iDotto Rome is here: it’s free and you don’t need an Internet connection!
iDotto is an application for iPhone which stems from the partnership between La Sapienza, Rome and Duel Spa. It’s different from all other guides: it’s like a real travel companion.

iDotto uses GPS to identify the user’s location and talks about what is around them, in Italian or in English. Just put on your earphones, walk around and listen. You don’t need to hold the screen, or decide what to listen to each time, or follow a predefined route, or read a guide while you are walking around or are in front of a monument: you can finally enjoy Rome with your head held high and your hands free.

iDotto also includes a navigation system (based on  Open Street Map) that allows you to look at maps and calculate a route: all completely offline. Therefore the service is very fast and doesn’t need an Internet connection.

The application covers a large area in the centre of Rome, from the Circus Maximus to the Vatican Museums, from Villa Borghese to Trastevere, from Piazza del Popolo to Via Nazionale. It tells you not only about the big monuments but also about little quirks; not only about art and history but also about anecdotes, shopping, cinema and gastronomy: you’ll never get bored.

iDotto also guides tourists around the inside of the Colosseum, the Fora and the Palatine.

There are over 25 hours of content to listen to. It’s fun, original content, devised for tourists on the go: there are no texts copied from an encyclopedia. And you can even personalise the account: at the start the user is asked to state their preferences; while listening, they can express their satisfaction with a ‘like’. iDotto remembers this information in order to choose texts most suited to each person.

For further information see www.idotto.com

From 2 April to 28 May young people between the ages of 18 and + will have the possibility to see their favourite films at a very low price in the cinemas taking part in the initiative.

On Mondays and Tuesdays, thanks to the “I LIKE CINEMA” initiative young people between the ages 18 and 30 can go to the cinema at a drastically cut price, 4.00 euros for all films except 3D showings.

The promotion is valid in 25 cinemas in Rome for a total of 100 screens (the list can be found on the website www.aneclazio.it) and its objective is to sensitise and increase young people’s possibilities access to cinematic culture.

Nell’Anno della Fede, la Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede ha diramato una nota dove si invitano i pellegrini a recarsi a Roma, in Terra Santa e ai Santuari mariani.

Per l’occasione, l’Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi lancia Josp Mag, una rivista che intende essere strumento di conoscenza per aiutare i lettori a vivere e approfondire sempre di più la realtà cristiana di Roma e di tutto il territorio italiano.

La rivista vuole essere anche occasione di riscoperta del Sacro per quanti sono attratti dai tesori artistici, dalla storia o dalla bellezza della penisola dove ragione e fede, nei secoli, hanno prodotto mirabili opere d’arte e contribuito allo sviluppo del territorio.

Plan and book you visit to Rome with a simple click!

Finally on-line, visit.roma.it is the new portal dedicated to the promotion and commercialisation of the authorised hotel and hospitality structures present in the Rome area, using this portal you will be able to book the hotel most suited to your needs from the comfort of your own home.

Visit.roma.it is a practical tool for on-line booking, it also provides a tool for comparing the prices of the hotel and hospitality offers present in the main on-line booking search engines.

Using this portal it is also possible to make use of a ticket booking system for events, exhibitions, archaeological sites, transport, city tours, and more besides.

With this new site turismoroma.it offers tourists an extra service of undoubted quality in keeping with those offered by the sites of the main European and world capitals; an extra value that will enable tourists to experience the city to its best from the moment of choosing and booking where to sleep.

Website www.visit.roma.it

The Centro Guide di Roma, Rome’s new tour guide centre, is a place from where authorised tour guides can take you on trips to discover of the city every day at guaranteed prices.

The centre offers many itineraries: from excursions to archaeological sites, to new tours for discovering the more contemporary areas of the city; from visits to the main museums, to thematic routes dedicated to entertainment and creativity in this city.

Service is guaranteed by highly qualified authorised personnel who will help tourists plan their itineraries. In fact, it is possible to organise on the day, or book for the following day, choosing between tours on foot or on tourist buses, in groups or family groups.

The Centro Guide is at the tourist information point: Punto Informativo Turistico “I Fori di Roma” in Via dei Fori Imperiali. It is open every day from 9.30am to 6.00pm.

Website: www.centroguideroma.com

From 19 April to May the beautiful Roman azaleas are back adorning the Trinità de’ Monti steps in Piazza di Spagna.

A unique spectacle that is augmented every year with new plants and new varieties of azaleas: these specimens of Rododendron Indicum are personally selected and chosen by the gardeners of Rome’s city nursery, taking care of even the smallest details in the choice of the azalea varieties and their arrangement on the Trinità de’ Monti steps.

Now in its 76^th edition the show on the Trinità de’ Monti. steps will stay in place for the whole flowering period of the 600 pots of azaleas that this year will be white and lilac coloured.

When the blooms end the garden service will return the plants to the greenhouses where they will be kept until the following spring.

7 April will see the experimental start of the “Atac WiFi” project providing free Internet access on a number of trams and at terminus stops near the signposts; areas with coverage are identified by stickers with the “Atac WiFi” logo.

At present it is only possible to surf the web on the trams running routes 2,3, and 8, identified by stickers with the “Atac WiFi” logo on the entry doors.

You can access the web for an hour per day and unlimitedly on the sites dedicated to public transport and tourist information: www.muoversiaroma.it and www.turismoroma.it.

To make use of the service use any fixed or mobile device with Internet capabilities to connect to the “AtacWiFi” network and choose the “naviga gratis” service, you then register for free with the RomaWireless consortium portal.

You can also gain access by going directly to http://wimove.uni.it from your browser.

The aim of the project is to improve mobility information services and to widen the city’s free wireless network, with information useful to tourists and about public transport.

April 21 sees the reopening of the “Roseto comunale” – Rome’s municipal rose gardens – on the occasion of “Natale di Roma”, anniversary of the foundation of Rome.

Strolling through the gardens the visitor can admire roughly 1,100 types of roses from all over the world: amongst the most particular are: Rosa Chinensis Virdiflora, with its green petals; Rosa Chinensis Mutabilis, which changes colour as the days go by; and Rosa Foetida, a bad smelling variety.

OPENING TIMES
- From 21 April 2013 to 17 May 2013, from 8.30am to 7.30pm, only for the collections area;
- Saturday 18 May 2013 the rose gardens will remain closed for the “Premio Roma” event, reserved for the most beautiful new varieties of roses;
- From 19 May to 16 June 2013, from 8.30am to 7.30pm, for the whole rose gardens, competition area and collections area.

Further information http://www.turismoroma.it/cosa-fare/roseto-comunale

New record for Roma: according to Trivago, is the most sought ciry visited by Italians and foreigners in 2013!

From data analyzed by the Observatory of trivago.it, this year 70% of the research carried out by Italian users is facing domestic destinations with Rome at the top followed by Florence and Venice.

With regard to foreign tourists, the focus is mainly towards Rome (138 € / night) which, thanks to the newly elected Pope Francis, is doubling the research towards the capital compared to the same period last year, resulting in decreased flow in other cities.

Down searches of Italians to foreign destinations, only 30% of users choose to spend the Easter weekend outside of Italy, preferring the big European compared to more distant destinations.

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