In Rome Tours Blog IV
IN ROME TOURS REVISED BLOG IV
TripAdvisor
It's been coming, and now's the time to splurge. Most, perhaps all tour operators in Rome, legal licensed, openly illegal who don't even know they need a license to sell tours on and offline, fly-by-night tour website owners, guides who make bank in summertime then jump ship in October, and all the merry rest do their level best to keep their customers happy. Most of the time. Sometimes there is no winning and plenty of losing to be had. Sometimes customers just don't want to be happy, or they genuinely can't be happy, are genetically programmed to be unhappy etc. Perhaps it's a trait which only manifests itself when in Rome, or when on holiday anywhere else in the world. Who knows? Who cares... we care alot!We are in 2012 and the internet guarantees everyone a degree of anonymity, but not much. Every service provider in the business of tourism is held ransom by an unpleasant website called TripAdvisor. It allows the angry little man, the frustrated nonce to launch vitriol at hard working people for little or no reason whatsoever. Moderated? Nope. TripAdvisor business account support? A joke.
The blanket fix would be if every tour operator, property owner, restaurant and limo driver closed their account and moved to the competition. Oh, wait, there is no competition. TripAdvisor has become the Google of travel and tourism, only Yelp! could help but they have always trailed far behind their nemesis and seem to be going backwards. However, TripAdvisor's appalling reputation as a reliable source of information doesn't seem to have put off the masses. Americans still rely on TripAdvisor reviews and replies before booking, replies written by owners to douse hate (negative reviews) and self-penned, box-fresh 5 star reviews.
While the majority use TripAdvisor to lavish praise on the deserving, others set out to ruin others. It's unpleasant, a hidden war in some kind of perpetual stalemate. Does TripAdvisor care? No, of course not. It is clear that TripAdvisor has become the litmus test for tourism online, despite the fact there is no real moderation of reviews in evidence.
Comments please!
One Irish pub in Rome, four tour operators!
By the time England had swatted Sweden back to Scandinavia earlier this week, Finnegan Pub was emptying. A glance around in between a generous round found three tour operator bosses to my left and right (i'm just the copywritedr...). Surely a record? There's only a handful of quality tour providers in Rome and that bar moment captured the majority! So is this about Colosseum tours and how best to see the most, or something more? Watch this space! Just to say we used to offer a tour called "Drink as the Romans do", and even now you'll have to wait for Eat as the Romans do or perhaps just browse our wine tours in Rome.The grand opening of our new website... Monday, October 1st, 2012! We're fighting with deep reds and blacks (webmasters, please don't leave spiteful comments!), greens, blues (or perhaps just plain old viridian green), so on and so forth. In an ideal virtual world, intelligent web content would colourshift to match the users immediate surroundings and state of mind, but for now i'm running with some kind of blue green oceanic theme. Which reminds me, that boat tour of the River Tiber needs a home.
In Rome Tours - Sebastiano Veniero 21
We're moving! On July 9th, 2012 we're moving to bigger premises even closer to the Vatican Museums entrance! We'll be right next to the meeting point for Viator who don't have an office of any kind in Rome, so if you would like to pop in to ours for a chat and some relaxation time, you're most welcome.The new office space covers approximately 130m2, comprising a reception area, customer service area, ample seating room and toilets. Networked computers are available for customers to browse our website and book additional tours, plasma screens show videos of our tours, and there's a costume area where you can dress up as a gladiator, an ancient Roman, and even a Roman Emperor!
From Piazza Risorgimento to St. Peter's Square
Another full day of videography on Saturday! St. Peter's Square, as ever, was an experience. Making one's way there from the office, via Ottaviano station and Piazza del Risorgimento is standard procedure - 12 minutes on foot. Upon arriving at Largo del Colonnato, I espied a gatherer handing out flyers about how to tour the Vatican with "(Whoever) Tours". Curious about the company, I engaged him in conversation and was immediately surrounded by two English lads badgering us to pay them for their Vatican tour. A bronzed Italian female joined the fray. We have lived and worked in Rome for many years, so of course we know how street hawkers operate around the Vatican. It's ugly, and situations can get out of control. The problem I had with this incident was the harassers in question were English. Blunt Sunderland accent - OK. Dirty clothes, bleary-eyed, unshaven, sweaty and rude - NOT OK. The majority of tourists milling around the Vatican have travelled half way round the world to be able to do so, and it is required that they be accorded respect at all times. Lord only knows why anyone would agree to hand money over to these next stop vagrants. If the tour guide was Michelangelo himself, i'd still feel short changed.In the end, we gave them short shrift and set up the tripod at various points around St. Peter's Square. The Police didn't seem to be too concerned this time as the area was rich in natural beauty, elements of which may or may not make the final cut. Wonderful footage of the river followed, we spent a lot of time getting the best views of Ponte Sisto, Ponte Rotto and Ponte Cestio.
As so often happens in this city, curious moments came. The journey home by metro was chaotic, a young woman was upset by a 5 minute delay and made her way through our carriage trying all the doors and then attempting to pull the emergency stop bar. Panic? Anxiety? claustrophobia? Who knows. The absolute lack of concern shown by everyone present was disturbing as we shouted across the heads of 200 people but no one closer to the woman did anything to help her. Several hundred anti-vivisection activists joined us for two stops and then we made our escape. Come to think of it, the early morning metro ride into the city centre was no less eventful, a group of people from Naples on a day trip to Rome made everyone laugh, but that's another story for another day.
The Restoration of the Black Stone
Our Rome tours with a private guide may include an overview of the Lapis Niger (Latin for "Black Stone"), a site in the Roman Forum where an ancient shrine surrounded by black slabs of marble sets it apart from the lighter travertine flooring. Along with the Vulcanal, a sanctuary to Vulcan, it is the only surviving remnant of the Old Comitium, an assembly which pre-dates the forum. It may also have been the home of a 7th. or 8th. century BC cult.The Lapis Niger was unearthed in 1899 by Giacomo Boni. It's original discovery was recorded in the writings of Sextus Pompeius Festus, which alluded to a "black stone in the Comice" (Lapis Niger in Comitio). Described as a fatal place, the tomb of Romulus (or at least where he was killed), the literary tradition according to which the first Roman king was killed beside a sanctuary sparked the misidentification of the site with Romulus' grave. This hypothesis has been excluded in modern times.
Excavations have uncovered a monumental complex comprising a platform supporting a tuffaceous altar with three antas (shutters) and a circular basement, perhaps used to house a statue, and a trapezoid cippus (low pillar). The cippus was possibly the Lapis Niger as described in ancient Latin texts, the sides of which show bustrofedic inscriptions ("the way of plowing oxen", i.e. from left to right in reverse), which date back to 570-560 BC. The inscriptions resemble ancient Greek alphabet, and the stone is chronologically linked to the period when Greek lettering was in use by the people of Italy. As only fragments of each line have survived the ravages of time, it is impossible to decipher the meaning with any degree of accuracy, however, scholars are of the opinion that it may be a warning.
The Lapis Niger, occasionally referred to as "Heart of the World", is being restored to it's original splendour in situ after centuries of concealment. At the foot of the Campidoglio, between the Curia Julia and Arch of Septimius Severus, a specialized project area is now strictly off limits, as archaeologists dismantle 300 square metres of reinforced concrete floor laid in the 1950s. Project leader Pia Petrangeli reports that iron parts inside the paving, severely corroded by humidity, have been stabilized to reduce the possibility of collapse. In order to achieve such a delicate task, an innovative application has been used for the first time on an archaeological dig in Rome. Technicians will cut through the concrete with a sophisticated air-saw and "wagon-bridge". At time of writing, the area is secure and works to uncover the stone are already underway.
Anyway, ancient stones of almost every colour are everywhere in Rome and nearby too. If you are interested in a day away from the city, our day trips from Rome visit Etruscan, Renaissance and Saracen history on our Rome day trips that have been tailored to suit everyone.
Italy in Poland
When Toto Di Natale's goal put Italy ahead last Sunday and screams of "daje" from neighbouring apartments punctuated an otherwise peaceful Roman evening. Those of us who pay attention to the appalling state of Italian football could not hide our disappointment. Football here has fallen far. Players who pay friends who pay acquaintances who know others to bet, or worse, pay business associates on the other side of the world to close match fixing deals are alive and well, and in Stefano Mauri's case, in jail. The Lazio captain may have been scapegoated, but after the Doni affair and a host of other worrisome incidents, it is clear that corruption in Italy is a bloodline that runs deep. Nick Squires of The Telegraph summed up the reality of Italy last November.If it is possible to clear the names of those involved, it'll be a massive boost for a country in the doldrums in every sense. The Italian football fans I know have become thick skinned enough to ignore the many soap operas featuring corrupt players they used to support, for whom the lure of lucre is overpowering. As ambassadors for the city in which they play, and in many cases, their country, astronomical salaries ought to control economic woes. The solution, unfortunately, is life bans for the guilty. Club football here can still win the day. For now, however, it's in the hands of the national team against Croatia and the Republic of Ireland.
For visitors to Rome, for the time being, we don't recommend paying to watch a football match in the Stadio Olimpico, as who knows who's paid who to underperform. We can, however, recommend one or more of our Vatican tours in Rome which offer excellent value for money. Ok, on our private Raphael tour in Rome we explain how he plagiarized Michelangelo, but that's another article for another day and not about football!
Video a No Go
Having spent most of the day walking around Rome with a videographer, and all this evening with a home-made ice collar wrapped around my beetroot neck, I have a few minutes to reflect upon how Italians et al. respond to video cameras in the vicinity of churches, ruins, and other random places in bella Roma.Churches do not like tripods. I have never liked tripods since I first heard Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" in childhood, but we made it into all of them bar Mister Basilica di San Clemente. Know that the young man wearing clerical clothes at the entrance might not be a priest. The begging bowl and "look out" girlfriend gives the game away anyway. Ignore him to avoid contributing towards their Romanian villa. People in real need, indeed, dire need, do not try to deceive the good amongst us by faking the dog collar.
The Priory of the Knights of Malta and their famous keyhole. Never seen a key, never seen the gate open, never seen the gardens beyond. What a fantastic view nonetheless. We managed to film a burst of moments, and bystanders who failed to capture the miniature scene queued up to snap our lowly handycam screen. Strange. Ah, an Italian tour guide bounded up unannounced, demanding that we "step aside" for his private tour of two. And f*** you too.
La Bocca della Verità . Insane, crazy busy. The unkempt, officious individual who marshalls the line hates video cameras, tripods, and people. We joined the line nonetheless and filmed hands of tourists in the mouth of an old Roman drain cover. It became an undercover operation of sorts.
Post out! New In Rome Tours videos online soon!
Vatican Tourism
The Vatican City is the main religious tourism attraction in Italy. It was officially born on February 11th, 1929, after the signing of "Lateran Pacts" between the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Gasparri. The long standing dispute between the state and the church came to an end with the creation of the autonomous government of the Vatican City.The Vatican City is the smallest independent sovereign state in the world with a government, statutes and head of state of its own (Pontiff of the Catholic Church). It covers an area of just 49 hectares and is located within Rome. Being an autonomous state, the Vatican City has its own laws, public institutions, currency and official press. Despite its size, it boasts within its boundaries the residence of the Pope, the site of St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
The core of the Vatican City is St. Peter's Square and Basilica, where it's possible to admire the "Palace of Governorship" and the Vatican Gardens nearby. Built in 1506 over St. Peter's tomb, St. Peter's Basilica is the world's largest. In 1547, Michelangelo took over and simplified Bramante's previous plan, increasing the scale. Upon his death in 1564, one of Michelangelo's students, Giacomo della Porta, looked after the erection of the dome following his master's design. The beating heart of the Vatican City, St. Peter's Square attracts thousands of believers and tourists, all fascinated by its powerful artistic and religious scenography.
The Vatican City is a popular destination for tourists, especially Christians wishing to see the Pope or practice their faith. Pilgrims visit the Vatican City at special moments in the liturgical year, such as during Christmas week, Easter, or during important periods such as the proclamation of a holy year or the funeral / election of a pope. The business of Vatican Tours is a significant source of revenue for Vatican City denizens. In 2007, some 4.3 million people visited the Vatican Museums.
The practice of pilgrimage has ancient origins. It is deeply rooted in Christianity and holds a profound spiritual value for believers who travel (on foot by tradition) from their homes to holy places. The term itself means "journey to join the sacred", done for devotion or as a sign of penance. A pilgrimage is also a simple and ancient version of modern tourism, or, more precisely, religious tourism. The popularity of pilgrimages is increasing.
Organic Rome tours? No!
Not what you think. Panda and our Rome tours rank clashed head on this morning over an impossible SERP drop. At time of writing, a modicum of progress throughout the day augurs well for the weekend. It's better that conflicts of this kind see the light of day in February rather than June, for example. Without giving the game away, you can't be best at both. If you're online and marketing Rome tours, blogging about county boundaries, or trying to tell the world that tarantulas make spectacular pets, never try to understand Google! Just plough ever on and one day or another you'll keep up?Moving swiftly on to what matters most, ergo tours to Pompeii from Rome and our new tour to Florence from Rome, the latter having arrived much earlier than expected! Here's our link for visitors who want to see the best of Florence on a sightseeing trip from Rome with In Rome Tours.
Keeping cool in Rome #1
Some like it hot? Rome is approximately seven degrees fahrenheit cooler than last year, and nine degrees fahrenheit cooler than two years ago, but she can still work up an uncomfortable mid-afternoon sweat. Not everyone thrives in the scorching rays of Italian sunshine, especially in late August. So what's the best way to spend all day sightseeing in Rome without having to endure the woes of heat exhaustion?Street taps are easy to find in the city centre so carry an empty flask in your bag and refill whenever necessary. Water in Rome is cool, clean, and it tastes much better than any bottled water you'll pay for in a shop or supermarket. The bottom line is don't pay for water when in Rome, just leave your hotel with an empty container (500ml).
Fountains are everywhere in Rome. Don't take an impromptu bath or shower, or worse, drink from the pool per se (pigeon droppings... human waste...). Do drink directly from source if you must. The best course of action is to sit on the edge of any fountain and freshen up.
Gelato. From experience, a mix of citrus flavours does wonders for the constitution if you can forget about the calorie intake. Lemon and lime or orange and melon are cool and refreshing combination flavours.
Alcohol, beers and ciders. Stay away! They quench your thirst temporarily at best and at six euros a pot in most pubs in Rome, you'll just be throwing away your hard-earned cash. Finnegan Irish pub on Via Leonina is one of the most expensive, but it's a welcome refuge for weary tourists after a day traipsing around ancient Rome. Sponsored by Celtic FC at some point, Finnegan's is two parts Italian one part Belfast, and frequented by as many rowdy expats working for the UN as the regular Italian rugby crowd. Finns comes highly recommended, despite the incoherent ramblings of random Manchester City and / or Liverpool fans on match day.
It can get extremely hot in and around the Vatican City, so if you've booked a Vatican tour, make sure you head over there with plenty of water.
Eating in the heat? Stick with fluids and gelato. It's better to wait until the evening when our pizza ovens are ready to bake.
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