Results tagged “Rome” from Intelligent Travel Blog

Fact-checking Andrew McCarthy's upcoming January/February feature, "The Three Faces of Rome," got me thinking about the Eternal City's 2,000-year past, layer upon dusty layer of it.

Currently, only two metro lines serve the city of 2.5 million. A third, set to open in 2015, has unearthed archaeological artifacts (like the Dionysos head, unearthed near Via Sannio, Rome, above), many which will be exhibited in the stations themselves. What else has been unearthed by metros around the world?

Here are some highlights I found in my research:

• In Athens, when the city expanded its metro to accommodate the 2004 Olympics, 30,000 artifacts were found scattered beneath 17 acres.

• During construction, a 11th or 13th-century shipwreck was discovered at Yenikapi, what had been a harbor in Byzantine Istanbul.

• Approximately 2,000 fossils (mastodon, camel, ground sloth) dating back 16.5 million years were located way beneath the surface of Los Angeles.

• Construction of Line 14 of the Paris metro unearthed canoe-shaped boats 32 feet below the banks of the Seine, dating to about 2,800-2,500 B.C., hinting at what may be the earliest human settlement in the area.

•  At what is now Pino Suárez station in Mexico City, an Aztec temple was found in the 1990s and is displayed in the passageway between lines 1 and 2.
  

Rainer Jenss and his family are currently on an around-the-world journey, and they're blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. Keep up with the Jensses by bookmarking their posts, and follow the boys' Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids.

It might have seemed impractical to give ourselves only two weeks to visit France, Germany, and Italy on this trip, especially since we were on a one-year journey and could theoretically allocate a lot more time for each (or go to fewer of them). But these were places we definitely wanted the boys to see, so we just decided to be well thought-out with where we'd go. Besides, when you compare this to the amount of time a typical American can allot for a vacation, this didn't seem like such a stretch.   

We left France after spending three days in Paris and two in the countryside. Euro Disney was not on our agenda. Instead, we opted for the real-life place that in part inspired Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle: the Neuschwanstein Castle, nestled amid the stunning landscape of southwest Bavaria. The traffic was extra light on Easter Sunday, so we got to the German border relatively quickly, but not after having to dish out over 60 euro (about $90) in tolls that covered only about 200 miles of roadway. Then I was forced to break my vow not to use any GPS on this trip, not because I wanted to, but because our rental car had it installed. This proved not to be such a bad thing since the roads around the Alps are tricky and one wrong turn could end you up in a different country. Furthermore, reading a map while trying to negotiate hairpin turns wasn't the best idea.    

After choosing one of several pleasant outdoor restaurants for lunch along the bustling shores of the Bodensee (Lake Constance), we got back in the car and followed our trusty new navigation assistant straight to the castle.  Arriving without any prearranged accommodations (which is inadvisable in the busy summer months), we discovered that the Akzent Hotel Muller right at the base of the castle had a family suite for the same price we'd pay for two modest B&B-type rooms found in town. Even though it's catered specifically for tourists, which is something we generally try to avoid, it was a treat to be within easy walking distance of the castle and not have to spend any time in the car the next day, so we booked it.

Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Fahey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.

Two weeks ago Nat Geo Music hosted an Earth Day concert in Rome, Italy, that brought close to 200,000 people to the famous Piazza del Popolo to hear music groups including Ben Harper & Relentless7 and Nat Geo Music's own Bibi Tanga & The Selenites. For a concert, it was a smashing success. But the occasion was Earth Day, so how did we fare with respect to our goal of raising environmental awareness, promoting eco-friendly lifestyle, and offsetting carbon costs of the event?

To offset the carbon footprint of the event we've planned to plant 1,000 trees in a park in Rome, as well as acres of trees in Costa Rica. An Italian non-profit helped calculate how many trees we would need to plant to stay carbon neutral. Between every musical act speakers and video content highlighted the Earth Day theme and spoke to simple things each individual can do to make a difference.

But when the concert ended I was crushed to see the piazza full of trash and empty drink bottles. And problems with public transportation (welcome to Italy!) forced more people than we expected to show up in cars and scooters. I wondered how many people left the concert having absorbed our environmental message. If we really cared about the environment would it have been better not to have a concert at all?

Nat Geo Music is currently airing their Earth Day Concert LIVE from the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. Ben Harper is playing now! Check it out here. After the show, tune in HERE for the online premiere of an all-new Geo Session featuring Ben Harper & Relentless7.

Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Fahey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.


If you happen to be in Italy this Wednesday, April 22nd, we've got plans for you: Thousands of people will convene on Rome's famous Piazza del Popolo for a free concert Nat Geo Music is hosting for Earth Day. The featured artist is Ben Harper & Relentless7, and we're also excited to present a band we just signed to the newly-created Nat Geo Music record label: Bibi Tanga & The Selenites. We're even keeping in theme with the day: to offset the carbon footprint of the concert, we'll be planting a thousand trees in a park in Rome as well as acres of trees in Costa Rica.
 
But this is the travel blog, so let me set the scene at Piazza del Popolo. The best way to appreciate the piazza is from above. At the piazza's east end you'll see a terraced path lined with trees that climbs to an overlook in the Villa Borghese gardens called Pincio. From there, Piazza del Popolo and all of Rome, most notably the dome of St. Peter's, spreads before you in a view that's like love at first sight.
 
I lived in Rome for three years and fell in love with the city many times, but most often from someplace high. Whether it's the view of the Garden of Oranges from the Aventine Hill or the front of the Fontana dell' Acqua Paola from the Janiculum Hill (which is actually not one of the original seven hills of Rome), everyone who's lucky enough to explore the views of Rome has a favorite. If you've been to the Eternal City, I'm curious to hear your favorite view, or any experience you had that made you fall in love.
 
Of course, this Wednesday's Earth Day concert will not be the time to catch the view from above the Piazza del Popolo. We hope the piazza is packed with people who love music, but also people who, like us, care about the planet and want to show their support for environmental awareness and action. But if you can't make it to Rome in time, watch the concert live online from 2-6p.m. EST at www.natgeomusic.net. Or at least go plant a tree!

[Nat Geo Music Earth Day Concert in Rome]

The earthquake that hit L'Aquila, Italy has inflicted devastating damage to multiple sites of the city's artistic history. L'Aquila, the medieval capital of the Abruzzo region just northeast of Rome, was at the epicenter of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake early Monday morning. The death toll has reached over 90, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has estimated 1,500 have been injured.

The full extent of the earthquake's damage has yet to be assessed, but Giuseppe Proietti, Secretary General of the Italian Culture Ministry commented to the news agency ANSA that the quake's toll has been "huge." Much of the city's treasured Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance architecture is now gone.

The city's largest Romanesque church, the Santa Maria di Collemaggio, cracked at the transept and part of the nave has collapsed. The 13th-century basilica was the coronation site of Pope Celestine V in 1294. Other collapsed structures are the cupola of the 17th-century Anime Sante church and the bell tower of San Bernardino da Siena. In addition, it has been reported that the Porta Napoli, built in 1548 to honor Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, is gone.

Concern has turned to the National Museum of Abruzzo. A reported collapse on the third floor of this 16th-century castle has prevented anyone from entering the building to evaluate damage to the museum's civic and religious works, which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

In addition to the deaths, tens of thousands have been left homeless. The National Italian American Foundation has set up a special Abruzzo relief fund to aid the victims of the earthquake. Although the Italian Red Cross has not yet asked for international assistance, the US International Response Fund will be taking donations.

--Giovanna Palatucci

Over the next several weeks we'll be showcasing the best of the holiday season in cities around the world. Today we're taking you to Rome, and we've asked local experts for the essential ways to enjoy the winter's best. Christmas season in Italy is traditionally celebrated Dec. 24-Jan. 6, or Christmas Eve through the Epiphany. Visitors and locals alike come together to celebrate the holidays and the New Year, and we encourage you to share your own favorites with us as well.


Nicola Oddis, Chief Concierge
InterContinental De La Ville Roma

• Discover the Nativity in over 600 churches in Rome.

• Try Cafe della Pace for a peaceful setting with Christmas lights and decorations and newspapers in all languages.

• Shop along Via Condotti, the best known shopping street in the city.
  

• Walk through the Galleria Borghese, a 17th-century villa with beautiful frescoes set in the greenery of Villa Borghese Park.

• Do like Wagner and Goethe and have a cappucino at Antico Caffè Greco, Rome's the oldest cafe, which opened in 1760. 
  

Want a way to explore Rome that's part Harry Potter, part Da Vinci Code? Then check out the new scavenger hunt cum guidebook, called The Ruyi. The interactive game will have you wandering through the streets on a quest for answers to cryptic clues. Confused? Intrigued? the London Times has the details:

The book is part of The Ruyi, an ingenious game that aims to take you on a tour of the backstreets of select European cities while telling you a little of the history and the myths they contain. All you need is a map, a mobile phone and the book, which you buy online. In it there's a number--you send a text message to that number and receive your first instruction in return, telling you which of the 60 stories in the book you should read once you reach your first destination, followed by a question, which tells you where to go.

The point, it seems, is to give you an experience a bit more interactive than what you'll find in a typical guidebook.