While Rome’s
cultural life has been hampered by the vagaries of political squabbling
and its inhabitants’ lack of passion in the arts in the past,
there has been an increasing desire to step out of the shadows and
into the limelight. High-profile international dance and theatre
festivals, such as the RomaEuropa Festival which
is held in October, and Rome’s new state-of-the-art auditorium
are all helping to make this happen.
Rome’s only official arts centre, the Palazzo delle
Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194, which combines cinema with
dance and exhibition spaces, is closed until early 2004. However,
major exhibitions have a spectacular venue in the Scuderie
Papali del Quirinale, renovated by famous Italian architect
Gae Aulenti and located opposite the Quirinal
Palace (telephone number: (06) 3996 7500). Past shows have included
one on the major works from St Petersburg’s Hermitage,
Sandro Botticelli, and Rembrandt.
Contemporary art or photography shows are also programmed.
For those determined to try something a little less conservative
seek out the Centri Sociali which is a non-profit,
self-governing social centres set up by left-wing students during
the 1970s, with support from the Italian Communist Party
– which host the most radical concerts, films, theatre and
dance events that Rome has to offer. Admission costs are at a minimum
here, as are the prices for drinks at the bar. Centri Sociali attract
an ‘alternative’ crowd aged 18-30 years old and vary
from well-run places offering educational courses and Internet cafes
to suburban squats.
Tickets for cultural events are in demand and many are for subscribers
only, so it is important for culture-keen visitors to rush to the
box office with cash (not credit card) in hand some days prior to
the performance. Price start at around €20. Ticket agencies
may save some hassle. Orbis, Piazza Esquilino 37 (telephone number:
(06) 482 7403), provides tickets for concerts, theatre and other
sporting events.
The weekly Roma C’è
and Time Out Rome publications provide information
on many cultural events throughout Rome.
Music
Rome has great plans for Renzo Piano’s new
auditorium, which receivesd its official inauguration in December
2002. A ten-minute tram-ride from Piazza del Popolo, the auditorium
or Parco della Musica (Music Park as it has been
christened), features three halls with perfect acoustics and a large
courtyard and is used for outdoor concerts and events. The tourist
information office can provide more information.
The, classical musical scene bases its reputation on two academies,
the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the
Accademia Filarmonica. Rome’s principal and
most prestigious academy, the Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (telephone number: (06) 6880 1044)
stages its own concerts or hosts visiting orchestras all year round
at Auditorio Pio, Via della Conciliazione 4, while,
during the summer, it graces the beautiful Renaissance courtyard
of Villa Giulia, Piazzale di Villa Giulia 9, with performances.
The Academia Filarmonica performs regular operas
and concerts at the Teatro
Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, Flaminio (telephone
number: (06) 326 5991 ). Rossini and Verdi
were once members of this academy (founded in 1821) that offers
a varied programme of opera, chamber music and contemporary music.
The Teatro dell’Opera
di Roma, Via Beniamino Gigli 1 (telephone number: (06) 4816
0255), dominates the opera scene. The season runs from November
to May. The box office opens two days before each performance. Free
concerts (choral, chamber and organ recitals) are held in churches
– including Sant’Ignazio, San
Giovanni de’ Fiorentini, San Giovanni
and Santa Maria Maggiore – during the summer
months.
Theatre
The theatre season in Rome runs from October to May. The city’s
official troop, the Teatro
di Roma (telephone number: (06) 684 0001), is based at the prestigious
Teatro Argentina, Largo di Torre Argentina 52 (telephone
number: (06) 6880 4601), which hosts lavish productions directed
by renowned directors.
The Teatro Nazionale,
Via del Viminale 51 (telephone number: (06) 485 498), is the permanent
home of the Italian Theatre Board – ETI, which puts on light
and fluffy comedies.
Musical comedies are performed at the fashionable Teatro
Sistina, Via Sistina 129 (telephone number: (06) 420 0711).
Classical works are performed in the Teatro
Valle, Via del Teatro Valle 23A (telephone number: (06) 6880
3794), and in the ETI-owned Teatro
Quirino, Via Marco Minghetti 1 (telephone number: (06) 679 4585),
whose varied programme includes the classics, contemporary work
and Commedia dell’Arte. Fringe theatre is well represented
at the Vascello, Via Giacinto Carini 72, Monteverde
(telephone number: (06) 588 1021).
Best of all are the open-air performances, which are held over summer
in the lovely park, Giardino degli Aranci, Via
di Santa Sabina, Aventino. Other venues are the Anfiteatro
della Quercia del Tasso, Passeggiata del Gianicolo
(telephone number: (06) 575 0827), with stunning views over the
city, and the Teatro Romano di Ostia Antica, the
Roman amphitheatre in Ostia Antica. Information
and booking numbers are advertised on posters.
Dance
The Rome Opera Ballet performs at the Teatro
dell’Opera di Roma, Via Beniamino Gigli (telephone number:
(06) 481 601), where the regular diet of classical ballet is enriched
with guest performances of internationally renowned dancers.
The Teatro
Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, Flaminio (telephone
number: (06) 326 5991), has a strong dance season, ranging from
classical to contemporary. Tickets for dance productions at the
Teatro Argentina,
Largo di Torre Argentina 52 (telephone number: (06) 6880 4601),
are snapped up, so early booking is advised.
Film
Italy’s grand history in film has been centred in Rome since
the Cinecittà (Cinema City), Via Tuscolana
1, was opened by Mussolini in 1937. Scenes from
Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient (1996)
and Jane Campion’s The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
were both filmed in these studios but Italian cinema has failed
to match the flowering of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Among the greats
are Rossellini’s Open City (1946) and Vittorio
De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief (1948), depicting
a harsh but touching picture of post-war Rome. Equally popular but
highly romanticised was Jean Negulesco’s Three Coins
in the Fountain (1954), which focused on the quest for
love and the Trevi Fountain, and Audrey Hepburn’s Oscar-winning
performance as a besotted princess in Roman Holiday (1953).
However, it is Fellini’s films – Roma (1972)
and La Dolce Vita (1959) – that have indelibly
stamped images of Rome on the movie-goer’s mind. More recently
Rome’s version of Woody Allen, Nanni Moretti, enjoyed considerable
success at home and abroad with a film called Caro Diario
(1993), which showed a beautiful and virtually empty Rome
in August.
Rome is blessed with over 80 cinemas and their numbers are increasing
all the time. Tickets cost about €7 (prices are often reduced
for matinee performances and on Monday evenings).
The three-screen Nuovo Pasquino, Piazza San Egidio
10, Trastevere (telephone number: (06) 580 3622), shows English-language
films daily. Metropolitan, Via del Corso 7 (telephone
number: (06) 3260 0500), and Warner Village Moderno,
Piazza della Repubblica 45-46 (telephone number: (06) 477 791),
dedicate one of their screens to English-language films. Films are
also shown in their original language on Monday evening at Alcazar,
Via Merry del Val 14 (telephone number: (06) 588 0099), while Nuovo
Olimpia, Via in Lucina 16G (telephone number: (06) 686
1068), shows original-language films regularly. There are numerous
open-air showings in the summer, including Cineporto,
Viale Antonio di San Giuliano (telephone number: (06) 324 3903),
close to the Olympic Stadium, and Notti
di Cinema a Piazza Vittorio (tel: (06) 445 1208), which shows
films daily in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II during the months of
July and August. Weekly showings and details of film festivals are
set out in the weekly publication, Roma
C’è or in the daily press.
Cultural
Events
During the summer, from June to September, Estate
Romana offers a lively schedule of outdoor cultural events in
and around the city, from rock, ethnic and jazz concerts, through
theatre performances and outdoor cinema, to dance lessons and other
cultural events hosted in various Roman piazze and gardens all over
the town. As home to the Vatican, religious celebrations
are important in Rome. The Pope makes an annual appearance at the
Colosseum on Good Friday evening and delivers Midnight
Mass at St Peter’s on Christmas Eve.
Literary
Notes
There is nothing like Ovid’s Ars Amatoria (Art of
Love – circa 16-25BC) for bringing Rome to life,
with its vivid depiction of a trip to the Colosseum, the site of
flirtation and grandiose spectacle. Those interested in the political
intrigue may turn to I Claudius and Claudius the God (1934),
Robert Graves’ portrayal of ancient Rome, or the more measured
tones of Gibbon’s History and Decline of the Roman
Empire (1782). The dramatic poetry of Virgil’s
Aeneid (19BC), evokes the glory of the Roman Empire, blessed
and cursed by the Gods. The Romantics had a soft spot for Rome;
indeed Rome is the place where Keats breathed his last and the Keats-Shelley
Memorial House is situated here (see Key Attractions). The tragic
tale of Beatrice Cenci, beheaded in 1599 outside Castel Sant’Angelo
for plotting to kill the father who had raped her, inspired Shelley’s
play The Cenci (1886). |
