The month of April has plenty of reasons for celebration in Rome. The Eternal City is visited by thousands of tourists for the Holy Week and Easter, as people want to be in Vatican City in that period of the year and go to the Via Crucis procession or at the services on Good Friday. People often come in Rome in April to listen to the Sunday Mass at the Saint Peter’s Square… well, Easter can be absolutely unforgettable experience in that part of the world. Another celebration that needs to be presented here is also La Pasquetta holidau on the day after Easter when people go out on picnics and there are fireworks in the evening.
Among the other events in April that are organized in the city of Rome are the spring festival on the Spanish Steps which are decorated with pink azaleas and is associated with different concerts as well as the Cultural week, during which the national museums and the archeological sites are open for public for free, including the Capitoline Museums, the National Roman Museum, etc. Another day that is celebrated is the Liberation Day, which marks the day when Italy and the city of Rome in particular have been liberated at the end of the Second World War.
Before that day however, on April 21st, is being celebrated the birthday of Rome or in other words, the founding of Rome. As the story goes, the birth of the city of Rome is connected with a love story. According to this story the pagan god Mars fell in love with a Vestal virgin and disgraced her. She gave birth to two twin boys that were quite big and beautiful, but the tribal king ordered them to be thrown into the Tiber River. The cradle with the babies was thrown into the water but was washed to the shore near the Palatine hill and a she wolf found the boys and suckled them. Thus survived Romulus and Remus, who grow into strong men that later build a town on the banks of the Tiber River that grew into a strong empire.
Usually this celebration is held on the Sunday before the date and it goes on with concerts and festivals, gladiators displays and a lot of fireworks. In case that you happen to visit the city of Rome in the week of celebrations, you will find plenty of events and the ancient sites being beautifully illuminated at night and open to public during the day. No matter if you are visiting the fantastic city of Rome for the first or the tenth time, you will be happy to see the place so lively and festive. Note that like in every other country and city that you go, if you know the language or at least try to say a word or two, you will be well appreciated and welcomed. After all the Italian language is very pleasant to the ear and is not that difficult to learn.
