotten mementoes. It is also a topical question given the current debate around cultural restitution and repatriation, spearheaded by Prof. Dan Hicks in his book The Brutish Museums. A couple of weeks ago, an anonymous visitor sent a small piece of mosaic to the museum at Paestum, the archaeological park of ancient Greek ruins in Italy’s southern Campania region. In the note, written in Italian, the sender apologised for their behaviour and said the tiny tessera had been taken “stupidly” in 2017. But that was nothing compared to what Paestum authorities would receive a few days later. A local priest was tasked with returning a collection of 208 ancient coins taken illicitly from the site, after the penitent admitted to the crime while in the confession box. The thief – whose identity remains a secret under the confessional seal – begged the priest to hand over the looted coins directly to Paestum’s director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel. “It is the latest in a series of restitutions by people who, moved by the remorse of having committed an act harmful to Italy’s heritage, have decided to return what was taken illegitimately,” read a statement from the museum. Experts discovered
that of the 208 coins, seven were fakes. The originals included five silver coins, one in aluminium and the rest in copper alloy, many of which dated to the third century BC. Three years ago Paestum also received a stolen artefact directly from the man who took it as a child in 1958. While most tourists prefer to remain anonymous, not so for Bob Martin, an American who returned to Paestum 60 years after he stole a small figurine as an eight-year-old boy on a family vacation. The young boy thought he had found the bone of a Roman legionary but it was only back home in the US, after washing it, that his horrified mother realised it was an ivory figurine. Martin kept the artefact for six decades before deciding to relieve himself of the “burden” and deliver it in person to a grateful Zuchtriegel. Although most tourists return stolen items out of guilt, others do so for superstitious reasons. Last October a Canadian tourist returned artefacts stolen from the ancient city of Pompeii 15 years earlier, to “shake off the curse that has fallen on me and my family.” The 36-year-old woman, identified only as Nicole, sent a package to a Pompeii travel agent containing two mosaic tiles, ceramic fragments and parts of an amphora which she stole during a visit to the archaeological park in 2005. Wanted in Rome • January 2021 | 11
Tourism In addition to the looted artefacts, which the travel agent handed over to police, the package contained a letter of confession in which Nicole expressed regret for her actions. “I was young and stupid” – she wrote – “I wanted to have a piece of history that nobody could have.” However she feared that the artefacts were possessed of “so much negative energy” linked to “that land of destruction.” Nicole blamed the relics looted from Pompeii – buried in volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD – for years of serious health problems and financial woes. “I have had breast cancer twice, the last time ending in a double mastectomy” – she wrote – “My family and I also had financial problems. We’re good people and I don’t want to pass this curse on to my family or children.” She concluded by saying that she has learnt her lesson and is seeking “forgiveness from the gods.” The unexpected package that landed on the Pompeii travel agent’s desk contained another letter of apology from a couple, also from Canada, along with some stones stolen from the site in 2005. “We took them without thinking of the pain and suffering these poor souls experienced during the eruption of Vesuvius and the terrible death they had,” said the letter. “We are sorry, please forgive us for making this terrible choice! May their souls rest in peace.” A Canadian tourist returned stolen fragments to Pompeii to shake off a curse.
12 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
However, in the case of Pompeii at least, there is nothing new in this phenomenon. Tourists have been looting – and returning – items stolen from the 44-hectare site for decades, leading to the establishment of a special display area of returned artefacts. The pieces are exhibited alongside remorse-laden letters, such as one from a Spanish tourist who had stolen a piece of decorated plaster which became “a harbinger of family misadventures and misfortunes.” The same goes for an English woman who in 2015 sent back a piece of mosaic stolen in the 1970s by her parents and which she believed was a bad omen. One of the most dramatic letters came from a Canadian woman who stole a figurine from Pompeii during her honeymoon. As the newlyweds travelled home the husband died of a heart attack. The little figurine was in his suitcase. However this opportunistic pilfering, much of it by foreigners, should not be confused with the illegal, highly lucrative activity of so-called tombaroli or tomb-robbers. These professional thieves, who often work under cover of darkness, are the focus of a specialised branch of the carabinieri responsible for combatting art and antiquities crimes. Last November, a heavy package arrived at the capital’s Baths of Diocletian, home to the Museo Nazionale Romano. Inside was a chunk of marble which had been taken from Rome, possibly from
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Precious sand being returned to Budelli. Photo Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena.
the Roman Forum, four years earlier by a tourist from Atlanta in the US. The marble fragment was defaced with the inscription “To Sam, Love Jess, Rome” – written with a marker – and was accompanied by a letter. “Please forgive me for being such an American asshole and taking something that was not mine to take. I feel terribly for not only taking this item from its rightful place, but placing writing on it as well. That was extremely wrong of me and I now realize in my later adult life how inconsiderate and disrespectful that was. I have attempted many hours of scrubbing and cleaning to remove, but to no success.” The museum’s director Stéphane Verger surmised that the tourist’s conscience might have been stirred after hearing about the Pompeii story and the Canadian woman a few weeks earlier. Verger said the marble fragment was of limited value but welcomed the “very important symbolic gesture.” In addition to the theft of man-made treasures there is also the looting – and eventual return – of Italy’s environmental heritage. One of the prime examples 14 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
relates to the so-called paradise island of Budelli, off Sardinia, famous for its unspoilt beaches whose precious pink sands have proved too tempting for some visitors in the past. There are now increasing cases of travellers seeking to return sand and shells, often taken decades ago, however one of the most poignant stories belongs to an Italian woman called Eleonora, from the northern Liguria region of Italy. Last year she returned a little bottle of sand to Sardegna Rubata e Depredata, an association which deals with the theft of shells, sand and stones from the coasts of Sardinia and nearby islands. The sand had been a treasured possession of Eleonora’s father, a keen sailor, who kept it as a “lucky charm” in his cabin since 1978. In recent years her father had spoken of his “tremendous guilt” at having taken the sand from the beach whose beauty had reduced him to tears the first time he landed on its pink-sanded shores. The old sailor asked his daughter to accompany him on a final voyage to the island, to return the sand to its rightful place, but sadly he died before they could make the journey together. And so, 42 years later, Eleonora’s “family heirloom” finally returned home.
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History
TRACING THE ORIGINS OF ROME'S CIRCUS MAXIMUS TIME’S WINGED CHARIOT: REVERSE LAPS AROUND CIRCUS MAXIMUS BACK TO ITS BEGINNINGS Martin Bennett
E
arly morning. But for a man slowly walking his dachshund, the vast oval of grass and tawny-coloured gravel lies empty. Now accelerate backward to 2016. In a flurry of spotlights there’s David Gilmour, then Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. Reverse two summers earlier, Mick Jagger appears and disappears in a jumping jack flash. Another decade and in pompa triumphalis AS Roma’s Francesco Totti lifts high lo Scudetto in football triumph.
Picture next orti di guerra, summer-camps for Mussolini’s youth movement, exhibitions and sporting displays prematurely celebrating longlost grandeur while archaeologists come and go, excavating the area, covering it up again so it can resume an agricultural function. Landmarking the 19th century, to grind grain for the Roman populace there is a mill powered by the Marrana water-course running underground.
The Frangipane Tower, or Torre della Moletta (Tower of the Little Mill) is at the eastern end of the Circus Maximus.
16 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
History That tower, for its part, is mediaeval, an addon by Rome’s powerful Frangipane family who recycled Circus masonry for defensive purposes. 1229 might afford a glimpse of Saint Francis, sometime guest of one Iacopa, a Frangipane widow. Gripping the reins or, like an ancient charioteer, wrapping them round your waist, fast-backward an entire millennia. Eight metres below where strolls that one man and his dog today, the site, five-soccer-pitches-long, would have been thronged, 66 days per annum, with up to 385,000 spectators (an estimate from Constantine’s reign). Not to mention sub-populations of bookies and bakers, butchers and bar-keepers. Even launderers, using ammonia from the ready urine-supply from between-race drunkards to aid the fulling process. All these trades capitalised on a venue which on race-days became Rome’s busiest shopping centre. Nor were the sexes separated, unlike in other public venues. Ovid’s Ars amatoria recommends the cavea and archways as an ideal spot for dating. More sourly Juvenal mentions “the whores pimped out around the racecourse./ That’s where you go if you fancy a foreign pick up” – Peter Green’s translation. Or in the same vein, “Women and low rank and fortune learn their future/ down at the racetrack”, astrologers touting another attraction. Reaching 50 km per hour, first and foremost came the charioteers, negotiating seven laps of a track. Or five laps, as later emperors wise to the motto panem e circenses met demand by cramming more races into a single day. “A people that yawns is ripe for revolt,” to cite Caracopino, venerable author of Daily Life in ancient Rome. “Spectacles were the great anondyne against unemployment, the Caesars’ sure instrument of their absolutism.” I recall attending, as a tender eight-year-old, a Kingstanding Odeon matinée of the 1959 film Ben Hur. Excuse then any confusion between the plot’s Jerusalem’s (or Antioch’s) Hippodrome with the site here: again in the memory charioteer’s elongated hub-caps eat away, splintered spoke by spoke, at Charlton Heston’s wheels. How the hero’s leather-and-wooden basket of a vehicle withstands such attrition remains a cinematographic miracle.
In recent years the Circus Maximus has hosted rock concerts, agricultural fairs and opera productions.
Contrasting with Birmingham’s suburban grey, in glorious technicolour glint the three bronzen cones of the metae – the hairpins at the end of the spina, the central divide with its fountains, shrines and, then Egyptian obelisks under Augustus then Constantius II. For dramatic appeal, Cinecittà film studio modelled its set for Ben Hur after Rome’s Circus Maximus rather than Middle Eastern equivalents. Indeed the intention had been to use Circo Massimo itself; only the urban authorities refused permission for conservation reasons. The producer had to make do with Circus Maxentius along Via Appia Antica. Back to the movie’s racing scenes. Rival charioteer, failing to ram Ben Hur against the walls, resorts to some equally dastardly whipwork. Unlike Formula 1 racing with its antiroll-bars and safety-cars, competitor security was minimal, most charioteers being infames or slaves. Victory could buy their way to freedom. Life-expectancy, however, averaged 25 years for charioteers. Time, then, to substitute Ben Hur with the more historically authentic Flavius Scorpus. Under Domitian, Martial ventriloquises the epitaph: “I am Scorpus, most acclaimed of charioteers./ Or was. Circus fame is not sooner enjoyed than it’s over./ Envious destiny snatched me hence, aged 27 years;/ numbering my victories it reckoned I must be older.” Other perils existed off track. Performanceenhancing drugs having yet to be invented, a competitive edge could be gained by poisoning. Guilty in this regard were betting syndicates and even emperors: Caligula and the gambling-addict Vitellius. The victim could be the ‘wrong’ team’s driver or its horses. Galen, the famous classical Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 17
History physician, reports that public interest extended to sniffing equine manure for signs of foul play. Then came curses. Near the racetrack in Caesarea, present-day Israel, leaden scrolls have been found in wells, a conduit to the underworld and the forces living there. “Bind and blind the opposing rider,” threatens one. Compensating such dangers was prize-money. In a less sympathetic epigram Martial complains that he, the poet, joins a line of raggle-taggle togas each dawn for a few lead coins from his tightfisted patron, whereas Scorpus in one hour’s work carries away 15 sacks of fresh-minted gold. As Martial’s friend Juvenal observes, “A hundred lawyers/ make only as much as one successful charioteer.” One Diocles after a record 1,462 victories is said to have amassed 35 million sesterces; convert that into pounds, he’d have outearned Lewis Hamilton or Valentino Rossi. Spectators, for their part, could win (or lose)
smaller amounts from betting. Or between races, by catching one of the wooden balls the emperor tossed form the pulvinar / royal box. Inside each a parchment scrap guaranteed prizes of anything between a pittance and the cost of a country mansion. As Scorpus and the other riders plus the 48 horses approach the carceres / mechanised starting gates, it’s time for one last backward lap for the reader. Centuries per second, reverse the imagination to when Rome was a village, the stadium of stadiums between the Aventine and Palatine hills was geological rather than man-made, no seating except the Valle Murcia’s flowery slopes, now home to Rome’s rose garden. It is September 750-something BC. Later marked by the western meta / endpost, the one architectural feature is an altar to Consus, god of horses, mules and donkeys. To celebrate harvest the same quadrupeds have a hard-earned day off.
A chariot race depicted in a first-century fresco from Pompeii. National Archaeological Museum, Naples.
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Charlton Heston in the 1959 classic Ben Hur.
Onto the scene steps Romulus. As Livy tells it, Rome’s founder has a demographic crisis on his hands. His settlement on the Palatine has a serious shortage of women; to ensure its survival Romulus has sent messengers to nearby tribes, requesting their daughters in marriage to satisfy his frustrated subjects. No consent being given, he resorts to a stratagem and invites the neighbouring peoples (especially their females) to the Consualia with the promise of wine and a good time for all.
forward to make peace…” The two peoples unite. Two kings later, Marcus Ancius, after defeating the Latins, chooses the same Valle Murcia for his Pompea Triumphalis. Rome is already on the road to empire. Further interweaving sport, religion and politics, in 329 BC Tarquin Priscus builds the first permanent circus, adding (wooden) carceres and central spina to cover the drainage channel/fore-mentioned Marrana leading into the nearby Tiber.
As in Pietro da Cortona’s painting in the Capitoline Museums a couple of hills away, the Sabine guests look on aghast: Their womenfolk, by force of Roman biceps, are being hauled off to the huts on the Palatine. (Two of Cortona’s lifesize figures – Roman male and Sabine virgin – would become models for Bernini’s Daphne and Apollo statue in Galleria Borghese). A war ensues, only to be ended by the same women, now Romanised wives and matrons. Interposing their bodies between their furious (Sabine) fathers or brothers and their Roman husbands, they beg both sides not to shed kindred blood.
But to return to around 90 AD, hooves are beating, the crowd is getting restless. Behind his carcere Scorpus sports Imperial green, the other teams white, blue and red, colours in another astrological link signifying the course of the seasons, the seven laps that of the seven thenknown planets or days of the week.
“Silence fell,” Livy continues. “Not a man moved. Romulus and the Sabine commander stepped 20 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
The spartatores retire, having sprinkled the dusty track with water to maintain visibility. Drop of the presiding magistrate’s white cloth: the competitors this time surge forward on their seven laps, if they’re lucky, gilded dolphins and septem ova / stone eggs, another ancient lapmarker, counting them on their way. May the best team win.
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Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 21
LAGO DI ALBANO This volcanic crater lake presents visitors with beautiful views of its clear water and surrounding forests. The picturesque towns along the shores serve as popular summer resort areas for Romans, including Castel Gandolfo, home to the summer papal palace whose gardens were recently opened to the public. On the other side of the lake is Palazzolo, a villa bought by Rome’s Venerable English College in 1920 and now open to guests. The towns surrounding the lake are known for their restaurants, shops and fruit farms. Swimming, fishing and boating are among the favourite activities for visitors, and the lake’s beach is located on the western shore. A simple 45-minute train ride from Termini, visitors can reach Lago Albano by taking the FL4 train towards Albano Laziale and getting off at the Castel Gandolfo stop.
around rome
LAGO DI BOLSENA Located on the site of the Vulsini volcano, dormant since about 100 BC, this crater lake has two islands and is surrounded by rolling hills and vegetation. The area around Montefisascone on the southeast shore of the lake is famous for its Est! Est!! Est!!! wine. The town of Bolsena in the northeast is a popular tourist resort in summer and it is here that the famous so-called Eucharistic Miracle took place in 1263 when a Bohemian priest is said to have seen blood coming from the host that he had just consecrated at Mass. Capodimonte on the southwest of the lake is also worth a visit. The lakeside area provides activities for sports and nature enthusiasts all year round. The best way to reach Lago di Bolsena from Rome is by car, as buses to Bolsena from Termini Station are infrequent.
LAGO DI NEMI Lago di Nemi is a small and unique volcanic lake where divers in the 19th century discovered two large ships built for the notorious Roman emperor Caligula at the bottom of the lake, filled withbottom of the lake, filled with artworks and treasures. Replicas of the ships along with other artefacts are on display at the nearby Museum of Roman Ships. Travellers can also visit the natural caves around the lake, which were a favourite haunt of 19th-century foreign artists such as Turner. Nemi is associated with the cult of the Roman goddess Diana, and, for the last 80 years, an annual strawberry festival. Visitors can reach the lake by taking the SS7 Appia southbound as far as Genzano, and then following signs for Nemi.
LAGO DI BRACCIANO Just north-west of Rome along the Via Cassia, Lake Bracciano is one of the most easily accessible lakes for Romans. The ban on motor boats (except for a little ferry) means it remains an ideal spot for swimming, sailing and canoeing. The Lega Navale operates a dinghy sailing school in Anguillara. Churches and historic sites are located in the three small towns around the lake: Bracciano, Trevignano and Anguillara. There are also places for camping and horse riding tours by the lake, which is just an hour on the Viterbo train line from Rome’s Ostiense station. The lake is overlooked by the 15th-century Orsini-Odescalchi castle in Bracciano, often chosen as the venue for jet-set weddings, and there is also an air force museum at nearby Vigna di Valle.
LAGO DI VICO Formed by the volcanic activity of Mount Venus, Lago di Vico offers a unique geological backdrop set amid lush woodland and hills. The surrounding nature reserve is a haven for wildlife, but what is most characteristic of the area are the hazel and chestnut plantations. Lakeside campsites and hotels offer swimming, sailing and horse riding. The two towns worth a visit are Ronciglione and Caprarola with its magnificent and recently restored Villa Farnese. Lago di Vico is a 90-minute drive from Rome taking the SS2 Cassia, and turning north at Sutri.
LAGO DI MARTIGNANO This tiny volcanic lake just to the east of Lake Bracciano offers clean water and beaches with scenic views of the surrounding meadows and wildlife. Lago di Martignano is known for its outdoor activities such as horse riding, hiking, mountain biking and swimming. Umbrellas, loungers and luggage storage are available to rent along with canoes, sailboats and windsurfing equipment. It is also known for the hot sulphurous springs surrounding the lake. Arriving at Lago di Martignano by car is the easiest option. Reaching the lake by public transport involves taking the FM3 train to Cesano and opting for either a local bus or taxi.
22 | January 2021 • Wanted in Rome
Wanted in Rome • april 2017 | 4
Medicine
Wanted in Rome • January 2021 | 23
ARTandSEEK Please note that not all of these activites English-language culturaldue workshops visits to are currently open, to theand covid-19 museums and exhibitions for children in Rome. For crisis. It is advisable to check websites event details tel. 3315524440, email artandseekforfor visiting details and make reservation kids@gmail.com, or see website, www.artandsebefore going. ekforkids.com. Bioparco Rome's Bioparco has over 1,000 animals and offers special activities for children and their families at weekends and during the summer. When little legs get tired, take a ride around the zoo on an electric train. Open daily. Viale del Giardino Zoologico 20 (Villa Borghese), tel. 063608211, www.bioparco.it. Bowling Silvestri This sports club has an 18-hole mini golf course, with good facilities for children aged 4 and over, adults and disabled children.
24 | January 2021 • Wanted in Rome
There are also tennis courts, a table tennis room and a pizzeria. Via G. Zoega 6 (Monteverde/Bravetta), tel. 0666158206, www.bowlingsilvestri.com. Casa del Parco Eco-friendly workshops, in Italian, in which kids can learn about nature and how to care for the environment. Located in the Valle dei Casali nature park. Via del Casaletto 400, tel. 3475540409, www.valledeicasali.com. Casina di Raffaello Play centre in Villa Borghese offering a programme of animated lectures, creative workshops, cultural projects and educational activities for children from the age of three. Tues-Fri 14.30, Sat-Sun 11.00 and 17.00. Viale della Casina di Raffaello (Porta Pinciana), tel. 060608, www.casinadiraffaello.it.
Cinecittà World This 25-hectare theme park dedicated to the magic of cinema features high-tech attractions, real and virtual roller coasters, aquatic shows such as Super Splash, giant elephant rides and attractions with cinematic special effects. Located about 10 km from EUR, south of Rome. Via di Castel Romano, S.S. 148 Pontina, www.cinecittaworld.it. Climbing Associazione Sportiva Climbing Side. Basic and competitive climbing courses for 6-18 year olds. Tues, Thurs. Via Cristoforo Colombo 1800 (Torrino/Mostacciano), tel. 3356525473. Explora The 2,000-sqm Children’s Museum organises creative workshops for small children in addition to holding regular animated lectures, games and meetings with authors of children’s books. Via Flaminia 80/86, tel. 063613776, www.mdbr.it. Go-karting Club Kartroma is a circuit with go-karts for children over 9 and two-seater karts for an adult and a child under 8. Closed Mon. For details see website. Via della Muratella (Ponte Galeria), tel. 0665004962, www.kartroma.it. Gymboree This children's centre caters to little people aged from 0-5 years, offering Play and Learn activities, music, art, baby play, school skills and even English theatre arts. Gymboree @ Chiostro del Bramante (Piazza Navona), Via Arco della Pace 5, www.gymbo.it. Hortis Urbis Association providing hands-on horticultural workshops for children, usually in Italian but sometimes in English, in the Appia Antica park. Weekend activities include sowing seeds, cultivating plants and harvesting vegetables. Junior gardeners must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Via Appia Antica 42/50, www.hortusurbis.it. Il Nido Based in Testaccio, this association supports expectant mothers, parents, babies and small children. It holds regular educational and social events, many of them in English. Via Marmorata 169 (Testaccio), tel. 0657300707, www.associazioneilnido.it.
Luneur Located in the southern EUR suburb, Luneur is Italy’s oldest amusement park. Highlights include ferris wheel, roller coaster, carousel horses, bamboo tunnel, maze, giant swing and a Wizard of Oz-style farm. Aimed at children aged up to 12. Entry fee €2.50, payable in person or online. Via delle Tre Fontane 100, www.luneurpark.it. Rainbow Magicland The 38 attractions at Rome's biggest theme park are divided into three categories: brave, everyone, and kids. Highlights include down-hill rafting, a water roller coaster through Mayan-style pyramids, and the Shock launch coaster. Located in Valmonte, south-east of the capital. Via della Pace, 00038 Valmontone, www.rainbowmagicland.it. Time Elevator A virtual reality, multi-sensorial 5-D cinema experience with a motion-base platform, bringing the history of Rome to life in an accessible and fun way. The time-machine's commentary is available in six languages including English. Daily 11.00-19.30. €12 adults, €9 kids. Via dei SS. Apostoli 20, tel. 0669921823, www.time-elevator.it. Zoomarine This amusement and aquatic park outside Rome offers performances with dolphins, parrots and other animals for children of all ages. It is also possible to rent little play carts. Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Via Casablanca 61, Torvaianica, Pomezia, tel. 0691534, www.zoomarine.it.
Rome’s artart capital continues to to grow with newnew murals by important Italian and Rome'sreputation reputationasasananimportant importantstreet street capital continues grow with murals by important Italian international streetstreet artistsartists appearing all the all time. the works located the suburbs, often far often from the and international appearing theMost time.ofMost of theare works are in located in the suburbs, far centre. Here is where to is find Rome’s mainthe street artstreet projects murals. from the centre. Here where to find main artand projects and murals around Rome. Esquilino Esquilino Murals Murals byby Alice Alice Pasquini, Pasquini, Gio Gio Pistone, Nicola Pistone, Nicola Alessandrini, Alessandrini, Diamond. Diamond. Casa Casa dell’Architettura, dell'Architettura, Piazza Fanti 47. PiazzaMafredo Manfredo Fanti 47. Marconi Marconi The The M.A.G.R. M.A.G.R. (Museo (Museo Abusivo Abusivo Gestito Gestitodai daiRom), Rom),a aproject projectby byFrench French street artistSeth Seth is located in a street artist is located in a former former soap factory Via Antonio soap factory on Viaon Antonio AvogaAvogadro, opposite dro, opposite Ostiense'sOstiense’s landmark landmark Gasometro. details see Gasometro. For For details see www.999contemporary.com. www.999contemporary.com. Museodell’Altro dell’Altroe edell’Altrove dell’Altrovedidi Museo Metropoliz Metropoliz This former former meat meat factory factory inin the the This outskirts of of Rome art outskirts Rome isis now nowa astreet street museum being home hometoto art museumasaswell well as as being some200 200squatting squatters,migrants. many of The them some migrants. The Museo dell’Altrodi e Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove dell’Altroveor diMAAM, Metropoliz, or MAAM, Metropoliz, is only open only open Saturdays, and onis Saturdays, andon features the work the work of moreincluding than 300 offeatures more than 300 artists artists including Gio Edoardo Kobra,Edoardo Gio Kobra, Pistone, Pistone, Sten&Lex Diamond.and See Sten&Lex, Pablo and Echaurren MAAM Facebook page for details. Borondo. See MAAM Facebook page Via Prenestina 913. for details. Via Prenestina 913. Ostiense Ostiense Fronte Del Porto by Blu. Via del Porto Fronte Del Porto by Blu. Via del Fluviale. Porto Fluviale. Fish’n'Kids by Agostino Iacurci. Via Fish’n’Kids by Agostino Iacurci. Via del Porto Fluviale. del Porto Fluviale. Wall of Fame by JB Rock. Via dei Wall of Fame by JB Rock. Via dei Magazzini Generali. Magazzini Generali. Shelley by Ozmo. Ostiense underpass, Shelley by Ozmo. Ostiense Via Ostiense. underpass, Via Ostiense. Palazzo occupato by Blu, Via Ostiense. Palazzo occupato by Blu, Via Ostiense. Pigneto Tributes to Pier Paolo Pasolini by Pigneto Maupal, Mr. Klevra and Omino 71. Tributes to Pier Paolo Pasolini by Maupal, Mr. Klevra and Omino 71.
26 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
Via Via Fanfulla Fanfulla da da Lodi. Lodi. 2501 mural on Via Fortebraccio. Fortebraccio. 2501 mural on Via Blu by Sten Blu Landscape Landscape by Sten & & Lex. Lex. Via Via Francesco Baracca. Francesco Baracca. Prati Prati Anna Magnaniportrait portrait by Diavù. Anna Magnani by Diavù. Nuovo Nuovo MercatoViaTrionfale, Via Mercato Trionfale, Andrea Doria. Andrea Doria. theSabotino. bear by Daniza the bear byDaniza ROA. Via ROA. Via Sabotino. Primavalle Primavalle The Roadkill by Fintan Magee. Via The Roadkill by Fintan Magee. Via Cristoforo Numai. Cristoforo Numai. Theseus stabbing the Minotaur by Theseus stabbing the Bembo. Minotaur by Pixelpancho. Via Pietro Pixelpancho. Via Pietro Bembo. Quadraro Quadraro Tunnel murals by Mr THOMS and Gio Tunnel byMure. Mr THOMS and Pistone. murals Via Decio Gio Decio Mure. Via del NidoPistone. di Vespe Via by Lucamaleonte. Nido didel Vespe by Lucamaleonte. Via Monte Grano. del Monte Baby Hulkdel byGrano. Ron English. Via dei Baby PisoniHulk 89. by Ron English. Via dei Pisoni 89. Rebibbia Rebibbia Murals by Blu. Via Ciciliano and Via Murals by Blu. Via Palombini (Casal dèCiciliano Pazzi). and Via Palombini dè Pazzi). Welcome to(Casal Rebibbia by Zerocalcare. Welcome to Rebibbia by Zerocalcare. Metro B station. Metro B station. S. Basilio S.SanBa Basilio features large-scale works on SanBa features large-scale works the façades of social-housing blockson in the of social-housing blocks the façades disadvantaged north-east suburb of in the disadvantaged north-east S. Basilio near Rebibbia. The regenerasuburb of S.includes Basilio works near Rebibbia. tion project by Italian The project artistsregeneration Agostino Iacurci, Hitnesincludes and Blu works by Spain's ItalianLiqen. artistsViaAgostino alongside Maiolati, Iacurci, Hitnes and BluVia alongside Via Osimo, Via Recanati, Arcevia, Spain’s Via Treia.Liqen. Via Maiolati, Via Osimo, Via Recanati, Via Arcevia, Via Treia. S. Giovanni Totti mural by Lucamaleonte. Via S.Apulia Giovanni corner of Via Farsalo. Totti mural by Lucamaleonte. Via Apulia corner of Via Farsalo.
It’s aa New NewDay Daybyby Alice Pasquini. It’s Alice Pasquini. Via Via Anton Ludovico. Anton Ludovico. S. Lorenzo Lorenzo S. AlicePasquini. Pasquini. ViaSabelli. dei Sabelli. Alice Via dei Feminicidemural mural Elisa Feminicide by Elisaby Caracciolo. Caracciolo. Via Dei Sardi.Via Dei Sardi. Borondo. Via Viadei deiVolsci Volsci159. 159. Borondo. Mural by by Agostino AgostinoIacurci Iacurci on Mural on the the Istituto Superiore di Lattanzio, Vittorio Istituto Superiore di Vittorio Lattanzio, Via Aquilonia. Via Aquilonia. Pietro S. Pietro UmaCabra Cabra Bordalo II. Stazione Uma byby Bordalo II. Stazione di S. Pietro, di Monte di S. Clivo Pietro, Clivo del di Gallo. Monte del Gallo. Testaccio Hunted Wolf by ROA. Via Galvani. Testaccio #KindComments AliceVia Pasquini, Via Hunted Wolf bybyROA. Galvani. Volta, Testaccio market. #KindComments by Alice Pasquini, Via Volta, Testaccio market. Tor Pignattara Dulk. Via Antonio Tempesta. Tor Pignattara Etnik. Via Bartolomeo Perestrello 51. Dulk. Via Antonio Tempesta. Coffee Etam Cru. Via Ludovico Etnik.Break ViabyBartolomeo Perestrello Pavoni. 51. Coffee Break by Etam Cru. Via Tom SawyerPavoni. by Jef Aerosol. Via Gabrio Ludovico Serbelloni. Tom Sawyer by Jef Aerosol. Via Pasolini by Diavù. Former Cinema Gabrio Serbelloni. Impero, Via Acqua Bullicante. Pasolini by Diavù. Former Cinema Hostia by Nicola Verlato. Via Galeazzo Impero, Via Acqua Bullicante. Alessi. Hostia by Nicola Verlato. Via Herakut. Via Capua 14. Galeazzo Alessi. Agostino Iacurci. Via Muzio Oddi 6. Herakut. Via Capua 14. Agostino Iacurci. Via Muzio Oddi 6. Tor Marancia The Big City Life scheme features 14-m Tormurals Marancia tall by 22 Italian and internaThe Big City artists Life scheme features tional street including Mr 14-m tall by Jerico. 22 Italian and Klevra, Seth,murals Gaia and The idea international street was to transform theartists area's including blocks of Mr Klevra, Seth, Gaia and Jerico. flats into an open-air art museum. Via TheMarancia. idea was to transform the area’s Tor www.bigcity.life.it. blocks of flats into an open-air art museum. Via Tor Marancia. For full details see website, www.bigcity.life.it.
Clockwise from top left: S. Maria di Shanghai by Mr Klevra (Big City Life), Nido di Vespe by Lucamaleonte, El Devinir by Liqen, Fish'n'Kids by Agostino Iacurci, MAGR by Seth. Clockwise from top left: S. Maria di Shanghai by Mr Klevra (Big City Life), Nido di Vespe by Lucamaleonte, El Devinir by Liqen, Fish'n'Kids by Agostino Iacurci, MAGR by Seth.
Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 27
ROME'S MAJOR
MUSEUMS PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL OF THESE MUSEUMS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN, DUE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS. IT IS ADVISABLE TO CHECK WEBSITES FOR VISITING DETAILS AND MAKE RESERVATION BEFORE GOING.
VATICAN MUSEUMS
Crypta Balbi
Viale del Vaticano, tel. 0669883860, www.museivaticani.va. Not only the Sistine Chapel but also the Egyptian and Etruscan collections and the Pinacoteca. Mon-Sat 09.00-18.00. Sun (and bank holidays) closed except last Sun of month (free entry, 08.30-12.30). All times refer to last entry. For group tours of the museums and Vatican gardens tel. 0669884667. For private tours (museum only) tel. 0669884947. Closed 26 December and 6 January, Easter Sunday and Monday. Advance booking online: www.biglietteriamusei.vatican.va.
Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia
Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums
Tel. 0669881814, www.vatican-patrons.org. For private behind-the-scenes tours in the Vatican Museums.
STATE MUSEUMS Baths of Diocletian
Viale Enrico de Nicola 78, tel. 0639967700, www.archeoroma.beniculturali.it. Part of the protohistorical section of the Museo Nazionale Romano in the Baths of Diocletian plus the restored cloister by Michelangelo. 09.00-19.45. Mon closed.
Borghese Museum
Piazzale Scipione Borghese (Villa Borghese), tel. 06328101, www.galleria.borghese.it. Sculptures by Bernini and Canova, paintings by Titian, Caravaggio, Raphael, Correggio. 09.00-19.30. Mon closed. Entry times at 09.00, 11.00, 13.00 15.00, 17.00. Guided tours in English and Italian.
Castel S. Angelo Museum
Lungotevere Castello 50, tel. 066819111, www.castelsantangelo.com. Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum used by the popes as a fortress, prison and palace. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed.
Colosseum, Roman forum and Palatine
Colosseum: Piazza del Colosseo. Palatine: entrances at Piazza di S. Maria Nova 53 and Via di S. Gregorio 30. Roman Forum: entrances at Largo Romolo e Remo 5-6 and Piazza di S. Maria Nova 53, tel. 0639967700, www.colosseo-roma.it. 08.30-19.15. Single ticket gives entry to the Colosseum and the Palatine (including the Museo Palatino; last entry one hour before closing). Guided tours in English and Italian.
28 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
Via delle Botteghe Oscure 31, tel.0639967700, www.archeologia.beniculturali.it. Museum dedicated to the Middle Ages on the site of the ancient ruins of the Roman Theatre of Balbus. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed. Guided tours in Italian. Piazza Villa Giulia 9, tel. 063226571, www.villagiulia.beniculturali.it. National museum of Etruscan civilisation. 08.3019.30. Mon closed. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna Viale delle Belle Arti 131, tel. 06322981, 08.30- 19.30. Italy's modern art collection. Mon closed.
MAXXI
Via Guido Reni 6, tel. 063210181, www. fondazionemaxxi.it. National Museum of 21st-century art, designed by Zaha Hadid. Tues-Sun 11.00-19.00, Thurs and Sat 11.00-22.00. Mon closed.
Palazzo Corsini
Via della Lungara, 10, tel. 0668802323, www.barberinicorsini.org. National collection of ancient art, begun by Rome’s Corsini family. 08.30- 19.30. Tues closed.
Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale
Italy's museum of oriental art. Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 14 (EUR). For details see website, www.pigorini.beniculturali.it.
Palazzo Altemps
Piazza S. Apollinare 46, tel. 0639967700, www.archeoroma.beniculturali.it. Ancient sculpture from the Museo Nazionale Romano, including the Ludovisi collection. 09.00-19.45. Mon closed.
Palazzo Barberini
Via delle Quattro Fontane 13, tel. 064824184, www.barberinicorsini.org. National collection of 13th- to 16th-century paintings. 08.30- 19.30. Mon closed.
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
Largo di Villa Peretti 1, tel. 0639967700, www.archeoroma.beniculturali.it. Important Roman paintings, mosaics, sculpture, coins and antiquities from the Museo Nazionale Romano, including the Kircherian collection. 09.00- 19.45. Mon closed.
Villa Farnesina
Via della Lungara 230, tel. 0668027268, www.villafarnesina.it. A 16th-century Renaissance villa with important frescoes by Raphael. Mon-Sat 9.00-14.00 excluding holidays.
PRIVATE MUSEUMS Casa di Goethe
CITY MUSEUMS
Via del Corso 18, tel. 0632650412, www. casadigoethe.it. Museum dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 10.0018.00. Mon closed.
Centrale Montemartini
Chiostro Del Bramante
Via Ostiense 106, tel. 060608, www.centralemontemartini.org. Over 400 pieces of ancient sculpture from the Capitoline Museums are on show in a former power plant. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed. Guided tours in English for groups if reserved in advance.
Bramante’s Renaissance building near Piazza Navona stages exhibitions by important Italian and international artists. Arco della Pace 5, tel. 0668809035 www.chiostrodelbramante.it.
Capitoline Museums
Doria Pamphilj Gallery
Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna
Galleria Colonna
Piazza del Campidoglio, tel. 060608, www.museicapitolini.org. The city’s collection of ancient sculpture in Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei Conservatori, plus the Tabularium and the Pinacoteca. 09.00-20.00. Mon closed. Guided tours for groups in English and Italian on Sat and Sun. Via Francesco Crispi 24, tel. 060608, www.museiincomuneroma.it. The municipal modern art collection. 10.00- 18.00. Mon closed.
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Via del Corso 305, tel. 066797323, www.doriapamphilj.it. Residence of the Doria Pamphilj family, it contains the family’s private art collection, which includes a portrait by Velasquez, a sculpture by Bernini, plus works by Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto and Caravaggio. 09.00-19.00.
MACRO Asilo
Via Nizza 138, tel. 060608, www.museomacro.it. Programme of free art events at the city’s contemporary art space until the end of 2019. 10.30-19.00. Mon closed.
Palazzo Colonna, Via della Pilotta 17, tel. 066784350, www.galleriacolonna.it. Private collection of works by Veronese, Guido Reni, Pietro di Cortona and Annibale Caracci. Sat 09.00-13.00 only. Private group tours are available seven days a week on request. For wheelchair access contact the gallery to arrange alternative entrance.
MATTATOIO
Giorgio de Chirico House Museum
Piazza Orazio Giustiniani 4, tel. 060608. www.museomacro.org. Open for temporary exhibitions 14.00-20.00. Mon closed.
Museo Barracco
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 166, tel. 0668806848, www.mdbr.it. A collection of mainly pre-Roman sculpture. 09.00- 19.00. Mon closed.
Museo di Roma – Palazzo Braschi
Via S. Pantaleo 10, tel. 060608, en.museodiroma.it. The city’s collection of paintings, etchings, photographs, furniture and clothes from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed. Guided tours in English and Italian on prior booking tel. 0682059127.
Piazza di Spagna 31, tel. 066796546, www.fondazionedechirico.org. Museum dedicated to the Metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. Tues-Sat, first Sun of month, 10.00, 11.00, 12.00. Guided tours in English, advance booking.
Keats-Shelley House
Piazza di Spagna 26, tel. 066784235, www. keats-shelley-house.it. Museum dedicated to the lives of three English Romantic poets – John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. Mon-Sat 10.00-13.00, 14.00-18.00. Guided tours on prior booking.
Museo storico della Liberazione
Museo dei Fori Imperiali and Trajan’s Markets
Via IV Novembre 94, tel. 060608, en.mercatiditraiano.it. Museum dedicated to the forums of Caesar, Augustus, Nerva and Trajan and the Temple of Peace. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed.
Via Tasso 145, tel. 067003866, www.museoliberazione.it. Housed in the city's former SS prison, the Liberation Museum were tortured here during the Nazi occupation of Rome from 1943-1944. 09.00-13.15 / 14.15-20.00.
Museo Canonica
Palazzo Merulana
Viale P. Canonica 2 (Villa Borghese), tel. 060608, www.museocanonica.it. The collection, private apartment and studio of the sculptor and musician Pietro Canonica who died in 1959. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed. Guided tours in Italian and English (book ten days in advance).
Via Merulana 121, tel. 0639967800, www.palazzomerulana.it. Museum hosting the early 20th-century Italian art collection, including Scuola Romana paintings, of the Cerasi Foundation. 09.00-20.00. Tues closed.
Museo Napoleonico
Piazza di Ponte Umberto 1, tel. 060608, www.museonapoleonico.it. Paintings, sculptures and jewellery related to Napoleon and the Bonaparte family. 09.00- 19.00. Mon closed. Guided tours in Italian and English.
Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 29
PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL OF THESE GALLERIES ARE CURRENTLY OPEN, DUE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS. IT IS ADVISABLE TO CHECK WEBSITES FOR VISITING DETAILS AND TO MAKE RESERVATION BEFORE GOING.
ROME’S MOST ACTIVE AND CONTEMPORARY
ART GALLERIES
1/9 Unosunove
1/9 Unosunove focuses on emerging national and international contemporary artists and explores various media including paintings, sculpture and photography. Via degli Specchi 20, tel. 0697613696, www.unosunove.com.
A.A.M. Architettura
Arte Moderna Gallery housing numerous works of contemporary design, photography, drawings and architecture projects. Via dei Banchi Vecchi 61, tel. 0668307537, www.ff-maam.it.
Contemporary Cluster
Visual art, design, architecture, fashion design and beauty apothecary in a 17th-century palace. Via dei Barbieri 7, tel. 0668805928, www.contemporarycluster.com.
C.R.E.T.A.
Cultural association promoting ceramics and the visual, humanistic, musical and culinary arts through workshops, exhibitions and artist residencies. Palazzo Delfini, Via dei Delfini 17, tel. 0689827701, www.cretarome.com.
Dorothy Circus Gallery
Prominent gallery specialising in international pop-surrealist art. Via dei Pettinari 76, tel. 0668805928, www.dorothycircusgallery.com.
Ex Elettrofonica
This architecturally unique contemporary art gallery promotes and supports the work of young international artists. Vicolo S. Onofrio 10-11, tel. 0664760163, www.exelettrofonica.com.
Fondazione Memmo
Contemporary art space that hosts established foreign artists for sitespecific exhibitions. Via Fontanella Borghese 56b, tel. 0668136598, www.fondazionememmo.it.
Fondazione Pastificio Cerere
This non-profit foundation develops and promotes educational projects and residencies for young artists and curators, as well as a programme of exhibitions, lectures, workshops and studio visits. Via degli Ausoni 7, tel. 0645422960, www.pastificiocerere.com.
Fondazione Volume!
The Volume Foundation exhibits works created specifically for the gallery with the goal of fusing art and landscape. Via di S. Francesco di Sales 86-88, tel. 06 6892431, www.fondazionevolume.com.
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Franz Paludetto
Gallery in S. Lorenzo that promotes the work of Italian and international contemporary artists. Via degli Ausoni 18, www.franzpaludetto.com.
Frutta
This contemporary art gallery supports international and local artists in its unique space. Via dei Salumi 53 tel. 0645508934, www.fruttagallery.com.
Gagosian Gallery
The Rome branch of this international contemporary art gallery hosts some of the biggest names in modern art. Via Francesco Crispi 16, tel.0642086498, www.gagosian.com.
GALLA
Exhibition space designed to showcase original, unconventional art works at affordable prices by artists working in various fields. Via degli Zingari 28, tel. 3476552515, www.facebook.com/GALLAmonti.
Galleria Alessandro Bonomo
Gallery showing the works of important Italian and international visual artists. Via del Gesù 62, tel. 0669925858, www.bonomogallery.com.
Galleria Valentina Bonomo
Located in a former convent, this gallery hosts both internationally recognised and emerging artists who create works specifically for the gallery space. Via del Portico d’Ottavia 13, tel. 066832766, www.galleriabonomo.com.
Galleria Frammenti D’Arte
Gallery promoting painting, design and photography by emerging and established Italian and international artists. Via Paola 23, tel. 069357144142, www.fdaproject.com.
Galleria Lorcan O’Neill
High-profile international artists regularly exhibit at this gallery located near Campo de’ Fiori. Vicolo Dè Catinari 3, tel. 0668892980, www.lorcanoneill.com.
Galleria della Tartaruga
Well-established gallery that has promoted important Italian and foreign artists since 1975. Via Sistina 85/A, tel. 066788956, www.galleriadellatartaruga.com.
Galleria Il Segno
Prestigious gallery showing work by major Italia and international artists since 1957. Via Capo le Case 4, tel. 066791387, www.galleriailsegno.com.
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Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 31
MAXXI amazes you, always art
architecture design photography cinema
32 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
Galleria Mucciaccia
Gallery near Piazza del Popolo promoting established contemporary artists and emerging talents. Largo Fontanella Borghese 89, tel. 0669923801, www.galleriamucciaccia.com.
Galleria Russo
Operativa Arte Contemporanea
A new space oriented towards younger artists. Via del Consolato 10, www.operativa-arte.com.
Pian de Giullari
This historic gallery holds group and solo exhibitions showcasing the work of major 20th-century Italian painters alongside promising new Italian artists. Via Alibert 20, tel. 066789949, www.galleriarusso.it.
Art studio-gallery in the house of Carlina and Andrea Bottai showing works by contemporary artists from Rome, Naples and Florence capable of transmitting empathy and emotions. Via dei Cappellari 49, tel. 3397254235, 3663988603, www.piandegiullari2.blogspot.com.
Galleria Varsi
Plus Arte Puls
A dynamic gallery near Campo de’ Fiori, known for its stable of street artists. Via di Grotta Pinta 38, tel. 066865415, www.galleriavarsi.it.
Gavin Brown's Enterprise
New York gallerist Gavin Brown shows the work of international artists at his Trastevere gallery in a deconsecrated church dating to the eighth century. S. Andrea de Scaphis, Via dei Vascellari 69, www.gavinbrown.biz.
Il Ponte Contemporanea
Cultural association and gallery showing work by important contemporary Italian and international artists. Viale Mazzini 1, tel. 3357010795, www.plusartepuls.com.
RvB ARTS
Rome-based gallery specialising in affordable contemporary art by young, emerging Italian artists. Via delle Zoccolette 28, tel. 3351633518, www.rvbarts.com.
Sala 1
Hosts exhibitions representing the international scene and contemporary artists of different generations. Via Giuseppe Acerbi 31A, tel. 0653098768, www.ilpontecontemporanea.com.
This internationally known non-profit contemporary art gallery provides an experimental research centre for contemporary art, architecture, performance and music. Piazza di Porta S. Giovanni 10, tel. 067008691, www.salauno.com.
La Nuova Pesa
S.T. Foto libreria galleria
Well-established gallery showing work by prominent Italian artists. Via del Corso 530, tel. 063610892, www.nuovapesa.it.
MAC Maja Arte Contemporanea
Gallery devoted to exhibitions by prominent Italian artists. Via di Monserrato 30, www.majartecontemporanea.com.
Magazzino d’Arte Moderna
Contemporary art gallery that focuses on young and emerging artists. Via dei Prefetti 17, tel. 066875951, www.magazzinoartemoderna.com.
Gallery in Borgo Pio representing a diverse range of contemporary art photography. Via degli Ombrellari 25, tel. 0664760105, www.stsenzatitolo.it.
Studio Sales di Norberto Ruggeri
The gallery exhibits pieces by both Italian and international contemporary artists particularly minimalist, postmodern and abstract work. Piazza Dante 2, int. 7/A, tel. 0677591122, www.galleriasales.it.
T293
Monitor
The Rome branch of this contemporary art gallery presents national and international artists and hosts multiple solo exhibitions. Via G. M. Crescimbeni 11, tel. 0688980475, www.t293.it.
Nero Gallery
The Gallery Apart
Space dedicated to showcasing young international artists working in pop surrealism, lowbrow art, dark art, comic art and surrealism. Via Castruccio Castracane 9, tel. 0627801418, www.nerogallery.com.
This contemporary art gallery supports young artists in their research and assists them in their projects to help them emerge into the international art world. Via Francesco Negri 43, tel. 0668809863, www.thegalleryapart.it.
Nomas Foundation
TraleVolte
This contemporary art gallery offers an experimental space for a new generation of artists. Palazzo Sforza Cesarini, Via Sforza Cesarini 43 A, t el. 0639378024, www.monitoronline.org.
Nomas Foundation promotes contemporary research in art and experimental exhibitions. Viale Somalia 33, tel. 0686398381, www.nomasfoundation.com.
Contemporary art gallery focusing on the relationship between art and architecture, hosting solo and group shows of Italian and international artists. Piazza di Porta S. Giovanni 10, tel. 0670491663, www.tralevolte.org.
White Noise Gallery
Based in the S. Lorenzo district, this gallery exhibits unconventional work by young Italian and international artists. Via della Seggiola 9, tel. 066832833, www.whitenoisegallery.it.
Wunderkammern
This gallery promotes innovative research of contemporary art. Via Gabrio Serbelloni 124, tel. 0645435662, www.wunderkammern.net.
Z20 Galleria Sara Zanin
Started by art historian Sara Zanin, Z2o Galleria offers a range of innovative national and international contemporary artists. Via della Vetrina 21, tel. 0670452261, www.z2ogalleria.it. Wanted in Rome • January 2021 | 33
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WHAT’S ON
Vivaldi Suite by choreographer Michele Merola. Photo Yasuko Kageyama. See Wanted in page Rome41. • February 2021 | 35
EXHIBITIONS Museums and archaeological sites in Rome reopened on 1 February, following a three-month closure, after the Lazio region was reclassified as a lower-risk 'yellow zone' under Italy's coronavirus restrictions. Museums will be open Mon-Fri only and strict visiting protocols apply, from wearing masks to keeping social distance, with advance booking required. For exhibition updates check our website www.wantedinrome.com.
QUADRIENNALE DI ROMA from 4 FEB
The 2020 Quadriennale di Roma, a major showcase of contemporary Italian art in the capital, continues a tradition begun in Rome in 1931. The 17th edition of the event, which features the work of 43 artists in an exhibition that promises to offer an “unprecedented perspective” on Italian art, will occupy both floors of Palazzo delle Esposizioni. Quadriennale president Umberto Croppi said that the event - curated by Sarah Cosulich and Stefano Collicelli Cagol, with the support of the Italian culture ministry - will act as a grand revival for Italian contemporary art. For full details including the participating artists see Quadriennale di Roma website, www. quadriennalediroma.org. Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194, www.palazzoesposizioni.it.
Torlonia Marbles at the Capitoline Museums. Photo Oliver Astrologo.
THE TORLONIA MARBLES: COLLECTING MASTERPIECES 1 FEB-29 JUNE
The legendary Torlonia Collection, considered among the world's most important private collections of Greek-Roman classical art, has at long last gone on public display in Rome. The much-anticipated exhibition was first postponed and then closed due to the covid-19 crisis. Palazzo Caffarelli at the city’s Capitoline Museums will displays 92 pieces from the priceless collection of 620 ancient sculptures in the exhibition. The revered “collection of collections”, which comprises marble, bronze and alabaster statues, busts, basreliefs and sarcophagi dating to the ancient Roman era – amassed between the 15th- and
MAXXI
from 2 FEB
MAXXI reopens with a series of new and extended exhibitions, including the photographic portraits by Giovanni Gastel; senzamargine. Passaggi nell’arte italiana a cavallo del millennio featuring the work of Italian artists such as Luigi Ghirri, Mario Schifano and Jannis Kounellis; and a tribute by the English artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien to the great Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi. To celebrate its reopening MAXXI is offering a special €5 ticket. For details see website. MAXXI, Via Guido Reni 4A, www. maxxi.art.
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Mario Schifano at MAXXI.
19th centuries – will come to light after being largely hidden away for 70 years. The former Museo Torlonia opened in 1875 on Via della Lungara in Rome’s Trastevere quarter, however in the post-war period access to the palace’s 77 rooms was granted only occasionally to experts or visiting dignitaries. In 1976 the museum closed definitively, to make way for luxury apartments, and the priceless collection was moved to the basement of another private Roman palace owned by the aristocratic Torlonia family. For more than four decades the collection has been kept in storage, despite attempts by successive governments to persuade the noble family to either sell or display the works in public. Now, thanks to several years of talks between
Italy’s culture minister Dario Franceschini and the Torlonia Foundation – the organisation that administers the family’s assets – some of the collection’s most important marble and alabaster works are on public display. The works have been restored in a project financed by luxury jeweller Bulgari, and there are reportedly plans to find a venue in Rome in which to display the collection to the public on a permanent basis. For exhibition details see Musei Capitolini website. Palazzo Caffarelli, Capitoline Museums, tel. 060608, www.museicapitolini.org.
POMPEII 79 AD: A ROMAN STORY from 1 FEB
The Colosseum hosts an “unprecedented” exhibition that examines the history of the longstanding relationship between Rome and Pompeii. The exhibition comprises almost 100 pieces and reconstructs the complex dialogue that linked the two most famous sites in Italian archaeology from the Second Samnite War to the eruption of 79 AD. The display is centred around the reconstruction of social and cultural relations, traceable in particular through archaeological research, and is enriched by videos and virtual projections. The show is displayed on the second tier of the Colosseum and is divided into
Nancy Cadogan at the Keats-Shelley House.
three large sections – the alliance phase, the Roman colony phase, the decline and end of Pompeii. It also focuses on two crucial moments that shaped the long history of Pompeii: the Roman siege of 89 BC and the earthquake of 62 AD, up until the catastrophic event of 79 AD that brought about the destruction of the Vesuvian city while Rome continued on its path to become a metropolis without precedent. For details see website, www.parcocolosseo.it.
NANCY CADOGAN: GUSTO 1 FEB-31 MAY
The Keats-Shelley House Museum presents Gusto, an exhibition of new
work commissioned from Nancy Cadogan. The British figurative artist was tasked with creating a series of paintings that celebrated the life and legacy of the Romantic poet John Keats and to mark the 200th anniversary of his death. The Keats-Shelley House describes her body of work as a “deeply thoughtful and considered series of oil paintings, referencing her learned knowledge of Keats’s work and grounded in symbolism and hope for an uncertain future.” For visiting details see www.ksh. roma.it. The museum has also just launched a virtual reality 360° video tour of its building accompanied by a personal online guide. You can book a tour online via the website. Other virtual reality initiatives are scheduled to mark the death of Keats on 23 February 1821 on the second floor of Piazza di Spagna 26. See page 4.
JOSEF KOUDELKA: RADICI 1 FEB-16 MAY
Pompeii exhibition at the Colosseum. Photo Parco archeologico del Colosseo.
The Ara Pacis Museum dedicates an exhibition to Josef Koudelka, the award-winning Czech photographer from the Magnum Photos agency, with more than 100 spectacular images of ancient Roman and Greek heritage. As the title suggests, the exhibition highlights Koudelka’s photographic journey in search of the roots of our history in the most important archaeological sites in the Mediterranean. The black and white “timeless views” on display are part of a travelling exhibition featuring the work of the photographer who Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 37
Josef Koudelka at Ara Pacis. Amman, Giordania, 2012 © Josef Koudelka Magnum Photos.
was born in Moravia in 1938. For visiting details see Ara Pacis website. Museo dell’Ara Pacis, Lungotevere in Augusta, www.arapacis.it.
GNAM 1 FEB
The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM) reopens with new exhibits and displays including a "context specific" installation by Martí Guixé, at the foot of the building's steps, featuring two emojis, an open lock and an arrow, an invitation to enter the gallery. There are exhibitions, until 8 February, by Spanish artist Mateo Maté who explores the spaces we inhabit, addressing modern-day tensions and anxieties: and the latest works by Chinese artist Wang Yancheng.
The gallery acquires new work by arte povera artist Giovanni Anselmo and shows a monumental sculpture, featuring five marble mirrors, by Anish Kapoor. For visiting details see website. Viale delle Belle Arti 131, tel. 0632298221, www. lagallerianazionale.com.
BANSKY: A VISUAL PROTEST 1 FEB-11 APRIL
Banksy, the anonymous British street artist, is the subject of an exhibition at Chiostro del Bramante. The show features around 80 works by Banksy – known for his powerful, satirical and thought-provoking murals – touching on themes close to the artist's heart: war, wealth, poverty, animals, globalisation, consumerism, politics, power and the environment.
A new installation by Martí Guixé outside the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna.
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The exhibited works, created between 2001 and 2017, include well known images such as Love is in the Air, Girl with Balloon, Queen Vic, Napalm, Toxic Mary, HMV, as well as the designs for the book Wall & Piece and projects for vinyl and CD covers. The exhibition will offer an insight into the mysterious world of Banksy, documenting the techniques used in his works as well as his hard-hitting themes. Visitors will also have the chance to admire Raphael's fresco Sibille e Angeli from a window of the first floor of the Chiostro. It was commissioned in 1515 as part of the decoration of the adjoining Basilica di S. Maria della Pace. Chiostro del Bramante, Via Arco della Pace 5, tel. 0668809035, www.chiostrodelbramante.it.
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PER GIOCO 1-28 FEB
Rome displays an exhibition of vintage toys, including doll houses, cars, trains, spinning tops, magic lanterns, clowns and music boxes at Palazzo Braschi. The exhibition focuses on the collection of vintage toys acquired in recent years by the city. The objects on show were procured mainly between 1860 and 1930, during the so-called “golden age” of toys. They include castles with toy soldiers, farms with animals, magic lanterns, sledges, planes and gliders, marbles, kites and rocking horses. Highlights include a royal doll house that once belonged to the Queen of Sweden, dating from the late 1600s, and two pre-Inca dolls from the 14th-15th centuries, one of which depicts a mother with her son in her arms. Museo di Roma, Piazza Navona 2, tel. 060608, www. museodiroma.it.
MIMMO PALADINO: PRINCIPIO DI PROSPETTIVA 20 JAN-15 FEB
Galleria Valentina Bonomo shows new works by the Italian sculptor, painter and print-maker Mimmo Paladino, a leading name in the Transvanguardia art movement. Paladino's recent paintings see the artist return to focus on the work of Piero della Francesca,
Richard Artschwager at the Gagosian Gallery.
the early Renaissance artist who was interested in the laws of mathematics and geometry. The new works by Paladino contrast tradition with modernity, guided by the spatial reasoning and geometric structures used by della Francesca. For visiting details see gallery website. Galleria Valentina Bonomo, Via del Portico d'Ottavia 13, www. galleriabonomo.com.
RICHARD ARTSCHWAGER 14 JAN-11 MARCH
Rome's Gagosian presents an exhibition of works by the American artist Richard Artschwager, made between 1964 and 1987, described
as a key period in his career. Artschwager, who died in 2013, is linked to numerous movements, including Pop, Minimal and Conceptual, however he never truly conformed to any of them. The gallery says that this exhibition devoted to the early decades of Artschwager’s career demonstrates his ability to “rearrange the structures of perception, bringing the deceptive pictorial world of images into direct confrontation with the concretely human world of objects." For visiting details see gallery website. Gagosian Gallery, Via Francesco Crispi 16, tel. 0642086498, www.gagosian.com.
DOMENICO BIANCHI 16 DEC-27 FEB
Mimmo Paladino at Galleria Valentina Bonomo.
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Roman artist Domenico Bianchi shows new large-scale works, made using wax and cherry wood, and a group of watercolours on paper, in a solo exhibition at the Lorcan O'Neill Gallery. Bianchi is known for the recurrent use of biomorphic signs in his works, and for materials that interact with light, such as precious metals, fibreglass and polished wood. Using an ancient Roman technique, rediscovered in the 1950s by Jasper Johns, Bianchi manipulates wax as if it were paint. Over the course of his 40-year career, the Rome-based artist collaborated with some of the most important figures of the Arte Povera movement including Jannis Kounellis, Mario and Marisa Merz, and Michelangelo Pistoletto. Vicolo dei Catinari 3, tel. 0668892980, www.lorcanoneill.com.
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ART NEWS ROME HAS A NEW CULTURE COUNCILLOR
Rome mayor Virginia Raggi has reshuffled her cabinet for the 19th time since 2016 and the city now has a new culture councillor. Raggi withdrew the culture portfolio from deputy mayor Luca Bergamo, replacing him with her high school classmate, the writer and burlesque dance expert Lorenza Fruci. Raggi paid tribute to the “excellent” work done by Bergamo to make culture more accessible to Rome residents – highlighting in particular the MIC museum pass – and said her decision was “not linked to any misunderstanding or disagreement” with him. However she acknowledged that the pair, both members of the populist Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), shared “different political visions for the future of Rome.” The surprise move is viewed in the context of upcoming municipal elections, as the mayor prepares to seek a second term in office by surrounding herself with “fedelissimi” (most loyal) collaborators. Bergamo, who has been replaced as deputy mayor by the city's mobility councillor Pietro Calabrese, stated that he had expressed reservations “months ago” about Raggi running for election a second time.
DOMUS TIBERIANA TO REOPEN AFTER 40 YEARS
The Domus Tiberiana, one of the main imperial palaces on the Palatine Hill, is to reopen to the public in the second half of 2021, after more than 40 years. The building, whose façade is characterised by large arches, is located in the north-western area of the Palatine Hill, in an area located between the Temple of Magna Mater and the slopes of the Roman Forum. Built as a sumptuous palace by the second Roman emperor Tiberius, who reigned from 14 to 37 AD, the building was later incorporated into Nero’s Domus Transitoria. The Domus Tiberiana is part of the Colosseum
The Domus Tiberiana is to reopen later this year.
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Rome mayor Virginia Raggi (left) ended the mandate of deputy mayor and culture councillor Luca Bergamo (right).
Archaeological Park whose director Alfonsina Russo told Wanted in Rome that the complex was “the first of the imperial palaces conceived in an organic and monumental way.” Russo said that works to restore and protect the Domus Tiberiana have been carried out “with the scientific contribution of Italian and foreign universities and important names in the Italian technical-scientific world.” She said studies have been conducted into the reasons, “including the major archaeological excavations of the early 20th century, that have triggered the serious sliding of the walls towards the Roman Forum that from the 1970s was one of the most serious problems for the safety of the monument.” Russo also said the new itinerary will include previously inaccessible rooms in the site untouched by digs in the late 19th century or early 20th century. The excavation works have uncovered some surprises along the way, including a family grave, thought to be from the 13th century, containing the remains of “seven people perhaps killed by an epidemic or a traumatic event,” on which tests are underway. There are traces of activity from the 18th century, believed to be related to the Horti Farnesiani, while archaeologists also found a hoard of coins from the seventh century and a “still intact oil lamp” from the fourth century, nestled in a niche of a wall. A selection of these ancient discoveries will be included in the itinerary which will begin from the Clivo della Vittoria on the Palatine hill. The visit will highlight the activities of the imperial court through three themes: daily life, trade and economy, and religion. ????????????????????
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ITsART: ITALY’S ‘NETFLIX OF ITALIAN CULTURE’ HAS A NAME
Italy’s culture ministry has unveiled the logo and name of its ambititious project to create the “Netflix of Italian Culture,” reports online art newspaper Artribune. The online streaming platform giving paid access to Italian culture, from art and music to dance and theatre, will be called ITsART and the logo takes its colours from Italy’s tricolour. The ITsART company behind the project is owned by Italy’s investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which owns 51 per cent, and Chili, the Milan-based firm that has been distributing films and television series in Italy via the internet since 2012, which owns 49 per cent. The culture ministry, acting as director of the project, has allocated €10 million for ITsART from the nation’s so-called Recovery Fund, with a further €9 million to come from CDP, according to Artribune. The streaming platform, first announced by culture minister Dario Franceschini during Italy’s covid-19 lockdown last spring, will be accessible from the website www. itsart.tv, currently under construction. “ITsART,” reads the only page available on the site, “is the new virtual stage for theatre, music, cinema, dance and all forms of art, live and on-demand, with content available in Italy and abroad: a platform that bridges cities of art and quaint villages, goes backstage and into museums to celebrate and reveal Italian cultural heritage in all its forms and offer it to audiences all over the world.” There has been some criticism of the project’s logo and its English name as well as the fact that the state broadcaster RAI already has a video streaming platform, Rai Play, which contains many programmes dedicated to culture, reports Artribune. As to what we can expect from the new service and its costs for viewers, there are no announcements on that front, however the official launch will reportedly be in the “first months” of 2021.
NAPLES RESTORES ALEXANDER MOSAIC
Pompeii’s celebrated mosaic of Alexander the Great’s victory over King Darius III of Persia is to undergo major restoration at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN). The restoration of the monumental mosaic, which was rediscovered at the House of the Faun in Pompeii in 1831, began at the end of January and is expected to be complete by
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July. Dating from circa 100 BC, the floor mosaic is traditionally believed to depict the Battle of Issus in southern Anatolia, on 5 November 333 BC, the second great battle of Alexander’s conquest of Asia. The mosaic measures 5.82 by 3.13 metres and is one of the most celebrated works to be found at the ancient Roman city, which was buried in volcanic ash and pumice after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The project described as an “ambitious and complex operation” by MANN director Paolo Giulierini, will make use of advanced digital technology in a sort of “transparent construction site,” thanks to a “significant technological contribution” from Italian telecommunications company TIM. When it was unearthed in 1831, the mosaic was found to be in a good state of conservation, and there was much debate over the need to move it to the Royal Bourbon Museum in Naples (now MANN). Eventually a commission agreed that it should be moved and the masterpiece was detached on 16 November 1844 and transported to Naples on a cart pulled by oxen.
Restoring the Alexander mosaic at MANN.
However, during the journey the mosaic fell off the cart. The box containing the masterpiece was not opened until a few months later and, to the relief of all, the mosaic did not show any signs of damage. Initially the mosaic was placed on the floor of the museum but was moved to its current wall position in 1916. The surface of the masterpiece is now suffering from swellings and depressions, which the museum believes is likely the result of oxidation caused by metal elements in the timber framework put in place a century ago. There are also vertical and horizontal microcracks and damage to the mortar holding together the estimated one and a half million tiny coloured tiles called tesserae. The museum says that this phenomena is aggravated by the weight of the mosaic and its vertical position. Andy Devane
Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 45
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opera Vivaldi Suite by choreographer Michele Merola. Photo Yasuko Kageyama.
The streaming programming for both dance and opera by the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is usually announced at the last moment. Sadly we were too late to catch the streaming of I Puritani by Bellini in concert form with Jessica Pratt and Lawrence Brownlee, conducted by Roberto Abbado. It was streamed at the end of January. As well as the Teatro dell'Opera website we
suggest looking at Opera Wire operawire.com or ANSA, the Italian news agency. Or search Google for Teatro dell'Opera, click news and you'll find what is going on. The theatre's YouTube platform is worth watching for dance as well. Danza Alla Nuvola's Vivaldi Suite by choreographer Michele Merola and Baroque Suite with choreography by Eleonora Abbagnato and
Benjamin Pech, both danced live at La Nuvola Convention Centre in January, are already online. They are really worth watching. The Teatro dell'Opera has certainly been quick to make the most of the new digital opportunities in the lockdown world, as well as unusual locations outside of the traditional theatre. It is sad how quickly dancing in masks seems perfectly normal.
CLASSICAL Accademia S. Cecilia
Accademia S. Cecilia has suspended all concerts until 5 March in line with government regulations. However it is very probable that S. Cecilia will be able to stream some of its concerts in February. The concerts are often announced only shortly before the streaming so it is useful to watch the S. Cecilia website santacecilia.it/ en/ or subscribe to the newsletter under the contacts section. Just out of interest this is a list of some of the important concerts that has been suspended in February. Some of them may be streamed.
3 Feb Angela Hewitt. 4-6 Feb Juraj Valcuha with Grigory Sokolov. 11-13 Feb Jaap von Zweden. 15 Feb András Schiff. 18-20 Feb Jukka-Pekka Saraste. 22 Feb Maurizio Pollini. 25 -27 Feb Valery Gergiev. 3 March Mario Brunello. 4-6 March Bach's St Matthew Passion conducted Antonio Pappano.
by
Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 47
lassical lassical
The following is a list of the main musical associations in Rome but it is not a definitive list of all the music that is available in the city. The following is a list of the main musical There are also concerts in many of the associations in Rome but it is not a definitive churches and sometimes in the museums. list of all the music that is available in the city. There are also concerts in many of the Auditorium Conciliazione, Via della churches and sometimes in the museums. Conciliazione 4, www.auditoriumconciliazione.it Auditorium Parco della Musica, Viale Auditorium Conciliazione, ViaP. de della Coubertin 30, www.auditorium.com Conciliazione 4, www.auditoriumconciliazione.it Accademia Filarmonica Teatro Auditorium Parco della Romana, Musica, Viale P. de Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, Coubertin 30, www.auditorium.com www.filarmonicaromana.org. The new season Accademia Filarmonica Romana, Teatro starts on 15 Oct Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, Accademia S. Cecilia, www.santacecilia.it. All www.filarmonicaromana.org. The new season concerts Parco della Musica. The startsat onAuditorium 15 Oct newAccademia season startsS. on 5Cecilia, Oct www.santacecilia.it. All
concerts Universitaria at Auditorium Parco della Musica. Istituzione dei Concerti, AulaThe newUniversità season starts on 5 Oct www.concertiiuc.it Magna, la Sapienza,
Istituzione Universitaria deiGonfalone Concerti,32a, Aula Oratorio del Gonfalone, Via del Magna, Università la Sapienza, www.concertiiuc.it www.oratoriogonfalone.com Oratorio delMethodist Gonfalone, Via delPiazza Gonfalone 32a, RomeConcerts, Church, Ponte www.oratoriogonfalone.com S. Angelo, www.romeconcerts.it RomeConcerts, Piazza Ponte Roma Sinfonietta, Methodist AuditoriumChurch, Ennio Morricone, S. Angelo, www.romeconcerts.it Torvergata, www.romasinfonietta.com Roma Auditorium Roma Tre Sinfonietta, Orchestra, some concertsEnnio are atMorricone, Teatro Torvergata, www.romasinfonietta.com Palladium, Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 8, teatropalladium.uniroma3.it, while others at Roma Tre Orchestra, some concerts are are at Teatro the Aula Magna, Piazza Scuola Lettere Filosofia Lingue, 8, Palladium, Bartolomeo Romano Universita Roma Tre, Via while Ostienze teatropalladium.uniroma3.it, others234, are at www.r30.org the Aula Magna, Scuola Lettere Filosofia Lingue, Universita Tre,festivals Via Ostienze 234, There are oftenRoma concerts, and opera www.r30.org recitals in several churches in Rome.
often concerts, festivals and153, opera All There Saints' are Anglican Church, Via Babuino recitals in several churches in Rome. www.allsaintsrome.org All Saints' Anglican Church, Via Babuino 153, Ponte S. Angelo Methodist Church, Ponte S. www.allsaintsrome.org Angelo, www.methodistchurchrome.com Ponte S. Angelo Methodist Church, Ponte S. Oratorio del Caravita, Via della Caravita 7 Angelo, www.methodistchurchrome.com
Oratorio del Caravita, Caravita St Paul's Within the Walls,Via Viadella Nazionale and7 the corner of Via Nazionale, www.stpaulsrome.it St Paul's Within the Walls, Via Nazionale and the S. Agnese Sagrestia del Borromini, corner ofin ViaAgone, Nazionale, www.stpaulsrome.it Piazza Navona S. Agnese in Agone, Sagrestia del Borromini, Palazzo PiazzaDoria NavonaPamphilj hosts a series called Opera Serenades by Night with Dinner throughout Palazzo Doria Pamphilj hosts a series called the year. There is a concert, a tour of the museum Serenades by Night Dinner throughout and Opera dinner afterwards. Viawith del Corso 305, the year. There is a concert, a tour of the museum www.doriapamphilj.com and dinner afterwards. Via del Corso 305, www.doriapamphilj.com | Jan 2019 • Wanted Rome 50 |48 Oct 2018 • Wanted in in Rome
MUSIC MUSIC THEATR THEATRE CINEMA CINEMA VENUES VENUES
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MUSIC THEATRE CINEMA DANCE OPERA
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The following cinemas show movies in English or original language, and sometimes foreign film festivals. See Wantedshow in Rome website for The following cinemas movies in English weekly updates. or original language, and sometimes foreign film festivals. See Wanted in Rome website for Adriano, Cavour 22, tel. 0636767 weeklyPiazza updates. Barberini, Piazza Barberini 24-26, tel. Adriano, Piazza Cavour 22, tel. 0636767 0686391361 Barberini, Piazza BarberiniMastroianni 24-26, 1, tel. Casa del Cinema, Largo Marcello 0686391361 tel. 06423601, www.casadelcinema.it
Casa del Cinema, Largo Marcello Mastroianni 1, Cinema dei Piccoli, Viale della Pineta 15, tel. tel. 06423601, www.casadelcinema.it 068553485 Cinema dei Piccoli, Viale della Pineta 15, tel. Farnese Persol, Piazza Campo de’ Fiori 56, tel. 068553485 066864395, www.cinemafarnesepersol.com Farnese Persol, Piazza Campo de’ Fiori 56, tel. Greenwich, Via G. Bodoni 59, tel. 065745825 066864395, www.cinemafarnesepersol.com Intrastevere, Vicolo Moroni 3, tel. 065884230 Greenwich, Via G. Bodoni 59, tel. 065745825 Lux, Via Massaciuccoli 31, tel. 0686391361 Intrastevere, Vicolo Moroni 3, tel. 065884230 Nuovo Olimpia, Via in Lucina 16/g, tel. Lux, Via Massaciuccoli 31, tel. 0686391361 066861068 Nuovo Olimpia, Via in Lucina 16/g, tel. Nuovo Sacher, Largo Ascianghi 1, tel. 065818116 066861068 Odeon, Piazza Stefano 22, tel. Nuovo Sacher, LargoJacini Ascianghi 1, 0686391361 tel. 065818116
Space Moderno, Piazza della 44, tel. Odeon, Piazza Stefano JaciniRepubblica 22, tel. 0686391361 06892111 Space Moderno, Piazza della Repubblica 44, tel. Space Parco de’ Medici, Viale Salvatore Rebec06892111 chini 3-5, tel. 06892111 Space Parco de’ Medici, Viale Salvatore Rebecchini 3-5, tel. 06892111 Wanted in Rome • February 2021 | 49
ddance oopera p pop r ock r ance
Teatro Costanzi, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Piazza Beniamino Gigli 1, www.operaroma.it
Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano Teatro Costanzi, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, 17, www.teatroolimpico.it Piazza Beniamino Gigli 1, www.operaroma.it Teatro Vascello, Via Giacinto Carini 78, Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano www.teatrovascello.it 17, www.teatroolimpico.it Teatro Vascello, Via Giacinto Carini 78, www.teatrovascello.it
pera
Teatro Costanzi, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Piazza Beniamino Gigli 1, www.operaroma.it Teatro Costanzi, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Piazza Beniamino Gigli 1, www.operaroma.it
op
ock
Concert venues ranging from major pop and rock groups to jazz and acoustic gigs.
Concert venues ranging from major pop and Alexanderplatz, 9, tel. 0683775604 rock groups to Via jazzOstia and acoustic gigs. www.alexanderplatzjazzclub.it Alexanderplatz, Via Ostia 9, tel. 0683775604 Angelo Mai Altrove, Via delle Terme di www.alexanderplatzjazzclub.it Caracalla 55, www.angelomai.org Angelo Mai Via Atlantico delle Terme di Atlantico, VialeAltrove, dell’Oceano 271d, Caracalla 55, www.angelomai.org tel. 065915727, www.atlanticoroma.it
Atlantico, Viale Atlantico Auditorium Parcodell’Oceano della Musica, Viale 271d, P. de tel. 065915727, www.atlanticoroma.it Coubertin, tel. 06892982, www.auditorium.com Auditorium della Viale de Casa del Jazz, Parco Viale di PortaMusica, Ardeatina 55,P.tel. Coubertin,www.casajazz.it tel. 06892982, www.auditorium.com 06704731,
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Casa del Jazz, Viale di Porta Ardeatina 55, tel. 06704731, www.casajazz.it
heatre heatre
Teatro Argentina, Largo di Torre Argentina 52, tel. 06684000314, www.teatrodiroma.net Teatro Argentina, Largo di Torre Argentina 52, tel. Teatro Belli, Piazza di S. Apollonia 11, tel. 065894875, 06684000314, www.teatrodiroma.net www.teatrobelli.it Teatro Belli, Piazza di S. Apollonia 11, tel. 065894875, Teatro Brancaccio, Via Merulana 244, tel. 0680687231 www.teatrobelli.it www.teatrobrancaccio.it Teatro Brancaccio, Via Merulana 244, tel. 0680687231 Teatro Ghione, Via delle Fornaci 37, tel. 066372294 www.teatrobrancaccio.it www.teatroghione.it Teatro Ghione, Via delle Fornaci 37, tel. 066372294 Teatro India, Lungotevere Vittorio Gassman 1, tel. www.teatroghione.it 06684000311, www.teatrodiroma.net Teatro India, Lungotevere Vittorio Gassman 1, tel. 06684000311, www.teatrodiroma.net 50 | Jan 2019 • Wanted in Rome
Lanificio 159, Via di Pietralata 159, tel. 0641780081, www.lanificio159.com Lanificio 159,ViaVia di Pietralata 159, Live Alcazar, Cardinale Merry del Valtel. 14, 0641780081, www.lanificio159.com tel. 065810388, www.livealcazar.com Live Alcazar, Merry del 35, Val 14, Monk Club, Via ViaCardinale Giuseppe Mirri tel. tel. 065810388, www.livealcazar.com 0664850987, www.monkroma.it Monk Club, ViaPiazzale Giuseppe Mirri 35,1, tel. PalaLottomatica, dello Sport tel. 0664850987, www.monkroma.it 06540901, www.palalottomatica.it PalaLottomatica, Piazzale Sport 1, tel. Rock in Roma, Via Appiadello Nuova 1245, tel. 06540901, www.palalottomatica.it 0654220870 www.rockinroma.com Rock in Roma, Via Appia Nuova 1245, tel. Teatro Quirinetta, Via Marco Minghetti 5, tel. 0654220870 www.rockinroma.com 0669925616, www.quirinetta.com Teatro Quirinetta, Via Marco Minghetti 5, tel. Unplugged in Monti, Blackmarket, Via 0669925616, www.quirinetta.com Panisperna 101, www.unpluggedinmonti.com Unplugged in Monti, Blackmarket, Via Panisperna 101, www.unpluggedinmonti.com
Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, tel. 063265991, www.teatroolimpico.it Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, Teatro S. Genesio, Via Podgora 1, tel. 063223432, tel. 063265991, www.teatroolimpico.it www.teatrosangenesio.it Teatro S. Genesio, Via Podgora 1, tel. 063223432 Teatro Sistina, Via Sistina 129, tel. 064200711, www.ilsiwww.teatrosangenesio.it stina.it Teatro Sistina, Via Sistina 129, tel. 064200711, Teatro Vascello, Via Giacinto Carini 78, tel 065898031 www.ilsistina.it www.teatrovascello.it Teatro Vascello, Via Giacinto Carini 78, Teatro Vittoria,www.teatrovascello.it Piazza di S. Maria Liberatrice 10, tel. tel. 065898031, 065781960, www.teatrovittoria.it Teatro Vittoria, Piazza di S. Maria Liberatrice 10, tel. 065781960, www.teatrovittoria.it Wanted Rome • February | 51 51in | Oct 2018 • Wanted2021 in Rome
38
Wanted in Rome | December 2017
An Education for Life that will make the difference
Castelli International School
International Elementary and Middle School
www.castelli-international.it
54 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
CARCIOFI ALLA GIUDIABy Kate Zagorski As a classic dish of Jewish-Roman cuisine, carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style, deep-fried artichokes) are a must-eat dish in the Eternal City. Although many restaurants, particularly in the Jewish Ghetto, serve them almost year-round, it is in the springtime when the local romanesco artichokes hit peak season that they are at their best. Making carciofi alla giudia at home is simpler than it looks. It helps if you can purchase your artichokes ready-cleaned (most market stalls will do this for you), otherwise factor in a little extra time to prepare them. The locally-grown Roman artichokes are spherical, with abundant, tightly packed leaves and no inner choke. The artichokes are fried twice, the first time at a lower temperature and for a longer period to ensure they are cooked through, and the second time at a high heat to open out the leaves and turn them golden. The outer layer of leaves should be hot and crunchy with the interior becoming softer and more tender. Don’t forget to eat the stalk too! To make this recipe it is handy to have a kitchen thermometer as the artichokes are fried at two different temperatures, but it is possible to make them without. Just use a smaller ring on the stove for the first fry and a larger one for the second.
Ingredients 4 Roman artichokes 2 lt vegetable oil 1 lemon Salt Pepper
• Firstly, if not already done, you will need to trim and clean the artichokes. Start by removing the hard, outer leaves then, using a sharp knife, cut
the stem, leaving around 5-6cm. Cut the top third off the head of the artichoke, then trim the leaves in a spiral motion until you get to the paler yellow leaves. Trim the tougher exterior from the base of the stem. • Now halve the lemon and rub the artichokes before placing them in a large bowl of cold water along with the juice of the lemon and the rinds. This will prevent oxidisation turning the leaves black. • In the meantime, bring a large saucepan of vegetable oil to a temperature of 130°C, if you use a smaller ring on you stove you should prevent the oil getting too hot. • Drain the artichokes and dry them well with kitchen paper, then place them into the oil and cook for about 10 minutes. Test that the artichokes are cooked by poking a fork or skewer at the base of the stalk. If it goes in and out easily the artichokes are ready. Remove the artichokes from the oil and leave them too cool on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. • Once they are cool, use your finger to open out the leaves, as if it were a flower. This will encourage them to open out further during the second frying. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then heat the oil back up on a larger stove ring to a temperature of 190°. Carefully plunge the artichokes into the oil and cook for a few minutes until the leaves turn golden and crispy. • Remove the artichokes from the oil and leave them to drain for a minute before sprinkling with a little salt and serving hot and crunchy.
Coromandel, Via di Monte Giordano 60/61, tel. 0668802461. Dolce, Via Tripolitania 4, tel. 0686215696. Ketumbar, Via Galvani 24, tel. 0657305338. ‘Na Cosetta, Via Ettore Giovenale 54, tel. 0645598326.
Indirizzi
Queen Makeda, Via di S. Saba 11, tel. 065759608.
Ciclostazione Frattini, Via Pietro Frattini 136/138, tel. 065503707. Atlas Coelestis, Via Malcesine 41, tel. 0635072243. Porto Fluviale, Via del Porto Fluviale 22, tel. 065743199. Rosti al Pigneto, Via Bartolomeo D’Alviano 65, tel. 062752608. Doppiozero, Via Ostiense 68, tel. 0657301961. Misto, Via Fezzan 21, tel. 0645471971. Il Bistrot delle Officine Farneto, Via dei Monti della Farnesina 77, tel. 0690286945. Mavi, Lungotevere di Pietra Papa 201, tel. 065584801.
Where to brunch in Rome Our picks of the best restaurants and cafes serving brunch on weekends – from Eggs Benedict to American-style pancakes. QUEEN MAKEDA GRAND PUB Each Sunday Queen Makeda offers an international brunch of dishes from the wok, noodles, salads, eggs, homemade tarts, vegetables, baked potatoes, artisan sausages and wurstel. There’s also the option of a British-style Sunday roast lunch, which includes beef, chicken, lamb, pork and Yorkshire puddings. Don’t miss the desserts, the 40 different craft beers available, the juices and the tasty nonalcoholic drinks. On the children’s menu (there’s also a supervised kids’ play area) you’ll find burgers, chips, tomato pasta and hot dogs. Sun 12.30-16.00. COROMANDEL Located near Piazza Navona, this cafe recreates the feel of a cosy 1950s home. If you fancy English-style eggs or pancakes for breakfast, then this is your place. On the menu you’ll find: simple eggs, omelette with roast potatoes and sausage, and either pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, scrambled eggs, maple syrup and icing sugar, or sweet pancakes with chocolate and hazelnut sauce, banana and flaked almonds. There are also smoothies, yogurt and fruit. Sat-Sun from 11.00-15.00. DOLCE For a New York-style Sunday brunch, head to Dolce, the restaurant and bakery in the Africano district. The kitchen is transformed into a bakery with a menu brimming with international cuisine. From eggs to pancakes, or even to sandwiches, sweet and savoury are placed side by side. You can choose between an omelette with three fillings of your choice, or an Eggs Benedict on toasted bread baked in-house. Sun 12.00-15.00. KETUMBAR Ketumbar’s organic brunch, served at weekends, is the talk of Testaccio. There’s a buffet ranging from antipasti to cakes and pastries, that changes seasonally. There are also many different soups, cous cous, dark taragna polente, fritters, hummus, cod au gratin, granary focaccia, salads and vegan dishes. The menu is accompanied by organic wine and artisan beers. At Ketumbar, brunch is also baby-friendly. There’s a kid’s menu and a space dedicated to young children, cared for by qualified minders. Sat-Sun 12.30-16.00. ‘NA COSETTA In this Italian bistro in Pigneto, you can enjoy brunch, otherwise known in Italian as the ‘colanzo’. Dishes are both sweet and savoury and stick to a true Italian style with a few of the chef’s special touches. Pastries and cakes are made by pastry chef Stefania Guerrizio. Sun 12.30-16.00. CICLOSTAZIONE FRATTINI If you’re on the hunt for a place in the Portuense district where you can sit outside and let your kids run about, Ciclostazione Frattini should be your go-to brunch spot. A restaurant, pizzeria and grill, here the whole family can have fun in the indoor Baby Garden and Baby Park. The menu includes more than 30 options, ranging from fresh artisan pasta to homemade cakes and desserts. There are main courses such as meat and fish dishes, soups, cooked vegetables, salads, and cheeses. Sat-Sun 12.30-15.30.
ATLAS COELESTIS Here you can choose between ten different dishes, from antipasti to dessert, which change weekly. There are also roselline di pizza (baked pizza in the shape of roses) to taste, as the restaurant has reopened its pizza oven and in the evening it serves pizzas made with wholewheat flour. On the kid’s menu you’ll find three different options for the main meal and ice cream for dessert. Sun 12.30. PORTO FLUVIALE This crowded Ostiense restaurant offers a buffet brunch menu containing around 60 dishes: hot and cold pasta dishes, soups, raw salads and cooked vegetable dishes, meats, and cheeses served with a variety of tasty dips and sauces. Don’t forget to try the delicious pastries and cakes. Sat-Sun 12.30-16.00. ROSTI AL PIGNETO If you feel like spending the weekend outside in a huge garden suitable for children, Rosti is the place for you. For starters you can tuck into the gnocchi with tomato and basil sauce, cannelloni with ricotta and tomato, ravioli with burrata, tomato and basil, or vegetarian crepes. For main course there’s seasoned meat balls, veal steak with mushrooms, roast pork with honey, turkey nuggets with yoghurt and mustard, anchovies marinated in tarragon and chilli, or cod balls with tomato, as well as salads and desserts. Sat-Sun 12.30-16.00. DOPPIOZERO Here you can enjoy a tasty brunch that benefits from its onsite bakery. The buffet at the weekend includes pasta, pizza (many different types), olive bread, cous cous, salmon, meat, buffalo mozarella and baked goods such as muffins and brownies. Sat-Sun 12.30-15.30. MISTO Located in the Africano district, Misto serves club sandwiches, pancakes, muffins, salads, and seasonal fruits made into juices and smoothies. You can choose one dish from a choice of three: the club sandwich, fillet of salmon or veggie sandwich and then add either pancakes or a salad, then choose between a savoury muffin or Scottish scone, and select a fruit juice. Kids can enjoy either a savoury muffin or Scottish scone, pancakes, fruit salad or orange or blueberry juice. We also recommend trying one of the alcoholic fruit cocktails or a pomegranate spritz. Sun 11.30-15.30. IL BISTROT DELLE OFFICINE FARNETO Every Sunday you can tuck into a tasty brunch at the bistro in Officine Farneto, on Via Monti della Farnesina. The dishes range from homemade fresh pasta to meat and fish courses, cooked vegetables and desserts. We recommend the freshly-prepared burgers. Sun from 12.30. MAVI At Mavi you can enjoy a brunch that’s a little different – part buffet, part à la carte. On the buffet you’ll find eggs, savoury pancakes and many different salad recipes, while from the menu you can order dishes such as burgers, bagels, cakes and sweet pancakes. The buffet includes coffee, water and fruit juice. Sun 13.00-16.00.
www.puntarellarossa.it
Associations American International Club of Rome tel. 0645447625, www.aicrome.org American Women’s Association of Rome tel. 064825268, www.awar.org Association of British Expats in Italy britishexpatsinitaly@gmail.com Canadian Club of Rome canadarome@gmail.com Circolo di Cultura Mario Mieli Gay and lesbian international contact group, tel. 065413985, www.mariomieli.net Commonwealth Club of Rome ccrome08@gmail.com Daughters of the American Revolution Pax Romana Chapter NSDAR paxromana@daritaly.com, www.daritaly.com
International Women’s Club of Rome tel. 0633267490, www.iwcofrome.it Irish Club of Rome irishclubofrome@gmail.com, www.irishclubofrome.org Luncheon Club of Rome tel. 3338466820 Patrons of Arts in the Vatican Museums tel. 0669881814, www.vatican-patrons.org Professional Woman’s Association www.pwarome.org United Nations Women’s Guild tel. 0657053628, unwg@fao.org, www.unwgrome.multiply.com Welcome Neighbor tel. 3479313040, dearprome@tele2.it, www.wntome-homepage.blogspot.com
Books The following bookshops and libraries have books in English and other languages as specified. Almost Corner Bookshop Via del Moro 45, tel. 065836942 Anglo American Bookshop Via delle Vite 102, tel. 066795222 Bibliothèque Centre Culturel Saint-Louis de France (French) Largo Toniolo 20-22, tel. 066802637 www.saintlouisdefrance.it La librerie Française de Rome La Procure (French) Piazza S. Luigi dei Francesi 23, tel. 0668307598, www.libreriefrancaiserome.com Libreria Feltrinelli International Via V.E. Orlando 84, tel. 064827878, www.lafeltrinelli.it
Libreria Quattro Fontane (international) Via delle Quattro Fontane 20/a, tel. 064814484 Libreria Spagnola Sorgente (Spanish) Piazza navona 90, tel. 0668806950, www.libreriaspagnola.it Open Door Bookshop (second hand books English, French, German, Italian) Via della Lungaretta 23, tel. 065896478, www.books-in-italy.com Otherwise Via del Governo Vecchio, tel. 066879825, www.otherwisebookshop.com
Religious All Saints’ Anglican Church Via del Babuino 153/b tel. 0636001881 Sunday service 08.30 and 10.30 Anglican Centre Piazza del Collegio Romano 2, tel. 066780302, www.anglicancentreinrome.com Beth Hillel (Jewish Progressive Community) tel. 3899691486, www.bethhillelroma.org Bible Baptist Church Via di Castel di Leva 326, tel. 3342934593, www.bbcroma.org, Sunday 11.00 Christian Science Services Via Stresa 41, tel. 063014425 Church of All Nations Lungotevere Michelangelo 7, tel. 069870464 Church of Sweden Via A. Beroli 1/e, tel. 068080474, Sunday service 11.15 (Swedish)
58 | February 2021 • Wanted in Rome
Footsteps Inter-Denominational Christian South Rome, tel. 0650917621, 3332284093, North Rome, tel. 0630894371, akfsmes.styles@tiscali.it International Central Gospel Church Via XX Settembre 88, tel. 0655282695 International Christian Fellowship Via Guido Castelnuovo 28, tel. 065594266, Sunday service 11.00 Jewish Community Tempio Maggiore, Lungotevere Cenci, tel. 066840061 Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas Largo della Sanità Militare 60, tel. 067726761 Lutheran Church Via Toscana 7, corner Via Sicilia 70, tel. 064817519, Sunday service 10.00 (German) Ponte S. Angelo Methodist Church Piazza Ponte S. Angelo, tel. 066868314, Sunday Service 10.30
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Via Germanico, 172 00192 Roma (+39) 06 8392 5480
Pontifical Irish College (Roman Catholic) Via dei SS. Quattro 1, tel. 06772631. Sunday service 10.00 Roma Baptist Church Piazza S. Lorenzo in Lucina 35, tel. 066876652, 066876211, Suday service 10.30, 13.00 (Filipino), 16.00 (Chinese) Roma Buddhist Centre Vihara Via Mandas 2, tel. 0622460091 Rome International Church Via Cassia km 16, www.romeinternational.org Rome Mosque (Centro Islamico) Via della Moschea, tel. 068082167, 068082258 St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Via XX Settembre 7, tel. 064827627, Sunday service 11.00 St Francis Xavier del Caravita (Roman Catholic) Via Caravita 7, www.caravita.org, Sunday service 11.00
Support groups Alcoholics Anonymous tel. 064742913, www.aarome.com Archè (HIV+children and their families) tel. 0677250350, www.arche.it Associazione Centro Astalli (Jesuit refugee centre) Via degli Astalli 14/a, tel. 0669700306 Associazione Ryder Italia (Support for cancer patients and their families) tel. 065349622/06582045580, www.ryderitalia.it Astra (Anti-stalking risk assessment) tel. 066535499, www.differenzadonna.it Caritas soup kitchen (Mensa Giovanni Paolo II) Via delle Sette Sale 30, tel. 0647821098, 11.00-13.30 daily Caritas foreigners’ support centre Via delle Zoccolette 19, tel. 066875228, 06681554 Caritas hostel Via Marsala 109, tel. 064457235 Caritas legal assistance Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano 6/a, tel. 0669886369 Celebrate Recovery Christian group tel. 3381675680
Transport • Atac (Rome bus, metro and tram) tel. 800431784, www.atac.roma.it • Ciampino airport tel.06794941, www.adr.it • Fiumicino airport tel. 0665951, www.adr.it • Taxi tel. 060609-065551-063570-068822-064157066645-064994 • Traffic info tel. 1518 • Trenitalia (national railways) tel. 892021, www.trenitalia.it
60 | January 2021 • Wanted in Rome
St Isidore College (Roman Catholic) Via degli Artisti 41, tel. 064885359, Sunday service 10.00 St Patrick’s Church (Roman Catholic), Via Boncompagni 31, tel. 068881827, www.stpatricksamericaninrome.org Weekday Masses in English 18.00, Saturday Vigil 18.00, Sunday 09.00 and 10.30 St Paul’s within-the-Walls (Anglican Episcopal) Via Nazionale, corner Via Napoli, tel. 064883339, Sunday service 08.30, 10.30 (English), 13.00 (Spanish) St Silvestro Church (Roman Catholic) Piazza S. Silvestro 1, tel. 066977121, Sunday service 10.00 and 17.30 Venerable English College (Roman Catholic), Via di Monserrato 45, tel. 066868546, Sunday service 10.00 Comunità di S. Egidio Piazza di S. Egidio 3/a, tel. 068992234 Comunità di S. Egidio soup kitchen Via Dandolo 10, tel. 065894327, 17.00-19.30 Wed, Fri, Sat Information line for disabled tel. 800271027 Joel Nafuma Refugee Centre St Paul’s within-the-Walls Via Nazionale, corner Via Napoli, tel. 064883339 Mason Perkins Deafness Fund (Support for deaf and deaf-blind children), tel. 06444234511, masonperkins@gmail.com, www.mpds.it Overeaters Anonymous tel. 064743772 Salvation Army (Esercito della Salvezza) Centro Sociale di Roma “Virgilio Paglieri” Via degli Apuli 41, tel. 064451351 Support for elderly victims of crime (Italian only) Largo E. Fioritto 2, tel. 0657305104 The Samaritans Onlus (Confidential telephone helpline for the distressed) tel. 800860022
Chiamaroma 24-hour, multilingual information line for services in Rome, run by the city council, tel. 060606
Emergency numbers • • • • • • •
Ambulance tel. 118 Carabinieri tel. 112 Electricity and water faults (Acea) tel. 800130336 Fire brigade tel. 115 Gas leaks (Italgas-Eni) tel. 800900999 Police tel. 113 Rubbish (Ama) tel. 8008670355
Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj and Sir Ivor Roberts, Chair of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association request the pleasure of your company
at a Champagne Reception, Gala Supper and Evening of Drama and Music; with an exclusive Tour of the Palazzo's Galleries and a production of "Life is but a Day" a celebration of Keats in his own words by Angus Graham-Campbell on behalf of the KSMA and Keats-Shelley 200
On Saturday 12th June 2021 at 7 p.m. Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Via del Corso 305, Rome Dress code: Smart/ Black Tie optional Ticket price: € 450
RSVP: info@keats-shelley-house.org
The first and only International School in the south of Rome. For students aged 3 to 18 Call our Admissions team to find out more
+39 06 505 3932
JOIN OUR VIRTUAL OPEN DAY 14 JAN - 10AM The space to grow www.southlands.it