Roman Toilets and Profiterole Ice Cream (Shopping in Rome)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Shopping in Rome
Date:	09/05/03 (236 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I get to draw you pictures

Disadvantages: I failed Art at school

Though I don’t usually travel abroad just with the intention of shopping (NYC being the exception here) it’s something I like to fit in if I can. I’d never done “proper” (i.e. non-souvenirs) shopping in Italy despite visits to Milan, Verona, Pisa and Florence among other, so when we went to Rome, and when I found out that due to Ryanair flight timings, we’d have an extra half day left over, I penciled in a trip here: Rome’s premier Shopping centre.


Centro Commerciale Cinecitta Due
Viale Palmiro Togliatti 2

Tel: 06 72 20910

The centre can be reached by many busses, or by the underground to Cinecitta, a stop on line A. The name itself means something along the lines of Cine-city, and is also the stop you need if you’re after the film studios. These are, however, a lot more visible from the metro station than the shops. We walked and walked and walked following (we thought) the signs to the place, and after a while realized we were almost exactly back where we had started from. Here’s a tip for you if you go – exit the metro and turn left. Not right. Never turn right. We were confused by a sign that looked a little like this:



------------ x ß
| ( ****************** )
| ( ****************** )
-------------> Centro Commerciale

We were standing at X and since there was a building plot to our left (point *) we took this to mean we should walk round it, and would find the centre. The sign lied though – the shops were in fact to be found about 10 m behind where we were standing, at point ß. You have been warned. Pisa bus routes are silly, and Rome signs lie.

Anyway, we finally made it and the modern, glass building looked kinda funky, so it seemed like it had been worth it. I’d been on the website before I flew out, and new it would have more than 100 shops and eateries waiting for me inside.
First things first, though, I needed the loo. Desperately. I’d been thinking about it since on the metro so you can image in the state I was in after our good healthy 20 minute walk. We found them on the centre locator map, and headed up before going in any shops, meaning they were my first real impression of the place. They were truly disgusting. Foul. Manky. Gross. Any of those. All of those. The doors didn’t lock, the cubicles were flooded, all the toilet paper was sitting on the floor, and so wet, and people have obviously been eating in there in the not to distant past as there were crumbs and remnants scatted about the place. There were also only 2 loos, and, with a queue of maybe 8 or 9 people, this wasn’t enough. They were not the type of loos I was expecting to find in a modern shopping centre in a civilized country.

Loo trip over, we set off, not as eagerly as before, to have a look at the shops. It’s not that big a shopping centre, but it seemed to have everything you could need:

• a large, well stocked department store (Coin) selling, among other things, gorgeous black lace lingerie that *had* to be bought.

• a large, well stocked supermarket (GS), a perfect place to buy the presents people had requested – parmesan, wine, chocolate and so on. It was cheap and cheerful, and reminded me of Tesco back home.

• sports shops, book shops, clothes shops, music shops, bag and luggage shops, flower shops, art shops, camera shops, electronics shops, toy shops, gift shops. You could buy almost anything you wanted in this place.

• various “services” – hairdressers, watch repairers, a bank, key cutters, shoe menders, 1 hr film developers that sort of thing. I got my film developed while we were there and though not as cheap as the place opposite the cathedral in Florence, it was much better value than the 3 day places here.

• a handful
of bars (coffee and alcoholic) and a good selection of places to eat ranging from McDonalds to cafeterias to sit down restaurants offering various types of cuisine. They also had stands selling sweet and not so sweet goods – croissants, frozen yogurt, pizza. My favourite was the Gelateria della Palma, the ice cream stall on the first floor. They had lots of less-common flavours including Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Egg and Profiterole.


The centre itself was a very pleasant place, and remarkably clean. We went to the other toilets just before leaving, and these were much better in terms of cleanliness and waiting-time, but I still remember the others, and writing this op almost 3 months after our visit, they’re still the one thing that sticks in my mind.

If you’re in Rome and need or want to do some shopping, this is a good choice. All the stores are together in one place for you, it’s quieter than the busy centre and the majority of places are reasonably priced. If there’s something particular you want to buy, you’ve a much better chance here than in the city centre, although if you can’t spare the time, the streets near the Vatican have some of the same shops.

The centre is open from 9.30am until 8pm during the week, and until 8.30pm on Saturdays. During the summer (June to October) it also opens on Sundays. The centre is on 2 floors served by lifts, escalators and stairs, and the majority of shops can be accessed by wheelchair users. More info at www.cinecittadue.com/cinecittaing/index.htm

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