Rome, the Eternal City, February 2024
Grappa in Rome
Rome is a perfect match to our company name. The idea behind Parnassos.dk is to be found in Claude Debussy’s piano pieces, Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, written to his daughter. It was humously meant. A play with words and notes.
Parnassos, or Parnassus, is the mountain where the Greek gods lived and figuratively speaking the cultural apotheosis of our civilization. Each of our cultural tours is an invite to climb the mountain with the clear intention of making it a cultural feast.
The city Rome is without comparison the Parnassos. First the Etruscans, followed by the Romans, which was almost a copy/paste duplicate of the Greeks. First an empire, then the foremost Christian center. Rome has it all.
We have a number of the keys to the city in February 2024. You can read about which doors these keys will open. And as mentioned, you are invited.
Parnassos.dk is a Danish company and member of Rejsegarantifonden ↗, the Danish equivalent of ABTA (You can verify our membership by following this link↗). Just type our company name in the relevant field.
Rejsegarantifonden guarantees your money – independently from where you book your trip – whilst we guarantee your adventures.
Via degli orti d'Alibert 4 - our Penthouse
When Parnassos starts a new odyssey with our guests, we 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 over the city. Here we can alter the strategy and tactics and move around the pieces with large sticks. Not dissimilar to the war room at the Pentagon in the 1950es. A bit of exaggeration perhaps.
For our trip to Rome we will try something a bit different. We are three guides with the Danish sounding names, Erik, Poul and Søren. And we have rented a Penthouse in Trestevere. A 13 minutes’ walk from our guests’ hotel Ponte Sisto.
During our stay in Rome, we will all regularly meet at the Penthouse, where Parnassos offers wines and drinks ‘on the house’ at the large balcony, as an alternative to meeting at the hotel’s bar, where we are halfway forced to order drinks at relatively expensive prices.
The address is Via degli orti d’Alibert 4 (the bar closes around midnight 😊 ).
L'antico Cimitero non Cattolici
At the periphery of the antique Rome, hidden away from today’s hustle and bustle, and just next to the Aurelian Wall, you will find a piece of European cultural history and a green oasis of 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 worker’s quarter, that ever since ancient Rome was home to the more anonymous and hard-working part of the Roman population. Close by, a t the river Tiber was Rome’s first harbor 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-meter high artificial ‘mountain’ consisting of all the amphoras that were, over the Roman empire centuries, broken or no longer in use. Their resting place, so to speak. On top of the mountain you have a spectacular view over Rome.
Today it is closed to the public, but we will have access to the hill, where we will literally walk on top of the Roman civilization. It’s a rather special experience.
And naturally, we will also visit the Protestant Cemetery.
Signature Dinner at Empress Agrippina
Adjacent to the Vatican City you have ‘Villa Agrippina’, an area of Rome where the emperor Nero’s mother, Agrippina (15AD-59AD), lived and where Nero was born. Sadly, it turned out he would turn out to be a very naughty boy, including matricide and persecution of the Christians to name a few of his troublesome personal traits.
Today Villa Agrippina is a luxury hotel and this is where we are going to spend our Saturday night. The hotel’s restaurant is managed by Luciano Monosilio, the arguably most celebrated Italian Michelin star chef.
We have made reservations for a sumptuous dinner with dishes inspired by menus from antiquity, and it will be the trip’s culinary highlight.
We have, on top of that, rented ‘the Vatican Suite’ for our pre-dinner drink. It’s difficult to find a more impressive view over Rome. You have an unrestricted view of the Vatican and Castel Sant’ Angelo. When I was there to finalize our evening, I was told by one of the waiters that when the Swiss tennis star, Roger Federer, is in Rome this is where he stays. And yes, what is good enough for us, is obviously good enough for Federer.
Eva Ravnbøl and Silvio Berlusconi
Who better to introduce our evening than Eva Ravnbøl? She is Denmark’s TV2’s correspondent covering Italy, (TV2, a Danish TV network comparable to ITV) and best-selling author to ‘Gud er italiener’ (‘God is Italian’).
After the speech we will head towards the restaurant. After the feast we will be met by a live jazz band at the über exclusive bar next door.
As an aber dabei, Eva told us over an espresso, while we visited her in Rome, that she had met no other than the former prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusoni, while she was very young. We hope that a couple of glasses of Amerone will make her tell us a bit more about that encounter.
About Eva,
‘Eva Ravnbøl has lived most of her adult life in Rome. The first few years she worked as an ‘extra’ in movies, among them a Fellini film, recorded in Cinecittá, Italy’s answer to Hollywood, [which we will visit Tuesday 20th February 2024].
She has been a host for a number of Danish television programs like ‘Pasta Plus’ and ‘min italienske drøm’ (‘My Italian Dream’). Among the subjects she has covered over the years, according to her home page:
The refugee crisis, food culture, Pope Francis, Italian politics, the mafia, corruption, Italy in the EU, earthquake, economic crisis, climate, drought, corona pandemic, Salvini, Meloni, Draghi, Berlusconi, garbage problems, terrorism, football, tourism, Venice floods, culture, school, family, healthcare, intelligence, Costa Concordia, Genoa bridge collapse, fashion, design, wine, music and international events.
The Guardian Angel of Music
We will, Saturday morning, head towards the southern and less visited part of Trestevere. Here, the nuns of the Benedictine order, have for more than 600 years looked after Santa Cecilia, her church – and corpse. Their abbey is formed as a protective ring around the church.
And who was 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, for six days, the Roman soldiers attempts to execute her. 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 of course.
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 her injuries.
Her church, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, is among the secrets of the city and is built on top of the place where she was murdered. Her remains are represented by a marble sculpture in the middle of the large 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 meet the holiest place of the chapel surrounded by Byzantine columns at the exact place where she was executed.
The Danish-Italian Soprano, Susanne Bungaard
A pro pos Santa Cecilia: For our Friday evening, we are looking forward to introducing and listening to the Danish/Italian opera singer, Susanne Bungaard – educated at the Santa Cecilia conservatory in Rome – at a small, intimate renaissance church in the city center.
She has promised to tell us a little about her life in Italy and her career in ‘the fine arts’. Naturally, we will also enjoy her trained voice in this acoustic gem of a chapel.
About Susanne,
‘Danish soprano Susanne Bungaard graduated in singing at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and in Baroque singing at the Metz Conservatoire in France obtaining the highest mentions in both institutes.
She studied with Margaret Baker and Doris Andrews in Rome, Bill Schumann in New York and with Virginia Zeani in Florida, USA. She made her operatic debut in 2001.
She has performed at numerous prestigious musical institutions and festivals in Italy and abroad such as the Haendel Festspiel -Halle, “Mozart-Festival” Warsaw, Kodaly Festival Hungaria, European Song festival Warsaw, Festival Uto Ughi per Roma and many, many others collaborating with outstanding conductors such as Alberto Zedda, Bruno Aprea, Ramon Tebar, Fabrizio Carminati, Jean Luc Tingaud, Eric Hull, Marco Anguis and Denis Comtet.
Her mainstage roles include Adina in Elisir d’Amore, Norina in Don Pasquale, Zerlina and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Despina (Cosi fan tutte) Susanna (Nozze di Figaro) Gilda (Rigoletto) Violetta (Traviata), Nedda (Pagliacci) Micaela (Carmen) La voix humaine by F. Poulenc.
Today she teaches singing at the Martucci Conservatory of Salerno’.
We will also have the pleasure of her company at our signature dinner at Villa Agrippina.
MERCATI DI TRAIANO
MERCATI DI TRAIANO was the Roman Empire’s first and largest shopping mall. It was inaugurated in 113 AD during the regime of Trajan, arguably the most successful of all the Roman emperors. When he died in 117 AD the Roman empire reached its largest extent.
The mall housed a number of administrative buildings as well. And the complex has a magnificent view over Forum Romanum.
We have been given permission by Rome’s municipality to rent this huge complex Sunday evening 18th February after the closing hours of the museum. An official guide will take us from one shop to the other which, sadly, have been closed since the year 400 AD. Seen with our eyes they must therefore all be described as antique shops.
In those days the mall was split in two, separated by the road ‘Via Biberatica’. Bibere is the latin word for ‘drinking’ and this is where you would have found all the pubs and bars. When the guided tour is over we will go to ‘Via Biberatica’ where we will enjoy a glass or two. It’s our conviction that this is the most authentic way to understand the past.
A 2000 Year old Olive Tree near Rome
We leave Rome, Sunday morning, for a few hours heading towards Europe’s largest olive tree, to be found in the Sabiner mountains 30 miles/50 kilometers away from Rome. The tree, called L’Olivone, has just entered its third millennia and continues to produce olives – up to 80 kilos each year. Its circumference is 7 meters at the ground, 30 meters at the top.
We will, after the visit at L’Olivone, drive through this idyllic landscape to visit an olive grove, with a detour to an oil mill, which will open the door for us and where a guide will go through the olive pressing and processing.
The farm consists of several century-old trees and when the journey comes to an end we will all be experts in olive oil tasting, the quality of the oil and what to use for which dishes. There is an outlet where you can purchase olive oil if one of the oils takes your fancy.
Lunch and wine will be served before we head back to Rome.
Accademia di Danimarca, Roma
Just north of Villa Borghese, which is to the east of the Spanish Steps, there are about 20 institutes and academies that represent just as many countries. A square kilometer of European culture and cultural exchange.
One of them is the Danish academy, its neighbor the Swedish academy. Across those Scandinavian academies you’ll find the Rumanian academy and so on. It’s a rather interesting neighborhood off the beaten track. The manager of the institute, Charlotte Bundgaard, awaits us Monday afternoon and is happy to show us around.
Here we will offer entertainment and refreshments – and then it is a countdown to our trip’s cultural highlight. A kilometer or so from the institute you’ll find Auditorium Parco della Musica…
Lang Lang - and Repeat
If you are well versed in classical music, an introduction to Lang Lang is wholly unnecessary. He is at the moment the most feted of all concert pianists in the world. His artistic level is beyond any discussion.
He will monopolize the scene of ‘Auditorium Parco della Musica’ in Rome – also called ‘Accademia Nazionale di Santa Maria’ – Monday evening at 8pm.
Sit back in your seat and be transported to the Romantic era with the following program,
Franz Schubert, Impromptu, op. 90. No. 3
Robert Schumann,
Kreisleriana op. 16
Frédéric Chopin
Mazurkas:
op. 7, 17, 24, 30, 33 og 59
Polonaise op. 44
The Labyrinthian Arches and Alleys in the Ghetto
The Jews of Rome were, for almost 300 years and up till 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 the prostitutes had to put on.
Today 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 fusioned with modern constructions. Small dark alleys with kosher butcher outlays and shops that still bear marks by past infamies, where the Jews were only allowed to sell household items and vintage clothing.
At the same time this area offers a number of high end restaurants today that serve the age-old and special Jewish-roman dishes that made an impact on the food habits of all Romans. We will explore the area that resonates with and is a micro cosmos of the Jewish diaspora, from when they were brought to Rome 2000 years ago as slaves.
And naturally, we look forward to introducing ‘the turtle fountain’ a sculpture that stands somewhere between particular and peculiar.
Rome in February
And the reason for arranging the trip to Rome in February?
You’ll find part of the answer in the photo, taken when I was in Rome in early June. Huge tourist crowds trampling through the city, and absurdly long queues even at Starbucks! It pushes up the hotel prices and this is already happening come late March.
February is the new March, April even. Global warming warms up Europe at least a month earlier than usual. (similar to Cairo, which we will visit in November 2023. In the not that olden days, October was the month where things became well-tempered. Now the citizens have to wait till November).
We could in principle have chosen any week in this period of the year but Lang Lang’s concert on 19th February clinched the deal. February it must be.
Poul Arnedal and Søren Rud
Poul Arnedal ↗ and Søren Rud ↗ are two Danish journalists with long careers behind them.
Arne is also an author and portrait editor at the Danish online newspaper POV, Søren owner of Life Exhibtions.
The latter has just recently written a large article for ‘Politiken’, the Danish equivalent to the Guardian, the subject being… Rome of course!
And they are also both guides to Rome and London. When we meet in Rome we drink Grappa, when in London G&T. Each drink has its own geography.
A good rule of thumb is to try to involve yourself with someone more competent and knowledgeable than yourself. OK, in this situation that doesn’t apply.
I’m kidding. Undersigned have known Poul and Søren the last three decades. They are on their home turf in Rome – and its bars – and their network is second to none.
We have for a long time wanted to arrange a tour to Rome that, to use an English phrase, would ‘blow your socks off’. The above description is our best attempt. We are of the opinion that the program is unrivaled.
Hotel Ponte Sisto, Rome
We have reserved 20 rooms at the perfectly situated 4* hotel, Ponte Sisto – with the city center immediately to the right and Rome’s most charming district, Trastevere, to the left. For the latter, you just have to cross the Ponte Sisto bridge.
The hotel has been renovated recently and is in our opinion the best mix between cost, quality and location. On top of that, we have a couple of anecdotes attached to the hotel.
The price for the trip is dkk 13,000 (around 1,740 euro) and includes a hotel room for two. (please note, you arrange your own flight to give you as much flexibility as possible).
You can, as usual, choose to extend your stay, and if you so wish, order extra nights at Hotel Ponte Sisto through us, as we can offer you a better rate than what you get from the hotel. The same applies if you want to arrive a day or two earlier than the official program.
You can order a single room as well, easily added when you go through the ordering process.
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 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 to all concerts and museums.
- 3 dinners, including the Gala dinner at Villa Agrippina (the latter including wine-pairing).
- Bus transports.
- Our day-trip to the olive grove outside Rome. Lunch included.
- Wines and amuse-bouches at our own events.
- Free bar at ‘the Penthouse’.
- A one year membership at the Scandinavian institute.
Please Note:
The amount covers the stay and events during our days in Rome. It does not include the flight as this give our guests much more flexibility.
