Aart Heering
A press conference with real Roman legionnaires, that had never been shown before at the foreign press association in Rome. With these original, albeit somewhat kitschy, appearances, the presentation of Roma World, a holiday and amusement park with the theme of ancient Rome, was graced last week.
At Roma World, which opens March 24, “tourists will experience the ancient Rome they know from decades of Roman Empire movies and stories, such as Ben Hur and the Gladiator. In Rome you see Rome, in Roma World you experience Rome', the accompanying press release exulted.
Efteling of Antiquity
Now you may wonder to what extent Ben Hur and Russell Crowe are representative of the ancient world, but let's not get carried away with that. The purpose of the historical theme park is primarily to provide entertainment for the whole family.
Not only for the children, who in Rome are often dragged against their will for hours past monuments and museums, but also for their parents, who sometimes get tired of the whining.
This makes Roma World a kind of Efteling of Antiquity and the accompanying documentation also mentions the Dutch amusement park as a model. (They could also have mentioned Archeon in Alphen aan de Rijn, but that is less grand in scope.)
Castrum
The park is set up like a castrum, a village of Roman legionaries, surrounded by a 'magic forest' of holm oaks.
Visitors can wander the streets and shop at the antique market. They can enjoy the same food and drink in the Taberna as the ancient Romans. (As the only concession, coffee is also served, because during the preparations it turned out that for many Italian visitors to give up their daily espresso is going too far.)
In the Arena you can not only see gladiators at work, but you can also be trained as a gladiator for a day. Further attractions include a petting zoo, pony or camel rides, archery, chariot races, a falconry show and a botanical tour through the Mediterranean vegetation.
Finally, you can also spend the night in the tent camp of the legionnaires. That will be a Spartan night, but soldier's life in those days was hard.
Grand future plans
Roma World is now still a trailer of the already existing amusement park Cinecittà World, but that will soon come to an end. At least according to Stefano Cigarini, the CEO of Cinecittà World, who has big plans. Rome on Fire is on the program for the summer of 2025, a historic show in which the great fire that destroyed Rome in the year 64 is spectacularly repeated.
In the Jubilee Year 2025, when extra tourists are expected, the entire ancient center of Rome must be recreated, and then it will be the turn of the provinces of the Empire, with Egyptian pyramids, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, villages of Gauls and Vikings and the narrow lanes of ancient Jerusalem.
Roma World must thereby grow from the current 6 to 70 hectares, an ambitious undertaking involving some 80-100 million euros. But it's not that far yet. For now we have to make do with a military outpost, which in itself is also good for a day out.
Directions
One problem is accessibility. Roma World and Cinecittà World are located on Via Pontina, about 20 kilometers south of Rome next to the immense Designer Outlet of Castel Romano.
This is quite doable for motorists: there is a car park with about 5.000 spaces. But many tourists do not use the car in Rome. They rely on public transport and there is no train to Castel Romano.
But there are shuttle buses from the central station – of course with a price tag – and you can use one of the three car sharing companies in Rome. See practical information below.
Roma World – entry, prices and transport
The entrance to Roma World costs € 15 pp; with meal €29; plus overnight stay € 49.
You can buy tickets from the end of March 2023 via Tiqets.com, among others.
A shuttle bus departs from Stazione Termini (Viale Luigi Einaudi) to Cinecittà World at 10.00:18.00 AM. The same bus stops half an hour later at the EUR Palasport stop of the Metro B and takes an hour in total. Back at 7pm. Cost € XNUMX one way. Buy your tickets online in advance.
The shuttle to Castel Romano Outlet departs from Stazione Termini (Via Giulitti 48) at 9.00:10.00 AM, 11.00:12.00 AM, 16.00:17.00 AM and 18.30:19.30 PM. Back at 15:10 PM, XNUMX:XNUMX PM, XNUMX:XNUMX PM and XNUMX:XNUMX PM. Return tickets cost € XNUMX, children up to XNUMX years free.
Finally, there is the possibility to travel cheaply by metro and bus (metro B to the Laurentina terminus and then the Cotral bus to Castel Romano), but you have to be lucky to manage that within an hour and a half.
The municipal Car Sharing Roma offers free parking and a € 5 discount per person on the entrance fee.
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