Roman Roundup: Update on Colosseo Tickets, Ancient Palaces, and a New Museum

Some tips for visiting the Eternal City

This summer, I had an unusual number of people tell me that they couldn’t get into the Colosseum because ticket scalpers had snapped up all the tickets and were selling them for stupid amounts of euros. Fortunately, the iconic Colosseum will soon implement a named ticketing system to combat the scammers. The ancient amphitheater, dating back to 80 AD, attracts over 7 million visitors per year, so it was probably a pretty lucrative gig. Hopefully, the new system will make ticket purchasing more secure and convenient by requiring names on tickets and matched IDs to enter.

Domus Tiberiana. Photo by Crystal King, 2016

This news coincides with the reopening of Rome's Domus Tiberiana palace on the Palatine Hill, after decades of restoration. The almost 2000-year-old imperial residence to Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula and Nero, has been closed for the last fifty years. Now visitors can once again imagine elite ancient Roman life by standing in its immense halls. I’m so thrilled to be able to view the palazzo on my next visit!

Stumbling Stones, markers in the Jewish Roman Ghetto of where Jews were abducted to be taken to various concentration camps

And yesterday, on the 80th anniversary of the raid, the Roman government unanimously decided its time to erect a Holocaust museum, 80 years after Nazis rounded up over 1,259 Roman Jews to be deported and exterminated. Only 16 survived. The new museum won’t be located in the Ghetto, however, but near Villa Torlonia, where Mussolini lived. Fitting. I did a lot of research on the Roman Ghetto for one of my books in progress. It’s an area with a long and difficult history. I learned a lot from my guide on Through Eternity’s private Jewish Ghetto Tour: Triumph and Tragedy in Rome, which I cannot recommend highly enough.

If you are planning a trip to Rome at some point, you might be keen to read books written by Italian writers, of which there are many who aren’t Elena Ferrante. Of the authors on that list, I’m a particular fan of Domenico Starnone, who, incidentally, some believe may be Elena’s husband.

There are also many non-Italians who have written about Rome, including one of my favorite poets, Czeslaw Milosz, who wrote this incredibly moving poem about Campo Dei Fiori and the man depicted in bronze in its center, Giordano Bruno, a monk burned at the stake for heresy in 1600.

And while Halloween isn’t much of a thing in Italy, they do celebrate La Festa dei Morti, or the Day of the Dead, celebrated on November 2.

To get you in the spirit, you can cook these delectable cookies: Pan Dei Morti or Bread of the Dead. Or these, from Malta, an island that I highly suggest you bucket list for a visit, these Dead Men’s Bones.

---

What’s Bringing Me Joy This Week

• This wonderful and weird design site: The Uncomfortable

• Not sure I would describe this as joyful, but I'm looking forward to seeing this flick, American Fiction.

• This summer, I completely revamped my lifestyle to make sure that I’m eating as healthy as possible. Berries are one of the best (and most delicious) sources of antioxidants, and my love of huckleberries, which don’t grow on the East Coast, led me to Northwest Wild Foods. Now I can stock up on huckleberries, honeyberries, black raspberries, and all manner of cool fruit!

---

Thanks for Joining Me

If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! 🍒🍗🍷

You can also follow me in these places too:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Mastodon | Threads

Crystal King is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for individuals and sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.