RomaPolacchi

At the Legion of Honor in San Francisco until June 5th.

From now until December 28th, Museums in Italy will be open late (7-11 pm) and free on Tuesday (Martedi) evenings. Included are archaeological sites like Paestum in Campania, Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, the Uffizi and the Accademia in Florence and the Borghese Gallery and Villa Giulia in Rome. For more details on museums that are participating around Italy, see the website.

I have 3 days in Rome coming up and have put together a short but sweet itinerary. I will be traveling with someone who has only been to Rome once, so I have included some must-see sights on this plan. We will also be visiting a few sites that I haven't seen in years. Day 1 : -Leonardo Express train to Termini -Lunch: Colline Emiliane near Trevi Fountain -Afternoon walk in Forum Romanum -Late afternoon visit to Capitoline Museum and a Jewish Quarter Walk -Dinner: Sora Lella on Tiber Island -Walk home through Campo dei Fiori and Piazza della Rotonda (Pantheon) Day 2 : -Morning visit to Borghese Gallery -Walk through Borghese Gardens, Pincio (perhaps a visit to Villa Giulia) -Lunch: Babette in Piazza del Popolo -Afternoon Via Condotti, Piazza Farnese, Via Margutta, etc. -Dinner: Trastevere (maybe-still TBD) Day 3: -8:00 am Vatican/St. Peter's -Villa Farnesina -Lunch in Trastevere at Checco or at Cul de Sac in Piazza Navona -Afternoon Castel S. Angelo, Piazza Navona, Via Condott...

There are ways to see the Sistine Chapel (and Vatican Museums) without 5,000 other people-some of them costly, some more reasonable. The cheapest way is to book your ticket online for the first entrance of the day (8:00 am). Not only will you skip the line, but if you are a fast walker, you can get through the museum and to the chapel before anyone else. You won't be all alone in the chapel, but it will be a much more pleasant experience than waiting in line with thousands of other tourists. Another way to see the Chapel with fewer people is to book one of the after hours visits that the Vatican is hosting every Friday through June. Again, you won't be all alone, but you will see the Chapel in a different light with much fewer visitors. Both of these options cost 15 Euros (the regular price of admission) plus a 4 Euro online booking fee. For a REAL private tour, see Viator.com for their exclusive after hours tour of the Sistine Chapel. For the relatively low price of about ...

Happy 2,763rd Birthday to the Eternal City! In celebration of Rome's Birthday, entrance to all museums in Rome will be FREE from April 16th to April 25th! See the RomaPass website for more details.

Next Friday, the Vatican Museums will be open from 7:00-11:00 pm (19:00-23:00). These evening hours, the first of their kind for the Vatican , have been in place at several other world-class museums (the Uffizi and the Louvre) and have been a great success. If it goes well on July 24th, this could be a regular occurrence. What a great way to entertain kids and keep cool at night in Rome!

In 1884, Bulgari opened its first store in Rome. Since then, the jeweler has been inspiring women all over the world with its creative and innovative designs. Naturally, the jewels of Bulgari are in perfect keeping with my other-life fantasy of being an Italian contessa. Now I (and dreamers like me) can get a little closer to Bulgari's works at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. The museum, located on the Via Nazionale, is presenting eight galleries full of jewelry created throughout the past 125 years. Don't miss the gallery devoted entirely to Elizabeth Taylor's Bulgari collection! Now through September 13th.

Almost 550 years ago, the great painter Fra Angelico died and left a prolific body of paintings to the Renaissance world. These paintings have since been scattered to the four winds but the Capitoline Museum in Rome has gathered many of them together again for a special exhibition entitled Beato Angelico (The Blessed Angelico). On display will be triptychs, miniatures and even workshop pieces never before seen by the public. The exhibit runs through July 5th, so don't miss your chance to experience this early Renaissance artist's work.

The 500th birthday of the 16th century architect Andrea Palladio recently took place and the city of Vicenza, his primary residence, celebrated with an exhibition of his architectural masterpieces . The exhibition has since closed, but the architect's buildings are still in Italy and should be visited. Palladio, who can truly be considered the first neo-classical architect, designed and constructed villas and palazzos all over the Veneto for Italian noblemen. Scores of them still stand today and are open to the public. See the Centro Internazionale di Studi Architettura (CISA) Andrea Palladio for a complete list of the sites , their locations, and how to visit them.

April 18-April 26 is Settimana della Cultura (Italian Culture Week) and all state museums in Italy are free of admission! That means countless museums, palazzi, villas and cultural sites will be open to the public and many venues that are normally closed will have special tours, showings and performances. See beniculturali.it for an extensive list of events by region (only in Italian). Diverti te !

Rome is filled with masterpieces. But the Villa Farnesina is without a doubt one of the jewels in Rome's crown. Built in the 16th century for Agostino Chigi, one of Italy's richest and most influential bankers, the Villa boasts frescoes by the master Raphael and other famous Renaissance painters del Sebastiano del Piombo and Baldassare Peruzzi. Located on the western bank of the Tiber in Trastevere , the Villa is in what was once considered the suburbs of Rome but is now the heart of modern Rome's bohemian quarter. The famous Sala della Galatea (pictured) and Logge delle Cupid and Psyche of Raphael have inspired countless artists for centuries and continue to do so today. The luxurious and intimate setting of the Villa will bring you closer to the artists' works than you have ever been and truly make you feel as if you are Italian nobility yourself. The Villa is open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm every day except Sundays and holidays, so get there early to soak in the ma...

For the low price of 10 Euros you can purchase the Villa Borghese Card which will get you into one of the sites in the Villa Borghese for free, and the rest of the sites at reduced admission. The sites include the Galleria Borghese (you must book in advance), the Villa Giulia (Etruscan collections) and the Museo Carlo Bilotti . The card also gets you discounts at countless bookstores in the museums, the zoo, cafes, cinemas, parking and even scooter rental! You can even use the card for reduced admission to the Villa Medici , home to the French Academy in Rome. The card is good for one year and can be purchased at various points around Rome including Termini train station and Fiumicino airport. The Villa Borghese is the perfect place for kids in Rome. This card is definitely worth it!

Often overlooked by tourists, Sicily is Italy's hidden treasure. From beautiful beaches to elaborate ruins, Sicily has something for everyone. Don't miss the Greek temples at Agrigento and Selinunte. Taormina's Greco-Roman theater and access to Mt. Etna are truly the jewel of the island. Gorgeous beaches and seaside retreats in Zingaro and the Aeolian islands will leave you wondering why you would ever vacation anywhere else. World-class museums in Palermo and Siracusa showcase some of the most exquisite artifacts in the Mediterranean. Sicilian culture, relatively untouched by the rest of the world, offers the most delicious food and interesting traditions. Just don't expect anyone to speak English!

On loan to the Capitoline Museum from the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua is the famous marble sculpture of Apollo . This work of art, probably dating back to the time of Hadrian , will be exhibited in Rome until January 6th of 2009. Don't miss the opportunity to see this intriguing antiquity!

Opening today at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. is an extraordinary exhibit of artifacts from the excavations of Pompeii and its neighboring towns. Luxurious furniture, personal effects, and exquisite works of art were all buried in the eruption of August 23rd, 79 C.E. Among these artifacts are sculptures from the Villa of the Papyri which inspired the Getty Villa in Malibu. These objects are now on display (many for the first time ever in the U.S.) at the National Gallery until March 22nd when the exhibit will travel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Today's Washington Post has a detailed article on the history of Pompeii and its excavations and an excellent slide show of some of the major works.

Pompeii and the Roman Villa opens tomorrow, October 19, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. The exhibit makes public several artifacts from recent excavations never on view in the U.S. before, as well as many well-known works from earlier excavations. The exhibit will also focus on the mosaics, frescoes and sculptures from the villas of wealthy Romans in the Bay of Naples that influenced much of the art of the 18th century. With the economy the way it is, it may be that a trip to the nation's capital is the closest we can get to Rome these days!

On the edge of the Borghese Gardens is the former residence of Pope Julius III. Built in the 16 th century, the palace was decorated by the most famous artists of the day, most notably Georgio Vasari and Michaelangelo Buonarroti . Today the palace, now known as the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia , houses the most extensive collection of Etruscan artifacts in Rome and includes famous works such as the Apollo from Veii and the Bride and Groom from Cerveteri . Be sure to visit the extraordinary collection of Etruscan gold and jewelry on the second floor. In addition, the first floor Portico painted by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola must not be missed. The museum is closed Mondays.

Ancient Alexandria, the home of the Ptolemaic pharaohs in Egypt, has long been covered by murky brine. For decades archaeologists have been "unearthing" treasures from Cleopatra's sunken palace. Now archaeologists and the Egyptian government are planning to build a spectacular underwater museum to showcase this palace and other ruins in the port of Alexandria. According to National Geographic, the project is still two years from being fully developed, so construction is definitely several years off. But look forward to yet another impressive sight to visit in Egypt in the near future!

Through October 26th, artifacts relating to the emperor Hadrian from 28 museums around the world will be on exhibit at the British Museum . Hadrian, one of the Modern Traveler's favorite emperors, was known for stabilizing the vast borders of the Roman Empire, his great love for Greek culture, his reconstruction of the Pantheon , and his relationship with Antinous, a Greek youth who died in Egypt. So if you find yourself in London (hopefully on your way to Rome!) be sure to visit this very special exhibition.

One of the most lavish of the private villas in Rome, the Villa Torlonia was closed for several years and has recently reopened restored to all its former opulence. The Villa is located to the east of the Villa Borghese along the Via Nomentana in the elegant Parioli neighborhood of Rome. The villa was redesigned in the 18th century by Marchese Giovanni Torlonia, who commissioned Giuseppe Valadier to renovate the main villa and build several outbuildings and gardens. These outbuildings included three major residences, stables, false ancient ruins, a small temple and later additions of a Moorish grotto, conservatory and tower, among other structures. Today the Villa Torlonia and its grounds, museums in their own right, house collections of stained glass, statuary, and archives from the Roman School era of painting from 1920-1940. The Villa was also Mussolini's primary residence 1925 until 1943, when it became the headquarters of the Allied High Command. The Villa Torlonia opens at...