Disneyland Paris Meets Rome?
Travel Blog • Valerie Conners • 08.15.08 | 4:13 PM ET
If getting getting scammed out of five euros for a photo with a faux gladiator outside Rome’s Coliseum is your cup of tea, hold onto your chariots: Roman officials have announced plans to build an ancient Rome-themed family amusement park. “You would relive scenes from the Colosseum, from ancient Rome, gladiators or maybe Julius Caesar or other things,” a city official told Reuters.
The proposed theme park would encompass some 1,200 acres (putting that wee Ancient Roman Forum to shame, I’d assume), and according to officials, be modeled after that other giddy bastion of fun, Disneyland Paris.
While horror among the locals must be palpable (“I say no to Americanization,” a member of the Lazio council told Corriere della Sera.), I wonder if there’s a silver lining?
Oh, I know: With the shiny distraction of a theme park, long lines and crowds may be a thing of the past for visitors to the Vatican Museum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona—Rome’s actual, amazing historic attractions.
Related on World Hum:
* Rome Bans Snacking Near Historical Attractions
* History Buff Aims to Bring Chariot Racing Back to Rome
Photo by DanieVDM via Flickr (Creative Commons)
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Valerie Conners is the senior producer and editor at World Hum.
Marilyn Terrell 08.16.08 | 1:48 PM ET
The Onion reports this week from Beijing that a U.S. charioteer broke a 2,500-yeear-old record set by Perseus:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/u_s_charioteer_breaks_2_500
Love 2 See New Things 09.05.08 | 3:49 PM ET
Can someone tell me why opening a theme park is considered “Americanization?”
And yes, there are some positives in this type of “Americanization.” First and foremost, maybe some locals would love to have a Six Flags or a Coney Island in travelling distance. Second, it might be the perfect tool to aid in teaching children about those times.