Rome lacks of undergrounds. We waited for this stop too many years. At the last! San Giovanni underground stop is now the best station in Rome. There is a small museum on the walls with materials recuperated during the diggings. Moreover on the walls are signed the soil levels of the area. You can go from actual era to primitive times, a voyage in history inside the trip to your destination. All roads lead to Rome.

Snow in Rome is always an event. And it is fun to remember this at the end of Summer. It was the 26th of February. I went to work and I found the gates closed down. At 7.30 in the morning. Under snowfall. After a couple of hours someone brought the keys. Only a few were with me but however people presented to our counters. Some people is crazy.

Here some photos of my city like under an enchantment.

Winter is coming.

Every year we can have our Roman wargame convention in spite of logistic problems. In the 2016 we were guest in locals under a large technical school. We had a lot of tables with Gothic Wars, zombies, WWII, Star Wars, Gundam and other delicacies. As Ganesha Games we propose Rogue Stars and Faustus Furius.

As addendum some reenactors showed us Viking and Medieval times.

I started this blog to promote my gladiatorial rules. And my interest in gladiators is because I’m born in Roma. Everyday, on the way to work, I pass with the underground train only a few metres under the arch.

Winter suddenly followed an humid Summer. In a cold night of mid October we went to a free visit of the arena. Some light effects but nothing particularly thrilling. And a really quick visit. A different story when my father take me here at the age of 7.
I wished to visit more. Now you can access to subterraneans and terraces. There is a little exhibit too. But during the day there are too many tourists. Pity.

My friend seems the Charon god with these lights…

I’m busy at job and with my new house, so no abroad holidays in the last two years. And no real holidays at all. But I have got photos of past ones. I forgot to show you what I did during the 2013 summer. I promised that but other new things were more impelling, and day after day, they are 3 years. So Lisbon, at last! I have not the will to do something complete as a full report. But I create a thematic itinerary. I visited many places and museums with a military topic. I hope you enjoy all of this. And consider Lisbon for a visit because it is very beautiful, romantic and historic.

Summer is time of holidays. And if you want a budget holiday you can go to Terni to visit your friend Andrea that needs some holidays too. So we travelled in a few days in a lot of towns, small towns and villages around Terni. This is the photographic report.

Perugia
In the first couple of days we went to Hydracon, a boardgame convention around Perugia held in a luxury hotel. No swimming pool use for games, pity. I played 5 games of Fortebraccio, and I lost all of them.

Bevagna
The last day of Mercato delle Gaite, when during a couple of weeks this town turns into a medieval town with various markets, celebrations, games, stages.

Labro
A gem all made of stones on top of the hill. A fairy village with a castle. Its calm is unreal, but all is real.

Piediluco
A lake, a small town, a past tourist vocation, the centre for agnostic rowing in Italy.

Castel Fiorentino
An Etruscan city, then a medieval city with its castle and a tower built over the ancient acropolis. And a view on the valley.

Cortona
Another Etruscan city, larger than the other one. In the local museum a great special exposition on Etruscan writing. A collection of all available Etruscan inscriptions around. Pieces that you can view on books were all concentrated here. A must see!

Castiglione del Lago
Along our road we arrived to Trasimeno Lake. Yes, that Trasimeno Lake. A hill on marshes with another Etruscan city, after a walled medieval city with its castle, after again no more marshes but only the lake. Now a pleasant tourist place. Dinner with lake view.
If you remember in a past post there was a pennant from here. If you can’t notice it, the photo is that with the girls…

Rocca Albornoz di Narni
This castle was built when on Papal coat of arms were put two keys. Over Narni. To control the city, the road, the State.

Poggio di Otricoli
Another castle, but this one is in ruins. Around a village where there is a medieval festival every year. Otherwise a bunch of small houses.

Calvi dell’Umbria
The name is something as “bald people from Umbria”. It was lunch time, it was hot, so none was around. Andrea was the only available balding person from Umbria. I’m from Lazio…

Otricoli
More hot, more hunger. No restaurants. We leave.

Otriculum
Along the road we find a bar to eat something. Surprisingly it was outside the archaeological city of Otriculum. Wrong weather (full Summer) and wrong time (two and half in the afternoon) to visit it without dying for the hot. So only a view from the bar. And this satellite photo of the local arena, with plantation inside.

Civita Castellana
It was late so we didn’t visit the castle built on a ravine. However there was this beautiful church with some marble pieces added.

Then the train for Rome, with a late in the travel almost equal to the time needed. And so these were my Summer holidays for the 2016. Maybe next year we will visit other towns in Terni surroundings.

In this blog I don’t post photos of Rome because I’m born here, so I’m habituate to all this. And so I don’t think that I live in a so beautiful and ancient city. Moreover I can only think of how disgusting is management of Rome. Because I live here and it is not so easy.

In the Summer there are some tourist visits in places closed to public. As this one in Forum of Caesar. You can visit it together with a group following a multi-medial presentation played on walls. Headphones as audio. Externally you can look at people that moves silently among ruins.

In November the weather was not rainy and not so cold, then they prolonged visit time. However at night cold and humidity seeped through jackets.

Night is necessary for playing presentation. And lights are very suggestive. However in these photos you can see Colosseum and Forum and Market of Trajan. No Forum of Caesar photo. Well, I was too much involved in following the presentation…

Lego is a constant presence in Lucca. A large area was full of millions of small bricks. Small children wandered like crazy flies in all this Lego paradise.
This is the city, with trains, ghostbusters, and a pub.

If you want could add this Simpsons setting.

Space oddity.

This year a theme about pirates and their vessels.

Spirit of ’76.

What I like most was this Lego reproduction of Forum of Nerva. Great!