Call center assistance for tourists in Rome and other Rome, Italy General Tips

Favorite Thing: Help for tourists in Rome - 0636004399
A call center with operators speaking Italian, English, French, German and Spanish.
Open 7 days a week 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Offers information on events, shows, hotels, restaurants, shopping and transportation.

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Art & Museums: The Best Map of Villa Borghese

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Written by icunme

on Apr 16, 2006

by icunme

Favorite Thing: Villa Borghese is huge and a good map will help immensely. The very best map of Villa Borghese is at the Rent a Bike Shop either by Villa Medici or by the entrance on Viale Goethe. An extremely simple and detailed map of the park.

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Miscellaneous: Rome Public Transportation Best City Map

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Updated by icunme

on Apr 17, 2006

Rome public transportation map

by icunme , 1 more photos

Favorite Thing: You will see a number of maps to choose from in all the tourist shops and offices. This appears to be the map of choice if you plan to use public transportation while in Rome. It is user friendly and gives excellent detail on all available public transportation routes and schedules. A handy little item.

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General Tips: Demonstrations and Rallys

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Written by icunme

on May 10, 2006

by icunme

Favorite Thing: All the rallies end in one of the historical squares of Rome. According to the size of the expected attendance the locations involved are:
a) Piazza del Campidoglio: small rallies (less than 5,000);
b) Piazza Navona: small rallies (up to 40,000);
c) Piazza del Popolo: medium size rallies (up to 150,000);
d) Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano: large rallies (up to 1,000,000);
e) Circo Massimo: very large rallies (more than 1,000,000).

Former Prime Minister (and staunch Bush ally) Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian PM who took office in June 2001 and was just defeated, claimed that the success of a March 2002 mass gathering in Rome to protest against his labour policies was due more to the beauty of Rome, than to a genuine negative opinion about the legislation he wanted to introduce.
There is an element of truth in this statement: Trade Unions organized and subsidized the trip and many took the occasion to spend a day in Rome.

The events which led to the 2003 war in Iraq and its violent and never-ending aftermath caused a lot of uneasiness and anxiety in many people. These feelings were behind the massive participation in the rallies organized to prevent the war and subsequently to call for a different approach to the many issues the intervention had raised.
While rallies organized by the Unions are very structured, these other rallies left more room for individual participation.

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Tourist & Practical info, Rome pass.: National Holidays Celebrated in Italy

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Written by icunme

on May 6, 2006

Rome Tourist & Practical info, Rome pass.

Vittorio Emanuele - symbol of

Italy's unification

by icunme

Favorite Thing: HOLIDAYS

On national holidays you may find information offices closed, museums open for shorter hours and public transport running a limited service. Be forewarned by checking the dates of your vacation against the list below.

(Note that Easter Monday is a mobile feast-day, and changes every year, while all the other holidays keep to the same date.)

January 1: New Year's Day**
January 6: Epiphany
April 17: Easter Monday (in 2006)
April 25: Liberation Day
May 1: Labor Day**
June 2: Anniversary of the Founding of the Republic
August 15: Feast of the Assumption (also known as Ferragosto)
November 1: All Saints
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 25: Christmas Day**
December 26: St. Stephen's Day (Boxing Day)
(The dates marked ** are particularly difficult: practically all museums and monuments are shut and many restaurants too.)

As well as the above national holidays, each town celebrates the feast-day of its patron saint, which differs from town to town.

Dates for the major cities are as follows:

Rome: June 29 (Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul)
Florence: June 24 (Feast of St. John the Baptist)
Venice: April 25 (Feast of St. Mark - but also Liberation Day and a holiday anyway)
Naples: September 19 (San Gennaro)

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Tourist & Practical info, Rome pass.: ROME WEATHER

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Written by icunme

on Sep 14, 2006

Rain welcome in our courtyard

by icunme , 1 more photos