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Italian convents offer reasonable alternatives to hotels
By ALESSANDRA GALLONI
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROME -- Il Rosario convent repainted 40 bedrooms, trimmed the palms on the rooftop garden and bought a state-of-the-art cappuccino machine.
Now the convent, around the corner from the Colosseum, doubles as a bed-and-breakfast.
Davide Filippi, from Vercelli in Northern Italy, and his travel companion paid about $32 each per night for a room with twin beds.
"Hotels, not even close to Rome, wanted to charge us at least $60 (each) per night," he said.
Il Rosario is one of scores of religious homes gearing up to meet Rome's lodging needs for 2000 -- when close to 20 million tourists are expected to be drawn to the city by millennium celebrations and the Holy Year declared by Pope John Paul II.
The Italian government, concerned about a shortage of hotel rooms, has made it easier for convents and monasteries to house travelers. Low-cost mortgages and home-improvement loans are available to religious institutions that offer lodging, said Massimo Serafini.
Serafini is director of Italy's Center for Religious and Cultural Tourism, a private agency that helps convents and monasteries throughout Italy to get into the tourist business.
Welcoming guests isn't new. In the late 1970s and early 1980s convents often rented extra rooms to young Italian women studying at Rome's universities. Parents liked the idea of nuns' supervision and evening curfews. But times have changed, and many students now have their own apartments.
Some religious institutions still use their space for more traditional purposes -- putting up members of their congregations making pilgrimages to Rome, housing seminarians, or serving as Catholic schools. But Italy's low birth rate has led to the closing of some convent schools.
The bed-and-breakfast business is mutually beneficial. Tourists have lodging that is clean, safe and inexpensive, and the order has extra cash to pay the bills.
"We expect to be fully booked all year in 2000," Sister Antonia Legnetto of San Francesco convent said. The convent doubles as a 16-room bed-and-breakfast just outside the Vatican walls.
"People feel taken care of here," Sister Legnetto said. "For us it's not a hotel, it's ministry."
Sister Adelaide Pianta of Il Rosario said the income from renting rooms "helps us run our home, take care of our older nuns and contribute to our congregations."
Most overnight visitors learn of the bed-and-breakfasts from other travelers who spread the word about reasonably priced, clean lodging, Serafini said. Guests generally are families, young couples and single travelers who sometimes hear about convents and monasteries through local parishes -- although one needn't be Catholic to spend the night.
Prices range from about $24 to $48 for a single room, often with a private bath. In Rome, it's hard to find a single with private bath in a reputable hotel for less than $72, and most rooms are a lot more. And it's harder to get something much cheaper than convent prices anywhere. There are few youth hostels in Rome.
There are drawbacks. Most religious institutions have curfews and few have televisions and double beds. But they offer a lot of hospitality.
"They helped us with maps, buses, tours. ... You don't get that in hotels," said Rieky Moore, an Australian whose family stayed at the San Francesco convent. "We also knew it would be safe for the children."
A sampling of convents and monasteries around Rome that offer tourist lodging:
Il Rosario convent -- Near the Colosseum, it has 40 single and double rooms, some with private baths, for about $32 per person per night. A nun knocks on your bedroom door for a wake-up call, and breakfast is in a cafeteria-style dining hall. You may hand-wash laundry and hang it to dry on the rooftop terrace. Address: Via Sant'Agata dei Goti 10. Telephone/fax: (39-6) 679-2346.
San Francesco convent -- Run by a Franciscan order headquartered in Syracuse, N.Y., it offers 16 single and double rooms with shared baths, about $30 per person per night. There is no curfew. A rooftop terrace with garden tables and chairs looks over the Vatican walls onto the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Address: Via Niccolo V 35. Telephone/fax: (39-6) 393-665-31.
Our Lady of Atonement convent -- A 10-minute walk from St. Peter's Basilica, it has 25 double rooms and breakfast, for about $27 per person. Lunch and dinner, optional, are another $9 for each meal. Address: Via Monte del Gallo 105. Telephone: (39-6) 630-782; fax: (39-6) 638-6149.
Santa Francesca Romana convent -- In Rome's lively Trastevere district, it offers rooms with private baths for about $47 for a single and $68 for a double. Rooms with shared baths are less. Address: Via dei Vascellari 61. Telephone/fax: (39-6) 583-5797.
Casa Dell'Emmanuel -- Near Rome's Termini train station, it is about $23.50, including breakfast and lunch, for a double room. Toilets are in the hall, and showers are all on the first floor. Address: Via Mecenate 37. Telephone: (39-6) 486-880; fax: (39-6) 487-2744.
The Madonna Del Divino Amore convent -- Part of a popular shrine on Rome's southern outskirts, it is a 30-minute bus ride from central Rome. It is built around an 18th-century church and can house up to 180 guests. A single room with private bath is about $53, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. A single without meals, $41. There are two chapels, a conference hall, a soccer field, restaurant and parking. Address: Via Ardeatina 12. Telephone/fax: (39-6) 713-533-90.
More information on lodgings in convents and monasteries in Rome and throughout Italy is available through: CITS, Viale del Monte Oppio, 30 00184 Roma. Telephone: (39-6) 487-3145 or (39-6) 474-4090; fax: (39-6) 474-4432.
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