Lucci Hotel Rome Blog

In the small villages of Lazio  the attachment to the local traditions, even not counting the daily espresso, is definitely pretty strong.

The organization of the popular festivals puts into the inhabitants the will to do things, to creat entertainments and to rediscover some traditions, often existing for centuries. 

The atmosphere during these events taking place from the early morning often is undescribable. The continuous movement all-around of excited and happy people , smells of traditional meals and delicious food, the lighted fires, children who attempt to play in games already forgotten from the elder, it is not surprising these traditional folk events receive so many visitors.

For the regions of the historical centers the doors of old wine cellars are opening for the wine tasting.

Many beautiful gardens, palaces and premises are typically recreated for the occasion and are filled up of examples of local handicraft in order to help the tourist to know more about the country and its inhabitants.

Like in a movie, the festivals are like mirrors of the history of the antique centres that are just a few kilometers out of Rome .

One of the most beautiful festivals are happening in June and is called Infiorata in Genzano di Roma. The word Infiorata comes from ‘Fiore’ and is the Italian word for flower.

Many tourists and admirers from many countries are attracted by the skilful flower works ,the completely decorated streets with many flowers of so different colours creating this lovely natural carpet.

It has been celebrated for more than two centuries but the origin of this tradition comes way back from 600s when the flowers were thrown by hand.

The festival is connected with the Christian celebration of Corpus Domini the origin of which comes from 13-th century.

Later they started using the flowers.

For the happening of the event the road Via Italo Belardi is turned into a flower carpet by picture drawn the same way every year. Exactly there about two thousand square meters are decorated with flowers, seeds, petals and leaves which all together give gorgeous pictures and shapes with bright naturals colours .

This evocative festival is consisted of: first with procession of Corpus Domini an then children running from the stairs of the church Santa Maria. After, within the celebration atmosphere the great flower pictures are shown to everybody.

I have visited Infiorata two years ago. And I have to say that it is not just amazing, it is something breath-taking, the beauty is in the air, the beauty is everywhere… Infiorata in Genzano has also different exhibitions, and different artisan traders all over the town. I had a unique chance to see the collection of War period and early post war period Italian motorbikes, like Lambretta, or first Vespas.

There were also some war vehicles exposed, like tanks. Do not miss this great event, book your stay in Rome, take a little bag-pack, take the first train and right away to Genzano! Enjoy Infiorata!!! Remember also  that Genzano has the best baked bread of Rome!!!!

Ostia Antica  is about 25 km southwest of Rome only therefore it makes an ideal day trip outside the city of Rome,

It was a major port and military base during Republican times. Its aim was to protect and defend the coastline and the mouth of the river Tiber.
In the 2nd century despite the development of a new port called Portus (just slightly to the north west), Ostia port continued to flourish under the Empire.
Unfortunately during the 4th century the reduction of trade and also the silting up  of the harbor damaged the town.

Video of Excavations Ostia Antica

When malaria  became endemic in the area, the town, which  at its peak had a population of around 100 000 was then completely abandoned.
Ancient Ostia  has been buried for centuries under the sand but is nonetheless very well preserved. It enlightens on the every day life during the Roman Empire and indeed people from  all  social classes and from all over the Mediterranean lived and worked there.
Visitors can easily see the lay out  of Ostia from the main road through the town and you will locate many public and private buildings, bath houses such as the Baths of Neptune and the Baths of the Cisiarii in which you can still see the fine black and white mosaics.
Visitors also see the restored theatre with its three large masks which are part of the stage decoration, and during summertime the Ancient Ostia Theatre hosts musical plays.

Away from the main street is where the Ostia inhabitants lived, most of them stayed in rented apartments in a block of 3 or 4 stories high.

Other buildings must have been absolutely pretty like the house of Diana with its elegant look : It bore a balcony around the second floor, a private bath house  and a central courtyard.
For the wealthy there were detached houses called domus such as the House of Dioscuri which has fine colored mosaics. Other houses are the ones of Cupid and Psyche.
Among houses and shops there were also other buildings like  laundry and firemen’s barracks.
Various religions were practiced in Ancient Ostia. There were no less than 18 temples dedicated to the persian god Mithrus, Jewish synagogue dating from the 1st century and a Christian basilica.
To make the most of your visit why not take a guided Ancient Ostia Tour  with a pick up from your Rome Hotel ?

Ostia Antica – Its location

How to get to Ostia Antica from My Hotel Rome :
Take B line Metro from termini Station and get off at ‘Piramide’.
From there switch to a local train to Ostia .
Excavations and museum are open from 8:00 am till one hour before sunset.

 See here for their timetables.
Telephone number . +39 06 5635 8099

Read more about Ostia Antica.

Summer in central Italy and more specifically in Rome can be overwhelming for its sometimes excessive heat peaks. For those staying longer or simply for returning visitors it is always a pleasure to discover other places in easy reach to make it a day trip.

120 kms south from Rome along the Pontina Road, lays the lovely small town and sea resort Sperlonga on the Mar Tirreno easy accessible by train from Termini station Rome from your central hotel in My Hotel Rome.
If you come by car follow the Pontina Road until Latina, then go ahead on Strada Mediana until Terracina and from there follow the Litoranea 213 (road along the seaside) until you reach Sperlonga.
Nature lovers will want to enjoy its regional park of the Riviera di Ulisse, which partly belongs to the WWF : You will be able to go for a boat trip or underwater excursions and they also arrange sea watching sessions. Sperlonga has a lovely harbour for small fishing boats and tourist boats and the “borgo” (small town) is a typically colorful mediterranean place to walk about, and you will find many craft shops but also plenty of small stands selling excellent pastries until late at night when people start going out for fresh air.

It is also said to have been the residence of Emperor Tiberius , which you can still admire and built out of a natural grotto on the seaside and is very likely the major summer residence of ancient roman times between I and II century after JC.

Food and wine lovers will be also able to enjoy the Cecubo, a wine already considered in II century BC to be one of the finest wines in Italy. Nowadays it is a red and dry wine. A local speciality is the Erbe Pazze (mad greens) which consists of a vegetable soup , to be served with the very good local olive oil.

Back into Rome you will leisurely enjoy our fine Rome accomodation and be able to relax out on our rooftop terrace.

 With temperatures shooting through the roof and no sign of respite yet a great place to go which is near Rome and also easy to get to is [tag]Bracciano Lake[/tag]. It is a lot less crowded than the beach as you can imagine with everyone going of to Ostia for the day.

 From [tag]Rome[/tag] Termini station you take line b in the direction of Laurentina. You get off at Piramide metro stop and then take the regional railway line, linie fm3 for trains to Bracciano or [tag]Viterbo[/tag].

 Braccaino town which can be found near the lake has a castle in the historic centre. It is very important as it is the most well preserved building of its kind and type in [tag]Italy[/tag].

 Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes also got married at this castle earlier this year. There are also plenty of other activities to do like boating and going on tours in the town to keep you busy. A friend of mine told me about a nice quiet spot next to the lake where you can rent deck chairs for 3.50 euro.

 He said it was great. It was nice and quiet the weather was great and the water was terrific.

Although the lake is part of an old volcanic crater you dont get any of the horrible black sand or gravel that you find near other beaches near volcanoes.

This is a perfect place to go to with the family too as there is something for everyone to do here.

My Hotel Rome Blog is the guide for travellers that are planning a vacation trip to Rome.

If you love Rome or if you would like to visit the ethernal city this is the right place for you