the Rome Blog

One of the things that I really like about Rome is how much fun it is to go for a walk here. Traffic aside, there’s so much to see and explore that you can walk for hours without getting tired or bored (well, I can. Walking may be the only exercise I have any stamina for, but I’ve got tons of it). This week I’ve found a really good tool for planning walks. (more…)

Speaking of film festivals, The Roma Independent Film Festival is running this week until Thursday night. It’s taking place at the Cinema Nuovo Olimpia and the official programme is here.

I’ve just noticed that Cinema Festa Internazionale di Roma - aka RomeFilmFest aka The Rome Film Festival - have updated their website with information on the 2007 edition of the festival.

There’s not much there as yet, other than the date (the festival is set for 18-27 October) but no doubt there’ll be semi-regular updates on their site from now on. Naturally, we’ll also be updating our page for the festival as we find out more.

Tomorrow marks a special day for European citizens in Italy… and a confusing one. As of the 11th of April 2007, the Italians are doing away with the old Carta di Soggiorno for Europeans. This is definitely a good thing, and something that brings the country closer to the carefree border-hopping prescribed by the EU, but it’s also confused a lot of people. If not the Carta, then what? (more…)

At the beginning of every academic year, many universities in the UK present their students with little goodie bags. These bags contain fliers for local clubs, booklets with various bits of information on nearby doctors and on-campus events, loyalty cards or coupons for local shops and maybe a chocolate bar or a couple of condoms.

If something similar were made available for new expatriates arriving in Italy (and it should be), it would have to contain a copy of The Italians by Luigi Barzini. (more…)

I’ve been thinking for a while about adding something new to Rome File. Most of the site’s content is based around relatively timeless material like sightseeing tips and reviews of old films. I wanted a slightly less structured space in which to cover day-to-day goings on in the city along with some news, some opinions and more photographs.

It came down to a choice between adding a magazine section to the main site and starting a blog. The idea of a magazine section seemed a bit too dry, so I’ve decided to go with this blog.

(For those readers in RSS land, The Rome Blog will also replace the old Rome File news feed, which will no longer be updated. Instead, I’ll be posting information about new additions to Rome File on this blog. Speaking of which, recent updates to the site include a review of Accattone and the beginnings of a new section on annual events & festivals in Rome.)