Starting March 9th the forum will no longer be free to the people. The ticket will be a combination Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum ticket. It will be the same price as the current Colosseum/Palatine Hill ticket. However, this ticket will be valid for 2 days.
In addition to this, the forum will have to make some accessibility changes. For those of you that have been to the forum before might know that some of the gates are no more then just that: small access gates. But since we are now dealing with a paid entrance, these small access gates will no longer be sufficient to handle ticket sales. Therefore, here are the changes to each access gate:
-Via San Gregorio (former Palatine Hill only entrace) - entrance and exit for the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill -Via dei Fori Imperiali (to the right of Chiesa dei S. Cosma e Damiano) - entrance and exit for the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill -Arch of Titus - exit only -Mamertine Prison/Arch of Septimius Severus - exit only -S. Teodoro (Via della Consolazione) - Closed -Campidoglio (Via Sacra) - Closed
There is currently a movement underway by tourist agencies to protest this change as it greatly hampers the flow of tours and people.
thanks for the heads up Tony! Please keep us posted since I'm sure there will be changes and adjustments.
I'm sorry to see this new charge, tho....sometimes it was nice to be able to just wander the Forum, and now that won't really be possible, at least for us, and I'm sure for many others. Altho the ticket is good for 2 days, many won't be able to take advantage of that. I guess this also means that the less trafficked Palatine Hill entrance won't be so secret any more!
Originally posted by loves2read: do you know anything about the House of Augustus that was supposed to open March 2--
Hi,loves2read. This article states that the House of Augustus will reopen to the public on March 10, 2008. I can't wait to see it myself. Rome ends free visits
Cindy ~ "Follow your Bliss." Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it. ~ Joseph Campbell
Posts: 771 | Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | Registered: 16 November 2005
yes but it also says tours are in small groups and there is nothing about how to request a tour... so it basically just tantalizes you to want more info--and there is none out there--I am about Googled out...
yes but it also says tours are in small groups and there is nothing about how to request a tour...
We saw people go in with a person with keys on Feb 25/26. my daughter approached them and asked them how to get in and they didn't speak English. They told her to go to the "office" but we don't know what "office" they were talking about. There were no signs and nobody else to ask. Maybe i should have waved a 20 euros note?
This reminds me of trying to arrange to to see the Houses of Menander and Golden Cupids in Pompeii. no signs. no way to get in once you are actually at the site.
Posts: 4608 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
Originally posted by dragonpat: This reminds me of trying to arrange to to see the Houses of Menander and Golden Cupids in Pompeii. no signs. no way to get in once you are actually at the site.
I had the exact problem in Pompeii. I finally gave a tipe to someone standing outside who had the key. In another house, I followed a lady tourist whom one of the guards was trying to chat up. Hope these tips help.
what Roman "office" oversees that historical site--there are different offices for different locations depending on how it is classified or owned I guess--the PIERRECI site has control over many of them --like Domus Aurea-- would it be the one for House of Augustus? Could someone just send an email and find out availability?
looks like that is the site to ask--the "office". If the schedule is current the days when House of Augustus and House of Livia are open won't work for my son--either they won't be in Rome or they have a tour scheduled-- but I sent an email before I found that link--so may get more current info back tomorrow. I have sent emails before and had them answered fairly quickly.
Originally posted by loves2read: If the schedule is current the days when House of Augustus and House of Livia are open won't work for my son--either they won't be in Rome or they have a tour scheduled-- but I sent an email before I found that link--so may get more current info back tomorrow. I have sent emails before and had them answered fairly quickly.
What a shame. That really is a limited schedule. Blast, I know that I will not be unable to see it either.
Cindy ~ "Follow your Bliss." Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it. ~ Joseph Campbell
Posts: 771 | Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | Registered: 16 November 2005
If that's true then it really is like visiting the House of Menander and the House of the Gilded Cupids in Pompeii: You have to make arrangements ahead of time before arriving at the site. Showing up at the site and trying to figure out how to get inside is ineffective.
Posts: 4608 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
I'm pretty sure that the Pierecci site that loves2read cites is old and out of date. I'm sure there will be an announcement in the next few days about how they're going to handle visits to the House of Augustus after it reopens on 9 March.
The newspaper, Il Messaggero, reports that the inauguration of the newly restored House of Augustus is taking place today, Sunday 9 March.
They also say that from tomorrow, Monday 10 March, the House will be open to the public. You will, of course, have to buy the new combined Palatine/Colosseum/Forum ticket which currently costs 11 euro (9 euro + 2 euro for the special exhibit in the Colosseum about Roman Triumphal Processions - yes, you must pay the extra 2 euro whether you want to see that exhibit at all).
The article says that no reservations are necessary - so it seems that you'll be able to simply walk up to the house and pay a visit. However, an earlier article said that they'd only be letting in 5 people at a time, so it should be interesting to see how this process works.
They also say that from tomorrow, Monday 10 March, the House will be open to the public. You will, of course, have to buy the new combined Palatine/Colosseum/Forum ticket which currently costs 11 euro (9 euro + 2 euro for the special exhibit in the Colosseum about Roman Triumphal Processions - yes, you must pay the extra 2 euro whether you want to see that exhibit at all).
Is all this covered by the Roma Pass? if so the Roma pass at 20 euros for 3 days is even more of a bargain.
Posts: 4608 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
people will just have to make decision which tomake their two free stops--and I guess the Borghese will lose out for some people since the Colosseum and Forum are basically tied together by hisotry and location
I just received the following email from Pierreci. I am sorry that it is not translated. I don't have the time right now. Hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to get a translation online. But I am sure that a good number of you can read it.
Gentili Clienti,
stamattina mi hanno comunicato dalla Soprintendenza speciale per i beni archeologici di Roma che da oggi, verranno riaperti al pubblico alcuni monumenti dell’area archeologica del Foro Romano: la Casa di Augusto sul Palatino, visitabile liberamente ma con accesso contingentato, l’Oratorio dei Quaranta Martiri e il Tempio di Romolo al Foro Romano, accessibili solo con visita guidata.
L’Oratorio dei Quaranta Martiri : è caratterizzato da una sala con abside, sulla quale è un grande affresco che rappresenta 40 martiri nello stagno (40 soldati cristiani perseguitati da Diocleziano). Le figure rappresentate sono molto danneggiate, mentre ben conservata è la parte inferiore della parete contigua all'abside. Il pavimento è mal conservato.
Il Tempio di Romolo: edificio fatto costruire da Massenzio in memoria del figlio Romolo, morto in tenera età e poi divinizzato (ci sono molti dubbi su questa identificazione). Si tratta di un edificio costruito in mattoni, formato da un corpo centrale a cupola e fiancheggiato da due ambienti uguali terminanti ciascuno con un'abside.
E' scomparso il rivestimento marmoreo e si è conservata solo la porta in bronzo. Intorno alla metà del VI sec d.C. venne trasformato in vestibolo della chiesa dedicata ai SS. Cosma e Damiano
VISITE PER SINGOLI
Tempio di Romolo e Oratorio dei Quaranta Martiri
orario: tutti i giorni dalle 10 alle 13:30
lingua: italiano, inglese
partecipanti: max 30
durata: 1 ora
costo: € 4,50
appuntamento: biglietteria Foro Romano
prenotazione: consigliata
Al momento sono previste solo visite per singoli, ma entro la fine della settimana verranno abilitate anche le viste per i gruppi. La tariffa gruppo sarà di 45.00 euro per max 30 persone con guida propria, mentre di €100.00 con visita guidata Pierreci (tariffa gruppi itinerari speciali).
Attualmente gli orari (per i singoli) in programma sono: - 10.30 in lingua inglese - 12.00 in lingua italiana - 13.00 in lingua inglese
Vi ricordo che questi 2 itinerari speciali non parte del biglietto Colosseo-Foro- Palatino, ma hanno un'ulteriore costo aggiuntivo di 4.50 per persona, a cui si deve aggiungere 1.50 euro di prenotazione (non obbligatoria ma consigliata).
I understand that sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to what happens in Italy but why do you think they would go to the trouble of opening those two sites just to close them in 30 days... was there an accident or did something happen untoward?
One more confusing factor about closure of the Coliseum on May 1. I received the following from Real Rome Tours... We are not doing a Colosseum tour on May 1 in case it is closed. They have not announced that it will be closed, but it's Labour Day here when Italians refuse to work (lol) and they are notorious for making last minute announcements about closures. So we thought it would be safer to not book tours for that date if possible.
Posts: 24 | Location: San Francisco, CA | Registered: 12 September 2003
They are still the extrances/exits as of late May. And none of them are now handicap accessible. Before you could make brief forays from St Pietro in Vincolo and from the Via Fori Imperial. You can see exactly 10 feet of the Forum or Palatine hill if you cannot climb a minimum of 67 steps. (I know I counted). hereby want to thank lower case Robert (BC/AD) from AOL and my DH for hauling me up those stairs. It will be the last time I will ever be able to visit the Palatine until someone address a different kind of accessability. One for disabled travelers.
Rome addict isn't that entrance actually by St Peter's prison (Carcere)? Or is the prison called San Pietro in Vicolo? The san Pietro in Vincolo I know about is the church with his chains in ti and the statue of Moses by Michelangelo.
I am always amazed at how much you actaully do get to see. It seems like there are stairs everywhere.
Posts: 4608 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
I'll take this opportunity to rant about entry to the Palatine Hill/Forum complex.
Arriving about 10 a.m., we bought our tickets covering Palatine Hill/Forum/Colosseum entries for 24 hours.
We spent a couple of hours seeing Palatine Hill first, since it was an uphill climb and we wanted to do that while we were fresh. After the hill tour, we were tired and hungry, so went out and ate lunch at noon.
Returning after lunch, they wouldn't let us back in to see the Forum. Said our tickets had already gone through the turnstile once. (Paltine and Forum share the same entry point.)
So we didn't get to visit the Forum, the main thing we wanted to see, and were quite angry, but the turnstile guard said there was nothing to be done, so we left.
I realize they don't want people to see the place then hand the ticket to someone else who can see the place for free. But how often would that happen? Probably not as often as they make tourists leave, feeling cheated, by the present system!
________________ When life gives you lemons, make limoncello.
That's interesting Patrick because they offered to hand stamp us when we left and told us to keep our ticket stubs.
I think you fell through one of the wide cracks that occurs regularly in Italy. If it makes you feel any better your irateness probably made them get out the hand stamp so that I got to go back in.
Duhhh. I meant the mamartine prison entrance. Sorry.
It actually was the best of the Forum entrances. You could scooter up the hill by the Victor Emmanuel and get about 3 blocks into the forum before the roads made of boulders occurred. The forum had poured gravel and sand between and/or over the blocks (or maybe it just washed down from above and got pounded flat).
You could actually get close to the big arch!! With a little extreme scootering I made it all the way to the old senate building on one trip.
Bumping this old thread once again, in preparation for our September trip. Has anyone had experience with the semi-recently opened House of Augustus on the Palatine? Long lines? Reservations? Best time of day, or day of week? For that matter, where exactly is the entrance? Signposted? (In Italy? Hah.)
Any advice appreciated!
Thanks! Bucky "Trying To Slow Down" Edgett
Posts: 927 | Location: Maryland | Registered: 24 April 2006
We went last year in April and waited about 45 minutes in line, at around 3 pm on a weekday. It was completely worth it, however!
It's VERY hard to find, and very badly signposted. I think I had printed out directions and a map from some website, and followed some scattered signs. But if we hadn't known to look for it, we would have missed it.
(The colors are amazing... my husband assumed that the colors were part of a restoration, and was shocked when he learned these were the colors that had survived the centuries. They look like they were painted yesterday.)
Posts: 24 | Location: San Francisco, CA | Registered: 12 September 2003
Topic Closed
That really is a limited schedule. Blast, I know that I will not be unable to see it either.
