Historical Aperitivo: The Fall of Rome - November 12, 2025

NB Full/waiting list started.

The Roman Empire was not built in a day, but it was built to last. Over the course of its final centuries, the vast empire slowly and dramatically fell to its knees. What caused Rome’s demise? Was it inflation, invasion, corruption, Christianity or maybe even lead poisoning? There is no one simple or obvious answer. Bring your curiosity and an open mind to unravel the neat and tidy story you probably learned in school.  Get ready to get to the bottom of this complex and shadowy transformation into the Middle Ages.

Light refreshments will follow the lecture and discussion with historian Christine Contrada.

When: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where: Private residence (near Corso Trieste); exact address sent to confirmed participants.

Cost: €10 members; €20 non-members (who must, however, be guests of a current member)

RSVP: canadarome@gmail.com ATTN Marina.

NB: Book early, as space is limited. Payment required by 4 Nov. 2025.

CCR Walks: A New Look at an Ancient People - January 20, 2024

Pleasure-loving gourmands? Pitiless pirates? Mysterious migrants? The learned Emperor Claudius was intrigued by the Etruscans and in more recent centuries they fired the imagination of Jesuit polymaths, adventurers, tomb raiders and princes, as well as writers such as Stendhal and DH Lawrence. A new exhibition at Villa Giulia regarding the port city of Spina at the mouth of the Po River allows us to examine long-held beliefs, clichés and new discoveries regarding the most remarkable of Italy’s pre-Roman people.

When: Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024

Time: 10 a.m start.; 9:30 for coffee or 9:45 to check in.

Meeting Place: Near the National Etruscan Museum. Participants will be informed by email of the exact meeting point.  

Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.

RSVP: canadarome@gmail.com ATTN Peter by Jan. 18, 2024. You are financially responsible for your reservation.

CCR Walks: In Augustus' Footsteps - September 20, 2020

Augustus’ birthday on September 23rd provides the subject of our first walk of the season. Please join us as we discuss his rise, his relentless drive towards total power, and the different personalities who opposed or facilitated his amazing quest to remodel Rome. Along the way, we will reflect upon what we can learn from his legacy and that of his contemporaries. 

N.B.: Participants must wear masks and maintain a safe distance of at least 1 meter during the course of the walk.

When: Sunday, September 20, 2020

Time: 10 a.m.

Meeting Place: Exact location will be provided to registered attendees.

Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members plus €1.50 for the rental of audio guide.  

RSVP: canadarome@gmail.com ATTN Joe by Thursday, September 17, 2020. You are financially responsible for your reservation.

CCR Walks: The Empire’s Crumbs: feeding what was left of the Empire - October 18, 2015

This guided walk follows on the theme of the one on September 27, 2015.

How did the building of the Aurelian(ic) Walls impact people's food supply and the neighbourhoods they lived in? How quickly did the city's population contract, and how much, during the Dark Ages?

Let's explore these and other topics at the Crypta Balbi. It's Rome's museum of the Middle Ages and is still a "work-in-progress" archaeological excavation just off Piazza Argentina. We take the chance to review Rome's Late Imperial and Early Medieval food production and consumption, in light of the momentous changes in the city's structure as the the Ancient Roman Empire declined. Artifacts, reconstructions and texts help understand everyday life in Medieval Rome. 

When: Sunday, October 18, 2015
Time & Meeting point: Bar Amore via Florida 17 at 9.45 for coffee, starting 10 am sharp. 
Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 non members for the guided tour, plus Crypta Balbi admission €7 (valid three days for three other sites -- Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, and the Baths of Diocletian); reduced entrance ticket €3.50; children up to 17 years old are free (teens should bring ID). 
RVSP required by Thursday, Oct. 15th:  ATTN Peter at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation. 
NOTE: Please bring correct change, familiarize yourself with the meeting place ahead of time and make sure you are ready to depart promptly.

CCR Special Permit with Olivia: Livia's Villa at Prima Porta - January 18, 2015

After the death of her husband, Emperor Augustus, on 19 August of the year 14 A.D., Empress Livia retired to a large and beautiful villa north of the city of Rome at the 9^th mile of the Via Flaminia. The villa was discovered again in the18^th century, and soon yielded wonderful works of art, some of them still recognized today as fundamental to understanding the Augustan period. It was here that, after Augustus's death, the Imperial Cult was codified and turned into a powerful political weapon. Our visit takes place after important restorations marking the 2000th anniversary of Augustus's death.

When: Sunday, January 18, 2015

Time: 9:45 a.m.

Cost: €14 for CCR members, €19 for non-members. N.B. Please bring exact change, as this will greatly facilitate the process for everyone. 

RVSP required by Wednesday, January 14th, ATTN Joe or Peter at canadarome@gmail.com or Olivia Ercoli at oliviaercoli1@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.

NOTES: Max 20 people allowed. Car pooling will be organized as the location close to Prima Porta cemetery is not easy to reach with public transport.

Please bring correct change, familiarize yourself with the meeting place ahead of time and make sure you are ready to depart promptly.

CCR Walks with Olivia: Augustus and the birth of the Empire - November 16, 2013

This walk provides a framework for the exhibition on Augustus which opened on 18 October, 2013, and will closing on 9 February, 2014. From the Obelisk of Montecitorio, to the Pantheon and the Ara Pacis to the Mausoleum of Augustus, this walk strings together a number of sites in Rome which show how Augustan policy attempted to redefine the Urbs and its landmarks, which can be fun whether or not you plan to visit the exhibition underway at the Scuderie del Quirinale. We start off from Piazza del Popolo and thread our way through the city as we re-create the context within which his ideas were given visual form, and examine the ramifications and far-reaching consequences of these choices, as well as their modern legacy.

Please note: the Ara Pacis Museum is hosting an exhibition on Impressionist paintings. We will therefore speak in detail of the Ara Pacis monument at the end of the tour, but you will be free to visit the museum on your own after the end of the walking tour. 

When: Saturday, November 16, 2013 
Time: 10 a.m. The walk lasts about two and a half hours, starting promptly at 10. Those who would like to have a coffee beforehand may start gathering at 9:30 at a coffee bar that will be specified in the confirmation email.
Meeting Point: Piazza del Popolo area. The exact meeting point will be sent out to registered participants.
Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 for non-members.
RSVP required by Wednesday, November 13, 2013 ATTN Linda at canadarome@gmail.com or Olivia Ercoli at oliviaercoli1@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation. 
NOTE: Please bring correct change, familiarize yourself with the meeting place ahead of time and make sure you are ready to depart promptly.