PASSPORT INFORMATION AND INFORMAL TIPS FORVISITS TO ROME:
FROM TIM FISCHER(AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE HOLY SEE)
- Over 400 Australian passports are stolen or lost in Italy each year, particularly around Rome Termini Station, therefore exercise sensible caution at all times with personal security. The Australian Embassy to Italy, at Via Antonio Bosio, 5 – 00161 Rome, handles all Consular matters and switchboard no. is +39 06 852 721
- The canonisation of Blessed Mary MacKillop will take place in Rome on Sunday 17 October 2010. For detailed information and registration, go to: or the Sisters of St Joseph: . Please refer to these websites for all enquiries.
- Blessed Mary MacKillop frequently attended at St Ignatius Church in Piazza Sant’Ignazio, just off the Via del Corso, broadly between the Trevi and the Pantheon, in 1873 & 1874. This church has an unusual dome when viewed from inside and looking up. It is extraordinary and you need to look at it closely, particularly from the circular tile in the centre aisle, to work it out.
- If in Rome for just a few hours, the Trevi fountain is readily accessible at all times and 10 minutes walk from there, the incredible Pantheon, which was built over 2000 years ago. The Pantheon is open on most days between 09.00 and 19.00.
- Bus No. 64 operates from Termini to St Peters Square and queues are a lot shorter earlier in the morning around 07.30 for entry to St Peter’s Basilica (free of charge), when it is open to the public. Tickets are required for the lift and climb to the top of St Peter’s Dome and for the VaticanMuseum, which is the only way to gain entry to the Sistine Chapel. Go to the Vatican website listed below for ways to book a time.
- There are three other big Basilicas in Rome, all near metro stations, namely Maria Maggiore, St Pauls outside the Walls and St John Lateran. There is also the Great Synagogue of Rome, opened most days with English tours on the hour, located alongside the Tiber. It is a unique building, which was not bulldozed by the occupying Nazis in WWII, well worth a visit.
- Next to St John Lateran Basilica, There is the Lateran museum, entrance through the large double door to the right of the old green copper Roman Senate door. Open Monday to Saturday, tours 9.00,10.00 & 11.00 a.m. & 12 noon (5.00 euro). For a snapshot of precious Vatican artefacts, a range of vestments and military uniforms from over 500 years, with muskets and swords to match, this is it. Bonus is one of the largest rooms in Rome with extraordinary ceiling, the Lateran Treaty Room, where Mussolini and the Papal Secretary of State signed the reduction of the Papal States, from 44 thousandsquare kilometres or there abouts (Bologna to Rome), to just 44 hectares!
- For information, there are many religious services in Rome, various Christian, Jewish and others. Hereare some details, but it is not possible to cover all:
-Anglican Communion service at 12.45 pm on most Tuesdays, excluding August, at the Anglican Centre of Rome, P.za del Collegio Romano, 2
-Methodist Church service on Sundays at 10.30 am, excluding August, at opposite end of the pedestrian bridge from Castel Sant’Angelo
-Catholic Mass in English at 11.00 am on Sundays, except in August, near to St Ignatius in the Caravita church, also administered by the Jesuits, where Mozart once played.
- At 10.00 am daily, or thereabouts, an electric train departs from Termini for Castel Gandolfo, arriving around 1040. Enjoy the magnificent views across the Crater Lake, (you can walk around it in three hours), or walk uphill to the Pope’s SummerPalace and the Piazza. Nearby there is the pink coloured Pagnanelli Restaurant with WA connections. So spare your busy hosts and take yourself away for the day onthis easy to navigate excursion!
- The Quirinale, namely the Palace of the President of Italy, which includes the lavish original Throne Room of previous popes, can be accessed most Sunday mornings for about €5.00 and the state rooms and chapel are worth seeing. It pays to get there around 0830 ahead of the big queues and entry closes off around 12.00 noon.
- Please check the latest travel advice for Italy at
For detailed Vatican information on when things are open, check .
AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY HOLY SEE – Tel: +39 06 687 7688(updated 12.1.2010)