In 2012 Italy will get a high-speed rail network

Trainspotting

2012 is shaping up to be the year of the train in Italy. First we had the announcement of the new Paris to Venice train launched on December 11 2011 by a company called Thello. The joint Italian/French venture stops off in Verona and Milan on the way and takes only 12 hours, making what was once a long hard slog over the continent as easy as pie. Trains are well-equipped, comfortable and very cheap (with ticket prices starting from only €35) making this a must-do for anyone travelling Europe in 2012.

Next there was even more exciting news. Italy is finally doing something about its lack-lustre train service with the launch of a new network of high-speed trains. Called Italo, the service will open with 12 stops stretching from north of Milan down to Padova in the south. While not extensive in its stops just yet, the train will make it possible for visitors to cover Milan, Florence and Rome in a single short trip and will make journeys south a lot easier, quicker and more comfortable. The trains have three different classes and are they well-equipped with wi-fi, personal televisions and a boutique shop that’s a much better reflection of Italian cuisine and standards than the current offering. If the (Italian only) website is anything to go by, it’s going to be a great service!

Bedding down with the locals

In 2012 visitors will go for homier beds

This one to watch isn’t just confined to Italy but covers the entire travel industry worldwide. I’m pretty confident that 2012 is going to be the year where more and more travellers find an alternative to traditional hotel accomodation. Websites like Roomarama and Air BnB made a killing in 2011 by cutting out the middle man, putting together visitors and locals with a spare room or entire apartment to rent. With lower prices and a more authentic experience to offer, as well as easy access to great advice and often some free grub, staying with a local is a bit of a no-brainer. Traditional forms of Rome accomodation aren’t known for their value, all too often they’re overpriced and cramped, plus travel experts have recently started to advise travellers worldwide that they should opt for private apartments and bed and breakfasts rather than hotels because they are safer than the latter which can be magnets for petty crime and at the the very worst of times, terrorist activity.

Exhibitions

There are a couple of great museum exhibitions taking place in Rome in 2012, some of which have already started. What we have here is just a very small selection – our highlights of the 2012 Rome museums calendar. The first is ‘Rome at the time of Carravaggio’ which is exhibiting in the Palazzo Venezia until February 2012. The exhibition focuses on all the great works that came out in the 1600s that ordinarily would have found huge support but which were missed by an art scene that couldn’t see past the great master, Carravaggio.

Michelangelo's self-portrait will be in Rome

The next exhibition worth checking out – also aready open – is the Michelangelo and Raffaello exhibition at Museo della Fondazione. If you’re a fan of the Rennaissance masters you won’t do much better than this collection which includes Michelangelo’s self-portrait on loan from the Uffizi in Florence and, excitingly, a 3D virtual reconstruction of the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche. The exhibition closes on February 12 2012.

Perhaps one of the most exciting exhibitions of 2012 (if you’re into that sort of thing) will be Tintoretto exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale. Expected to open from February to June 2012 (although exact dates have yet to be confirmed), the exhibition will focus on three areas of Tintoretto’s work – religion, mythology and portraiture. The collection will be bookmarked by two self-portraits that have been given on loan by a London museum and the Louvre in Paris.

Aurora Borealis

See the Northern Lights in Rome

Bet you weren’t expecting to see this one on a list of things to do in Rome. According to NASA the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern Lights, will be the brightest in 2012 that they have been in over 50 years – so bright in fact that they may be visible as far south as Rome! Come winter we’ll be turning off our lights and sitting by the window with a glass of wine every clear night hoping to, for once, see more than our neighbours arguing or dancing with their cats. But if you’re really serious about sneaking a peek (without having to deal with the bitter cold of the Arctic), you should get outside of the city and away from the lights to somewhere really dark. Bring a blanket and cross everything that NASA is right.

Delve Deeper into the Colosseum

It’s a wonder that there could be something new in a place as old and unchanging as the Colosseum but lo and behold, there is. In 2011 the underground level where gladiators and animals were once kept in cages and the upper third tier which offers unparalelled views of the Colosseum and beyond, were opened to the public in one case for the first time ever and in the other for the first time in many years. Unfortunately the awful flooding we got towards the end of 2011 did some damage and the Colosseum underground had to be closed for maintenance but we are hoping that it will reopen soon and are looking forward to guiding more of our small, semi-private group tours there in 2012. The Colosseum will also get permanent lighting in 2012 for the first time ever, finally ending the dark ages for this great slice of Roman history.