If you are spending Halloween in Rome, here are a few ideas to add a little creepiness to your stay in the eternal city.
DO THEY CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN IN ROME?
Yes and no.
There are decorations almost everywhere and a few themed parties.
Treat-or-trick happens in some neighbors. Usually, when
an enthusiastic mom organizes a walk around the area, pre-alerting people and praying they have some candies at hand…
Young people dress up and stroll around the city; that’s it.
But what Rome is really great at is spooky places to visit for grown-ups and lovers of the creepy…
Halloween in Rome
Have a walk through little-known Coppedè, a residential, upper-class neighborhood. A Liberty & Art Decò (very gothic) group of buildings.
Go at sunset or by night; it’s magical and quite creepy. Many horror movies from the past were set here.
Mystic animals stare at you with minacious eyes.
Gino Coppedè, the architect behind this 20th-century piece of art, was a very eclectic figure and filled the forty cottages and buildings with esoteric/masonic symbols.
If you really want to feel chills down your spine, visit Santa Maria Della Concezione Dei Cappuccini in Via Veneto. Not the church, but the Ossuary under it.
A crypt made of five chapels decorated with… bones! Real bones, phalanges, tibias, femurs, skulls…
Since 1631, the over four thousand remains of Capuchin friars (and poor people) that lived and died in the annexed convent were used to ornate it.
Expect skeletons, bone lamps, hourglasses, clocks, and scales, and a dead child holding a scythe (as if the rest wasn’t enough).
I dare you to go at sunset when the dim light of lanterns makes it even spookier.
The sign at the entrance says (“What you are now we were, what we are you will be “), we must be aware of our mortality to live at our best…
Go to Galleria Borghese in villa Borghese – book tickets in advance – to see the eerie masterpieces of Caravaggio. As for the previously mentioned experiences, I’d opt for the late afternoon.
There are a few more spots I will visit soon, so save the page for future updates!
Enjoy your Halloween in Rome!
Claudia