ROME

Italy
Damien Simonis
Abigail Hole, Alex Leviton, Alison Bing, Brendan Sainsbury
Cristian Bonetto, Duncan Garwood, Gregor Clark,
Josephine Quintero, Virginia Maxwell
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Italy Highlights
Italy is a feast of seemingly endless courses. Rome bristles with reminders of its imperial past;
Florence and Venice are virtually outdoor museums; and Naples is full of baroque bombast.
But Italy’s riches extend far beyond the obvious. Ski in chic Cortina or climb the Dolomites;
take to the Tuscan hills or island hop around Sicily; sleep in converted farmhouses and dine
in country kitchens on food so good you’ll swear no other cuisine compares. It’s difficult to
know where to start. Anywhere will probably do!
1
JON DAVISON
THE DUOMO
I grabbed her by the hand and demanded she ‘Follow me! Don’t argue!’ A quick trail through the narrow streets and telling her to shut her eyes, I pushed her into the piazza and said, ‘Look!’. Florence’s
Duomo (p481). Instantly Italy was in her blood. I’ll never forget that look on her face.
mckellan (Thorn Tree name), traveller, Australia
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SUN, SAND AND SEA
For glorious white sandy beaches head for
Italy’s heel and the Salentine Peninsula surrounding historic seaside Gallipoli (p728).
Josephine Quintero,
Lonely Planet author, Spain
3
2
WALTER BIBIKOW / PHOTOLIBRARY
TERENCE WAELAND / ALAMY
MUSIC AND
FIREFLIES
Verona was magical. During the day it was
so hot, too hot for me (travelling in July),
but in the evening I went to see the opera
in Arena di Verona (p393). The set design
was beautiful, the music was magical and
fireflies were flying in the spotlights. It
was amazing.
MsMrd (Thorn Tree name),
traveller, Finland
SON
4
JOHN ELK III
THE DOLOMITES
The Dolomites (p314). Scour the globe and you’ll find plenty of taller, more geologically volatile
mountains. But, for me, that’s not the point. There’ll always be something magical about these pinkhued mountain monoliths. Maybe it’s their harsh, jagged summits and rich cache of Ladin legends; or
perhaps it’s just the notion that this multifarious pocket of northern Italy has produced more daring
alpinists than anywhere else on the planet.
Brendan Sainsbury, Lonely Planet author, Canada
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IN PERUGIA
My first visit to Italy was to Perugia (p564) in 1998. On a warm June evening along Corso Vannucci,
hundreds of Perugini – university students, teenagers, young parents, grandmothers, grandfathers –
were strolling the passeggiata, many arm-in-arm or hand-in-hand. At any one of the Corso’s outdoor
cafes, groups of diners talked, smiled and laughed. The meaning of life in Italy suddenly seemed perfectly clear: La dolce vita, shared in the company of loved ones. Since deemed the world’s sexiest city,
Perugia still embodies what I love about the Italian lifestyle.
Alex Leviton, Lonely Planet author, USA
5
EDDY BUT TARELLI / PHOTOLIBRARY
TRIESTE COFFEE BAR
SCENE
Here he comes, the smartly-dressed waiter,
espresso cup balanced on a silver tray; past
the grand mahogany bar, the dim art nouveau lamps, the nostalgic remnants of long
vanquished Mitteleuropa, to the table in the
corner where a melancholic old man sits
staring into space, like a latter-day James
Joyce waiting for his Ulysses moment.
Brendan Sainsbury,
Lonely Planet author, Canada
6
SIME/MEZZANOT TE SUSY
7
DALLAS STRIBLEY
SUPRAMONTE
Sardinia’s Supramonte (p865) is a wild,
raw place often cloaked in mist. Trekking
the limestone plateau you feel like you’ve
stepped back in time; that’s the magic of
the place, that otherworldly feeling where
you half expect to chance upon a bunch
of dark-clad bandits. Even better was the
return to our hotel, Su Gologone (p866),
where we hungrily devoured the spit-roast
pork with deep slugs of Cannonau wine.
Paula Hardy,
Lonely Planet staff, London
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13
Contents
On the Road
4
Italy Highlights
6
Destination Italy
18
Getting Started
20
Festivals & Events
Calendar
25
Itineraries
27
History
33
Italian Art
49
The Culture
60
Food & Drink
73
Environment
81
Rome & Lazio
89
ROME
History
Orientation
Information
Dangers & Annoyances
Sights
Walking Tour
Courses
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Architecture
Drinking
Clubbing
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90
90
92
93
111
112
140
140
142
143
144
150
157
165
168
Entertainment
Shopping
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
LAZIO
Ostia Antica
Tivoli
Etruscan Sites
Civitavecchia
Viterbo
Around Viterbo
Castelli Romani
Palestrina
Along the Coast
Isole Pontine
171
172
174
175
179
179
181
182
184
184
187
187
189
190
190
Liguria, Piedmont
& Valle d’Aosta
192
LIGURIA
Genoa
Around Genoa
Riviera di Levante
Riviera di Ponente
PIEDMONT
Turin
The Milky Way
Southern &
Eastern Piedmont
Northern Piedmont
VALLE D’AOSTA
Aosta
Aosta Valley Castles
Courmayeur
Parco Nazionale del Gran
Paradiso
Valtournenche
Valle d’Ayas, Val di
Gressoney & Valsesia
Lombardy & the
Lakes
MILAN
History
Orientation
Information
Dangers & Annoyances
Sights
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
193
193
204
205
215
220
220
234
235
245
245
247
251
251
254
255
256
259
260
262
262
262
263
263
271
271
271
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89
ROME & LAZIO
Rome & Lazio
In this country so blessed with exquisite cities, Rome is the daddy of them all. Italy’s capital is as
addictive as a charming, exasperating lover. It will steal your heart, yet try your patience.
There are just too many reasons to fall in love with Rome: the masterpieces around every
corner – the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and countless Caravaggios, to
name a few – the operatic piazzas; the shade-wearing, scooter-driving Romans; the cocktail
of provinciality and sophistication; and the colour palette of blue sky, ochre palazzi (mansions)
and deep-green umbrella pines. Rome’s sheer brilliance means that you can, most of the time,
forgive its less endearing traits: the traffic, crazy parking and pickpockets.
Once Caput Mundi (capital of the world), Rome is where Brutus betrayed Caesar, and where
countless saints died horrible deaths. It’s where Michelangelo laid back and painted, and Bernini
vied with Borromini in a battle of the baroque. Wagner, Goethe and Byron lingered here; Keats
died here. In the 1950s and ’60s Rome oozed cool; Audrey Hepburn dallied with Gregory Peck
at the Bocca della Verità, and Anita Ekberg frolicked in the Trevi Fountain.
Rome is a focus of fervent faith as the capital of the Catholic world. It’s the seat of Italy’s
government, with much of the population employed in paper-pushing state bureaucracy. It’s
a busy city with arts festivals and a surprisingly alternative underground scene. Contemporary
Rome is pulsatingly alive. Yet there are few other cities where the past is so present.
To visit is to begin a love affair. But, to ensure it lasts, do as the Romans do: intersperse
your days in the city with trips into the hills of Lazio, visiting the region’s extraordinary
riches, from the ancient Roman port of Ostia Antica to azure volcanic lakes. You’ll discover
a serene, green landscape that is as refreshing as fresh air.
HIGHLIGHTS
 Gape at the grandeur of St Peter’s Basilica
(p132) and the Vatican Museums (p133)
 Imagine the roar of the crowd at the
Colosseum (p112)
 Peer at the heavens through the audacious
oculus of the Pantheon (p119)
Rome
 Check out ancient Roman interior decor at
the Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo
Massimo alle Terme (p128)
 Revel in ravishing Renaissance art at the
Museo e Galleria Borghese (p125)
 POPULATION: LAZIO 5.3 MILLION
 AREA: LAZIO 17,202 SQ KM
ROME 3.8 MILLION
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ROME & LAZIO
90
ROME •• History
ROME
HISTORY
According to myth, vestal virgin Rhea Silva
and Mars, God of War, was the dysfunctional coupling that spawned Romulus and
Remus. Set adrift on the Tiber to escape
King Amulius’ death warrant, the twins were
found and suckled by a broody she-wolf.
When Remus was captured by Amulius,
Romulus killed the king and rescued his
brother. They began to found a new town,
but squabbles led to fratricide, and Romulus
went on to take sole credit. Historians proffer a more prosaic version of events, involving Romulus becoming the first king of
Rome (Roma) on 21 April 753 BC and an
amalgamation of Etruscan, Latin and Sabine
settlements on the Palatine, Esquiline and
Quirinale Hills.
Following the deposition of the last
Etruscan king, Tarquin the Proud, the
Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC,
establishing itself as the dominant Western
superpower until internal rivalries led to
civil war. Julius Caesar wrested power in
49 BC, and began to dramatically reform
the Republic. He was assassinated five years
later, leaving Mark Antony and Octavian
to fight for the top job. Octavian prevailed
and, with the blessing of the Senate, became
Augustus, the first Roman emperor.
Augustus ruled well, and a period of
political stability and unparalleled artistic
achievement ensued, but his successors,
rulers such as Tiberius, Caligula and Nero,
were contrastingly corrupt and depraved.
Their efforts, and events such as the Great
Fire of AD 64, combined to leave Rome in
tatters, yet the city bounced back. By AD
100, it had a population of 1.5 million and
was the undisputed Caput Mundi (capital of
the world). But it couldn’t last and when, in
330, Constantine moved his power base to
Byzantium, Rome’s glory days were numbered. In 455 it was routed by the Vandals
and in 476 the last emperor of the Western
Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus,
was deposed.
By the 6th century, Rome’s population
had shrunk to a measly 80,000. However
God was on the city’s side. Christianity
had been spreading since the 1st century
AD thanks to the underground efforts
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of apostles Peter and Paul, and under
Constantine it received official recognition.
Pope Gregory I (590–604) did much to
strengthen the Church’s grip over the city
and, in 774, Rome’s place as centre of the
Christian world was cemented when Pope
Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy
Roman Emperor.
The medieval period was marked by continuous fighting by just about anyone capable
of raising an army. In the thick of things, the
Papal States fought for their corner as ruthlessly as anyone.
In 1309, however, Pope Clement V decided enough was enough and upped sticks
to Avignon, leaving the powerful Colonna and
Orsini families to contest control of the city.
Once the waters had calmed, Pope Gregory
XI returned to Rome in 1377 and, finding
the city close to ruins, set up home in the
fortified Vatican.
Out of the ruins grew the Rome of the
Renaissance. At the behest of the great
papal dynasties – the Barberini, Farnese and
Pamphilj among others – the leading artists of
the 15th and 16th centuries were summoned
to work on projects such as the Sistine Chapel
and St Peter’s Basilica. But the enemy was
never far away, and in 1527 Pope Clement VII
took refuge in Castel Sant’Angelo as Charles
V’s Spanish forces ransacked Rome.
Another rebuild was in order, and it was
to the 17th-century baroque masters Bernini
and Borromini that Rome’s patrons turned.
Exuberant churches, fountains and palazzi
sprouted all over the city, as these two bitter rivals competed to produce ever-more
virtuoso masterpieces.
The next makeover followed the unification of Italy and the declaration of Rome
as its capital. Mussolini, believing himself a
modern-day Augustus, left an indelible stamp,
bulldozing new imperial roads and commissioning ambitious building projects such as
the monumental suburb of EUR.
Post-Fascism, the 1950s and ’60s saw the
glittering era of la dolce vita and hasty urban
expansion, resulting in Rome’s sometimes
wretched suburbs. A cleanup in 2000 rendered the city in better shape than for decades,
and in recent years some dramatic modernist
building projects have given the Eternal City
some edge, such as Richard Meier’s Museo
dell’Ara Pacis (p124) and Centro Congressi
‘Nuvola’ (p139) by Massimiliano Fuksas.
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925
Index
A
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Alpe di Fanes 339-41
Alpe di Siusi 338
Alta Badia 339, 340
Alta Murgia National Park 85
alte vie hiking trails 316
Altipiano della Paganella 322-4
Alto Adige 313-16, 329-42, 318-19
Alto Lario 305
Altopiano del Golgo 869-70
Amalfi 685-7, 686
Amalfi Coast 87, 681-91, 12
Ampezzo 424
amusement parks
Aquafàn 471
Aquaparadise 309
CanevaWorld 309
Delfinario Rimini 471
Fiabilandia 471
Gardaland 309
Italia in Miniatura 471
Movieland 309
Anacapri 663-4, 664
Ancona 601-5, 602
Andalo 322
animals 81-3, see also individual
species
Antey-St-André 255
Antony, Mark 37
Aosta 247-51, 248
aperitivi 76, 166, 274
Apennines 457
Appennino Lucano 739-40
Appennino Lucano – Val d’Agri
National Park 85
Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National
Park 85
Appian Way 136-9
Apuane Alps 519-21
Aquafàn 471
aquariums 200, 331, 648
Aquileia 402, 415-16
Ara Pacis 124
Arbatax 870
Arborio 245
Arch of Septimus Severus 115, 142
archaeological sites
Agrigento 820
Aosta 248, 249
Baia 658
Benevento 660
Brescia 285-7
Cagliari 839
Catania 795
Catanzaro 750
Cuma 658-9
Fiesole 511
Filicudi 786
Herculaneum 671-2
itineraries 32
Lecce 723-4
Lipari 780
Metaponto 733
Naples 643
Nora 844
nuraghi 851, 852, 857, 859, 863,
865, 867, 868
Ostia Antica 179
Paestum 691-2, 11
Perugia 569
Pietrabbondante 632
Pompeii 674-5
Pozzuoli 657-8
Rimini 470
Saepinum 630-1
Selinunte 822
Sirmione 309
Spoleto 592
Syracuse 809-11
Tempio di Antas 846
Terme di Caracalla 130
Tharros 851
tours 142-3
Val di Magra 214
Valley of the Temples 820
Venosa 739
Ventimiglia 219-20
Villa Jovis 663
Villa Romana del Casale 818
architecture 157-64
terms 916
Arcipelago di La Maddalena National
Park 85, 861-2
Arcipelago Toscano National Park 85
Arco 311
Arco di Settimio Severo 115, 142
area codes, see inside front cover
Arena di Verona 70, 7
Arezzo 555-8, 556
Argegno 304
Armani, Giorgio 277
INDEX
ABBREVIATIONS
Abbazia
di Pomposa 463-4
ACT di San
Australian
Capital
Abbazia
Galgano 544
Territory
Abbazia di Sant’Antimo 550
NSW New South Wales
Abruzzo 619-29, 622
NT
Northern Territory
Abruzzo Lazio e Molise National
Qld Queensland
Park 85
SA
South Australia
abseiling 800, 866
Tas Tasmania
AC Milan 276
Vic Victoria
Accademia Carrara 283
WA Western Australia
accommodation 871-5
agriturismo 21, 22, 579, 872
B&Bs 872
camping 698, 872-3
convents 873
farmstays 579
hostels 873
hotels 873-4
internet resources 874-5
language 907
monasteries 873
mountain huts 874
pensioni 873-4
rental accommodation 874
villa rentals 874-5
Acquafredda di Maratea 740
Aeolian Islands 778-87
Agnone 632
Agrigento 86, 818-22, 819
agriturismo 21, 22, 579, 872
Agropoli 693
Aieta 745
air pollution 84
air travel
to/from Italy 890-3
within Italy 896
Alagna Valsesia 257
Alassio 217
Alba 238-9
Alban Hills, see Castelli Romani
Albanian influence 743
Albanian villages 633, 741-2
Albenga 216-17
Alberobello 713-14
albino donkeys 860
Alessi 272
Alghero 854-7, 855
Aliano 739
Alicudi 786-7
Alighieri, Dante 67
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926
INDEX (A-B)
Arona 298
Arquà Petrarca 386
art 49-59
ancient 49-50
Arte Povera 59
baroque 55-7
Byzantine 50
classical 49-50
contemporary 272
courses 878
Futurism 58
Gothic style 51-2
mannerism 55
Middle Ages 50-1, 51-2
museums, see museums &
galleries
Renaissance 53-5, 56, 57
Sienese school 52
art galleries, see museums & galleries
Arte Povera 59
arts 65-71
books 22-4, 49, 53, 54, 65-7
cinema 23, 68-9, 127, 637, 759
dance 71
literature 22-4, 65-7
music 23, 68-71
opera 69-70, 357-8
poetry 67
theatre 71
websites 59, 66, 67, 70, 71
Arzachena 862-3
Ascoli Piceno 613-16, 614
Asinara National Park 85
Asolo 392
Aspromonte 85, 750-1
Assisi 580-6, 581
Asti 243-4
audiences with the pope 132
Auditorium Parco della Musica 171-2
Augustus 38, 90
Autodromo Nazionale Monza 276
Avellino 660
INDEX
B
B&Bs 872
Badia di Passignano 534
Baia 658-9
ballooning 239
balsamic vinegar 458
Barbaresco 241-2
Barga 519
000 Map pages
000 Photograph pages
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Bari 708-12, 709
Barletta 707-8
Barolo 240-1
Bartali, Gino 72
Barumini 850-1
Basilica di San Francesco (Assisi) 580-3
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
129
Basilica di San Giulio 294
Basilica di San Marco (Rome) 118
Basilica di San Marco (Venice)
355-6, 9
Basilica di San Paolo Fuori-le-Mura 86
Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli 126-7
Basilica di San Vitale 465
Basilica di Santa Caterina
d’Alessandria 726
Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
131
Basilica di Santa Croce (Florence)
493-4 160
Basilica di Santa Croce (Lecce) 723
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
127-8
Basilica Palladiana 388
Basilicata 695, 697, 731-42, 732
Bassano del Grappa 392
Baunei 869-70
Baveno 298
Bay of Naples 660-70
beaches
Agropoli 693
Alghero 854, 857
Arcipelago di La Maddalena 861
Cagliari 839-41
Cala Gonone 868
Capo Vaticano 754
Cefalù 776
Costa del Sud 845
Costa Rei 844
Costa Verde 848
Erchie 689
Finale Ligure 216
Golfo Aranci 864
Grado 416
Iglesiente Coast 846, 799
Ischia 668
Lido 366
Lignano 417
Lipari 780
Marina del Cantone 680
Marina di Sorso 859
Mondello 773
Noli 216
North Oristano Coast 852
Otranto 727
Palau 861
Panarea 784
Pesaro 610
Pescara 627
Platamona 859
Porto Cervo 862
Porto Conte 857
Positano 682
Praia a Mare 745
Praiano 684
Procida 669
Rimini 470-1
Salina 783
San Domino 704
Santa Teresa di Gallura 860-1
Sant’Antioco 847
Sardinia 844
Scilla 754
Sinis Peninsula 852
Stintino 860
Stromboli 785
Syracuse 811
Taormina 791-2
Taranto 730
Tropea 754
Ustica 774
Vieste 701
Villasimius 844
Vulcano 782
bears 81-2, 323, 626
bella figura, la 61-2
Bellagio 302-4
Bellini, Giovanni 57
bell-making 632
Belluno 399-400
Benevento 659-60
Bergamo 281-5, 282
Berlusconi, Silvio 18, 19, 46, 47-8,
62, 63, 65
Bernalda 733
Bernini, Gianlorenzo 57, 125, 126
bicycle hire 897
bicycle travel, see cycling
Biennale di Venezia 369
birdwatching 210
Comacchio 464
Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e
Molise 626
Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo
di Diano 693
Po Delta 463
Riomaggiore 210
Sabaudia 190
black truffles 594
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