Many participants will be in Italy for few days before/after the conference. For those who will be in Rome here are few suggestions on what to do in the “Eternal City”. (See below for mobility and security informations.) 0) The physics week falls on an interesting date in Italy. In fact the 2nd of June is a national holiday, the “Festa della Repubblica” (celebrating the vote for the Republic government instead of the Monarchy on June 2nd of 1946). It’s a traditional holiday with a big military parade along Via dei Fori Imperiali (the road that goes to the Colosseo). All the different armed forces (Army, Navy, Airforce, Carabinieri, Police…) will present their troops in front of the Italian President (which will probably arrive in his traditional Lancia Flaminia) and the high Officials of the government. As it’s a military parade, bands from the different forces will play their anthem (and the national one) while passing by. Very famous are the Bersaglieri Fanfare, the only band in the world that plays while running and the Carabinieri’s band. There will also be the passing by of the “Frecce Tricolori”, Italy’s airforce acrobatic patrol (the largest in the world). A group of! 10 acrobatic planes will pass over Rome drawing the Italian flag with smoke flares. Also usually firefighters will climb the Colosseo and unroll an Italian flag from the top. Since the Italian President will be there, there will be some extra security in the area and some places could be unreachable. However if you’re staying in Rome on the 2nd of July this could be an interesting and unusual thing to see. 1) Musei Vaticani: it’s one of the biggest art collection in Rome gathered in the last centuries from the Church. There is the possibility to see the Sistine Chapel with the famous Michelangelo’s affresco. In the website below you can book the tickets (and avoid the long long queue there). Our suggestion is to book a guided tour for the museums and the St. Peter’s Basilica, however there are lots of combinations you can book. http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html 2) Colosseo and Fori Imperiali: are the symbol of ancient (and modern) Rome, you can walk where ancient romans went for their entertainment and for politics. Especially in a sunny day, a walk in the Fori Imperiali archeological area is something beautiful. You can book your ticket for both of them following the instructions at https://parcocolosseo.it/en/ 3) The Pantheon: right from the Roman imperial age, it’s a temple to all the gods past, present and future (Romans were polytheistic, now it’s actually a church). Has the biggest concrete dome in the world (that’s 42.52 m) and there’s a legend saying that rain cannot enter from the hole in the dome. That’s absolutely false, there are even drain holes in the floor... It’s free to visit and you don’t need any ticket to enter, just be sure not to disturb the mass (Sunday around 10.30 and Saturday around 17). Near Pantheon there is also Giolitti, one of the most famous ice cream shops in Rome, somewhat expensive, but really good! 4) Fontana di Trevi: probably the biggest and most famous fountain in Rome, it really worth a passing by, especially at night. The legend says that if you close your eyes, turn your back to the fountain and throw a coin in the water, you will visit again Rome in the future. 5) Piazza Navona: another famous fountain is in Piazza Navona, the “Fontana dei quattro fiumi” (lit. four rivers fountain) was built by Bernini and it represent the Danube, Gange, Nile and Rio de la Plata at the four corners of the world. Right in front of that the Sant’Agnese in Agone’s church. Other places worth to visit are Piazza di Spagna (with the Barcaccia fountain and Babington’s famous tea room), Piazza del Popolo and the Villa Borghese Park (in a sunny day it’s really nice place for a walk) where you can find a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Castel Sant’Angelo (right near St. Peter’s Basilica) and the San Giovanni in Laterano Basilica. However, literally in every corner of Rome there is a church full of art pieces that you can enter and visit. **An important thing to mention, especially for those of you coming from the US: in Italy, depending on the restaurant, sometimes you get charged for the service (~2€), however you don’t have to tip 15/20% for the service as you usually do in the US.** MOBILITY AND SECURITY INFORMATIONS: If you plan your stops, and if you’re a walker, you can move by feet around Rome, however underground is useful to reach these main locations. You can buy a single ticket for 1.5€ or a daily ticket for 7€ to move freely for 24h. IMPORTANT NOTE: for now three stops (Repubblica, Barberini, Spagna) of the underground “Linea A” are closed due to maintenance. Buses can help to reach those stops, but be sure to double check when you plan where to go. **Unfortunately the centre of Rome is famous for the pickpockets, especially inside the crowded underground station in Roma Termini. So be really careful to your belongings when using the public transportation.** Roma Termini is Rome’s central station, both for trains, buses and underground. You can buy tickets for the underground and bus (same tickets are used) in every underground station and in the newsstands in Termini station. You can buy train tickets using the machines in the station or at the newsstands. You can also buy them online using the website https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html You have to register for a free account and you can pay by card or with a PayPal account. To get from Fiumicino International Airport to Rome Termini station (and to get back to the airport on Sunday 26th when the bus will leave), you can use the Leonardo Express train, it takes about 35 minutes. You can buy tickets in the airport or on the website as well. FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO GO OUTSIDE ROME: If you plan to stay longer and go outside Rome, a suggestion is to visit Frascati, about 20 mins by train from Rome (you can buy tickets also from https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html), small, nice to have a walk and full of good restaurants. It’s also home of the INFN’s Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, where the first storage ring (AdA, 1960) and the synchrotron ADONE (1969) were built.
For any other information about planning a trip to Rome please feel free to contact matteo.sorbara@roma2.infn.it
