Rome, Italy
Rome may boo-hooed on family travel forums but there is much to Italy’s capital that captivates kids. Tour the Coliseum, Trajan’s Market and Roman Forum. Visit the Vatican. Discover Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori and the Pantheon. Take the kids on a macabre adventure and explore the catacombs. In Rome, history is made real! Yet as with all good things too much is often bad. Alternate history and culture with adventure and movement and break your days into child-sized slices. Do your research in advance and feed the kids with interesting tidbits at each monument and museum. Buy a children’s guidebook and let the kids play tour leader. Take part in children’s programs at Rome museums and view art while the tykes learn and play. The City of Seven Hills is more child-friendly than you might think and a trip to Rome is a great way to learn.
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History & Culture
Emperors, gladiators, conquests and perils. But what was life in Ancient Rome really like? The BCC series on Ancient History provides an all-encompassing backdrop to any tour of the Eternal City. But don't limit your inquiry to antiquity. Medieval Rome may have been a time of transition and period of ever-dwindling fortunes but it brought to light two major institutions, the papacy and commune. The Renaissance saw the return of the Papal See and gave Rome straight streets, sewers and a mayor. But it failed to return power to the city. The seventeenth century and the period known as Baroque is the feather in the cap of modern Rome. Triumphant in its battle with Protestant Reformation the Popes turned their attention to the rebirth of a great city.
History of Ancient Rome
BBC Medieval Rome Life in Italy Renaissance Rome Infoplease.com Baroque Rome The Metropolitan Museum of Art Maps
Online maps are a great travel planning resource and a great way to get the kids involved in a family trip. Map the Roman Empire over time and find out which present day countries it included. Use the 1748 map of Rome by Giambattista Nolli and discover what Rome once looked like. Map the Seven Hills of Rome and, in addition to learning about the city's geography, discover the early history of the city. Each hill was once occupied by a different people!
Map the Roman Empire
Roman Empire Nolli Map of Rome University of Oregon Seven Hills of Rome MusesRealm.Net Books
Books are a great way to introduce younger children to a new adventure and get teens and tweens ready for a family trip. Get recommended reading lists for family travel to Italy that are designed to spark the interest of adults and kids and go beyond a romantic view of Tuscany. Find travel guides for kids that will get them interested in touring Rome, Venice, Florence and Bologna. Take a journey through Italian literature and explore Italy through non-fiction and novels.
Music & Sound
Italy has a rich tradition in music, which goes beyond folk song and opera. Learn more about Italian popular music and Italian singer-songwriters. Listen to Italian music online region by region and outside of Italy. And when you're done extend your exploration to sound. Listen to local festivals as well as the sound of a vespa and picture the scene.
History of Italian Rock Music
Piero Scaruffi Online Italian Radio Stations RomaVera Italy Sounds Wikimedia News
The Herald Tribune and USA Today, sold at newsstands throughout Italy, will help keep you up to date on world events and happenings at home but they won't provide much insight to the psyche of the Italians. Read Italian news online and brush up on Italian current events and, in addition to discovering what the locals are reading, find out what makes Italy tick.
Kids' stuff
Online resources make learning about Ancient Rome lots of fun. Did you know that Rome wasn't always an Empire? For the first 200 years Rome was a Kingdom ruled by Etruscan kings. And for 500 years after that Rome was a Republic governed by a 300 man Senate. The first Emperor, Caesar Augustus, came to rule 700 years after Romulus founded Rome. But this isn't the only fun fact about Ancient Rome that's interesting. Did you know that chess, backgammon and even tick-tack-toe were played by the Ancient Romans? Find out how these games differ from the version played today. Play Nine Men's Morris, another Roman game, online.
History of Ancient Rome
KidsPast.com Roman Board Games AbleMedia Nine Men's Morris Tyne & Wear Museums |
