SPRING BREAK ACTIVITIES IN ROME

Are you staying in Rome for spring break? If so, check out some of these events!

CulturaCibo, on Food & Italy’s Identity Food is not just material, it is also culture. And this holds nowhere more than in Italy, a country in love with beauty, either art or good food. Through April 7 the Rome Vittoriano complex hosts a free exhibition on how food is part of the Italian identity. It was curated by Italy’s top food historian, Massimo Montanari, who has a very scientific and academic approach, i.e very serious, to this issue. The showing is a travel through the centuries in the fields, the kitchens and the dishes of Italians. A fascinating journey that will teach you a lot on who we are and why we eat in such a delicious way. You’ll learn, for instance, that there is no such thing as a “spaghetti Bolognese” or “Alfredo Sauce” in Italy and why they are perceived to be quintessentially Italian abroad. From March 18th – April 7th

NINFA Gardens

On the very last day of the month,

March 31 (Easter), the

beautiful Ninfa gardens, south of

Rome, will re-open after winter

closure. After centuries of ruin,

marshes and malaria, Ninfa was

brought back to its original glory

in the 20th century. Ninfa was

designated a Natural Monument

of the Italian Republic in 2000 and

dubbed the most beautiful garden

in the world by the New York

Times.

Take a day trip to Ninfa to relax and enjoy the scenery!

Touring Borgo Pio With just 3,500 inhabitants, Borgo Pio stands right next to the Vatican, and looks like a small village with its quiet narrow alleys, low-rising buildings and a lovely pedestrian-only area. But for centuries it was populated by many different national communities of Catholic believers who had their accommodation beyond the river, on the other shore of downtown Rome. One of the buildings that you will admire while here, S. Spirito in Sassia, was actually meant to provide shelter to Saxon pilgrims. The executioner of the Popes lived here, when the Vatican was a state and enforced the death penalty, and many prostitutes who wanted to be close to their best clients: the bishops and cardinals of the Roman Curia.

Porta Portese Market Porta Portese is the massive flea market that takes over Trastevere every Sunday from 7am to 2pm. The vendors have a wide variety of goods, including antiques, coins, books, furniture, clubbing clothes, fake designer purses, home decor items, jewelry, and a sprinkling of everything else. Most vendors are willing to bargain, with actual selling prices 10% to (if you're an outstanding bargainer on a slow day) as much as 30% off. Most vendors speak several languages and those who don't are very forgiving of broken Italian. There are even a few places to sit and eat while you compare bargains or watch the crowds pass by.

The flea market occupies both sides

of the street for MANY blocks

parallel to the Tiber. It could take

literally hours to see everything,

and while there is a lot of junk, the

serious shopper will go home with

one or two real treasures.

Bartering and patience is a must.!

The MACRO Museum and Market If you prefer a market for fresh produce and meats, check out the new Testaccio Market right across from the MACRO museum. The market has just been newly built, replacing an older version. It is now a

covered complex, making it look quite modern.

Rome's MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art

in Rome) has converted Testaccio's former

slaughterhouse into a multispace venue for

visual and performance art. The complex hosts

exhibitions, performances, and events including RomaContemporary, the annual contemporary art fair.

MACRO Pelanda is the Testaccio complex's exhibition, laboratory, residence, and

artist workspace. MACRO Testacctio is open until midnight.