Rome Jazz Festival -- 32nd Edition

The 32nd edition of the Roma Jazz Festival (click here) began on November 5 and features dozens of concerts in Rome from some of the world's best jazz performers. The even features performers and groups not just in Italy but from Europe and the World. Rome Jazz Festival is quickly becoming one of the premier showcases for jazz music and jazz talent in the world!

A complete listing of the concerts and events can be found on the web site. There is an English version of the web site -- to choose it, click on the word "Enter" in English. If you click on "Entra" you'll go to the Italian side of the web site which has slightly more content. If you have an Italian mobile phone, you can download the program of events to your mobile phone -- see the web site for more details.

One of the highlights of the Roma Jazz Festival is sure to be Porgy and Bess, one of George Gershwin's most popular operas. The opera is being performed at the Sala Santa Cecilia Monday and Tuesday, November 17 at 9pm and November 18 at 7:30pm! Check the web site of the event for more details of events and concerts!

Information on purchasing tickets to the events and the location of the concerts and venues can be found on the web site. Click on the Info tab on the site for more information on purchasing tickets.

The festival concludes on November 30.

Ancient Rome on Google Earth

Now you can tour ancient Rome by using Google Earth! If you don't have Google Earth and never used it, give it a try and download it. It's a fun tool to play around with, and you'll be amazed at the resolution available. Watch the tutorial to see how to add this functionality to Google Earth. Not only can you "walk" the streets, but you can also tour the inside of famous buildings, too!

I giallorossi (yellow-reds) v. i biancocelesti (white-blues)

The Derby della Capitale (also known as the Derby di Roma) or the Rome Derby takes place this weekend on November 16, to be precise.

The derby features a showdown between Lazio and Roma, the two Serie A teams in Rome. The derby happens twice a year -- the next derby will take place on April 11, 2009.

The fan base of the two teams is quite unique, and the city is almost divided into two parts as one half the city "roots" for Roma while the other "roots" for Lazio! Pre-match displays of fan devotion can be seen in and around the stadium. As the statistics show, Roma has a slight edge in historical match-ups: 43 wins for Roma and 33 wins for Lazio! Let's see if Lazio can win this one in their quest to even the score! ;)

The matches tend to be very exciting and emotional, and if you happen to be in Rome this weekend, you might try to get tickets and check out the atmosphere and the experience! As Christian Panucci was once quoted, "Credetemi, io di derby ne ho giocati tanti: quello di Milano, quello di Madrid, i tanti derby di Londra, ma Roma è la città in cui la passione per la stracittadina è più forte."* (Believe me, I have played so many derbies : those of Milano, Madrid and the many derbies of London, but Rome is the city in which the passion of populace is stronger."

*La Gazzetta dello Sport, 26 April 2007
http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2007/aprile/26/principe_dei_derby_chiama_Panucci_ga_10_070426112.shtml

Expect disruptions in Rome

The education strikes in Italy are continuing and seem to be getting more intense and larger.

If you happen to be in Rome today, expect major disruptions of traffic and services and thousands of students, faculty and staff at the major universities in Rome take to the piazzas in protest for the proposed changes proposed by the Berlusconi government. The faculty, staff and students see their education system "under attack" and have been protesting these changes for weeks.

The strikes generally tend to be peaceful but as a tourist, you should avoid them and avoid becoming embroiled in any problems. The strikes may close certain roads and bus routes, so if there was a good a day as any to leave the city, you might consider today to be one of those days.

You can see the developments of the strike on this map by visiting here:

http://roma.repubblica.it/infografica/1545341?size=noresize


*image provided by La Repubblica -- http://roma.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/3682953

Alitalia Update

For anyone traveling to Rome in the coming days and weeks, it would be best to reconfirm your flight, especially if you hold a seat on Alitalia. Recent strikes and work stoppages have created problems for travelers, and, with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, it would be good to double check before heading the airport.

November 30th is the last day in which the CAI offer (CAI is a group of Italian investors who have come together to try to save and restructure the airline into a smaller, more profitable country) for Alitalia remains on the table. Expect more unrest as that date approaches, especially from rogue employees and some of the unions who are unhappy with the terms of the new country.

Be proactive when traveling and keep your eyes and ears open for any news of unrest in the newspapers and the news. Always check with your airline a few days before traveling. The good thing is that if your flight is canceled, most airlines will help you find alternatives to reaching your final destination. Even if you're not flying on Alitalia, other flights could be affected as strikes are often held at the airport and can great some hassle for travelers.

source: EU backs proposed Alitalia takover, AP (as viewed on the New York Times)

3-D Rewind Rome

Coming out on November 20th, 2008 is a new 3-D animated movie about Ancient Rome. This cool, new project has the involvement of some big names in Rome -- from the involvement of Rome's mayor, to the actors, Carlo Verdone and Joe Champa (who both provided their voices for the project).

The project has recreated Rome during the 4th century AD during the reign of the emperor Masentius (Massenzio in Italian). A guide, known by the name of Sapientius, acts as your cicerone (tour guide) -- showing you around the ancient city. Viewers can see such landmarks in Rome, such as the Roman Forum, the Temple of Vesta, Basilica Aemilia, and the Colosseum -- you'll feel like a tourist in Rome. There's also a three dimensional gladiator fight that viewers witness which is part of the whole experience of being rewound back in time into Ancient Rome!

The movie will be shown in a movie theater nearby the Colosseum at the Teatro Colosseo (see map). Tickets are priced at 10 euro per person. As I have more booking details, I will update them to the blog.


View Larger Map

Useful links:

• You can watch a one and a half minute preview at La Repubblica:
  http://roma.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/3591004
  
  
• You can see digital photos from the movie also from La Repubblica:
  http://roma.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/3590057
  
  
• There's a good article from The Times in English about this new project by Richard Owen.
  
  
• Two articles (both in Italian) from ANSA and Adnkronos
  

*image borrowed from La Repubblica multimedia presentation about this show on 3-D Rome

Lonely Planet: Rome Encounter

Lonely Planet's Rome Encounter, by Cristian Bonetto and recently published in September 2008 ($11.99), is an excellent guide book for those travelers looking for an "abbreviated" travel guide. Packed with loads of sights, hotels, restaurants and other things to do, this guide book breaks Rome down into smaller, manageable "sections" to make touring and seeing the Eternal City more approachable. The book is laid out in simple sections so if only certain parts of Rome interest you, then you only need consult those chapters. But Bonetto, through his excellent writing, certainly urges that you explore as much of Rome as you can.

My take is that this guidebook works better for the traveler who intends to spend a short time in Rome (3-4 days) or a traveler who has visited Rome in the past and no longer needs to sections on history, art and culture. However, I found the book to be very useful even for its size and would find it also useful for longer stays. It could easily be stored in your backpocket or in your backpack without hardly taking up any space at all.


Locations and venues in the book are briefly (yet well) described with an address, phone number (where applicable), web site details (where applicable) and other helpful knowledge and information needed to reach the place in question -- your standard fare of tourist information in a succint format.

If you're looking for a guidebook with more history and descriptions of various sites, you'd probably do better with another guidebook. This guidebook also focuses wholly on Rome so if you're looking for things to do outside the city in and around Lazio, your best bet would also be to seek out a more expansive guidebook (perhaps Rome's Lonely Planet City Guide or National Geographic Traveler Guide to Rome).

My only "gripe" with this guide is that it comes with a mediocre map (which tears out and can be carried with you) -- but I wouldn't rely too heavily on it. I found the map to be difficult to read, and it's also made of paper. Bound to rip and become worn on your trip, and you'd do best to find a map that is laminated and more durable for your trip -- Streetwise Rome or Rough Guide Map of Rome.