Films Set in Rome

Now that we don't have a Detective Montalbano to watch, I'm going to look around for some movies set in Rome so I can preview the sights.  Today I checked out three from the Monroeville Public Library:

1. Angels & Demons, a Tom Hanks continuation of the Da Vinci Code although Dan Brown wrote Angels and Demons before it.
2. Three Coins in the Fountain, nominated for an Academy Award in 1954 with Rossano Brazzi, a favorite of mine.  Wikipedia says "It was made in Italy during the "Hollywood on the Tiber" era."
3. Fellini's Roma 

Of course, I'll have to take out Roman Holiday again with Audrey Hepburn (Fernando's favorite) and Gregory Peck since his apartment is supposed to be on the Via Margutta, which is just south of the Piazza del Populo.  And there is a similarly titled movie called "Rome Adventure" also with Rossano Brazzi and the Monroeville Library has that one as well.

The Guardian has a list of "10 of the best films set in Rome" but most are in English.  They also have a list of "10 of the best trattorias in Rome" but it is from 2011 so we'll have to check if they still exist.  The websites of Roman restaurants do not feature menus with prices so I hope they have the menus posted outside the door.

Wikipedia also has a List of films set in Rome but again they seem to be mainly English language films.  They have another list "Category: Films set in Rome" that has a lot more Italian language films, that I can look up and see if the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has them.  They do have quite a lot.

Rick Steves' Rome

I have 9 books out on Rome (and one on Italy) but the Rick Steves books is due back at the library and there is a hold on it so I can't renew it.  So I am trying to read as much as possible before I have to return it on Tuesday.

Rick recommends downloading his audio tours to one's iPhone since they are free (really?) and also recommends the Rome Walks YouTube video on "Understanding Rome's Public Transport".  And of course one thing leads to another and I end up at Rome Walks' Dan Brown's Angels and Demons Tour.  Maybe I'll get the movie (there are loads of available copies in the libraries) as it will be faster than reading the book and I'm in it for the sights anyway.

The one thing I'm getting over and over from Rick Steves is "watch out for pickpockets", especially on the buses.  Yet Rome is one of his favorite cities and he recommends taking the buses and metro (there are only two lines built by Mussolini, the only one who's dared to dig up ancient Rome for such modernization).  Rick says to take the first or last cars on the metro because they are less crowded and so less a target for pickpockets -- unless all the tourists have read Rick Steves.  He's got more than other travel books on public transportation, listing bus routes and what they pass by.  For instance, he recommends riding Bus #64 across the city:  "Ride it for a city overview and to watch pickpockets in action."  Maybe I won't bring my big camera afterall...  Of course, that wouldn't be in my pocket.

I listened to one of Rick Steve's radio shows on Rome, the introduction with Francesca and Susanna, which was quite interesting and informative, so much so that perhaps Fernando would listen to it.   Rick Steves has a lot of other material on Rome: videos, articles and radio shows, and apparently they are all free.  Here are his TV shows on Rome.  Whoops.  Some are only promos so we have to go look for them on YouTube.  I can't even find the full "Rome: Etrernally Engaging" episode at the library.

• Rick Steve's Rome: Eternally Engaging
• Rome: Ancient Glory
• Rome: Back-Street Riches
• Rome: Baroque Brilliance

Here's his complete section on Italy: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy and if you click on the + for "Listen" you can find the radio shows on Rome:

• Rome I: Travel Guide
• Rome II: Beneath the Surface (Ancient Rome)
• Rome III: Jewish Ghetto
• Visiting St. Peter's Basilica
• Waters of Rome
• Postcards from Rome

I'll have to listen to his radio episodes on Italian cuisine and there is one on Pilgrim's Italy in case at some point we want to walk the pilgrim's trail from England to Rome...  But the point of coming to Rick Steves' website was to download his audio tours, most of which are about Roman sites, to my iPhone.  The maps I'll print out -- I still like to have paper in my hands.

Since it is so expensive to get to Europe these days, I'd like to spend at least two weeks in Italy.  Actually I was thinking of enrolling in Pitt's summer semester in Siracusa...  But then I see they have a Pitt in Rome program -- but it is $5600 not including airfare!!  And then there is always the Centro Linguistico Italiano Dante Alighieri with centers in Rome and Florence.  Do you think there are language programs for seniors?  Or maybe we could do a week in Rome and then a week at an AgroTurismo home in the country -- although then we'd probably have to rent a car and Fernando doesn't like to drive in foreign countries -- we'll have to wait to go with Juan to do that.  Or maybe we could do a week in Naples and go to Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Oh!  and look what Rick Steves sells: A Guidebook Page Binder, so you can tear out the pages from the his guidebook that you are using one day and clamp them together in the binder, then the next day replace them with another set so you don't have to lug the entire book around.  But why not just get the electronic version from Amazon and put it on your iPhone?

I know.  Not everyone has an iPhone...  Think of all the print guidebooks you could buy for one month of iPhone service.

Reading Rome

Naturally I'm checking out lots of books about Rome from the library.  The latest one is a hefty 730 page volume: The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City, written by Mauro Lucentini, an Italian journalist.  I'm on page 48 and we've barely made it through the Porta del Popolo and into the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo.  Within this church are so many paintings, mosaics and sculptures by famous Italians that perhaps I should take a course on Italian art first, although I think Jen still has her books from her Italian art history courses.  Maybe I can just look at the pictures...

And guess what??  This 730 page Rome Guide is available on the Kindle!  So we could do the walks from our iPhones, since the book consists of walks through Rome describing the history behind everything.  But who really wants to walk through Rome with their nose in an iPhone?  Although we might look like natives that way...

I'm further along in Frank J. Korn's Hidden Rome, whose format of short 3-4 page chapters is just right for me.  He has spent a lot of time in Rome and pulls out a lot of history.  He has another book, A Catholic's Guide to Rome,  but our library system doesn't have a copy, although Amazon offers both a paperback and a kindle version.  I wonder if there is A Pagan's Guide to Rome.  Korn has a little chapter on "The Trattoria" and lists some of his favorites, many of which are in Trastevere and the Borgo on the west side of the Tiber.  I'm going to add them to my Google Map of Rome.  I've come to the conclusion that the new Google Maps were designed for mobile phones, where the street view doesn't look distorted as it does on my laptop.  The classic Google Map works better on computers.  I have to see how my Rome map will look on my iPhone.

Interesting Tips about Rome

Here are some facts and asides I am picking up about Rome:

1. Frommers: He warns you about the Rome traffic, always be on your guard.  "The hectic crush of urban Rome is considerably less during August, when many Romans leave town for vacation."  He also says "never ride the trains when the Romans are going to or from work, or you'll be smashed flatter than fettuccine." AND: "Rome has four daily rush hours: to work (8-9am), to home for lunch (1pm), back to work (3:30pm), and to home in the evening (6-7pm)."  Also, always be on the alert for pickpockets...
   
   
   
2. Time Magazine: In finding the perfect souvenir, he recommends buying a rosary and then taking it to a papal appearance to have it blessed when the pope blesses the crowd.  "Technically, you may get blessings only for items that would help you with your faith (no T-shirts, or designer scarves or bottles of olive oil), but according to a Jesuit friend of mine, the one exception to the rule is for Jesuits, who often hold up bottles of single-malt scotch or top-shelf vodka. They claim that such libations greatly assist their prayer and mission."
   
   
   
3.  The Time Magazine article also has some tips in Need to Know.  For instance, rent a motorino to get around and don't order cappuccinos after noon.
   
   
   
4. Frommers: "April to June and late September to October are the best months for traveling in Italy -- temperatures are usually mild and the crowds aren't quite so intense...From late October to Easter, most attractions go on shorter winter hours or are closed for renovation. Many hotels and restaurants take a month or two off between November and February..."
   
   
   
5.  Lonely Planet: April to June and September-October are the high season rates for hotels.