Woody Allen does Monti

I knew Woody Allen was filming in Rome, but I did not expect to bump into him on my way to coffee. Here he is, in our Piazzetta, directing the Rome Decameron.

Notte Bianca- White Night

Budget cuts and lack of interest for cultural events led our Mayor to the final decision of not continuing the Notte Bianca. The event was a great opportunity for Romans and other visitors alike to "regain possession" of the city.
This year a few independent organizations have decided to continue the tradition of Notte Bianca, even without the funding from the comune.
In particular the X municipality (area Cinecitta) has organized a series of events. One of them will see my wonderful cousin- TW- serving wine and being merry.

If you are here next weekend ( Sept 12-13) you should come along. Here is the flyer:

Champions League Insanity

I wonder who had the brilliant idea of scheduling all Rome events in late May - early June to take place in around the Colosseum area.

On top of the usual early Summer tourist mob, these days we are experiencing true madness because of the Champions League (the Cup is displayed in the Champions village right by the Colosseum), the celebrations for June 2 (on via dei Fori Imperiali), a Bocelli concert (in the Colosseum) , the Rome Literature Festival (in the Basilica of Maxentius) and a new exibition of large sculptures by Costa Rican artis Jimenez Deredia (in the archaeological area).

Will we survive this madness? Will the archaeological heart of the city survive? Maybe I should ask the soccer fans..