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Lazio opens up 80 historic Italian homes to visitors

This long weekend, take an exceptional opportunity to explore scores of historic villas and palazzos within a day trip from Rome.

Published: 24 April 2019 18:28 CEST

Lazio opens up 80 historic Italian homes to visitors

Castello Ruspoli in Vignanello, one of 80 stately homes opening specially this weekend. Photo: Mtl1969/Wikimedia Commons

For four days from April 25th to 28th, the region of Lazio that includes the capital is throwing open the doors to 80 stately homes, most of them usually off-limits to the public and all of them free to enter for one weekend only.

READ ALSO: Ten must-see places within easy reach of Rome

Visitors can get a glimpse inside 29 properties in and around Rome, including the Collegio Innocenziano, part of the powerful Pamphilj family's complex overlooking Piazza Navona, the grand Ruspoli Palace in Cerveteri, currently occupied by two of the dynasty's princesses, the Borghese family's castle by the coast in Pratica di Mare, or a modernist villa in Santa Marinella designed by architect Luigi Moretti in the 1950s.

The Borghese Castle in Pratica di Mare. Photo: Castello Borghese di Pratica di Mare

There are another 16 sites to visit in the next-door province of Viterbo, 13 in Latina, nine in Frosinone and six in Rieti.

Highlights include the hidden “ghost town” of Monterano, made up of ruins from Roman times to the Renaissance, the fairytale woods of Sasseto, and the imposing hilltop fortress of Rocca Sinibalda.

Atmospheric ruins in Monteferano. Photo: edimur/Depositphotos

Special tours, concerts and tastings will also be taking place at many of the sites throughout the weekend. Entry to all sites is free, but in limited numbers. Visits must be reserved in advance by phone or email (full details here).

The event, which the region hopes to make an annual occurrence, is designed to showcase Lazio's hidden treasures.

Many visitors stick to Rome and overlook the rest of the region, which boasts beautiful beaches, peaceful lakes, historic palaces and even natural hot springs where more adventurous travellers can escape the crowds.

READ ALSO: 14 reasons why Lazio should be your next Italian holiday destination

Bagnoregio. Photo: Galindr/Depositphotos

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German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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