Starting from the University of Rome Foro Italico we will walk till Piazza Mancini and catch bus #2 to Piazza del Popolo.

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1 February :00-19:00, Tour of Rome Starting from the University of Rome Foro Italico we will walk till Piazza Mancini and catch bus #2 to Piazza del Popolo. From here we will visit: Church of Santa Maria del Popolo It is a notable Augustinian church. It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the Pincio park. In 1099, a chapel was built by Pope Paschal II to Our Lady, over a tomb of the Domitia family. Tradition has it that the site was haunted by Nero s ghost or demons in the form of black crows; therefore the pope chopped down the walnut tree sheltering the crows and built a church in its place. The chapel became a church by will of Pope Gregory IX, and given to the Augustinians, who still oversee the church, in the first half of 13th century. Santa Maria del Popolo was reconstructed by Baccio Pontelli and Andrea Bregno in , commissioned by the association of the Lombards of Rome, creating an excellent example of Italian Renaissance architecture. In the facade was modified by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was asked by Pope Alexander VII to update the Renaissance church to a more modern Baroque style. The church contains not only the Cerasi Chapel canvases of Caravaggio (Crucifixion of St. Peter and Conversion on the Way to Damascus) and an Assumption of the Virgin by Annibale Carracci, but also frescoes by Pinturicchio, sculptures by Andrea Bregno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Habakkuk and the Angel and Daniel and the Lion). The Chigi Chapel, the private chapel of banker Agostino Chigi, was designed by Raffaello Sanzio. The dome is decorated with Raphael's mosaics Creation of the World. Villa Borghese Villa Borghese is a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome (80 hectares) after that of the Villa Doria Pamphili.

2 The Park was originally a private vineyard, redesigned and enlarged in 1605 to grandiose proportions for pope Paul V's nephew, the Cardinal Scipione Borghese. However, it was named after the Borghese family on the condition that it boasted the most luxurious and magnificent dwelling in Rome. The art museum in the park, was originally designed not only to house the Cardinal's art collection, but also to be a "villa of delights". Various architects, including the Dutch designer Jan Van Staten, known to Italians as Vasanzio and the garden designer Jerome Rainaldi, participated in its creation. The Park was divided into three sections: the first was to be wooded, the second, more artistic, with statues, sculptures and perspectives, and the third more wild and "natural". Because the Borghese family opened this essentially private park to the public every sunday and on public holidays, Villa Borghese has always been dear to Romans. During the Nineteenth Century it became a centre for festivals and public events, often with flamboyant and colourful firework displays and water games in the fountains or on the lake. As it is a pleasant place to stroll on a fine day, it became a favourite place for leisure time, with the possibility of a spot of boating (for a small fee) or a visit to the trattoria. The famous Roman poet Gioachino Belli (whose statue, complete with top hat, stands in Trastevere) celebrated Villa Borghese in the words: «Long live the heart of Prince Borghese». Piazza di Spagna The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) are a set of steps climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the church of Trinità dei Monti. The Scalinata is the longest and widest staircase in Europe. In the Piazza at the base is the Early Baroque fountain called Fontana della Barcaccia ("Fountain of the Old Boat"), built in

3 and often credited to Pietro Bernini, father of a more famous son, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who is recently said to have collaborated on the decoration. The elder Bernini had been the Pope's architect for the Acqua Vergine, since According to an unlikely legend, Pope Urban VIII had the fountain installed after he had been impressed by a boat brought here by a flood of the Tiber river. The narrow Via Condotti, home to many of Rome's designer shops, runs up the picture. Church of S. Lorenzo in Lucina The Church of St Lawrence s at Lucina (Italian: San Lorenzo in Lucina, Latin: S. Laurentii in Lucina) is an ancient Roman Catholic parish and titular church and minor basilica in Rome, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, Roman deacon and martyr. The name Lucina comes from the Roman matron owner of the house on which the church was built. The high altar, designed by Carlo Rainaldi, is decorated with a Crucifixion by Guido Reni. Under the altar there is the gridiron on which St Lawrence was martyred. The relics were put here by Pope Paschal II, according to an inscription on the throne behind the altar. The chorus is decorated by Virgins and Saints by Placido Costanzi. The second chapel to the right, designed by Carlo Rainaldi, was decorated by Jan Miel. The fourth chapel, the Fonseca chapel, was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and features a lively bust of Gabriel Fonseca by the master sculptor. Fontana di Trevi The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi), standing 25.9 meters high and 19.8 meters wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city. The fountain at the junction of three roads (tre vie) marks the terminal point of the modern Acqua Vergine, the revivified Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km from the city. However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km. This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years. The Roman

4 custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water arrival. In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini s lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini s project was torn down for Salvi s fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished, but before he went he made sure a stubborn barber's unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans the asso di coppe, the Ace of Cups. The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini. A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. (The fountain is the setting for an iconic scene in Federico Fellini's film La dolce vita starring Marcello Mastroianni. The Trevi fountain was turned off and draped in black in honour of Mastroianni after the actor s death in 1996). Montecitorio (Chamber of Deputies) The building was originally designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the young Cardinal Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV. However, with the death of Gregory XV by 1623, work stopped, and was not restarted until the papacy of Pope Innocent XII (Antonio Pignatelli), when it was completed by the architect Carlo Fontana, who modified Bernini s plan. In 1696 the Curia apostolica (papal law courts) was installed there. With the Unification of Italy in 1861 and the transfer of the capital to Rome in 1870, Montecitorio was chosen as the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, after consideration of various possibilities. But the original palace was not ideally suited to its new role and it was rebuilt during the early 1900s leaving only the facade intact. The architect, Ernesto Basile, was an exponent of Art nouveau.

5 Pantheon The Pantheon is a building in Rome, built by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the VII century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda." Also buried there are two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto s Queen, Margherita. The Pantheon is still used as a church. Masses are celebrated there, particularly on important Catholic days of obligation, and weddings. Church of San Luigi de Francesi The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church. The church is entitled to the Virgin Mary, to St. Dionigi Areopagita and St. Louis IX, king of France. The church was designed by Giacomo della Porta and built by Domenico Fontana between 1518 and 1589: the works could be completed through the personal intervention of Catherine de Medici, who donated it some possessions in the area. It is the National Church in Rome of France. The church s most famous item is however the cycle of paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, painted by the Baroque master Caravaggio in about the life of St. Matthew. This include the three world-renowned canvases of The Calling of St Matthew, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. This church is where Martin Luther stayed when he came to Rome for his trial that was held at the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva which is on the other side of the Pantheon.

6 Piazza Navona Piazza Navona is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in first century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ( games ), and hence it was known as Circus Agonalis (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to in agone to navone and eventually to navona. Defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, the Piazza Navona is now the pride of Baroque Roman architectural and art history. It features sculptural and architectural creations: in the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi; and the Pamphilj palace also by Rainaldi and which features the gallery frescoed by Pietro da Cortona. The Piazza Navona has two additional fountains: at the southern end is La Fontana del Moro with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) to which in 1673 Bernini added a statue of a Moor, or African, by Bernini, wrestling with a dolphin, at the northern is the Fountain of Neptune. The statue of Neptune in the northern fountain, the work of Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to make that fountain more symmetrical with La Fontana del Moro in the south. At the southwest end of the piazza is the ancient speaking statue of Pasquino. Erected in 1501, Romans could leave lampoons or derogatory social commentary attached to the statue. (The piazza is featured in Dan Brown s 2000 thriller Angels and Demons, in which the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is listed as one of the Altars of Science. During June 2008, Ron Howard directed several scenes of the film adaptation of Angels and Demons on the southern section of the Piazza Navona, featuring Tom Hanks) After all, we ll catch bus #280 that leads us to the restaurant for the desired dinner!! 20:00 Dinner Pallotta Antica Trattoria P.le Ponte Milvio, Roma Tel: (0039)

7 February :00-19:00, Capranica (Viterbo, Italy) We will visit The Amphitheatre of Sutri, The Cooperativa Produttori di Nocciole (Hazelnuts) and City of Capranica The lunch will be at the Historical Centre of Capranica After lunch, the following seminar will be held at the San Francesco s Roman Church: Research issues for talent detection Periodization & training load control in futsal Daniel Berdejo del Fresno Strength & conditioning coach of England National Futsal Team and Manchester Futsal Club Growth, maturation, performance and technical skills: Implication to talent identification António J. Figueiredo, PhD Dean of Faculty of Sport Science and Physical Education (University of Coimbra, Portugal) Vice-President of "Académica de Coimbra" (Portuguese 1 st league professional club) A practical method for rhythmic training in young soccer players Fulvio Casadei Technical director of youth soccer academy "Atletico Manè (Rome, Italy)