Rome, the Eternal City Feb/March 2025
The Parnassos in Rome
NB! This trip is sold out. The city of Rome fits very well into this company’s focus – or mission if you like.
The idea behind the name Parnassos.dk is to be found in Claude Debussy’s piano pieces, Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, which he wrote for his daughter. It was meant humorously. A play with words as well as notes.
Parnassus, or in Danish and in Greek, Parnassos, is the mountain where tApollon and his muses lived and is figuratively the pinnacle of our civilization. Each of our cultural tours is an invitation to climb the mountain. With the clear aim that our tours will be one big cultural feast.
Rome is without parallel the Parnassus. First came the Etruscans, followed by the Romans who pretty much copy pasted the Greeks. A world empire, then a religious empire. Rome has it all.
We have a number of keys to the city. Below you can see which rooms the keys give us access to. And as mentioned before, you are invited.
Parnassos.dk is a Danish company and member of Rejsegarantifonden ↗, the Danish equivalent to ABTA. You can verify our membership by following this link↗. Just type our company name in the field, find din rejseudbyder.
Rejsegarantifonden guarantees your money – independently from where you book your trip – whilst we guarantee your adventures.
Musei Capitolini - Ours for an Evening
Saturday evening, 1st of March 2025 at 7.30 pm our slogan for this trip will be fulfilled. Here we will have access to one of the finest museums in the world, the Musei Capitolini.
The Capitoline Hill, where the Capitoline Museums stand today, was the focal point for the political and religious activities of the Roman Empire.
Comprised of the Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo and overlooking the Piazza del Campidoglio, the Capitoline dates back to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of important bronze statues (including the Capitoline she-wolf, pictured here). The collection was enriched over time, thanks to the precious donations of various popes who wanted to get rid of the pagan sculptures in the Vatican.
In the central part of the Piazza stands the statue of Marcus Aurelius, the only equestrian statue that has survived the times in one piece. In the year 1539, Michelangelo was entrusted with the task of giving the statue the attention it deserved.
Horse and rider standing on the so-called Michelangelo base is today a perfect reproduction of the bronze statue, while the real thing awaits us in the museum itself. (also shown in the picture). If you want to be overwhelmed by antiquity, you need to meet it in silence. We will make sure of that on Saturday 1 March 2025.
All 12,977 square meters are ours for this special evening.
An Evening Like no Other
And it continues.
No cultural feast is complete without an extraordinary culinary experience. We have rented the entire Caffarelli Terrace on the roof of the Musei Capitolini, with an unrivalled view over Rome. Only open for special occasions, such as state visits – and ours, of course.
The roof area consists of a restaurant that opens onto the pictured terrace, which we also have at our disposal.
We have asked one of the city’s finest catering companies, Le Voilá, to give us a once in a lifetime evening – with a kitchen that fits the culture. We can’t wait and our menu will have the flavor of antiquity, specified further down the article.
Ilona Staller, alias "Cicciolina", is our Host
Mrs. Ilona Staller, better known as Cicciolina, has a long – and colorful – career behind her. She is our host during our evening at Restaurant Terrazza Caffarelli. She was a member of the Italian parliament and party founder with unorthodox proposals to solve all kinds of crises.
She has therefore, not least by virtue of her indisputable charisma, been sitting on the front row of political life in Italy for a decade. And then she also has had a front row seat to the art world, by virtue of her marriage to Jeff Koons. Now we are up to two lives lived.
She has also had a third lived life… as an actress. During her speech, she will tell us what she has figured out about the gender that goes by the name… man. Ms. Staller is no longer a teenager, but her flamboyance is in a class of its own.
We had an interview with her in Rome recently, which you can read here. As you can see, we will not settle for the excesses of the Roman Empire in petrified form. We have brought it to life as best we can on the 1st of March 2025.
An opulent and sumptuous evening awaits us. It is the least we can do to honor this unparalleled civilization that we are revisiting.
Gregorian Chant at Santa Maria in Capella
The year 2025 is a Catholic jubilee year. Taken from the Mosaic ditto which was celebrated every half a century.
The year, which is held every 25 years in the Catholic Church, emphasizes forgiveness and hope and, of course, with the idea of getting closer to God.
Our trips are strictly apolitical and non-religious, they are instead extra-cultural. But the Catholic Church is an integral part of European history and art history. The jubilee year also provides a number of opportunities to put a little more emphasis on the church’s auspices on this journey to Rome.
We have therefore rented a medieval church in Trastèvere for our first evening, February 28, and hired a choir with voices that will take us back to the earliest days of the church. We are of course referring to Gregorian chant. Men and women singing the same notes, exactly one octave apart. From the centuries before polyphony was introduced into the liturgy.
Gregorian chant is the only form of music that can make you disappear from our time and be brought straight back to the Middle Ages. And yes, it is indeed spiritual. We believe it will be an incredibly beautiful experience.
The Guardian Angel of Music
On Saturday morning we will head towards the southern, less-visited part of Trastevere. Here the nuns of the Benedictine order have, for more than 600 years, cared for Santa Cecilia, her church – and corpse. Their abbey is formed as a protective ring around the church.
Who is Santa Cecilia? She is a Roman virgin martyr, venerated by the Catholic Church, and also, curiously, by the protestant Swedish church as well. She lived from 180 AD – 230 AD.
As a Christian she was persecuted. She was given a death sentence, but survived the Roman soldiers attempts to execute her for six days. During her ordeal, it is said that – while she was imprisoned in a steam bath – she sang with an otherworldly beautiful voice, which has ever since made her the guardian angel of all musicians, especially singers.
The steam bath didn’t do it. She was let out so the soldiers could decapitate her instead. Apparently not an easy job either, but after three days she succumbed to the injuries.
Her church, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, is among the secrets of the city, and is built over the place where she was murdered. Her remains are represented by a marble sculpture in the middle of the church, and, according to myth, her earthly body had not deteriorated when they opened her coffin 800 years after her untimely death.
We will also visit the labyrinthian catacombs beneath the church, where we will find remnants of Roman baths. We will encounter the holiest part of the chapel, surrounded by Byzantine columns, at the exact place where she was executed.
Lago di Nemi
A Scholar in Frascati
It is no surprise that Scandinavian countries put a lot of effort into being at the forefront in everything Viking Age related. Research of that time and our distant ancestors, must be considered a national task.
Something similar applies when we talk about the Roman Empire. Here, the Italians are leaders, with an extensive tradition, in the study of antiquity.
We will meet one of the finest institutions of this, the Academy Vivarium Novum, which is located in the elegant Villa Falconieri near the town of Frascati.
How about, say, a one-hour lecture on how the writers of the Roman Empire were influenced by their Greek colleagues, centuries apart? Sit back in your chair, enjoy the expertise and the indescribably beautiful premises.
Wine Tasting in Frascati
What else to do while in Frascati? After much brainstorming, we came up with the following idea: A wine tasting event of course!
Very close to Villa Falconiori – almost within walking distance – a room awaits us where we will taste the elegant wines of the district and will be given explanations of the grapes of each glass served, with accompanying small dishes, before the bus takes us back to the capital.
We believe that it will be as successful a trip as our olive grove excursion in February 2024.
The Labyrinthian Arches and Alleys in the Ghetto
The Jews of Rome were, for almost 300 years, up until 1849, imprisoned behind walls in the ghetto. They were only allowed to leave the district at certain times, and they had to wear a particular dress: the same clothes that prostitutes had to wear.
These days the Ghetto is, besides the echoes of the past, a lively quarter that has kept its Jewish characteristics and historical idiosyncrasies. Here you’ll find antique buildings organically fused with modern constructions; small dark alleys with kosher butcher outlays and shops that still bear marks from past infamies, when the Jews were only allowed to sell household items and vintage clothing.
This area offers a number of high-end restaurants today, which serve the age-old special Jewish-Roman dishes that influenced the food habits of all Romans. We will explore the area that resonates with, and is a micro cosmos of, the Jewish diaspora, from the days where they were brought to Rome 2000 years ago as slaves.
We also look forward to introducing the Turtle Fountain, a sculpture that stands somewhere between particular and peculiar.
The Interior of a Catholic Church
There are 900 churches in Rome, one more overwhelming than the other.
Even for persons who are not religiously inclined, these churches can create a religious “high” by virtue of their ethereal beauty. That was probably also the architects plan, and in that case, it has succeeded for pretty much all of the 900 churches.
We have all visited these churches and been captivated. But how, exactly, are these structured? What do the different rooms symbolize? What is repeated in all churches – a template – and when is a church unique?
We will visit one, or maybe two, on our Tuesday, time permitting. And then we will have an overview of the architecture and its connection to the New Testament, the church fathers, the saints, the martyrs, the relics.
No church has as rich a tradition as the Catholic. And from this viewpoint we are also introduced to political Europe through the centuries, beginning with the 4th century’s Constantine the Great.
Lunch at the Vatican University
After learning about all the signs and symbols of the Catholic Church, it’s time for a late lunch. We have been allowed by the nearby Vatican University, Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, to use their canteen.
We will eat next to nuns and priests. We are met by a relaxed atmosphere, and yet in a completely different environment from what we experience at other restaurants.
Auditorium Parco della Musica
Parnassos.dk, as mentioned in the introduction, focuses on classical music. And it is a genuinely very satisfying affair, to arrange private concerts for our guests in places like Schubert’s and Mozart’s homes in Vienna and, last September, at Clara and Robert Schumann’s home in Leipzig plus a private concert in the Bach Museum, also in Leipzig.
We also aim to, at each trip, to enjoy an evening in large concert halls, such as the Musikverein and Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna and – again in Leipzig in September 2024 – an evening at their excellent concert hall, the Gewandhaus.
Last trip to Rome, February 2024, we experienced the concert pianist Lang Lang in Rome’s pre-eminent concert hall – and Europe’s largest auditorium – Parca della Musica.
This is where we are going again on Friday evening. 28 February 2025.
It is 50 years since we had to say goodbye to one of Russia’s – the Soviet Union’s – greatest composers, Dmitri Shostakovich. The concert opens with his Bravura Festive Overture. What better way to start our culture party with?
Cimitero acatolico di Roma
At the periphery of the Ancient Rome, hidden from today’s hustle and bustle, and just next to the Aurelian Wall, we will visit a piece of European cultural history and a green oasis in the city. Here, at L’antico Cimitero non Cattolici, is the resting place for the English poets John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelly, and many others, including, seen from a Danish angle, the poet Carsten Hauch and the painter Harald Jerichau.
The area is called Testaccio – the old workers’ quarter – which, ever since Ancient Rome, has been home to the more anonymous and hard-working part of the Roman population.
Close by, on the River Tiber, Rome’s first harbour was situated; where marble blocks from Tuscany and amphoras with wine and olive oil from the provinces were unloaded.
A stone’s throw away from the Protestant Cemetery you have Monte Testaccio: a 45-metre-high artificial mountain, comprising of all the amphoras that were, over the Roman Empire centuries, broken or no longer in use – their resting place, so to speak. From the top of the mountain we will have a spectacular view over Rome.
It is closed to the public, but we will have access. We will literally walk on top of the Roman civilization. It’s a rather special experience.
The Restaurant Under Monte Testaccio
Man cannot live on culture alone. Luckily, it is enjoyable to connect the culinary with the cultural, especially if there is a historical connection to be had. We will visit a proper Italian working class kitchen of the 19th century.
Under Monte Testaccio there is a restaurant called Checchino dal 1887.
The restaurant was inaugurated in 1887 and situated directly opposite Rome’s abatoirs. It was from before the days of the minimum wage concept, and many of the workers were paid in form of animal entrails. These workers could therefore go to the restaurant and have their produce prepared for a small fee.
The story does not end here. When we sit down at the tables, the establishment’s owners, Francesco and his nephew – by the way, direct descendants of the couple who opened the place – will continue the story. Today the restaurant is quite stylish and ons of us once witnessed how several ministerial cars were parked outside. And here, after the second reading, our previous guide added “And then you can safely write that I have OFTEN seen ministerial and parliamentary member cars in front of Checcino”.
The dishes have been faithful to the first kitchen’s menus. Don’t worry, for those of you where liver and kidneys are a tad too sophisticated, there are more conventional alternatives.
If our guests are up for it, we can go to one of the many bars situated under Monte Testaccio and have a Grappa.
Via degli orti d'Alibert 4 - our Penthouse
When Parnassos begins a new odyssey with our guests, we usually have a room at our disposal, where we, the guides, every evening, look at the plan for the next day; in front of us a huge map of the city. Here we can alter the strategy and tactics and move around the pieces with large sticks.
Not dissimilar to the war room in the Pentagon in the 1950s. A bit of exaggeration perhaps.
For our trip to Rome we will try something a bit different. We are three guides with Danish sounding names: Erik, Poul and Søren. We have rented a penthouse in Trastevere, a 13-minute walk from our guests’ hotel. During our stay in Rome, we will all regularly meet at the penthouse, where Parnassos will offer wine and drinks on the house, on our large balcony, as an alternative to the hotel bar, where drinks may be relatively expensive.
The address is Via Degli Orti, Alibert 4. The bar closes around midnight 🙂
Rome in March
And the reason for arranging this trip in the very early spring? There are several. Enormous crowds of tourists almost overwhelm the city – and push up hotel prices during the high season. And that starts in mid-March already.
Also, February and March are the new April. Global warming is warming Europe at least one month earlier than usual. And in the summer it often is uncomfortably hot.
When these three gentlemen were in Rome during the planning stage for our first trip, it was mid-February. We only saw a few rain-drops one afternoon, the rest of the time it was warm and well-tempered and you didn’t bump into tourists incessantly. We would like to repeat that.
And if you want to see the evidence of this, then look at the photo above, a picture of our guests February 2024 in Rome. Clear sunshine every day. (It was actually a bit of a shame that it didn’t rain just once. The light reflection from the city’s wet cobbles is quite a sight).
Our Menu 1st March 2025
The catering company, Le Voilá, for our evening at Terrazza Caffarelli on Saturday 1 March 2025 offers us the following options. As you can see, we mostly pursue the sumpteous. It’s in our DNA.
WELCOME DRINKS
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- A giro braccio, Buvette, Prosecco Doc Valdobbiadene, Cocktail Alcolici e Analcolici Espressi: Aperol Spritz, Campari Spritz, Soft Drinks.
CANAPÉS
- Canapés of Various Flavors and Colors and Fantasies of
- Canapés with Vegetable Charcoal, Tomato, Cereal, Classic, Spinach Pancarrè Salmon, Prawns, Gorgonzola, Swordfish, Tuna, Salmon Tartare with Passion Fruit, Prawn Prism with Red Onion Gelé Parmesan Sphere, Tomatoes Fondant and Caramelized Onions Basil Parfait with Crispy Bacon, Seasonal Vegetables in Rice Flour Batter: Carrots, Celery, Zucchini, Eggplant and Peppers.
- THREE COURSE SEATED DINNER
- Selection of White and Red Wine, Grappa, Whisky and Liqueurs.
- Seafood Proposal
- Cacio and Pepe Ravioli, Crustaceans Bisque, Lardo di Colonnata and Red Prawns Tartare.
Kingfish Roll and Citrus Breadcrumbs, Raisins, Pinenuts Zucchini Julienne with Mint and Parmentier Potatoes. - Raspberry Cheesecake with Almond Crumble Alternative First Courses
- Codfish Ravioli, Artichokes, marjoram and Topinambur Cream
- Strozzapreti with amberjack ragu, Chicory and Cherry Tomatoes
- Strigoli with Anglerfish, Broccoli and Dill
Alternative Main Courses
- Croacker with Steamed Vegetables Flakes and Endives and SaffronPotatoes
- Seabass Roll with Purple Potatoes Cream, Crispy Waffle and Chards
- Seabream with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil and Olives Red Cabbage Salad and Permentier Potatoes
Dessert in Alternativa:
- Tiramisù
- Pistachio Parfait and Dark Chocolate glaze
- Chocolate and Hazelnuts Creamy
Meat Proposal
- Strozzapreti with Meat Ragu, Butter and Sage Emulsion with Crispy Prosciutto
- Beef Fillet with Potatoes Emulsion, Tomatoes with Paprika and Turnip Greens
- Three Chocolates Parfait
- Primi Piatti in Alternativa:
- Cacio&Pepe Ravioli with Crispy Bacon and Cherry Tomatoes
- Orecchiette “Water&Flour” with Datterini Tomatoes, Stracciatella Cheese and Pistachios
- Strozzapreti with Meat Ragu and Chanterelles.
- Secondi Piatti e Contorni in Alternativa:
- Beef Fillet CBT with Barolo Reduction, Radicchio and Potatoes Millefeuille with Herbs
- Pork Fillet with Bacon and Pomegranate Sauce, Turnip Greens and Potatoes Nest
- Veal Cheesk with Citrus Sesame Spinach and Saffron Potatoes
- Dessert in Alternativa:
- Ananas and Lime Cheescake with Crumble
- Semisfera al Cioccolato Bianco e Zenzero con Cuore di Gelè al Lampone
- White Chocolate Parfait with Red Fruit Mousse and Gelé
- Hazalnuts Parfait, Coffee mousse and Chocolate Bisquit
- Caffè Espresso o Decaffeinato
Where are we Staying?
We have booked 20 rooms at the 4* Hotel Ponte Sisto – perfectly located with the city center immediately to the right of the entrance, to the left and you will find the city’s most charming district, Trastevere. You just have to cross the Ponte Sisto bridge.
The hotel has just been renovated, and in our opinion is the best mix between quality, location and price. In addition, we have a few charming anecdotes about the hotel.
The price of DKK 13,000 includes a hotel room for two. (Note that the plane ticket is purchased additionally to give you as much flexibility as possible. If the trip is canceled – for whatever reason – we will compensate your plane ticket for up to dkk 1,500).
You can, as usual and with mentioned flexibility in mind, book extra nights if you wish to extend your stay. This also applies if you want to arrive a day or two before the official program of the trip.
And you can also book a single room. The above options can easily be added during the ordering process.
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Pick up at the Rome Fiumicino Airport
The official start for our weekend begins Friday the 28th February in the late afternoon.
Last time, during the trip to Rome in February 2024, most of our guests arrived with Norwegian Air departing from Copenhagen Airport at 12.15 and arrival at 14.50 at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci – Fiumicino airport. We are waiting with a bus for those of you arriving on this flight.
If you arrive at a different time or the day before, take a taxi directly to Hotel Ponte Sisto. The taxi ride currently costs 55 euros and we will reimburse you half of that amount, which you’ll get as soon as you arrive at the hotel.
And if You Want to Extend Your Stay?
Around half of our guests want to extend their stay outside the official program, so to speak. You’re in the city anyway, and if you have an extra day or two available in the diary, why not stay here a little longer?
You can pay for additional nights at Hotel Ponte Sisto during the purchase process. The price of a double is €210 and is a cost-neutral expense for us.
Last time we offered to arrange a dinner for the half of our guests who extended their stay. We found a nice restaurant in Trastevere. This time we are visiting Roma Obscura.
There is a restaurant that has not (yet) become hip. It is a reather authentic left-wing eatery. Notice the ties on the walls. Each of them symbolizes gallows for the free market forces. We think.
If you want to experience this too, Tuesday evening the 4th of March, you can add this to your basket.
We hope all of the above has tempted you. And if you can’t resist, we will see you in the eternal city March 2025.
Poul Arnedal
Poul Arnedal is a journalist with a very long career behind him. He is portrait editor at POV and author and co-author of the Danish book “Rome under four eyes”.
When we are together in Rome we drink Grappa, in London it is G&T. Every drink has its own geography.
The undersigned and Poul have been friends for three decades. He is at home at the Roman squares and streets (and enoteca!) and knows everything and everyone. We always work on the basis that our trips, to use an English expression, will ‘blow the socks off’ our guests.
The above description is our best bet.
And our Purpose is?
We want to create exclusive experiences – without excluding anyone.
Granted, our tours are not among the cheapest, but they are still accessible to most of those who walk in the footsteps of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish poet who once said, ‘to travel is to live’.
The ‘trick’ is to be a large group. We’re talking about around 40 people. Being many has its own dynamic. And a larger budget allows us to offer truly unique adventures that surely will be beyond most of us if we acted on our own. Sometimes we will split us up in 2 groups of 20 when that makes more sense.
Our purpose is to tear us away from our day to day lives, to ensure that when you are back home again, you will ask yourself, ‘did I really experience what I think I experienced’?
What Exactly do you get for your 13,000 dkk? (aprox € 1,750)
- Four nights at the 4* hotel Ponte Sisto, breakfast included.
- Tickets and entrance fees for all concerts and museums.
- 3 dinners, including the gala dinner and wine-pairing on 1st March 2025.
- Bus transport.
- Lunch and tour to Frascati and Lago Albano outside Rome.
- Wine and small snacks at own events.
- Free bar in ‘the Penthouse’.
- There is a small city tax to be paid. This is between you and the hotel.
Please Note:
The amount covers stay and events in Rome and Frascati only, and does not include the flight.
This is, as mentioned, to give you the greatest possible flexibility, such as when you fly during the day and from where. Maybe you also want to extend your stay.
If the trip is cancelled – regardless of the reason – we will compensate your flight ticket up to dkk 1,500.
