CCR Walks: From Saturnalia to the Befana - December 2, 2018

Join us as we explore Italian seasonal traditions such as the Saturnalia (aka Natale/Christmas), the Befana and others still, in an unlikely setting at Rome’s Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari, in the modernist neighborhood of EUR. The museum’s rich and diverse collection comprises over 5,000 ceramics, hundreds of regional costumes, working instruments, and artifacts tracing the ways in which the peoples of Italy celebrated and marked the changing seasons as well as their colourful and varied heritage.

When: Sunday, December 2, 2018
Time: 10:00
Meeting Place: In the vicinity of Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari “Lamberto Loria”, EUR
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members. Please note there is an additional museum admission fee of €10.
RSVP: canadarome@gmail.com ATTN Joe by Thu., Nov. 29, 2018. You are financially responsible for your reservation.

CCR Walks: Campo Verano - November 10, 2018

photo: Lichtbilder/Reinhard Goldmann

In the Christian liturgical calendar, November is entirely devoted to the deceased. That's why it is dubbed the “Month of the Dead” which makes it an ideal time to explore Rome’s Monumental Cemetery, Campo Verano. Join us as we learn of the cemetery’s Napoleonic origins, its artwork and, above all, the interesting people who rest there, including saints, football players, war heroes, resistance fighters, writers, actors, and film directors. 

When: Saturday, November 10, 2018
Time: 10 a.m.
Where: In the vicinity of Campo Verano Cemetery; exact location will be sent to confirmed participants by email.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.
RSVP: canadarome@gmail.com ATTN Joe by Thursday, November 8, 2018. You are financially responsible for your reservation.

CCR Walks: Garbatella Neighborhood - April 7, 2018

Garbatella, now a hip neighborhood, has a turbulent past. At the start of the last century, when it was first built, it was populated by newly arrived immigrants to Roma Capitale and became a hotbed of dissent during the Fascist period and of leftwing anti-government opposition during the postwar years. Its distinctive architecture also marks it as one of Rome’s few urban planning experiments in popular (public) housing, inspired by “Garden City” models and 20th century modernism. During the course of the walk, we will look at the many strands of Rome’s recent history and ways in which the past has been recorded in official and non-official ways in this highly distinctive, edgy neighborhood.

When: Saturday, April 7, 2018
Time: 10 a.m.
Where: Near the Garbatella metro station; exact location will be sent to confirmed participants by email.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.
RSVP: canadarome@gmail.com ATTN Joe by Tuesday, April 3, 2018. You are financially responsible for your reservation.

CCR Walks: Whose Past Is It Anyway? Monuments As Weapons - December 3, 2017

Every nation struggles with "Confederate heroes" of its own kind. Rome has had to contend with less-than-exemplary emperors who set up baths, basilicas, and other buildings stamped with their names. Taking a walk through the centre, you're likely to bump into some controversial popes' statues or Mussolini's more recent attempts to place his mark on the city. What does a city or a nation do with these monuments when the bloom is off the rose and history looks at these individuals in a different light? Come wander with us through the centre of Rome as we contemplate the sensitivities surrounding some of these monuments. 

When: Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017
Time: 10 a.m.
Meeting point: Near the Ara Pacis; exact location sent to confirmed participants by email.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.
RSVP required by Thu. Nov. 30, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NB: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Introducing the "Honest" Courtesans - October 28, 2017

The Italian Renaissance is a time in which memorable female figures graced the cultural and artistic world. They may have made their mark on their own or as the wives or lovers of great men.  They ranged from artists to intellectuals to noble-ladies and even to high class courtesans ("cortigiane oneste"). This walk focuses on this last group, many of whom were able to weave themselves into the social fabric of their time in new and interesting ways, and in some cases acquire the elusive "respectability" they coveted. Join us as we explore the many facets of this difficult, brittle world, by looking at the neighborhoods they lived in, the churches they patronized, and in some cases the artwork which captured this long-lost world. 

The courtesan "Antea" -- detail, by Parmigianino

When: Saturday, October 28, 2017
Time: 10 a.m.
Meeting point: Coffee bar near Piazza Farnese; exact location sent to confirmed participants by email.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.
RSVP required by Wed. Oct. 25, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NB: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Ramblings on the Palatine - October 1, 2017

Following the summer break, we take up where we left off in the spring… and head to the heart of the ancient city, which has inspired countless artists, poets and writers as the cradle of a whole civilization: the Palatine Hill, where, we are told, “it all started” (and, in many ways, where it all ended). We will focus in part on the exciting discoveries which have been unearthed in recent years and which shed new light on today's ivy-covered ruins nestling among the pine-trees.

When: Sunday, October 1, 2017
Time: 10 a.m.
Meeting point: To Be Announced
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members; FREE admission ticket (also valid for the Coliseum) because it will be the first Sunday of the month.
RSVP required by Thu. Sept. 28, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NB: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Cola di Rienzo - March 18, 2017

Who was Cola di Rienzo? A rabble-rouser? A man ahead of his time? A humanist or an impostor?

This walk meanders from the banks of the Tiber to the Capitoline Hill, unraveling the many strands of his amazing tale, from his birth in an obscure inn to his mission to the glittering Papal court at Avignon, to finally becoming an inspiration as a Risorgimento hero in the 19th century, hundreds of years after his death!

When: Saturday, March 18, 2017
Time: 9:30 a.m. for coffee; 10 a.m. for the walk.
Meeting point: Via Petroselli area; exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.
RSVP required by Thu. Mar. 16, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NB: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Cavallini & St Crisogonus - February 19, 2017

Researchers have gradually shed light on the mysterious Roman painter Cavallini, active in Rome in the 1290s and responsible for a spate of paintings and mosaics in the churches of the Medieval Trastevere quarter. Come learn his story and that of other interesting residents of this picturesque neighbourhood!

When: Sunday, February 19, 2017
Time: 9:30 a.m. for coffee; 9:45 for the walk; special entrance to the archeological area arranged for 10:00 sharp.
Meeting point:  area, exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members. There is also an additional entrance fee of €5.50 for both sites.
RSVP required by Thu. Feb. 16, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NB: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Into the Ancient Urban Jungle - December 4, 2016

Layer upon layer upon layer: join us as we discover the houses under San Paolo alla Regola. Delving under Campus Martius in the early 1900s, archaeologists discovered the remains of an insula (ancient Roman tenement building) under the renaissance Palazzo Specchi, itself composed of medieval structures. The building is now home to a young people’s library, with private homes above that. Thanks to a special permit, we will chart the interaction of ancient and modern uses of space in central Rome, from ancient to modern times, at this very special location.

When: Sunday, December 4, 2016.
Time: 9 a.m. for coffee; 9:15 for the walk; entrance to the archeological area at 9:30 sharp.
Meeting point: Centro Storico area, exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members. There is a supplemental entrance fee of €4 to the "Case di San Paolo alla Regola."
RSVP required by Thu. Dec. 1st, ATTN Joe/Linda at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Ramblings on the Colle Oppio - November 27, 2016

Baths, princely mansions, luscious gardens and splendid statuary have been unearthed on the Colle Oppio. Eyewitnesses to these splendours include Pliny, Michelangelo, and the great 19th century archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani. During this walk, we will be discussing these accounts and more recent findings on the hill during the last 15 years. Thanks to a special permit, we will also be visiting the so-called "Sette Sale" (Seven Halls) -- water cisterns from Trajan's Baths. All this and more as we unravel the fascinating history of this hill.

When: Sunday, November 27, 2016. 
Time: 10:30 a.m.; 11:30 admission to Sette Sale archeological site.
Meeting point: Colle Oppio area, exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members. There is a supplemental entrance fee of €4 to the Sette Sale.
RSVP required by Thu. Nov. 24th, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: "Terraemotus!!!" - Roman Earthquakes - October 15, 2016

NOTE: The date of this walk has been changed to Saturday rather than Sunday.

Earth-shaking gods and divine punishments have regularily made their presence felt in Rome's history and on its landscape. This walk from the Coliseum to the Field of Mars will look at Rome's geology, its building techniques, and the impact of earthquakes and tremors on the city's history in ancient and modern times, and the challenges facing its inhabitants and policy makers.

Earthquake depicted by Giulio Romano in the Sala dei Giganti, Palazzo Tè, Mantua

When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016
Time: 10 a.m. sharp departure, 9:30 for coffee beforehand.
Meeting point: Colosseo area; exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members.
RSVP required by Thu. Oct. 13th, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Coppedè Quarter - May 28, 2016

Join us for the last tour of the season charting the rise of modern Rome and its early 20th-century expansion by visiting the Quartiere Coppedè and its surroundings. The enchanting fairy-tale atmosphere of this little-known neighbourhood, adjacent to the Viale Regina Margherita and not far from Via  Nomentana, is also echoed in Prince Giovanni Torlonia's folly house, which is nestled among the trees of Villa Torlonia and which acquired its present name (Casina delle Civette, or House of the Owls) in 1906. Today one of Rome's art museums, it houses one of the city's best collections of art nouveau stained glass.

When: Saturday, May 28, 2016
Time: 9:45 a.m. sharp departure, 9:30 for coffee beforehand.
Meeting point: Exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for members and €15 for non-members, plus €6 museum admission.
RSVP required by Thu. May 26th, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: The Protestant Cemetery - May 8, 2016

In 1716, Pope Clement XI granted members of the exiled Stuart court the right to be buried near the Pyramid of Caestius. Since then countless artists, diplomats, children, pastors, invalids, eccentrics and exiles, mostly non-Catholics, have been laid to sleep in the shadow of Rome's great Piramide Cestia. Come explore the so-called Protestant Cemetery and learn some of the many tales told by the silent tombstones, on a walk held to mark the historic cemetery 's 300th anniversary. 

When: Sunday, May 8, 2016
Time: 9:45 a.m. departure, 9:30 for coffee beforehand.
Meeting point: Exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €15 for members and €20 for non-members, including a €5 contribution for the upkeep of the cemetery, which is entirely private and has no public funding.
RSVP required by Thu. May 5th, ATTN Joe at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Garibaldi on the Janiculum - February 21, 2016

February 1849 marks the declaration of the ill-fated Roman Republic (February to July 1849). Today, on the leafy Janiculum hill overlooking Trastevere, we can still follow the desperate charge of Garibaldi's impetuous young men as they blazed their path to death and glory from Porta San Pancrazio, and learn the story of the men and women from all walks of life and from many different countries who fought for Italian unity on the Janiculum and in Trastevere against overwhelming odds.

When: Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016
Time: 9:45 a.m. departure, 9:30 for coffee beforehand.
Meeting point: Exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 non-members.
RVSP required by Thu., Feb. 18th, ATTN Peter at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Risorgimento Museum at Piazza Venezia - February 7, 2016

February 1861 marks the institution of Italy's first National Parliament. People are often surprised to find that, inspite of its glorious past, Italy was one of the latest among Western Europe's countries to achieve unity. Italy's struggle for independence is illustrated by a series of sometimes curious, sometimes poignant mementos, in one of the city's lesser-known museums, located in the huge Monument to Victor Emanuel II overlooking Piazza Venezia.

When: Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016
Time: 9:45 a.m., 9:30 for coffee beforehand.
Meeting point: Exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk.
Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 non-members, plus €5 admission ticket.
RVSP required by Thu., Feb. 4th, ATTN Peter at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

CCR Walks: Annus Sanctus - November 7, 2015

True to his own personal outlook, Pope Francis has announced an extra Holy Year starting December 8th 2015, well ahead of the expected date in 2025! 

Holy Years, special times of forgiveness in the Catholic Church's history, have played an important part in shaping the city and its development. We take a walk from Campo de Fiori to St Peter's through the neighbourhoods which were most affected by the arrival of pilgrims and past popes' efforts to welcome them.

When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 
Time: 10 a.m.
Meeting point: Exact location to be provided to those registered for this walk. 

Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 non-members.

RVSP required by Wed., Nov. 4th:  ATTN Peter at canadarome@gmail.com. You are financially responsible for your reservation.
NOTE: Please bring correct change.

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 Walks: Feeding the Empire - September 27, 2015

Join us on a visit to "Feeding the Empire," an exhibition at Ara Pacis Museum (closing on November 15th, 2015). As part of Rome's role in supporting Milan's food-themed EXPO 2015, the Roman show looks at food production, supply and consumption in Rome and Pompeii, Herculaneum and Oplontis, including virtual reconstructions of some of the most recent excavations of the docks at Portus, the satellite port city which eclipsed bustling Ostia and is now being rediscovered. Its themes include the social aspects of food consumption, the gradual changes in production and distribution, and the hard choices facing Emperors towards the end of the Roman Empire to ensure food security for the Roman people.

There will be a related and follow-up walking tour called "The Empire’s Crumbs: feeding what was left of the Empire" on October 18th. 

When: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015
Time & Meeting point: Rocca Snack Bar on via Tomacelli at 9:45 (for coffee), ready to start off at 10 a.m. sharp. 

Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 non members for the guided tour, plus exhibition (only) admission: regular €11, reduced admission of €9 for art students with ID, Rome residents with Carta d'Identità, metrebus (Rome transport pass) and other categories (check Ara Pacis website and here). Please bring exact change, as this will greatly facilitate the process for everyone. RVSP required by Thursday, Sept. 24th:  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 Walks with Olivia: The Via Ostiensis and Giovannipolis - September 14, 2014

Archaeological excavations continue to reveal more detail about the complex historical period of the Early years of Christianity – and to raise more questions! On this walk we explore Saint Paul's Basilica, and the via Ostiensis. A special permit allows us to enter the Necropoli Ostiense, a large pagan necropolis dating from Republican times destined to house Christian burials after St Paul was buried nearby, supposedly in year 68 or 69 AD. We also visit an Early Medieval archaeological site which has come to light under the basilica complex opened in 2013, which includes a convent, an oratory and many clues of the hard life of Early Medieval inhabitants of the fortified Giovannipolis, as this settlement came to be known.

When: Sunday, September 14, 2014

Time: 9:45 a.m. Please be punctual as the permit is for 10:00 a.m. sharp and we cannot wait for latecomers. Those who would like to meet for coffee beforehand, please join us at 9:30 a.m. (address sent to confirmed participants). 
Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 for non-members for the guided tour. Entrance fee for the necropolis: €4. Entrance fee for St Paul's Basilica excavations: €2. Please bring exact change for each fee, as this will greatly facilitate the process for everyone. 
RVSP required by Wednesday September 10th:  ATTN Joe 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.

CCR Walks with Olivia: Insula Ara Coeli - March 16, 2014

Special permission secured for access to Insula Ara Coeli. 

During this walk we'll be inspecting one of those monuments we all walk past, but never really “see”: the ruins of a three-floor “insula” -- or ancient Roman apartment block -- nestled between the Monument to Victor Emmanuel in Piazza Venezia and the Medieval stairway leading to Santa Maria Ara Coeli. We then take a walk in the area looking at other landmarks charting the area’s long history.

When: SUNDAY, March 16, 2014

Time: 10:00 a.m. Please be punctual as the permit is for 10:00 a.m. sharp. Those who would like to meet for coffee beforehand, please join us at 9:30 a.m. The walk lasts about two and a half hours.

Meeting Point: a bar in the area of Piazza Ara Coeli (exact address will be sent to confirmed participants)

Cost: €10 for CCR members, €15 for non-members. Entrance fee: €4

RVSP required by Wednesday March:  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.