Rome Travel Guide
8/18/2008 at 1:05 PM
Tags: Culture Travel, Ancient History Travel, Theme Parks (all tags)
A holy water log flume? God's Hand Antigravity Spinner? Officials in Rome have announced plans to open a theme park in the Eternal City, and we're praising the Lord for the opportunity for jokes it presents, even though the park won't draw on the nearby Vatican for inspiration.
Instead, the as yet unnamed amusement park will depict life in Rome 2,000 years ago, from the open-air forum to the raucous Colosseum. Deputy Mayor Mauro Cutrufo says Euro Disney is the model for the new attraction, which is curious considering the very negative reaction Walt's first foray into European tourism received when it opened.
Some regional officials have already come out against the "Americanization" of Roman history. But with millions of Americans visiting the city every year, hasn't that battle already been fought?
Related Stories:
· Pirates of the Colosseum? Rome Plans Theme Park [Reuters]
· Theme Park Travel: Who's Feeding Shamu? [Jaunted]
· Theme Parks coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: wtlphotos]
by egw
8/01/2008 at 9:05 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Heidi Klum, Seal (all tags)
Say Käse! Heidi Klum, husband Seal and children Leni, Henry and Johan took a break on the Spanish Steps in Rome this week along with Klum's parents, sister and brother. Whew! No wonder they all stopped for a photo shoot before playing in the La Barcaccia fountain opposite the steps.
With Heidi's show "Project Runway" currently on the air in the US, the hostess (who also helms "Germany's Next Top Model") probably found it prudent to vacation now and work later.
But when Klum moves to LA this fall for the sixth season of "Runway," she and her brood might be turning west instead of east for their family getaways--cuts down on crabby-kid plane time!
Related Stories:
· Post-Oscars Travel: There Will Be Partying [Jaunted]
· Victoria's Secret Angels Are at Vegas Hotels [HC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Doctors of Pop Culture]
by egw
6/23/2008 at 11:45 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Airport Photo Shoots, Anthony Bourdain, Continental, FCO (all tags)
At least he did on his latest trip into Rome. From our new favorite iPhone-carrying tipster:
Saturday. 8 am Rome time. At Fiumincino, Anthony Bourdain gets his and his family's luggage. The stars are just like us. Flew Continental from Newark, my flight, saw him on it.
Clearly Bourdain should be happy that checked bags are free on transatlantic flights. Maybe he's in town to check out the awesome eats?
Related Stories:
· Airport Photo Shoots coverage [Jaunted]
· Anthony Bourdain coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
6/18/2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Tom Hanks, Dan Brown, Ron Howard, The Da Vinci Code, Movie Set Travel (all tags)
Hey, remember those awesome scenes in "The Da Vinci Code" where Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu went into a church and discovered "Jesus" could be her middle name? (It was something like that.) Well, hope you enjoyed those sweeping Ron Howard shots, because the Vatican is cracking down on filming requests for the Dan Brown prequel "Angels and Demons."
When the Catholic Church was unable to kill the best-selling thriller and the train of books that followed it, it struck back by blocking Tom Hanks and Howard from shooting inside two Rome churches, Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria, which supposedly figure prominently into the plot of "Angels and Demons."
(We've never read it, but we assume it takes Langdon the symbologist from idyllic desert childhood to kill-happy atheist. It's a prequel, after all!)
Church cooperation or no, look for "Angels and Demons" to hit theaters sometime in 2009, with new costars Ewan McGregor as a Vatican hotshot and Ayelet Zurer ("Vantage Point," "Munich") as the requisite hot-lady scientist.
Related Stories:
· Movie Set Travel: "The Da Vinci Code" [Jaunted]
· Vatican Bans Tom Hanks from Filming in Churches [ICYDK]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Defamer]
by egw
5/27/2008 at 9:35 AM
Tags: Italy Travel, Crime, Train Travel (all tags)
Traveling by train and sipping cappuccino used to be two of Jaunted's favorite Italian pastimes. But after this weekend's death by cappuccino in a Roman train station, we're not feeling frothy about either.
The bizarre incident unfolded in the wee hours of Friday morning when an Italian offered an elderly American couple a couple of cappuccinos at the Tiburtina train station. The man allegedly laced their drinks with sleeping pills, robbed them and left them delirious. Still under the effects of his drugged drink, 74-year-old Frank Phel then walked onto the tracks where he was killed by an oncoming train.
Officials have the suspected cappuccino killer in custody and are reminding travelers to stay alert while on the rails and, now, in cafés too.
Related Stories:
· Italy: American Tourist Dies After Robbery [NYT]
· US Tourist Drugged, Killed by Train [AP, via Google]
· Train Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Abroad'r View]
by CourtScott
5/08/2008 at 2:00 PM
Tags: Film Festivals, Film Festival Travel, Italy Travel, Rome Film Fest (all tags)
Could Clooney, Leo, and the rest of Hollywood's Rat Pack be turned away at this year's Rome Film Fest? If the city's newly elected right-wing mayor has anything to say about it, yes. Gianni Alemanno thinks inviting "a catwalk of Hollywood stars" is the wrong move, since Romans aren't interested in our image-driven industry. Italians not concerned with image? Riiiight.
Directors from around the world have released statements in support of an internationally flavored festival, cautioning that removing Hollywood would be a major momentum stall for the two-year-old event, which has already achieved major standing in the festival world.
It's another five months till the festival kick-off on October 21, so who knows where this might lead. Considering Italy's ever-changing politics, Rome may have a new mayor by then and this can all be forgotten. Or maybe everyone will just head to Venice instead.
Related Stories:
· Directors back Rome Film Fest [Variety]
· Rome Film Fest [Official Site]
· Film Festival Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Daylife]
by CourtScott
3/12/2008 at 9:20 AM
Tags: Italy Travel, Rome, Tourist Attractions (all tags)
The heart of commerce in ancient Rome is going back to its roots. The Roman Forum site, which has been free to enter for years, started selling tickets to visitors as of this Monday.
Some say tourists won't mind too much, because it is now covered by a joint ticket with the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. Maybe so, but not all travelers plan to race around every single famous sight in Rome, and on top of that, many are saddened that locals won't be able to wander through spontaneously without having to pay €9.
The official reason for the introduction of a charge for the Forum is that money is needed for restoration work and to increase security. Reasons that are hard to argue with, but we don't like seeing anything get taken off the "free activities" list.
Related Stories:
· Rome: The Forum's No Longer Free [Budget Travel]
· Where to Swim Nude in Rome [Jaunted]
· Red Pompeii Pictures Turn Up In Rome [Jaunted]
[Photo: vgm8383]
by amandak
2/08/2008 at 4:09 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Movie Travel, Rachel Bilson, Hayden Christensen, FCO (all tags)
In the upcoming sci-fi movie "Jumper," a young man finds out he can teleport anywhere he wants. Unfortunately for Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson, the stars of the movie, real life ain't sci-fi, so they've been crossing the globe the regular way to promote the movie.
Here they're departing Fiumicino Airport in Rome, whose Colosseum provided one of the key location shots for the movie, which was also filmed in Toronto and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The word "teleportation" was coined almost 80 years ago, so where are our teleporters, already?!
Related Stories:
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Rachel Bilson [Jaunted]
[Photo: Faded Youth Blog]
by egw
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