Weather in Rome

Weather Icon

Italy Rome Tour Blog

Travel tips, Food, Lifestyle, Street Art, Events and Exhibitions in Rome and all around Italy.

piccolomini street in rome

The optical illusion to see St. Peter’s dome

Did you know? The optical illusion of via Piccolomini: the closer you get to St. Peter’s dome, the smaller it gets. Another of the countless curiosities related to the Eternal City. Rome always offers fantastic views that leave you breathless. via Piccolomini is no exception with its emotion, which is also completely free. In Rome, near the Gianicolo hill, between via Aurelia Antica and via Leone XIII, there is via Piccolomini, a straight and flat road, which ends with a fantastic viewpoint over the city. On the whole avenue the Dome of San Pietro is clearly visible, which seems to float on nothing. As you get closer to the end of the road, where the lookout is located, expect to see the dome get bigger and bigger. But no: the closer you get to the dome, the more it shrinks. On the contrary, moving away from the dome, one can see it grow and get bigger and bigger. The effect is even more noticeable at night. Why does this phenomenon occur? The reason for this architectural illusion has not yet

Read More
November 28, 2022 9:05 am
circus-of-nero-roman-empire

St. Peter’s Square and the Circus of Nero

Did you know? In imperial times, in Rome, where there is St. Peter’s Square, the Circus of Nero stood. Nero’s Circus stood in St. Peter’s in the Vatican, before the square and the Basilica were built? Right here, in fact, there was an installation for shows, about half a kilometer long. Chariot races, circus performances, Christian executions (including that of St. Peter’s): these are the events hosted, for the amusement of the emperor. The circus of Nero was a spectacle plant of ancient Rome 540 meters long and about 100 wide, which stood right in the place where today the basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican is located, in a valley that went from the left side of today’s basilica to almost to get to the Tiber. The Carceres area, from where the chariots left, was located at the point from which the Via del Sant’Uffizio leaves Piazza Pio XII, while that of the curved side can be traced a few tens of meters after the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica. The work, begun by Caligula and completed by

Read More
February 14, 2022 6:17 pm
Rome St. Peter Basilica

Until the 1950s it was possible to enter the golden ball of the dome of San Pietro

Between the dome and the large cross of St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican there is a golden sphere. Until the 1950s it was possible for tourists and onlookers to enter that sacred ball placed, between heaven and earth, on the famous Dome of the Basilica. It seems impossible but even 20 people could enter it. The dome ball is an empty sphere inside: it is made of bronze and is coated in gold. From a distance it looks very small, in reality it is very large. It seems incredible: in fact, up to 20 people can enter (12 comfortable). The sphere inside is hollow and up until a few years ago it was even open to visitors. In the bronze roof some cracks had been made (four, each corresponding to a cardinal point), and the panorama, from up there, with all of Rome at its feet, was truly marvelous.You could get there from the Loggia del Lanternino with a six-meter ladder then, through a narrow passage, just 80 cm, you could pass inside the ball.As the text of “Curious

Read More
December 23, 2021 9:47 am
sistine chapel cealing

Why are so many acorns represented in the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel?

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous cultural and artistic treasures of the Vatican City, included in the itinerary of the Vatican Museums in Rome. It was built between 1475… Why are so many acorns represented in the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel? …and around 1481, at the time of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere, from whom it took its name. Why do so many acorns appear more or less hidden in the frescoes? Let’s find out together. The Sistine Chapel is known throughout the world both for being the place where the conclave and other official ceremonies of the pope are held (in the past also some papal coronations), and for being decorated with the most famous works of art and celebrated of Western artistic civilization, among which stand out the famous frescoes by Michelangelo, which cover the vault (about 1508-1512) and the back wall (of the Last Judgment) above the altar (about 1535-1541). The walls are decorated with a series of frescoes by some of the greatest Italian artists of the second half of the fifteenth

Read More
December 14, 2021 6:10 pm

When and how to see the Pope while in Rome

Rome is not only a fantastic city for art, food and entertainment: it’s also a place of pilgrimage for many who come here to visit the tombs of the Saints Peter and Paul and of many Christian martyrs and saints. Furthermore, it’s home to the Pope, bishop of Rome, who resides in the City State of the Vatican. Many, both Catholic and not, ask how and when it is possible to see the Pope while they visit Rome. It may surprise you, but it’s actually easier than it might seem! When? The Pope has two weekly appointments where he speaks in public: the general audiences he holds every Wednesday morning and the Angelus prayer (or the Regina Coeli during Easter time) on Sundays. General Audiences are held at Saint Peter’s square, except when it’s very cold or raining – in those cases they move it to the Paul VI Audience Hall, just besides the colonnata by the Holy Office Door. Every Wednesday those who would participate in it gather early in the morning and listen a Scriptural text which is

Read More
July 28, 2017 1:21 pm
when-and-how-to-see-the-pope-in-rome

Live stream and social communication technology for 27 April Canonization

27 April 2014 – Pope John Paul II and John XXIII Canonization In our previous article about canonization, we gave you advance notice of the date and some details about this big worldwide event. Now, while millions of pilgrims are expected to attend the Catholic Church’s first-ever double canonization at the end of this month, the Vatican is preparing its most ambitious TV and social media campaign for the millions who don’t make it to Rome. City officials are expecting more than 5 million people to attend the ceremony when Pope Francis declares his predecessors Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII saints in St Peter’s Square on April 27. For the first time viewers will be able to watch the historic event live in 3D movie theaters in 20 countries across North and South America and Europe through a deal between Vatican TV and Sky TV network, Sony and other partners.The Vatican’s television unit CTV will produce the event in 3D and it will be screened in more than 600 movie theaters worldwide. Admission will be free. Pope

Read More
April 14, 2014 10:21 am
pieta done by michelangelo

Michelangelo's Pietà in st peter basilica

Michelangelo sculpted his Pietà when he was 24 years old. A Pietà is a work showing Mary with the dead body of Christ taken down from the cross. Michelangelo’s mastery of the body is obvious in this powerfully beautiful masterpiece. Jesus is believably dead, and Mary, the eternally youthful “handmaiden” of the Lord, still accepts God’s will…even if it means giving up her son. The holy Door (just to the right of the Pietà) was bricked shut at the end of the Jubilee Year 2000 and won’t be opened until 2025. Every 25 years, the Church celebrates an especially festive year derived from the OldTestament idea of the Jubilee Year (originally every 50 years), which encourages new beginnings and the forgiveness of sins and debts. In the Jubilee Year 2000, the pope tirelessly and with significant success promoted debt relief for the world’s poorest countries. If you’d like to see the most important masterpieces, like the Michelangelo’s Pietà, contact ITALY ROME TOUR and make the reservation for your unique Rome private tour The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of

Read More
July 23, 2012 4:53 pm