June 29th: Feast of Saint Peter and Paul, patron saints of Rome

Great celebrations in Rome for the feast of the patron saints, with performances, shows, exibitions, fanfare, and fireworks in musical sync, called Girandola (pinwheel), originally created by Michelangelo and reworked by Bernini. This is a liturgical feast in Rome, and offices and shops are closed. Civic museums and Vatican Museums are closed for the solemnity. Statal Museums and Archeological sites (as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Castel Sant’Angelo, Galleria Borghese) are regularly open. Continue reading

5 of the most important works of Michelangelo in Rome (and 4 of them can be seen for free!).

Michelangelo Buonarroti is considered one of the greatest artists of all time. He was a sculptor, a painter, an architect and a poet of the High Renaissance, and undoubtedly a great genius. His contemporaries admired him so much for his style and his temper, that they often called him “il Divino” (the divine one). Continue reading

Masses and Catholic Events with Pope Francis on Easter 2018

During Easter period some of the greatest and most suggestive events take place in Saint Peter’s Square and Basilica, officiated by the Pope.

This year Easter is Sunday, April 1st, but Easter period begins with Lent, at the end of Carnival time, on Ash Wednesday (February 14th in 2018), and the first Catholic Mass with Pope Francis is on Palm Sunday, at the beginning of the Holy Week. Continue reading

2017 Spring feasts in Rome: April 25th, May 1st, Rome’s Christmas, and the Patron’s feast.

From April to June there are many feast days in Italy, and particularly in Rome. During these days schools, offices, banks and shops will be closed, and many restaurants and some touristic site would be closed too. If you are in Rome in this period, check in advance if the particular museum or archeological site you want to visit is open!

 

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Easter in Rome: how to take part in Masses and Catholic events with Pope Francis.

Easter is, without doubt, the most important event in the Catholic calendar. The feast is not fixed and the date is different every year. In 2017 Easter Sunday will be on April 16th, and in 2018 on April 1st.

If you are planning to be in Rome during Easter period, you can decide to join one of the most touching ceremonies of the year with the Holy Father. Continue reading

Christmas time in Rome: Pope Francis schedule on December 2016 – January 2017.

The Vatican Christmas tree was erected in St. Peter’s Square at the beginning of the Advent and of the Christmas holiday season. The 82 feet tall spruce tree arrived in the Square on November 24th from Trentino (Northern Italy region) and will be inaugurated and lit up, together with the Nativity scene, on December 9th. They will highlight several issues such as care for the environment, the sick and migrants. Continue reading

Easter 2016: events in Rome and Vatican in the year of the Jubilee.

Easter is, without doubt, the most important event in the Catholic calendar and one of the busiest times of the year in Rome and Vatican, center of all Christendom.
Easter is a moveable feast, is not fixed in the civil calendar: the date varies from March 22nd to April 25th. This year Easter Sunday will be on March 27th. Continue reading