Ciao Via del Corso!

Today, I took what could be my last walk down the Corso. With only two more days left in Rome, I knew my chances of returning to the Corso ever again would be slim. Since the day I arrived in Rome I have walked down Via del Corso almost every single day. We had class in the Piazza del Colegio Romano (which is right off the Corso) every day during the week. It was not only for class though that I would walk along my favorite street.

The girls and I would always go souvenir or clothes shopping in stores such as Zara, Le Group, and H&M. Often we would grab gelato at a local gelateria on the Corso in between classes. I have visited its' several museums, such as the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj. One night I even ventured to the movie theater along the Corso. It is easily accessable to go to Villa Borghese, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps from the Corso as well. Throughout my stay Via del Corso has acted as the beginning point of many adventures I have taken throughout Rome. I will miss it dearly, but my time here is up and I must say my goodbyes.

American Shopping on the Corso

What do tourists love more than taking pictures and saying cliche things like "when in rome"?

Americans love little reminders of home and seeing that things have been American-ized in other countries. At least I can speak for the kids who study abroad in Rome that I have met when I say this. Where do we all hang out at? American and Irish pubs. Where do we find ourselves eating out at? Pizza places, such a cliche college food. And where do we look to shop? American stores along the Corso.

Yeah, shopping in another country seems thrilling and fun, but it can be expensive and unaffordable for someone here long-term. Many of the shops along the Corso charge upwards of $60Euro for just a shirt, which at the current rate does not translate well into the American dollar. It is almost comforting to see American shops such as H&M, Diesel, Sephora, Guess, Levi's, etc. along the Corso--even if they are a little bit more expensive than at home. Living in a foreign country it is nice to see in the least a sign from home, and in a way it seems like an appreciation of American fashion sense (especially in a country where fashion and self-presentation is so important on a daily basis). Now more than ever companies have expanded world-wide and I can say I almost feel relieved by it. I love shopping and there is nothing better than spending my shoppinf money supporting the American economy.

Tourists Eat Here!

What do tourists crave the most while walking through or shopping down the Corso? Gelato? Pizza? Paninis?

Of course not! We tourists crave McDonald's and Burger King! In true American fashion, McDonald's and its rival Burger King can be found just around the block from every busy area. Nothing like being in a foreign country to make you crave America's finest fast food burgers. Maybe it's a feeling of comfort we get from even just seeing those golden arches. I admit that I have eaten McDonald's more times in Rome than I have in the past year at home.

Disney Store in Rome

Who is everyone's favorite mouse? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Mickey Mouse, of course! Naturally walking by the plethera of shops on the Corso, it only makes sense to see the Disney Store, reeling in customers and kids who love famous characters like Donald Duck and the Little Mermaid. In Disney fashion, the store has been designed and decorated to mimic the architectural style of Ancient Rome. As a play on history and a play towards tourism, there are statues of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy around the store, as well as a dome and oculus that mirrors that of the Pantheon. It is well-designed and appropriate to the historic look of the city. As an advertising major, I think it makes sense for Disney to tap into the culture and style of tourism through Rome. For me personally, it was just interesting to see how Disney would adapt its themes and look to fit into Rome. Guaranteed though is that the theme runs from the faux cobblestone floors to the Pantheon-like dome on the ceiling. The lady at the register was not too pleased that I was taking these pictures, and she politely asked me to stop... but I managed to snag a few to show you what it actually looks like.



Insight on the Architecture of Disney Store

Where are the Supermarkets?

The Via del Corso has been a main street throughout Rome for centuries. There are three palaces and various other residential apartments above the clothing stores and restaurants that line the streets. Where are the supermarkets? Where is Di Per Di (a supermarket that can be found throughout the city)? Does it make any sense that no supermarkets can be found along this street? Then again, it is less than obvious that there are any living quarters whatsoever on this street. Perhaps having a supermarket would make the street seem a little less touristy and a little more "lived-in" than the city wants it to be portrayed as. I think this is just one of the possibilities. Regardless, there are shops nearby in Piazza Navona and the Pantheon that I have found. It is just strange to think that there is not one grocery store that can be found down the Corso.

Competitive Shopping

Finding the best prices in shops on the Corso can sometimes be a difficult task. All along the streets are many different shops that range in price from $10Euro a shirt at one of the peddler stands to over $500Euro a shirt at Fendi. On the bright side. there are clothing stores scattered the whole way down the Corso providing shoppers with vast opportunities to find the perfect outfit. With such a large range in prices, one would imagine there is fierce competition between stores for customers. As an advertising major, I look at the location of stores, the clothes on the mannequins, and the names of the shops and try to figure out what the stores are trying to advertise to me. Doing this I came across a somewhat strange combination of these while walking down the Corso.

The other day, I was wandering down the Corso and noticed a very peculiar sight-- the Adidas and Nike stores were not only on the same block, but were RIGHT NEXT TO EACHOTHER on the street. How could this be possible? The two biggest competitiors in athetlic gear worldwide, with stores side-by-side seems unheard of. My next thought was NEVER in the States would this happen. There is no chance. I can almost guarentee that there are some sort of laws and standards against it. Maybe the logic behind it is to be blatant about the competition between the two while forcing consumers to immediately make a decision between which store he or she wants to shop in. I'm not exactly sure of the logic of doing it, but it's my best guess. So if you are looking for some fitness gear in Rome, you won't have to travel too far down the Corso.

Lively Neighborhoods

Via del Corso has a very lively neighborhood, which is why I picked it as my location to observe while in Rome.


The Corso is a straight road in the center of Rome, that goes from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia. The street is lined with several restaurants, gelato shops, clothing stores, museums, palaces, pharamacies, and even our school the Sede di Roma. None of the cities major tourist attractions are on the street, but the centralized location between many of the famous sites creates a heavy flow of tourism traffic in the area. The infamous sights that lie just a short walk from the Corso include the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. There are a few not as famous palaces, museums, and galleries that are on the street, such as the Galleria Alberto Sordi. It's a great buffer area between historic sights that allows tourists a break to shop and eat in the city. Several other parades and events occur down the Corso during the year, also drawing bigger crowds.

Cinema Metropolitan

Tonight I went to the Cinema Metropolitan to see Angels and Demons with a few of my friends. The theater is located at the north end of Via del Corso, right near Piazza del Popolo. The movie was excellent and it was neat to see a movie that was actually filmed in Rome. Everytime a new location popped up on the screen I became excited because I have visited a lot of the sights. There were scenes at Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona, the Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, Santa Maria della Vittorio-- to name a few.

The movie theater had the most comfortable seats I have ever seen in a movie theater, and was relatively small with only four rows that had 15-20 seats in each row. The theater also offered paninis, beer, mixed alcohol drinks, and gelato at its concession stand. Prices were relative to those that can be found back home. If you are looking for a little piece of America in Rome, I suggest visiting a movie theater that plays American movies in the original version! It was a great time!

Giro d'Italia

Today marked the last leg of the 100th Annual Giro d'Italia cycling race.

The Giro, as it is known, is a three-week long road bicycle race that happens in May every year. The race is part of the Triple Crown of Cycling events, along with the Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship (Giro d' Italia, 2009). There are 21 stages throughout the race, one per day, and this year began on May 9, and finished today.

This year the race began in Venice, and the last leg of the tour ended through the Roman Forum right down the street from where I live! The total distance of the race this year was 3395.5 km, equivlant to 2109.9 miles! It was exciting to see all of the fans and cyclists around the streets today. As you can see a main straightaway of the race was right down the Via del Corso and the streets were packed from the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza Venezia! The Via del Corso is a busy street as it is, so I'm sure that having the road blocked off for the race created traffic problems across the city, but on the flipside shop-owners received the most benefit from the fan-base that was drawn to watch the race from outside their shops.

This year's winner was Denis Menchov of Russia.


For more info on the race & picture of map taken from: http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro2009.html

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

Last week we visited the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj on the Corso. This palace is the home of the Pamphilj family and houses portraits of many of the great names throughout the Renassiance (DK Publishing, 47). This palace is one of three palaces among the main stretch of Via del Corso. As a center road in the city, it is logical that the street houses palaces to display the wealth of the citizens in Rome for all to see.

The art is not extremely impressive, but the portrait of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj by Velazquez is the most significant piece in the collection as was explained by the audio guide during the tour. The furnishings of the palace are fancy in style but must have been better suited for the time period it was decorated. Unfortunately, the rules of the palace did not allow me to take any actual photographs or else I would have evidence of (in my humble opinion) that the better part of the palace is not quite so aesthetically pleasing, it's a bit much to look at all at once. There are two courtyards within the walls of the palace, and in Rome courtyards have been symbolic of which social class one is part of. With that and the location on the Corso, the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj insights on how royalty of the 17th century lived. Some of my classmates enjoyed the palace and thought it was beautiful, but it is a matter of taste and you can never know until you check it out yourself!

Image taken from: http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/1422/11370956.JPG

Traffic Jams in the Piazza

At the south end of the Corso, traffic empties out into Piazza Venezia. The Corso sees heavy amounts of traffic in the afternoon, especially at the piazza, which has a conjuction of five different roads all coming into on round-about type intersection. This can cause quite the traffic jam. Usually a traffic director posts himself on a stand in the middle of the piazza to direct the traffic. The sounds and movement of the traffic can be seen in this video.

In the Night

Beware of the Corso at night. After midnight many homeless people can be seen sleeping in the entry-ways of the buildings. It is an unnerving sight at times that can take you off guard. Being that Via del Corso is a busy area, even at night, I was not expecting to see the homeless fast asleep. It's hard to believe that the polizia or carabinieri do not make these people move, but I guess they feel sympathy of the homeless of the city.

Il Vittorio Emmanuel II

This is a view of the Victorio Emmanuel II monument from the center of the Piazza Venezia.

This monument lies directly across for the infamous central street of Via del Corso, with Via del Fori Imperiali heading off to the left side (if facing the monument as in the picture). It marks the south end of the Via del Corso, which is a logical spot because the towering monument can be see all the way down the Corso even to its opposing end at Piazza del Popolo. It is just a short walk away from the Forum, the Palentine Hill, and the Colosseum. Directly behind it lies the Capitoline Museums.

I pass this monument every day on the way to class and cannot help but to take a long look at its size and beauty every time. The monument was built in during the end of the 19th century in honor of the first king of unified Italy, King Victorio Emmanuel II (D.K. Publishing, 74). Joe, another CAS student, described it as "the wedding cake" and not until I recently read in my guidebook did I know that this nickname is well-known and considered insulting to the people of Italy. It is a beautiful buildings adorned with fountains on both sides that are constantly surrounded by tourists in the heat of the sun.

Publishing, DK. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides). New York: DK Travel, 2003.