Winter is the best time to capture some magic,

when the colors are more vivid and the low-flying

sun turns Rome into a huge Baroque stage set.

The sky has a shade of blue you will not see

anywhere else. During these days one can

experience the wonders of Rome without the

crowd.

During Christmas, children enjoy the Christmas market

at Piazza Navona with all the tacky plastic

toys, games and sticky sweets on sale. In New

Year’s Eve, parents enjoy a free concert by

Claudio Baglioni near the Colosseum.

Monumental presepi (crèches / nativity scene)

appear in churches, in St Peter's Square and the

Spanish Steps.

New Year's Eve in Rome means extravagant

fireworks vibrant with glee seen from the

windows and balconies. It is best to be on a

rooftop with a vantage point or be on the hill at

Gianicolo with a panoramic view of the city, to witness the entire city sparkle aglow during

midnight fireworks.

If weather permits, it is in January and February that Rome is at its best. Late February in

particular can be enchanting. One sometimes forgets what a difference that extra hour of

daylight makes compared with mid-December; and there are almost always a few days of

proper sunshine, when you can picnic in Villa Borghese or head out to Ostia Antica, the

fascinating Imperial port site that is Rome's Pompeii.

This is also a good time of year to find accommodation bargains. Even during Carnevale, which

is strictly for the children in Rome – there's no sharp rise in the low-season rate. With flights

also priced at annual lows, it's as if there is a conspiracy to get you over to Rome when Rome is

at its crisp and crystalline best.

A few suggestions apart from the usual

itineraries are:

The world's first public museum – the

Musei Capitolini on Capitol Hill – opens

its extraordinary area for the equestrian

statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, one of

the few and most precious existing in the

world. It also houses such masterpieces as

sculptures, frescoes, mosaic and bronzes.

Another good tip is to go underground:

San Clemente Church has 3 levels and

2,000 years of history; the Roman Houses

under Saints John and Paul; and the crypt

under St Francesca are only few ideas.

But easily the most exclusive winter

cultural event in the Eternal City is the

one-off opening of Palazzo Farnese

between December 17 and April 10.

www.mostrapalazzofarnese.it

Currently home to the French embassy which normally only open to groups booked months in

advance, this magnificent Renaissance palazzo designed in part by Michelangelo, is celebrating

its half-millennium, with a display of 150 artworks and artefacts that chart the building's history

from its early years as home to the art-collecting Farnese dynasty to the present day.

One does not normally travel to Rome expecting to be delighted by contemporary art.

However, the opening of MAXXI was a grand event. Grandissimo! It is Italy's first national

museum of "contemporary creativity" with galleries showcasing modern art and architecture;

signed by an Iraqi-born architect based in London, Zaha Haddid.

There are also those must have Christmas dulce such as: panforte, pan d’oro, panettone,

castagnaccio or simply cioccolata calda (hot chocolate).