I haven't noticed anyone else posting about this - pls forgive if there is already another thread.

Saw the following in the RomaTurismo newsletter. I'm curious, has anyone ever been there for these celebrations before? Are they cheesy/touristy? Do they have them every year?

Various venues
21-23 Apr: Natale di Roma (Rome's Birthday)
Three days of typically Roman events and initiatives to celebrate and commemorate the legendary "birth" day of the city.
21 Apr
h9 - porta San Sebastiano: Porta Appia Opening Ceremony
h11 - via Appia Antica, 18: Re-evocation of the city's history and creation
h18 - "La Dea Roma" venue on Via Ardeatina Awards ceremony for the "Dea Roma" beauty competition followed by dinner, music and performances
22 Apr
h11 - via Appia Antica: Gladiatorial games
h18-21 - Tempio di Vesta: "Palilia" and lighting of the Sacred Fire
23 Apr
h11 - via dei Fori Imperiali: Historical parade that will begin at Circus Maximus, pass in front of the Colosseum, make its way down the Via dei Fori Imperiali and arrive at the statue of Caesar where a wreath will be laid down. A section of the procession will be allowed to enter the Roman Forum. Then after making its way through the Arch of Titus and Arch of Constantine, the parade will head back to the Circus Maximus.

I will be in Rome on April 21 too! (April 20-26) I did a quick search and found this discussion about the day but I can't find any information on the "What's On In Rome" site.

http://slowtalk.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/862600685/m/...10609321#77010609321

Any more information about the celebration? Will there be parades and fireworks?

Wondering if Apr 23 will be too crowded if we make it our Colosseum, Roman Forum day.

quote:

Originally posted by Wing S:
...Any more information about the celebration?....

Hi Wing S -

So far I've found info on the RomaTurismo site under "Events in Rome" in the "Off the beaten track" section:

http://www.romaturismo.com/v2/en/main.asp

And I see on the Westin Excelsior Hotel site this mention in their special package section:

http://specialoffers.starwoodhotels.com/excelsiorrome/s...f?EM=PP_SOP_70_ITALY

But to our Rome experts out there: I would still be very interested to know if this "event" has annually been celebrated before or if this is a new city attraction...

In answer to my own question - has the 21st been celebrated like this in the past -

Based on the fact that none of you experts replied... I bet this is new this year.

Here's my totally uneducated hypothesis -

They (Italian Tourist Board) started with the Cultural Week 8 years ago (free museums and special events) - and it attracted more tourists.

They (Rome's Tourist Board) started La Notte Bianca three years ago with free museums and special events - and it attracted more tourists. (And I just noticed that this year it will be a 2-night duration, Sept 8-9. This found on that same site we keep linking for Romaturismo).

So this year they started celebrating April 21 with free museums and special events. In the hopes of more of us coming...

Just my guess.

Oh, and now they've added the Roma Pass - inaugurating it on 4/21 - more carrots for the tourists. And they're opening the Ara Pacis (HOPEFULLY!!!) on 4/21. All good IMO!

Jady - just saw your post. We must have been thinking the same thing and posting at the same time. I just remembered to check romaturismo too and got the same. Have fun!

The "Cultural Week" has nothing to do with the Italian Tourist Board.

"Cultural Week" was an initiative of UNESCO that most countries celebrate at one time or another during the year.

In Italy, it is under the patronage of the Ministero per i beni e le attivita culturali.

As for the "Notte Bianca", it is a joint venture of the Comune di Roma, the Camera di Commercio di Roma and the Ministero per i Beni culturali.

The creation of the new Ara Pacis complex - designed by the American architect Richard Meier and hotly debated in Rome - was not undertaken to make it more attractive to tourists, but to make it play a more important role in the life of Rome.

Hard as it may be to believe, there are actually activities in Italy that are planned to benefit and involve Italian citizens in cultural activities, not only to benefit tourists.

The fact that the Roman Tourist Board latches on to them for its own purposes is a purely secondary effect.

Sorry to blow the theory, but this isn't the first year that Rome's birthday is celebrated.

Here's a tidbit about the birthday of Rome in antiquity:
On this day, an annual festival called the Palilia (Feast of Pales) was celebrated in ancient Rome to honor the pastoral goddess Pales. In the country, special purification rites were performed to keep the sheep disease-free. Shepherds, followed by their flock, would traditionally leap through bonfires. In the city of Rome, the festival was celebrated with wine and merriment.

The Emperor Claudius had the pleasure of celebrating Rome's 800th birthday in 47 AD with games.

Philip the Arab celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the city's founding with games and theatrical spectacles.

And, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's been celebrated without fail ever since that time, but it is celebrated in Rome every year. Last year the parade of "historic Romans" was dampened by a bit of rain, but it was still fun. You can see images of last year's celebration on the home page of the IDC. In past years, the city government has even given "presents" to the citizens of Rome - a museum long-closed or newly restored opens or some such thing as that. So, the opening of the Ara Pacis is in keeping with that tradition....and while we'll have to see what the Romans think of the new and improved Ara Pacis site, we can be sure that Augustus would be quite happy to see his monument unveiled on such a symbolic day!

Hey - well atleast my, ahem, theory, finally got someone to reply!

quote:

Originally posted by urbanicon:
Sorry to blow the theory, but this isn't the first year that Rome's birthday is celebrated.

Here's a tidbit about the birthday of Rome in antiquity:
On this day, an annual festival called the Palilia (Feast of Pales) was celebrated in ancient Rome to honor the pastoral goddess Pales. In the country, special purification rites were performed to keep the sheep disease-free. Shepherds, followed by their flock, would traditionally leap through bonfires. In the city of Rome, the festival was celebrated with wine and merriment.

The Emperor Claudius had the pleasure of celebrating Rome's 800th birthday in 47 AD with games.

Philip the Arab celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the city's founding with games and theatrical spectacles.

And, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's been celebrated without fail ever since that time, but it is celebrated in Rome every year. Last year the parade of "historic Romans" was dampened by a bit of rain, but it was still fun. You can see images of last year's celebration on the home page of the IDC. In past years, the city government has even given "presents" to the citizens of Rome - a museum long-closed or newly restored opens or some such thing as that. So, the opening of the Ara Pacis is in keeping with that tradition....and while we'll have to see what the Romans think of the new and improved Ara Pacis site, we can be sure that Augustus would be quite happy to see his monument unveiled on such a symbolic day!

BTW I emailed your organization but can't seem to get a reply....