yuri_sopko Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I'll be there for a few days and I want to know if there are any social no-no's that I would need to worry about. Like, night flash photography, where I can and can not bring a tripod, etc. I don't want to drag a tripod around only to be told I can't come in. Also, is there a good place to get a nice sunrise over the city? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_lupton Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 don't know about social no-no's but Rome is the worst city i have ever been in for pick-pockets. they managed to get my watch off without me even feeling it. the area around the colloseum is probably the worst. if you are going to the vatican take long trousers or you will not get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpolaski Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Travel light. The bus from the train station (Termini) to the Vatican is the most used target for pickpockets. get in the back door of the bus and sit in the rear seat (wait for the next bus if you have to). I just carried a small Pentax S4i. Did the job anywhere. Keep passport, money, wallet, credit cards etc in separate pockets. All that said, Rome is a beautiful city and we had a lovely time there last November. The Michelin guide is all the guide you need. It's a big city, with the usual big city problems, but you will be physically safe. If you go to the Vatican during high season, expect long lines, which will be two separate lines for St. Peter's, and for the Sistine Chapel. Don't eat lunch near the Vatican -- strictly tourist joints. Have a glass of Vino Rosso for me, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravi_swamy Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 I honestly don't know about the tripod. The church interiors are quite dark but there are many columns to lean against. I should have taken a small table top tripod and braced that against a column. I'll just reiterate what others have said. Hide your equipment! The pickpockets are awful. Get a money belt pouch that you hide in your pants like this: http://www.militarykit.com/images/products_full/camping_deluxe_money_belt.jpg I went in March and always had a coat on. I kept my D70 under the coat and kept the other lens in a pack wrapped across my shoulder/chest still under the coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basscheffers Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 <i>"I kept my D70 under the coat"</i> <p> I am sure you got some great images that way! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ci_p Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Go to the Vatican / coliseum in the early(ish) morning and the queues are much reduced. Later in the day (even in winter) it is a joke. I think you'd have trouble using a tripod indoors, but outside at night I would not have thought you'd have a problem. YOu can take the underground from termini to the vatican (+ short walk) Go onto the vatican roof. As for social no-nos, I think you're supposed to drink capuchinos in the morning, and expressoes during the rest of the day. I'm not sure when you're supposed to eat cakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravi_swamy Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 <i>I am sure you got some great images that way! :D</i><p> Yeah! :) Actually it was overcast and/or raining every day so I didn't get a lot of good pictures but it's still a beautiful country. <p> We went to the St. Peter's around 9am and it only took 10 minutes to get through the line. When we came back there were at least 300 people in line. Then we went to the Vatican Museum. It took about 1.5 hours to go through the line, it wrapped around the corner but it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qtluong Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Most restrictions I know are in the <a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/italy/vatican/vatican.html">Vatican</a>: no tripods in St Peter, no photography at all in the Sixtine Chapel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herman_hiel Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Rome is a busy place; in general I don't think that taking a tripod is a very good idea. Just my 0.02. Enjoy Rome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_from_new_york_city Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 My last visit to Rome was over three years ago. The police said I could not used my tripod at St. Peters Square and it was around 10:00 at night. Also I had to check in my camera bag before entering St Peters Basilica, Vatican Museum and the Capitoline Museum. So I carry my extra lens, and memory cards in my jacket pockets before I entered. Any photographs at the Sistine Chapel is off limits and there are always people that are completely disrespectful of this rule. I did visit Catacombs of St Sebastian and photographs were off limits but I did carry my camera gear. Another thing about Rome is be flexible what you want to do during the day. During my last visit, which I spend a whole week, there were three strikes and I had to change my plans because places I was going to visit were closed because of the strike. Be advise you cannot take any photographs and will have to check in all your bags and camera at the Galleria Borghese. But do not let this stop you from visiting this gallery as it is a must see in Rome. If it is not on your list of places you are going to visit and you have time, add it. It is breath taking beautiful place. Social No-No is not to order cappuccino past the morning. hours, only tourist do it. All in all, I found Rome photography friendly and the list of places not to photography was a short list. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawallace Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Tripods not allowed in roman forum area. I was told to not use it by security back in 1998. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpolaski Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 In the morning, espresso offers the opportunity of cafe correcto, which means you ask for the espresso to be suitably corrected with grappa or sambuca. Can't do that with cappuccino. Not, and be able to hold your head up as you leave the cafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_r_johnson Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The most fun I had was a week in <a href="http://70.85.198.234/~wb2lfy/PHOTO%20WEB%20PAGES/DOCS/1/albums(5).html"><b> Rome (photos)</b> </a><br>.Be shure to use a one day tour group to get into the places with long lines. It's so easy to slip thru. Bring a lots of memory cards. I also took many photos with flash with these groups and got many inside the vactican without any trouble. Chow Bella Rich wb2lfy@msn.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_powell1 Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Ditto all of the warnings about pickpockets. Also, don't let ANYONE distract your attention from your possessions in ANY way...by asking for the time... by throwing a doll to the ground in the middle of a crowd (it is done)...by tossing the doll toward you...by asking if the food in your hotel's breakfast room is only for guests (which is how my wife lost her purse). I use a money belt and make sure that ANYTHING I carry is double-attached to my body...in clear view...with my hand on it. And if your hotel room doesn't have its own safe, insist on keeping your valuables in the hotel's main safe. I wouldn't consider a room without a safe any more secure than the sidewalk outside. My wife's purse had our room key in it, showing both the hotel name and room number...and when we reported the loss, we suggested that the room's lock be changed. The hotel manager could have cared less. I imagine that there may be a Centralized Room Key Lending Library somewhere in Rome for the gypsies to borrow from. Or is that just my paranoia showing? I know of a great location for sunrises, but I forget exactly where it is... will have to ask my wife tonight and post again tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonsignore_ezio Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 A pretty nice place to watch sunrise if Gianicolo (up over Trastevere), but are you sure? In this season it will be around 5h30m. Or do you mean sunset? In that case the best place are either the Pincio terrace (above Piazza del Popolo) or the garden of Villa Celimontana (up to the Capitol stairs and then immediately to the right). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_powell1 Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Yes, as mentioned above, a great way to get a sunrise over the city is to go west across the Tiber... past the Vatican. The Janiculum Hill is a long ridge running North-South with a breathtaking panoramic view of the entire city to the East. The following website nicely shows this view: http://www.romanhomes.com/your_roman_vacation/quarters/janiculum-quarter.htm At sunrise, you'd be basically shooting into the sun. But the view is spectacular at any time of day. There are also spectacular monuments and parks (plus places to eat) on the hill. So you could easily make a day of it (as we did)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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