DIRECTIONS TO CONVENT IN ROME

 

These directions presume you are flying into the main airport of Rome, which is called "Leonardo da Vinci at Fiumicino" and is abbreviated FCO. A small fraction of you might fly into the Ciampino airport. See lower down on this page for the Ciampino airport.

 

On leaving the plane you will want to get to the baggage claim area.  Various signs saying “Baggagli,” “Baggage Claim,” “Uscita” (which means “Exit”), or “Way Out” will all take you where you want to go. (Avoid the directions for “Transfers” or “Connecting Flights.”)

En route to Baggage Claim you will go through “Passport Control,” which requires you to stand in a line and have a bored guard stamp your passport. Since the USA is not part of the European Union, stand in the line that says “Non-EU.” If you are asked why you are in Rome, say “Tourist.”

If your bags don’t arrive, wait a bit: they can be slow. If they really don’t arrive, report them to the “lost luggage” window. Give them the address and phone number of the convent, below.

After you get your suitcase from baggage claim, walk again toward “Uscita,” which is also labeled “Way Out” and “Roma.” You will immediately pass customs (“Dogana”), probably without even noticing it.  You will enter the meeting area, where arriving passengers are met and drivers will be holding signs with their clients’ names on them.

If you are taking a cab (50 Euro?), go straight outside, where cabs will be lined up. Drivers inside the meeting area generally cost more: go to the curb outside. Remember to confirm a price before you start. (The convent is close to the Cavour Metro stop; the closest a cab can get is on Via dei Serpenti.)

If you are taking the train (11 Euro last year), after you enter the meeting area go left a short distance and notice an escalator DOWN one level. Take it, and it will take you under the street; then take the escalator up on the other side of the street.  Two short escalators in succession will take you up two stories to a small train station. The 2-3 ticket windows (Bigletteria) are to your right as you enter. (You can also get a ticket at the newspaper stand.) Buy a ticket to TERMINI.

Stick your ticket into one of the yellow boxes at the head of the tracks, as others will be doing. This will stamp it with the date and time. Keep your ticket on you; a conductor may want to see it. He will be angry if you have not stamped it, and he may fine you.

The train to Termini is called “the Leonardo Express,” will almost certainly be on Track 2 (“Binario 2”), and will probably be yellow.  Increase your chances of getting a seat by walking down the tracks toward the back of the train (which will also be the front when you arrive in Termini). Settle in and relax. You will some unattractive suburbs, graffiti in abundance, a gypsy camp, bright red poppies, umbrella pines, and—as you approach Termini—ancient Roman aqueducts and walls.

At Termini, walk forward through the confusion, parallel to the direction the train tracks are heading, and exit the station in front of you (150 yards?). Don’t stop! Make your way through the taxi cabs, bearing left, until you are at the traffic light. Turn left at the light and look for street signs. You should have crossed via Giolitti (or Giovanni Giolitti) and now be headed gently downhill on via CAVOUR.  Find CAVOUR!

Walk down via CAVOUR. Get on the right side of Cavour whenever it is convenient. In about 10 min. you will see a red METRO sign. This is for the CAVOUR Metro stop. Keep going on the right side of Cavour. In another 200 yards or so is via dei SERPENTI. Turn right. Cross a very small street (via Leonina) and you will come upon a fountain with people sitting around its base:  This our fountain, the center of our piazza! On the other side of the fountain is a church and, attached to it, on the right, is our convent. The inscriptions above the door are in Ukrainian: that’s us! Come on in and find instructions as you check into your room.  Welcome to Rome, Culture Warrior.

 

ADDRESS:      Suore di Santa Anna, Piazza Madonna dei Monti, 3   00184 Roma  T: 06.485.778

 

Disclaimer: You will need to be alert and to have a map with you to reduce the risk of getting lost. (Being a little lost during the day is not a huge problem: Choose a friendly looking person, smile, and ask, for example, “Via Cavour?” If you can find "Metro Cavour," you are very close.)  

 

 

CIAMPINO:

 

If you arrive at the Ciampino airport, see your Blue Guide to Rome, p. 556. Ask at the airport about the best way to get to the center of Rome (“il centro”): They may have recently added a direct bus. You can also take a taxi to our convent, which is simple but expensive, or take the bus to the Anagnina Metro Station (Ask about it in the airport, but I believe you need 1) to purchase a bus ticket at the newspaper stand, and 2) to walk out of the airport (300 yards?) to the Via Appia, and wait at the bus stop there. (This can be unpleasant, esp if the bus is crowded!) Then, at Anagnina, take the Metro to Termini, and follow the directions above (#2), which explain how to get from Termini to the convent.

 

When you check into the convent, look for an orientation handout on the main desk of the convent. It will help you to get to know the neighborhood and let you know of our plans. If you take a nap, DON’T SLEEP TOO LONG. Your goal is to sleep at night, not in the day!

 

Look around the piazza: I will spend a fair amount of time at one of the [coffee!] bars of Piazza Madonna dei Monti to greet you and answer questions during the afternoon. I wll be at the fountain for questions at noon and for our first official meeting at 4:00 pm (departing promptly from the fountain).