The Via Giulia is 500

One of Rome's most elegant streets, the Via Giulia, is celebrating its 500th birthday this summer. The street, built by Pope Julius II, was originally part of a building program around the Vatican. The street runs almost parallel to the Tiber River for a spell, but does not have the traffic of the Lungotevere, the thoroughfare which brings traffic north along the river. The Via Giulia is lined with churches and palazzos-one even belonging to the Medici family. Many of these churches and palazzos, usually closed to the public, will open this summer in celebration of the quincentenary. See the website devoted to the events (unfortunately only in Italian) or read more about the sights on the Via Giulia in a recent New York Times article.

Town and Country Magazine Visits Rome and Finds Something New

April's Town and Country Magazine has an article on the revitalization of Rome's heretofore unknown neighborhoods. The restoration and cultural projects begun to celebrate the Great Jubilee year at the Vatican 8 years ago and the election of Walter Veltroni as mayor have inaugurated a new era in cultural expansion and development. Neighborhoods like Testaccio, Trastevere and the Via Giulia (pictured) now attract visitors who used to confine their sightseeing to the Centro Storico. New hotels, restaurants, shopping and galleries have opened in central and peripheral neighborhoods alike. As Georgia Spogli, the wife of the US ambassador to Italy puts it, "People used to go to Paris; now they come to Rome." Unfortunately, the article is not available on-line, but stay tuned for recommendations from the magazine via Modern Traveler.