Posts Tagged ‘course’

PostHeaderIcon Learn Italian Language in Rome

This article is written to be a guide for all those people who are interested in learning Italian in Rome, following a course in an italian language school and knowing something about the Eternal City.

There are four language skills: reading, writing ability, knowing how to listen and ability to speak. All those things must be developed since the first level of expertise in order to achieve the ability to understand and express themselves

in authentic communication’s situations. Travel in Rome and staying in Italy for a medium period, can give the opportunity to learn italian language together with the history and culture of one of the greatest civilizations of all time:

the Romans Places to discover and learn in Rome are so many. We want introduce the most important places to visit of this singular and unique city in the world that match contrasting styles and live art and life: Imperial Rome and Baroque Rome, worldclass Rome and less-style Rome.

Colosseum – Is the most important monument of ancient Rome, built in 75 A.C. and opened in 80 A.C.The area of about 19,000 square meters was organized into four orders, each of which could contain up to 70,000 spectators. At center stage was placed the Empire, who with a single gesture could decide the life or death of gladiators. In underground were organized and carried out the scenery of the games. In 438 a.c. games were banned and Coliseum was gradually abandoned.

Roman Forum – The Roman Forum was founded in the sixth century B.C. On swampy land that was drained by the built of a sewerage system. In a short time it became the center of political and social life of ancient Rome, enriching century

after century of new buildings, statues, temples, courts. From Via Salaria (parallel to the Via dei Fori Imperiali) you have access to this incredible archaeological area, almost a city within the city.

Circous Maximus – This huge structure was used as entertainment shows such as exciting race with “bighe”, much loved by the Romans. The building was able to accommodate up to 250,000 spectators and is one of the oldest in Rome.Other

places to visit are Domus Aurea,Pantheon,Terme di Caracalla, Ara Pacis Augustae,Piramide Cestia,Castel Sant’Angelo,Circo di Massenzio,Cloaca Massima,Ludus Magnus and so much others. The most important Square of Rome are : Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, Piazza Venezia, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Barberini.

It’s very easy find a good accomodations in Rome: Bed & Breakfast and hotels are the most usefull housing but you can also have an accommodation with host-families or in flats where sleep in single or double rooms and have free use of the bathroom and kitchen.

Finally something about the position and Logistics: Rome is located in the centre of Italy, 20 minutes from the sea tirreno. It has two airports: Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino), located 32 km from the city centre and Ciampino,

15 km. The main railway station in Rome is Termini Station, located in the heart of the city. There are two subway lines and so many bus-lines.

PostHeaderIcon Rome Tourist Information: Weather in Rome, Italy

Autumn Weather in Rome

Without fail, Romans recommend that the best time to travel to Rome is from mid-September to October. Yes, it might rain, but the temperatures turn out to be quite nice, even if it is getting a tiny bit chilly at night. Almost no one recommends November, but I’ve had very good luck the last few years with weather in the first half of November.

Spring Weather in Rome

May has almost the same temperatures as October, and April, while you’re likely to feel chilly at night, is almost as good.

The effects upon tourism and the tourist industry could be numerous, though I will only mention a couple. Many people complain about hotel and apartment rates increasing, not only during the summer months, but throughout the whole year. And quite right I say, when there are 300 rooms with air-conditioning systems set to -5 degrees Celsius all day, (whilst the guests themselves are stripping off beside the pool trying to soak up every last heat ray that the sun exudes). Add to that, the fact that the hotter countries, including Italy, often experience troubles such as water shortages during the summer months. One cannot travel more than 20-30 kilometers outside of the center of Rome, without spotting a water tower; ready and waiting for such emergencies.

Then again, as a frequent traveller myself, I have to admit that I am amongst those who whinge about the cost of holidays and the annoying chamber maid that turned off my air-con again. I also complain after 3 days of staying in an air-conditioned room that my asthma is playing up and find myself, throughout the remainder of my holiday, popping anti-histamine tablets and taking my inhalers to counter the side-effects of my “cutting-my-nose-off-to-spite-my-own-face” overindulgence. (But that’s part of being on holiday is it not?) I am of course trying my best to play devils advocate. But, again in favour of hotels, the hotter the weather, the more washing of sheets and towels the hotels are required to do as people sweat and consequentially shower/bathe more, (affecting the volume of water).

As far as the industry its self is concerned, yes; people do flock in their thousands, from the colder parts of the world to the heat, as soon as the summer months arrive, BUT, when you feel like the core of your body has turned into volcanic lava, are you really going to want a 10oz Sirloin Steak and all the trimmings for your dinner; or (to use Italy as an example) a 4-5 course dinner of starter, pasta dish, meat dish, dessert and coffee/spirit? I know that I personally lose 90% of my appetite for large and hot meals in the heat. Then again I do drink more, so do the restaurants and bars rely on this to make their money?

For residents, the temperatures can cause several problems. People taking time of work due to problems such as heat/sun stroke, problems with dehydration or people generally taking days off to go to the beach. Add to that, everything in Italy slows down. The Italians are well-known for being “laid-back” and “easy with time”, but the truth is that in the summer months, it’s hard to get anything done. I know that I personally find it difficult to move some days without finding myself “glowing”. Older people in Italy are told to visit supermarkets and shopping centers to help them cool down. Last year I found myself looking forward to going to a well-known Italian meat supermarket, simply because the entire store is a freezer. The only problem was, I’d feel sick as soon as I stepped outdoors, as it was like jumping from Scotland to Italy. The heat, after the extreme cool, was thick and choking. Driving your car can be a nightmare, anywhere from not being able to plug in your seat belt or touch the steering wheel because they have been heated to melting point; to getting stuck in hot, sticky, airless traffic jams. Weeds and bushes on the sides of the road have been known to set on fire, by a combination of the sun drying them out and the heat from the tarred roads setting them alight. Occasionally there are problems with power-outages in homes and shops, because the generators, wires or transition boxes have overheated. Or how do you feel about brushing your teeth in hot water? The pros of course… if like me you are to tight-pursed that you refuse to fork out for air-conditioning, your power bill in the summer months can decrease to almost nothing in Italy. Unlike the old cold summers I used to endure when I lived in Scotland, there’s no need to have your water heater on all day to take a shower or wash the dishes. No need for heating or lights on all day thanks to the light and heat of the sun. And finally, my personal favourites, you can put away your winter duvet at nights and enjoy the reduced quantity of laundry, thanks to the fact you wear less clothes and used less bed linen.

Now in 2007. This year, June was HOT. Very hot. By far, warmer than last year, but it followed a very wet April and May. July has been up and down. I am lucky to live north of Italy in the mountains where we get some breeze; but on a trip to the south of Rome (where I used to live also), to visit friends a few weeks ago, I realised just how lucky I really am. The change in temperature from the north to the south was uncanny. There was literally a 5-10 degree drop that day between my home in the north and my friends in the south. More shocking to me, was the change in air. Being situated in the countryside here in the north, higher up and surrounded by fields and trees etc. our air is fresh and soft on the nose and throat (terrible for any one with Hay-fever, but none the less a good clean air. In the south however; my friends live in a reasonably built up area, even the countryside full of houses and small repair garages and abandoned buildings. The air is thick, smoggy and hot. My father, on a trip to visit, once described it as holding a hair dryer in front of your face and I cannot think of a better explanation.

I cannot determine whether the increase in the temperature within Italy, or the effects; are caused by Global warming, or if we are quite simply receiving a freak weather change; but as an expat in Rome, I can say that the weather change is certainly noticeable. As for the effects, well I could be right I could be wrong, I cannot know, but I would like to hope that tourism and peoples desires to visit hotter countries such as Italy will not be affected too much, as Italy is a truly beautiful country to visit and with so much to enjoy and such easy access to low cost flights and airports and with the ease of self-booking thanks to teletext and the Internet; it would be a shame for the weather to spoil it all.

Search
Related