What to do in Rome on the weekend of 12 and 13 June

Last weekend in the yellow zone before the white for Lazio. Here (finally) what to do in Rome between concerts, events and exhibitions

What to do in Rome on the weekend?

The capital is ready to leave again and does it in style with the Damien Hirst's Archeology Now exhibition at the Borghese Gallery where the contrast between ancient works and contemporary art strikes and amazes.

And if after diving into these masterpieces you still want to fill your eyes with beauty, enjoy an aperitif with a spectacular view just a few steps away: at Eden Hotel "starred" cocktails and cicchetti will also be waiting for you.

If you prefer to spend your time at open air, here are three suggestions: a picnic among the plants and flowers of the Trastevere Botanical Garden prepared by Yam, one walk to Villa Borghese where the contemporary art review is back Back to Nature, or one trip out of town to Tivoli to visit Villa d'Este.

Lazio is still in the yellow zone but the curfew - at national level - has been moved to midnight.

And so restaurants, bars, museums and concert halls were finally able to reopen (with the necessary precautions - distance from other people of at least one meter, mask and sanitization obligation).

We are happy to be able to contribute with our proposals towards a return to normalcy that we had missed so much.

What to do in Rome on the weekend of 12 and 13 June

Damien Hirst at the Borghese Gallery

Over eighty works of contemporary art alongside masterpieces by Bernini, Canova, Caravaggio, Tiziano.

AND Archeology Now, the highly anticipated exhibition by Damien Hirst - curated by Anna Coliva and Mario Codognato - at the Borghese Gallery until 7 November.

In the rooms that house masterpieces of classical sculpture and Renaissance paintings, the impact with the Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable series (monumental and small-sized sculptures in bronze, Carrara marble, malachite, coral, stones) and some paintings from the cycle Color Space by the British artist is highly suggestive.

The colossal statuary group Hydra and Kali is not to be missed in the Secret Garden of the Birdhouse. Full ticket 15 euros, galleriaboriferi.beniculturali.it.

Aperitif on the terrace of the Hotel Eden

Aperitif at sunset overlooking the whole of Rome.

Today, finally, even external guests can enjoy this moment at the Garden Bar on the rooftop on the sixth floor of the Eden Hotel, historic 5-star hotel in the Dorchester Collection, a stone's throw from Piazza di Spagna.

Every day (from 12 to 24) you can have lunch or an aperitif at the outdoor tables or inside where the view is no less thanks to the large windows that allow you to admire the Vittoriano, San Pietro, Villa Medici and the gardens of the Villa Bourgeois.

Craft cocktails prepared by Head Barman Mirko Simonazzi will be waiting for you such as "Memories of Rome" (Ketel One, raspberries, pineapple, Veuve Clicquot rosé) or "Vespa Special" (Beefeater 24, Sorrento lemons, acacia honey, ginger, drop di Lagavulin 16), real tributes to the Eternal City.

To accompany the drinks, a selection of cicchetti signed by Executive Chef Fabio Ciervo (1 Michelin star). Via Ludovisi 49, dorchestercollection.com.

Picnic at Yam at the Botanical Garden

A surprise awaits you at the Trastevere Botanical Garden that makes a visit to this green corner in the heart of Rome even more enjoyable: the arrival of Yam.

This small hippy-style van prepares excellent baskets to eat on the lawn in the shade of monumental trees and amidst the scent of newly blossomed flowers.

Gourmet sandwiches, salads, potato chips, cookies, fruit juices are some of the proposals for adults and children that are served together with tablecloths and eco-sustainable packaging.

And with the arrival of the summer heat, you will appreciate even more a cup or a cone served right next to it - this time on an "ice cream parlor on two wheels" (a vintage Vespa) - at Verde Pistacchio. Largo Cristina of Sweden 23, yamortobotanicoroma.com.

World Press Photo Exhibition at the Slaughterhouse

Rome will host the photographic exhibition until 22 August - and for the first time at the Slaughterhouse World Press Photo Exhibition now in its 64th edition.

The exhibition, conceived by the World Press Photo Foundation of Amsterdam, promoted by ROMA Culture and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo and organized by Azienda Speciale Palaexpo in collaboration with 10b Photography, will host the over one hundred finalist photos of the prestigious photojournalism award established in 1955.

This year the competition saw the participation of more than four thousand photographers from all over the world and triumph was the shot of the Danish Mads Nissen "The First Embrace" which portrays the embrace between an elderly woman, Luzia Lunardi, and the nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza in a San Paolo nursing home in Brazil.

Full ticket 8 euro, mattatoioroma.it.

Visit to the municipal rose garden

Until Sunday (from 8.30 to 19.30) you can visit the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome on the slopes of the Aventine where you can admire over a thousand species from all over the world.

Among the most curious are the Chinensis Virdiflora, with green petals and the Chinensis Mutabilis which changes color with the passing of the days.

Every year, in May, the Rose Garden also hosts the Rome Prize International Competition reserved for the most beautiful new varieties of roses.

The event opens the international season of events dedicated to the cultivation of this flower and is an event of great importance in the botanical field.

Free admission, Via di Valle Murcia 6.

Back to Nature in Villa Borghese

After the success of last autumn, the contemporary art exhibition project is back Back to Nature at the Parco dei Daini in Villa Borghese (until 25 July) with new works as a warning of a different relationship to be built with nature.

On display a series of outdoor installations designed by internationally renowned artists such as Loris Cecchini, Leandro Erlich, Giuseppe Gallo, Marzia Migliora, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Pietro Ruffo, Tomás Saraceno, Marinella Senatore and the collective Accademia di Aracne.

It is advisable to visit after sunset as the works will be illuminated every evening until 10.30pm.

Free admission, Villa Borghese.

Concerts at the Casa del Jazz

It will be a summer of live music at the House of Jazz in the park of Villa Osio.

Organized by the Musica per Roma Foundation, the concerts of the "Si Can Do" review (scheduled until September 26) will feature great names in Italian jazz such as Dino Piana, Enrico Rava, Danilo Rea, Enrico Pieranunzi, Stefano Di Battista, Roberto Gatto, Chiara Civello, Rita Marcotulli, Maria Pia De Vito, Gianluigi Trovesi as well as some foreign names (including Sarah Jane Morris).

At 9pm this Saturday the show by Gianluca Petrella / Pasquale Mirra + Nicola Conte dj set and on Sunday that of Michael League and Bill Laurance duo.

Viale di Porta Ardeatina 55, casadeljazz.com.

Exhibition on Alberto Sordi

The exhibition is back Alberto Sordi 1920 - 2020 inaugurated last September and suspended due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19.

Due to great demand, the doors of the villa of the Roman actor in Piazzale Numa Pompilio are reopened with a view of the Baths of Caracalla.

His beloved house a step away from the Appia Antica - open to the public for the first time - still presents the interiors as left by the owner as well as preserving unpublished documents, objects, clothes, photographs, videos and curiosities.

The exhibition can be visited every day with reservations required on weekends and holidays.

In addition, on June 15, the actor's birthday, a major event will also be organized for the inauguration of the Alberto Sordi archive curated by the Alberto Sordi Museum Foundation.

Full ticket 12 euros, Fondazionemuseoalbertosordi.org.

Visit to Villa d’Este in Tivoli

Unesco World Heritage Site, the most beautiful "Italian-style" garden in Europe, a jewel of the Italian Renaissance.

Villa d’Este in Tivoli is truly an unmissable stop on the outskirts of Rome and reopens to the public in all its splendor from Monday to Sunday (Saturdays and holidays reservations required).

Known throughout the world for its fountains and evocative water features, it is the work of the architect Pirro Logorio - commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este - who, around the middle of the sixteenth century, began the works that lasted about twenty years.

Full ticket 8 euros, villadestetivoli.info.