The church of SS Luca and Martina may require some re-writing in your excellent guide book. After the Saint Luke’s Guild finished its restoration it is now open to the public every Saturday. English (and French and German - but not Italian) literature divides it in an upper (Luke) and a lower church (Martina) while in Italian the lower church is referred to as a crypt, definitely the more accurate terminology. Both upper church and crypt are dedicated to Santa Martina, and Saint Luke is only present in the altarpiece by an artist with the somewhat unlikely name of Antiveduto Gram(m)atica, in which the evngelist is busy painting the portrait of the Virgin. Before the church was acquired by the artists’ guild there was no mention of Saint Luke at all.
There also is great news at Santa Maria del Popolo: after many years to seems to be possible to get behind the high altar. We had a nice man (a new sexton?) give us a guided tour. And, after being closed off for seven years, the Chigi chapel has been returned to its former glory.

Last week, we had a very unfortunate experience with a hotel in Roma that was particularly recommended in the ‘Blue Guide Central Italy’ edition. This is the first time we used a Blue guide for accommodation and also the first time we have written a letter like this to any guidebook or publication. After reading your recommendation on the hotel, ‘Il Covo’ in Roma, we went to their website for further research before making a reservation. Everything looked good. Sadly, what we found on arrival was a shock. We don’t know where the photos on their website were taken but it isn’t this hotel. For starters, the hotel lobby was an absolute mess. A hovel, with dirty furniture, files, and disorganized junk everywhere. Clearly they didn’t care what impression this made on guests. The room were we given was depressing and dark, with the cheapest and ugliest possible furniture. And the atmosphere was wholly disreputable and negative. My wife and I looked at each other and decided we could not stay there. So we went back downstairs, only to find that the reception clerk had gone. A sign on the door directed us to another hotel down the street. Explaining courteously our situation, the clerk became uncooperative and borderline aggressive and told us she didn’t speak English. i tried Italian and she got worse. She said we would have to go back to ‘Il Covo’ and wait for the clerk to return. We did so. When she arrived, we explained that we would not stay and would like to settle up, paying the first night. We were told there was a seven day cancellation policy and that neither of the two nights we had booked - and prepaid on Visa - would be refunded. This despite the fact that there was 24 hours notice on the second night. The hotel was so bad, we chose to pay this and find other accommodation. The clerk offered us a 10 euro per night discount, if we paid in cash, which we did, for a total of 180 euros. We were given no receipt, a violation of Italian tax law. It was clear to us that this was not the first time for these people. The immediate disappearance of the clerk after we checked in, the other hotel clerk claiming not to understand English when we had a problem, the 7 day no refund policy, all the money on Visa up front, and omitting to issue receipts said to us all this had happened many times before. They were very practiced at this scam. We don’t believe this is an Italian-owned hotel. We’ve never experienced anything like this in Italy before, after living here for almost two years. When we got home, we decided to check out ”Il Covo’ on Trip Advisor. In the ratings section, we found many letters from people who had similar highly unpleasant experiences, advising prospective customers ‘don’t stay here’. I wish we had seen these letters before we booked. Anyway, all this to advise you of the situation. It is a shame to degrade the quality of your Guide with a superior recommendation for a low life scam like ‘Il Covo’.

To avoid the long lines for the Colosseum, buy your ticket at the Forum and do that first; anyway it is a nicer walk through the Forum to the Colosseum if you’re coming from the Capitoline Hill direction than along the street and it costs no more. The advantage is that when you get to the Colosseum you’ve already got the ticket and can go straight in.

“Rome’s illustrious repertoire of museums has been enhanced recently by the opening of the new Museum of the Imperial Fora. This is housed in magnificent setting of the so-called Trajan’s Markets . . .” See the whole article in Minerva Magazine.