Your cartHere we are, it is summer again.The Italian summer lasts 4 months, from the middle of May until the middle of September, in every field of our life we take our time, don't you think summer is the right period to enjoy some more time with leisure?
Unfortunately, we have just two weeks holidays, and sometimes they are so stressful that you would like to come back to work as soon as possible. It is crowdy everywhere - not to mention the seaside - and even if you travel abroad you will get nervous to arrange everything, from the flight to book the luggage to pack.
For those who travel to Rome, or merely for those who live there and just want to know what to do at night, I am going to tell you about different events in the city.
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Along the Tiber River
As the word itself suggests there are pubs, music and art shows to enlighten the riverside and the city itself.
You have the chance to join a lot of cultural events like tastings, theatrical performances and meetings. The great news of this year is the exhibition about the 140th anniversary of "Il Messaggero", a historical Italian newspaper based in Rome. It displays 14 panels with the front pages of the first editions of the newspaper: fundamental episodes of the Italian history from the World Wars until now. After the great success of the past 16 years, the goal of this event is to entertain tourists and inhabitants and to reevaluate the charm of a river with a central role not only in the Roman history, but in the Italian one.
The quays of the river are enriched with kiosks showing arts and production by craftsmen or selling food and wine and you can appreciate classical music concerts for free as well, organized by the St. Cecilia's conservatory of Rome.
In addition to this enjoy the exposition "Women from Trastevere", a collection of photos representing everyday life of women who used to live in Trastevere between 1970 and 1975. Furthermore, two exhibitions about the Tiber: "The secret Tiber" and "The painted Tiber", the latter shows paintings about the river while the former shares anecdotes and stories about the Tiber itself.
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Rome meets the World
For those who are in love with music and would like to take part in some musical events, I can suggest you "Villa Ada: Rome meets the world".
Villa Ada is one of the biggest public parks in Rome - the biggest is Villa Dora Pamphilj - and it is the setting for this event since 1994. A lot of singers and groups, will perform there and since they are not just Italian this show will give you the opportunity to start a kind of musical trip without borders through the different sounds from all over the world. Beyond this, the shore of the lake will host a cultural program rich in book launches, artistical exposition, enogastronomic stands, meetings, club nights and much more. The magic of the park, the lake, the happy people, food and history, everything make this event at Villa Ada the greatest musical event of the Roman summer.
Regarding other music exhibitions there is a concert in every corner of the city, you have just to choose what is the music genre you would like to listen to and search for the exact event, like the "Village Celimontana" consisting in a jazz festival.
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Cinema Island
If you are more interested in cinema than in music, you should not miss the "Isola del cinema" at all.
Set in the Tiberina Island, the most suggestive place to enjoy a cinema open-air, it is one of the most important events characterizing the Roman summer. This year thanks to the combination of Cinema, Literature, Music, and Photograph, it will be carried out a new enriched project entitled "the Roman Island".
"Isola Mondo" or "the World Island" consists in introducing the different culture of countries like Japan, India, Australia and Israel with the collaboration of their Embassies and Institutes of Culture. Movies from the different countries will be shown and this will be accompanied by cultural events: from tastings to follow-up meeting about literature and tourism. The scheduling includes a wide range of European and international movies from last year too, and for the third consecutive year documentaries will have a great role, they are all about the crisis that has been troubling the entire world in the past years.
Going ahead talking about cinema, I would totally suggest "Notti di Cinema a Piazza Vittorio". A different show from the previous one for sure, it is a kermesse open-air that will accompany tourists and Romans, in the heat of the summer nights, showing a different movie every day.
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Summer Reading
In Castel Sant'Angelo's gardens, "Summer Reading along the river and into the trees" is an important event that encourages the development of books and readings in the city, since 1968. More than 40 independent bookstores within the area of Rome contribute not only to transform Castel Sant'Angelo's paths in about 1 km of an enchanted stroll in the heart of Rome, but every day they programme events and meetings giving you the chance to take part in new books launch and especially walk in an open-air bookstore. Kids can join labs, games and readings. In these special gardens you won't miss the music, there will be musical events like concert lessons and meetings and music will be the theme of some books to launch as well.
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The Globe Theatre
Silvano Toti Globe Theatre is a Roman theatre that recreates the ancient Globe Theatre built in London in 1599, the most famous one from the Elizabethan Period. It is located in Villa Borghese and this reconstruction has various differences since it hasn't been transmitted an accurate copy of the original project. The roman globe respects the ring shape and it is entirely built in oak wood as the authentic from London.
Almost every two weeks the planning is changed and it is shown on stage a different work from Shakespeare's. You can choose between the first and second ring, or if you prefer you can try the standing rooms consisting actually of is sitting down on the floor. You can bring a towel from home, or you can rent a cushion right there. The atmosphere is magic. Everything around you makes you feel like living in the XVIth century, except for the technological development of course. Last week I saw "Othello" and I can assure you it has been one of the best experience I could ever try.
Like every other city in the world, Rome has much more to offer, my only aim here was to talk about some ideas I find interesting and to suggest to you something I would like to be informed of in the cities I visit. Music, Literature, Cinema, and Poetry are the cultural heritage of every place, and when you go abroad you would like to understand even the tiniest detail of a certain place or in which way other cultures have influenced it, or at least I would. Of course, you can just start walking and look around you which are the city main events, let them attract you and maybe stop wherever you would like to. You know what you are looking for and what could fit your needs and your wishes.
And if you are not inspired by the city, that will be the right moment to use this suggestion! After all, spontaneous things you didn't plan sometimes are the best, aren't they?!
