Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine

Norwich, United...
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Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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In very small print, "Il Colosseo, il Foro Romano e Palatino non aderiscono alla Settimana della Cultura."

See here for region by region lists of places that WON'T be charging:

http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1226829710.html

Peter

Athens, Greece
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1. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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Thank you very much for this info and link Peter, it helps a lot with our itinerary planning! Trip to Rome next week, really excited and looking forward:):)

Norwich, United...
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2. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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Despite that rather disappointing decision, there are plenty of other great visits on offer!

This is the link for the list for Lazio, in Italian only at present....

http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/multimedia/MiBAC/documents/1333452381834_Lazio_SettCult_WEB.pdf

Many places will putting on special events, or opening areas otherwise not always accessible to the public... so try looking particularly for the phrase "Apertura straordinaria"

One that caught my eye is somewhere we saw several years ago now - out near Fiumicino, it's the remains of the town of Portus, successor to Ostia Antica, which grew up around a harbour built there by the Emperor Trajan when the capital's original port was silting up...

Pictures here, but from the days when I still hadn't quite got the "photos are free with digital" concept...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/portus

The entry about that is on page 11 of the PDF and says, roughly..... Guided visits to the archaeological area, booking required:Tel. 06 6529192

14, 16,18, 20, 22 APRIL at 09.30

15, 17, 21 APRIL at 15.30

Porto di Traiano, Via Portuense (entrance under the flyover of Via dell’Areoporto di Fiumicino)

This is how 'Streetview' shows that entrance way:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/128512199

Not especially easy to find - if all else fails, a taxi from either Ostia or the airport may be simplest?

I rather imagine that - just as when we went - you'd not get much more than a few glimpses of the harbour itself (still a shooting reserve, as far as I know) however its hexagonal shape can be seen in this...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/142305908

... and it's still a fairly rare chance to see the other 'stuff' there!

Peter

Edited: 8 years ago
pittsburgh
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3. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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bump

Norwich, United...
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4. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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Something occurred to me last night...

With close on 5 million visitors to those three sites annually, on average that's 120,000 during the nine day duration of "Culture Week".

Even if 25% are entitled to free entry, at €11 per ticket the loss in revenue from including the trio might well have reached a million Euro... though that's but a drop in the ocean, compared to the €25m of repairs needed at the Colosseum alone!

Peter

Rome, Italy
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5. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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I think this might be the first year that they don't participate in Cultural Week...and with your calculations above, I guess we can understand why. Would have been a nice gesture though to have ONE day free maybe? Oh well!

Tuscany
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6. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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'Understanding why' would be a fun parlour game, but the officially communicated 'why' is 'the security of visitors'.

Weave that into what you will.

Tickitaly.

Norwich, United...
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7. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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Bit difficult maybe, at a time when they're having to go cap in hand to raise sponsors for that work?

Perhaps foreign companies who make their living from the country's attraction should consider contributing!

There again, in the Lazio leaflet I count 30+ pages of events and special openings being staged within Rome... which may just persuade people to go beyond the standard "must sees"?

Peter

Norwich, United...
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8. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine
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Still no sign as yet of participation by the sites and museums operated by the Rome authorities... but, presumably, any news will appear here:

http://en.museiincomuneroma.it/servizi/news

Nor of any by the 'Provincia di Roma' - who run one or two interesting sites within Rome.... most particularly the exhibition spaces and underground tour of the Domus Romanae at Palazzo Valentini (their base in the city)....

http://www.palazzovalentini.it/index.php?lang=eng

Peter

9. Re: Culture week ... not free, the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine

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