Fly into Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport (Fiumicino). Depending on your tolerance for jet lag, you can go directly to the workshop location—90 minutes east of Rome—or arrive before the workshop begins and stay in Rome for a few days to acclimate to the time change.
To stay in Rome a few days, you can take a cab from the airport into Rome for about fifty Euros. Alternately, you can take a train from the airport to Rome’s Termini Station for about 12 Euros. We’ve listed a few places in Rome we can recommend.
To go directly to the workshop upon arrival, you can rent a car at the airport and drive directly to Santo Stefano di Sessanio or you can take a bus from Rome to L’Aquila where we will meet you with a car to take you up to Santo Stefano. The roads are excellent to drive and the bus ride is pleasant.
We recommend staying in Rome a few days to adjust to the time zone and jet lag. (Of course, we also recommend traveling throughout Italy for weeks and weeks following our workshop if you can manage it!)
We’ve listed the following places to stay based on our familiarity with the staff, reasonable prices, and proximity to subway stops.
Bed & Breakfast
Simona Simonelli runs a very warm and private bed and breakfast at Cipro- Musei Vaticani metro stop.
Small Hotels
Hotel Adler
Hotel Malu Ask for Ivan or Arianna
Hotel Ivanhoe Very small rooms, but well located with reasonable rates
Convent Stays we’ve enjoyed
CASA IL ROSARIO
Via S. Agata dei Goti,10 00184 Rome.
Tel. 06.679.2346; Fax: 06.6994.1106; E-mail: irodopre@tin.it
Located near the Quirinale Palace and Piazza Venezia. The rates are 50 Euro for a single room with bath; 40 Euro without bath; and 86 Euro for a double room; and 117 Euro for a room with three beds. Breakfast is included. No other meals are served and curfew is at 11:00 PM.
SANTA SOFIA
Piazza Madonna dei Monti, 3
00184 Rome
Tel. 06.485.778; Fax: 06.487.1064; E-mail: santasofia@tiscalinet.it
Located near the Colosseum. The rates are: 42 Euro for a single room; 67 Euro for a double room and 100.50 Euro for a room with three beds. The prices include breakfast; other meals are available on request. Curfew is at 12:00 AM.
Santa Susanna lists more convent stays in Rome and throughout Italy.
Rental Cars: In case you decide to rent a car, we recommend making arrangements with these companies before you leave the U. S.:
www.car-rental-italy.com
www.europcar.com
www.autoeurope.com
Driving directions from Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (Fiumicino) to Santo Stefano di Sessanio
Estimated total time: 1 Hours 59 Minutes
Estimation of total distance: 176.1 Kilometers
Depart airport on E 80 toward L’Aquila or A24. You will be going around Rome to head East to L’Aquila. Approx 30 k.
Look for A24 to L’Aquila/Pescara. You will drive on this highway for approx 109 k
Nearing L’Aquila, look for SS 17 which goes east of the city and just outside of it.
Travel SS 17 through several small towns such as Bazzano and Poggio Picenze. Shortly after Poccio Picenze look for the sign for Barisciano. You will turn LEFT from SS 17 toward Bariscano. Driving through Barisciano, you will see a sign for Santo Stefano di Sessanio.
Things will become rather desolate until you reach Santo Stefano in approximately 7 kilometers.
If you choose this option, we will pick you up in L’Aquila. We have traveled to L’Aquila on this bus. It’s very comfortable. However, it’s important that you confirm the schedule very specifically at the station when you arrive so you don’t miss the bus you want.
Directions from Tiburtina Metro in Rome to Collemaggio Bus Station in L’Aquila on the ARPA bus
If you arrive at Tiburtina by subway, you will need to exit the station by getting upstairs to Piazza Tiburtina or simply following signs reading USCITA.
If you exit at the correct place, you will turn right as soon as you exit the building and then cross a street looking for BLUE busses in a parking lot. The mistake that you may make is to exit from another door and end up in a parking lot of busses that are NOT BLUE. If this occurs, simply face the subway station again and walk left looking for a lot of parked BLUE busses. There may only be a few in the lot. Another sign that you are in the correct place is a bluish, metal covered walkway on the left side of the blue bus lot.
Ahead of you, you will see a sign that reads BIGLIETTI/PARTENZE + ARRIVATI. DO NOT GO THERE. Rather, at the end of the covered walkway note a Tabacchi on the left. Turn there and go to STALLO #5 . Read the small sign on the window of the Stallo to see if the tickets sold there are for L’Aquila. The sign may read Chieti-Solo, Pescara. This route goes to L’Aquila. Ask to be sure that the bus stops in L’Aquila.
Tickets to date are 9,50 euros. Get the number of the stand where you will wait for bus from ticket seller. Confirm you are in the right queue from others in line. Though you may arrive in plenty of time to take the scheduled bus, you might be told that your bus will leave one hour later. It is worth talking to the bus driver at the stall number where you believe the bus is departing from. There is sometimes a disconnect between the ticket sellers and the drivers. Drivers also will take off before scheduled time.
The trip itself is relaxing once you get out of Rome and the busses are very comfortable. There are no restrooms, however. The bus will make a few “unscheduled” stops on random places on SS-17 in L’Aquila. Do not exit until you arrive at Collemaggio which actually resembles a formal station.
Time: one hour and 40 minutes
BUS SCHEDULE FROM ROME TO L’AQUILA