90TH MINUTE^
AWAY DAYS
ROME
SOCIAL
MEDIA
ROUND-UP
RONALDO WINS INSTAGRAM
Instagram
Sure, Lionel Messi may have won one more
Ballons D’or than Cristiano Ronaldo, but
in today’s world, social media followers
are king and when it comes to Instagram,
Ronaldo wears. The Portuguese superstar
just tipped over the 200m follower mark
and what better way to celebrate than by a
video montage of yourself with the opening
clip of you sat on a throne. Oh, and Messi
only has 142m.LINEKER UPROAR
Twitter
The FA Cup is the oldest club competition
in the world, but former Barcelona and
Tottenham strike Gary Lineker caused
uproar when he suggested they should
ditch replays and start the competition
earlier. It seems though that Lineker forgot
that outside of England’s top two tiers, the
FA Cup does start far earlier in the season
and for non-league clubs, it begins in
August. Understandably, many fans took to
Twitter to air their thoughts.GOING TO MIAMI
Instagram
David Beckham snapped himself on
Instagram in his new Inter Miami Stadium
just 40 days before the club makes its
debut. Years of hard work have gone into
the project and now Miami gets its MLS
team. The pink seating certainly caught
the eye too with one of the first people to
comment a certain Tom Brady.HAALAND WARNING
Facebook
Imagine being 19-years-old, you have just
landed a dream move to Borussia Dortmund
and your due to make your debut as a sub.
You’d be pretty nervous, right and hopeful
of just getting through the game without
any major mistakes. Not Erling Braut
Haaland, who netted a 23-minute hat-trick.
Seven goals in three games followed and he
issued a stark warning to his opponents –
keep scoring, keep improving.The eyes of European
football will fall on Rome
in early June, when Euro
2020 gets underway – and
will do so throughout
the tournament as Italy’s
capital hosts two more
Azzurri group stage games
and a quarter-final tie.
But for those looking for
something to do away
from football it’s a city with
plenty to offer, morning to
evening.
The history of Rome spans
over 28 centuries and the
region is bursting at the
seams with historical sites.
UNESCO’s World Heritage
Area encompasses the city
centre and the Holy See,
which houses the Vatican
and the Basilica of St Paul.
Any visitor to the city who
has an interest in history
will be spoiled for choice as
some of the most import-
ant monuments in antiquity
line the streets.
The Colosseum is probably
the most symbolic ruin in
the capital, and echoes
with the memories of the
clashing swords of glad-
iators and wild animals,
while other ancient ghosts
haunt places like the Circus
Maximus and the Forum.
Elsewhere, the public baths
of Terme di Caracella, the
Columns of Trajan and
Marcus Aurelius, the Trevi
Fountain and the Pantheon
are popular stops for any
intrepid traveller.Rome was the 11th
most-visited city in 2019
and part of the attraction
for tourists is the famous
art that peers out from
every nook and cranny in
the winding cobblestone
streets of the ancient urban
area. Take the Spanish
Steps and visit John Keats
and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s
former residence along
the way to the top where
Villa Medici awaits you. The
handiwork of Old Masters
such as Michelangelo,
Raphael, Donatello, Bernini
and Caravaggio can be
found in the many muse-
ums, churches, galleries
and Palazzi.
As is the case across Italy,
Rome boasts some of the
best food in the world,
with the most popular dish
being spaghetti carbonara,
penne all’arrabbiata or
bucatini all’amatriciana
depending on who you
ask and what bar you ask
the question in. People
from the region of Lazio
are fiercely proud of their
products, particularly
Pecorino Romano – the
hard cheese made from
ewe’s milk, and the dry
white wine known as
Frascati. The city centre
is full of bars and restau-
rants to sample some of
the local cuisine, with the
market area around Campo
dei Fiori perfect for food
lovers.Visitors to Rome will find
plenty to do at night, no
matter how they prefer to
spend the evening. From
a quiet walk with a tasty
gelato or sitting watching
the world pass by with an
espresso and a pastry in a
piazza, to drinking an Ap-
erol Spritz before heading
for a late meal or perhaps
putting on their dancing
shoes and hitting a night-
club, all is possible. The city
hosts plenty of festivals
during the summer, with
Italy’s biggest craft beer
taking place in June on the
banks of the River Tiber.
New visitors to Rome will
arrive in a densely-packed
city with a population of
just under 3m people, but
despite the hustle and
bustle, there is an oasis of
calm nearby – the natural
beauty of the Lazio region.
The city itself is surrounded
by the forested Apennine
Mountain range which is
full of nature reserves,
parks and lakes on one side
and the Tyrrhenian Sea on
the other. If the heat of the
capital gets too much in
the summer where tem-
peratures can get up into
the high 30s the beaches
at Anzio, Sperlonga, and
Fregene can offer a perfect
reprieve from the humidity
of the city.ROME’S STADIO OLIMPICO HOSTS THE OPENING GAME OF EURO 2020 ON JUNE 12
AS ITALY TAKE ON TURKEY, AND THE ETERNAL CITY HAS EVEN MORE TO OFFER
THAN THAT, CIRO DI BRITA WRITES.ABOVE:
Vatican City – an
enclave within Rome – is
a must-visitBOTTOM LEFT:
The Spanish Steps are
just one of the iconic
landmarks in RomeBOTTOM RIGHT:
(XURRIÀFLDOO\
gets underway at Stadio
Olimpico on June 12