Time magazine has just praised it as one of the nicest and most comfortable boarding houses in Rome and it’s therefore very probable that from now on Villa Laetitia in the Prati district will received thousands of availability requests from America. Located by the Tiber river and only 15 minute walk from Saint Peter’s Basilica, the hotel which was originally built at the turn of the 20th century has just been redecorated by Anna Fendi who with her eye for detail, has chosen furniture with a distinctive character; from the gorgeous Mies van der Rohe divan from 1930 to the beautiful Picasso foulard. The hotel also offers dog sitting and luxury shopping services. All rooms have (wi-fi) broadband internet access. Prices starts at 190 euro!

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Obscura day is an event which will take place on March 20 and involve many cities and towns all over the world (including Sidney, Bruxelles, London, Tokyo and Rome). The idea behind this event is to arouse people’s curiosity and make them explore hidden treasures, unknown monuments and museums which aren’t normally open to the public. In Rome, for instance, people will have the unique opportunity to explore the Pyramid of Cestius, a funerary monument dedicated to the member of the “College of the Septemviri. The ticket will cost you 20 euros (limit 20 people). The Obscura day in Rome starts at 9:45 (meeting place: underground station near the Pyramid)

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Being romantic in Rome could involve a horse and carriage ride around the city, but these days you’ll find your driver is more restricted in where he can and can’t go. The tradition of horses in Rome and their carriages called “botticelle” dates back to the days when they were used for the transport of wine barrells throughout the city. The barrells are known as ‘botti’, and the carriages get their name from this very purpose. After a battle has been waged between environmentalists and the tourism board, new rules now govern the use of the horse and carriage for tourists wanting to tour Rome.

Horse and carriage owners must now include a numberplate on the vehicles, and must not travel streets that are too steep to avoid the horses getting tired. The animals are not supposed to work more than eight hours a day. The university of La Sapienza is even studying the possibility of using a kind of electric cart which would be lighter and easier to drive.

The “botticelle” can only travel the pedestrian zones of the city centre, and the tourist districts of Trastevere, Testaccio and villa Borghese, with a few more streets exempt from the absence of horses: via Vittorio Veneto, viale Trastevere, piazza della Repubblica, via della Consolazione, via dei Fori Imperiali and via Petroselli. Other streets have seen horse and carriage traffic banned, included via Barberini, Crispi, Quattro Fontane, della Dataria, salita Del Grillo, via Panisperna and via San Sebastianello.

In addition to this, horse and carriage drivers have been offered the opportunity to swap their licence for a taxi driver’s licence. If that is a more convenient option, we could see the possibility of touring Rome by horse and carriage disappear. In the words of Lando Fiorini, protesting the move: “Let’s keep them [the horses]. They’re part of tradition - let’s ban the cars instead, maybe.”

Photo | Flickr

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“La mia Roma” film contest is underway, showcasing short films with the eternal city as the central theme. You can share your version of Rome and its myriad faces, with finalists going to the 2010 Roma Fiction Fest. The competition is open to European residents, 18 years and over, with entries open until April 19th, 2010.

Rome stays with you, it imprints itself on your memory and in the heart without saying much. Rome welcomes you, it gives you the feeling of a piece of history. But in Rome there are also people who yell in traffic, who scribble their thoughts on the first blank wall seen, who get lost in the eternal night, who try to swim in the Trevi Fountain, who attach padlocks to Ponte Milvio, who wander the streets with a scooter. Past, present and future mix in a babble of languages and race: at the markets, bus stops, in the piazzas and the stations.

We want your take, your view, a frame from your story in Your Rome, outside of the usual places.

See the YouTube My Rome site for more details and see some of the videos posted so far. The video above celebrates a rare snow fall in Rome on February 12 this year - the first since 1986.

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The beautiful Villa d’Este in Tivoli is hosting a photographic exhibition celebrating Italy’s treasures included on the UNESCO world heritage list. It makes a fantastic day trip from Rome to escape the city and see both a wonderful photo exhibition and the Villa d’Este itself.

There are 44 Italian sites on the world heritage list, and all are presented in a kind of grand tour of photographs, called: “Il paesaggio descritto”, or the “the landscape described”. Luca Capuano is the photographer in question, and he travelled Italy for nine months to collect 450 photos for the exhibition.

From the Dolomites to Sicily, you can see them all in the rooms of the Villa d’Este, Tivoli, from March 13 to April 18, from Tuesdays to Sundays. It costs euros 6.50 for admission. For more information, see the Beni culturali site.

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From 24 February to 30 May, a great restrospective dedicated to an important Italian singer and poet Fabrizio De André will take place at the Ara Pacis in Rome. The exhibition, set in one of the most central (and beautiful) area of Rome will give the public the unique opportunity to get a closer look at Fabrizio De André ‘s extraordinary work: multimedia installation will take visitors through the most important stages of his career; making them explore the ever -expanding universe of this talented artist from Genoa. Organised by the Colettivo Studio Azzurro which has collected all his works, the exhibition ” Fabrizio De André. La mostra” starts 24 February in Rome, a week after what would have been De André ’s 70th birthday.

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50 years have passed since Federico Fellini’s movie La Dolce Vita was released in 1960. The word paparazzo became instantaneously popular with audiences and readers all around the world and in order to celebrate that world - now vanished for ever - the famous Carlo Riccardi back then also known as “ The Paparazzo in a topolino (that’s the name of his car) has now organised a photographic exhibition, putting on display thousands of pictures of celebs, Popes and the most famous politicians of the day.

50 anni della Dolce Vita con “Il paparazzo in topolino” Carlo Riccardi

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We saw the famous kisses exhibition in Italy for Valentine’s Day, with international and Italian divas in scenes from well known films in amorous poses with their leading men. Another Valentine’s Day exhibition in Italy takes on just the fascination of the female figure, with photographs of women drinking while on set.

It’s not perhaps the most obvious of exhibitions, but it’s certainly a sensual, and even sexual theme for Valentine’s Day. The photographic exhibition takes place in Rome and the photos include actresses captured on set while enjoying a refreshment from their work.

It’s the art of drinking and the “Città del Gusto”, Rome, will be the stage for the exhibition, called “Sorsi da Star” from April 10th. Most of the photographs are ones taken in stolen moments, showing rare shots of unmasked stars from the 50’s in a time where “star” meant something different from our modern saturation of celebrities.

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If you are racking your brain for some cute idea for Valentine’s Day but on the same time you want to play it safe, why not organise a romantic getaway in one of the following hotels in Rome? Here’s our full list:

three-star Scheppers Hotel in via Bogliasco 36; phone number tel. 06-66019054; the offer includes one night’s accommodation for two in a double room, candle-lit dinner with a menu a la carte (and an acrobatic juggling show!) and a lovely present for all couples; price: 130 euros per night .

Four star Black hotel in via Sardiello; phone number: 06-66410148. A stay at this luxury hotel (which, among other things, boasts a rather stylish retro décor will set you back 155 euros per night.

Three-star Hotel Centrale with an amazing view over Piazza di Spagna; situated in a 18th century palazzo, their offer includes three nights’ accommodation in a double room (Deluxe) and a bottle of superb Italian white wine; price: 290, 00 euros (dinner and lunch are not included). Phone number: 06-874030890

Photo | Flickr.com

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This aerial photography of Rome traces 127 years of history of the eternal city from a remarkable exhibition that shows how much Rome has changed in this time. The panoramic take on Rome’s city scape is a collection of photographs from various sources including blimps that flew over the city for the 1911 Expo, civil aeronautical pioneers, the RAF in 1943 and even Rome’s transport association, the ATAC.

The “in volo su Roma” collection of photographs shows how much the capital’s urban landscape has changed with more than 100 flights over the city and subsequent photographs detailing the building of newer areas (Testaccio, Prati, San Saba, Monteverde and Garbatella), growth in the 1970’s and the lastest additions of Porta di Roma and Parco Leonardo.

The photos come from the ICCD (Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation) and are curated by Elisabeth J. Shephered and Elena Tinacci, from two million photographs contained at the Institute. Photos from 1919 to 2005 are particularly fascinating, showing how Rome’s development exploded in that time, reaching right to Ostia at the sea.

Continue reading: Photographing Rome's history: aerial photos of Rome from 1883 to 2010

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