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Italy approves Holocaust museum for Rome after 20-year wait

Italy's government has approved funding for a long-awaited Holocaust museum in Rome, where nearly 2,000 Jewish people were rounded up during World War II and sent to concentration camps.

Published: 17 March 2023 17:20 CET
Italy approves Holocaust museum for Rome after 20-year wait
The former Jewish ghetto on the banks of the Tiber in central Rome. (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP)

A national museum in the capital would “contribute to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive,” read a statement from the government after ministers agreed to fund the project late on Thursday.

The announcement came on the heels of an official visit to Rome last week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said 10 million euros had been allocated to begin construction of the museum, a long-delayed project first proposed in the 1990s.

Ruth Dureghello, head of Rome’s Jewish community, welcomed the news but called for “definite timeframes and choices that can be made quickly to guarantee the capital of Italy a museum like all the great European capitals”.

READ ALSO: Stumble stones: How Rome’s smallest monuments honour Holocaust victims

The architect in charge of the project, Luca Zevi, told AFP the museum should be completed in three years.

Symbolically, the museum will be built on land adjacent to the park of Villa Torlonia, the residence of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who was in power from 1922 to 1943.

Mussolini introduced racial laws in 1938 that began stripping civil rights from Jews in Italy and culminating in their deportation. 

On October 16, 1943, German troops supported by Italian Fascist officials raided Rome’s ancient Ghetto, rounding up and deporting about 1,000 Jewish people.

READ ALSO: Four places to remember the Holocaust in Italy

Subsequent roundups captured another 800 people, and nearly all were killed in the concentration camp of Auschwitz.

The Holocaust saw the genocide of six million European Jews between 1939 and 1945 by the Nazis and their supporters.

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Six places to escape the crowds in Rome

From the Colosseum to the Vatican, Rome's best-known sites attract throngs of sightseers, particularly in the high season. Here are six of the Eternal City's best hidden attractions to escape the tourist crush.

Published: 29 May 2023 13:56 CEST
Six places to escape the crowds in Rome

The National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia

Perhaps because of its location – just north of Piazza del Popolo and Villa Borghese park, a little outside the city centre – or its subject matter (the pre-Roman Etruscan civilisation), Villa Giulia is one of the Italian capital’s most overlooked attractions.

That’s a shame, because many who do pay the museum a visit consider it a highlight of their Rome trip, combining a stroll through a Renaissance villa and grounds with the opportunity to check out one of the world’s largest collections of Etruscan artifacts.

READ ALSO: TRAVEL: Nine tips for making the most of a Rome city break

On some days the museum gets so few visitors that some report feeling like the only people there, and numbers tend to be low even on free museum Sundays – perfect for getting a break from the crowds on a busy day.

The Non-Catholic Cemetery

Often referred to simply (and incorrectly) as the ‘Protestant Cemetery’, Rome’s non-Catholic Cemetery on the edge of the Testaccio neighbourhood is a verdant haven away from the city’s chaos.

Amongst its graves are those of the English poets Keats (‘Here lies one whose name was writ in water’) and Shelley, as well as the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci and Inspector Montalbano author Andrea Camilleri.

READ ALSO: Eight things you can do in Rome for free

Entrance is free, though visitors are asked to make a small donation of a few euros for the graveyard’s upkeep.

Across the street from the non-Catholic cemetery is the Rome war cemetery, which commemorates the soldiers who died liberating Rome during World War II; another peaceful oasis for rest and contemplation.

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

Its gated entrance and position at the other end of a large courtyard behind an imposing building are probably what keep tourists away from the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere; from the outside, you wouldn’t necessarily know this was a space open to the public.

Those who do venture within will find a 9th century church containing a statue of the brutally martyred Saint Cecilia, a Roman aristocrat who in the 3rd century was locked up for three days in a steaming caldarium and then (unsuccessfully) beheaded for trying to convert members of her family to Christianity.

READ ALSO: Six essential apps that make life in Rome easier for foreign residents

For a small donation, visitors can descend underground to view the real attraction: the 2,000-year-old Roman ruins and mosaics beneath the church that made up part of the saint’s house, as well as a spectacular crypt built in 1899 to house her tomb and those of her husband and brother, as well as two popes.

The Baths of Caracalla

Not far from the Colosseum and Circo Massimo chariot racetrack, the Terme di Caracalla is one of ancient Rome’s largest public bath complexes, and one of the most intact today.

As well as being off the beaten track, its vast size means any visitors are naturally spread out throughout the grounds. The only time you’ll find a crowd here is on summer evenings, when ballets, music concerts and operas are staged amongst the ruins.

If you get the chance, make sure to rent the VR goggles from the ticket office that reveal how the baths would have looked in their original splendour.

The Gardens of Saint Alessio

Visitors to Rome flock to the ‘Parco Savallo’ orange gardens on the Aventine hill for their romantic terrace with impressive views over the city and St. Peter’s basilica and the opportunity for a sunset photoshoot.

But the Giardini di Sant’Alessio, less than a hundred metres up the road, is where locals go. This little park also has orange trees and a nice view, but is far more peaceful – plus you’re allowed on the grass.

READ ALSO: Five ways to have the perfect romantic weekend in Rome

If you’re in the area, stop by the Sant’Anselmo Benedictine Abbey complex, where on Sunday evenings you can attend an evensong service and hear Gregorian chants sung by the monks who live there.

Rome’s Botanical Gardens

Situated at the foot of the Gianicolo (‘Janiculum’) hill in the Trastevere neighbourhood, Rome’s botanical gardens offer an oasis of calm in one of the city’s most crowded districts.

The plants themselves may not be anything spectacular and the grounds may be a little run-down, but if you want a quiet stroll to clear your head or a pause on a bench surrounded by palm trees, it’ll only set you back a few euros.

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