A holiday brings blessed quiet to streets of Rome

Seattle Times Travel editor Terry Tazioli is off to Rome for a while, on his annual quest for good food, good wine, good friends and a new Italian verb form or two.

It is very, very quiet in Rome. Today — Aug. 15 — is the Ferragosto holiday, celebrating one of the holy days of the Roman Catholic Church — the feast of the Assumption, when Catholics believe the Virgin Mary, Christ's mother, was taken, body and soul, to heaven.

As far as they know, she's the only one to have been so honored. For this festa or feast day, all the rest of us who haven't been snatched skyward (and for whom the prospects are dim to nonexistent) will either run for the sea or spend a day simply doing nothing. Because there isn't much to do in Rome at Ferragosto.

Shops are closed, restaurants are shuttered tight, the streets are nearly deserted. Tourists, many unaware of this glitch in their plans, are wandering the hot streets a bit aimlessly, in search of something to look at or something to eat. And some places are closed for much of August since Romans traditionally take their weeks-long holiday this month. went out early to walk this morning and felt as if I'd been transported back centuries, to what it must have been like when various invading armies lurked just outside Rome's gates. Often, the populace hightailed it for anywhere safe and the city was literally abandoned until the threat was over or the city was sacked and burned and it was time to rebuild.

But I'll tell you one of my secrets. It's at times like this I do one of two things: I nap (which I intend to do now that I'm back from my walk), or I grab my trusty copy of Roma C'è and plot my evening adventures. RC is a weekly entertainment guide — in Italian — that you can find at nearly every magazine and newspaper stand in the city. It's also online at www.romace.it And some of it is in English, especially online.

It's my personal pal. It rides curled up in my back pocket nearly all the time. In it you can find everything from classical music to movies you really ought not to see — because the RC writers tell you so in personal recommendations.

So I checked this morning. Tonight, the holiday evening, I could head to the ancient cloister at the church of Santa Maria della Pace near the Piazza Navona for a violin and piano concert — it's one of my favorite places to hear music. Its Thousand and One Nights series in August is fantastic, so much so that it's difficult for me to spread the word because I want to make sure I can get in.

Or I could go tango at Castel San Angelo; go to dance or jazz performances down along the Tiber River; a piano recital at Teatro di Marcello; or take in any of a number of outdoor films. My personal favorite is Tiburtina, a tiny island in the Tiber in the heart of the city, which constantly has films during the summer. No offense, Fremont, but its setting really will knock your socks off.

So, if you're in Rome, grab a copy of the newsletter. It's published each Wednesday. It's an easy guide to follow; if you know a little Italian, you'll have no problems. If you don't, politely ask someone for some help.

Buon Ferragosto!