Last year, discount airlines brought more than four million tourists to Rome. And if Ryanair gets its way, those numbers will only go up. The Globe's Eric Reguly reports on the eternal crowds in the Eternal City - and makes a case for an Italian idyll in February



ROME -- Ann Gillespie could be the poster girl for Ryanair.

The 51-year-old and her husband live in Ireland and are on their first trip to Rome. We are talking in front of the Trevi Fountain and Ann is thrilled by the city's beauty. "I always wanted to go to Rome, but it was always too expensive to get there," she says.



Then along came Ryanair. I ask Ann how much it cost to travel from Dublin: "A penny each way, 41 euros and 96 cents including tax."

The price is equivalent to $68, which could explain why Ann now checks almost daily for Ryanair specials. Earlier this month, for example, one million flights to various European destinations were on sale for €5 a pop.

But these ultracheap flights do come at a cost, especially in cities such as Rome: Eternal tourism is turning the Eternal City into an eternal ordeal.



That's because Ryanair and its main competitor, easyJet, don't just take passengers away from competing airlines. Studies suggest that 60 per cent of their passengers would not have travelled at all, at least not by air, had the cheapie carriers not existed.

The numbers are staggering. In its past fiscal year, Ryanair alone carried 51 million passengers to European destinations - four million just to Rome. In 2009, the airline expects to ferry 58 million travellers, with a double-digit growth in flights to Rome.

Some days, it feels as though all those travellers are here at once. In the summer, the Trevi Fountain is a human traffic jam. And while the crowds dwindle in winter, there's no real "off season" any more.



The day I talk to Ann Gillespie, for instance, is a Tuesday in March. It's not a holiday. It isn't even warm. Yet the piazza by the fountain is already filling up by 10 a.m. Two stands selling replicas of Michelangelo's statues are open. An hour later, a rather crusty Roman centurion is posing for photos.

Which raises the question: Where is the real Rome? And how can you see it amid the swarm of other tourists?

The definition of off season is a matter of some debate.

Romans would argue that it's in August, when heat of African intensity drains the city of Italians and tourists alike. But you have to have the stamina of a French Foreign Legionnaire to endure the late summer here, not least because much of the city is closed, making it a challenge to find a decent meal.



Instead, I would argue for a trip in January or February. You'll never totally avoid other travellers, but at least you'll have a fighting chance of driving the spontaneity factor up and the fatigue factor down. And winter is delightful here, with temperatures well above freezing and often in the 10-to-15-degree range.

Thanks to the Holy See's 2000 Jubilee - when B&Bs and three-star hotels sprung up everywhere - winter travellers can snag some good hotel deals too. Room prices rose 15 to 20 per cent last year because of the crushing high-

season demand, but the extra supply means off-season rates can be reasonable. (Don't be afraid to haggle, either. It's part of the culture and the recession can only tilt the odds in your favour.)



You can also adjust your sightseeing to avoid the madding crowds - primarily by sleeping in.

Take the Capitoline Museum. In any season, one of the museum's main attractions, the statue of Romulus and Remus suckling the She Wolf, attracts throngs of tourists. But like some of the most popular museums in Rome, the Capitoline is open late. Go after 6 p.m. in the winter and you can have the place pretty much to
yourself.



Even better, the museum's vast windows open up to Piazza del Campidoglio, the square conceived by Michelangelo atop Rome's most ancient hill. The soft lighting gives the fountain and the statue of Marcus Aurelius a magical effect at night.

Another tip: In Rome, the dinner crush is from 8 to 10 p.m. Go a bit earlier or later and you'll have much more choice. If you avoid restaurants with signs such as "English spoken here" or "Tourist Menu," you might even eat a fantastic meal with real Romans, instead of a bus tour from Ohio, at the next table.

VERA ROMA

Remember, too, that this city is full of wonders besides the Pantheon and the Forum.

Go to Ostia Antica, Rome's ancient seaport, for a Pompeii-like experience half an hour from the city. The Protestant Cemetery, where Keats and Shelley are buried, and the historic churches and parks on top of the Aventine hill are rarely crowded.

Or there's the old neighbourhood of Monti, with its narrow, hilly streets and funky Roman shops and bars. It's off the beaten track even though it's smack in the historic centre of the city, not far from the Colosseum.



But it's Trastevere, the lively medieval area on the west side of the Tiber River and south of the Vatican, that undergoes the most radical change in high and low seasons.

In the high season, Trastevere's Venice-like maze of alleys is absolutely packed with tourists, shoppers, boozers and beggars. Even after midnight, the mass of humanity can make the bar-lined streets of Via del Moro and Via della Scala virtually impassable.
Broken beer bottles and garbage litter the streets.



I guess it's fun if you're a 19-year-old looking for a cheap alcoholic buzz. For the rest of us, it can be too much. Which is a pity, because Trastevere, like Le Marais in Paris, is a must-see neighbourhood that mixes historical intrigue and architectural beauty with an endless array of restaurants, shops and tucked-away galleries.

Thus, the off season, when Trastevere is a treat. The crowds are not gone, but are far thinner. It's actually possible to get a meal without lining up for an hour. You can find a seat by the fountain in Piazza Santa Maria, the area's focal point, to enjoy a gelato.

You also won't want to miss the Orto Botanico, one of Europe's finest small botanical gardens. It's tucked behind a grand palace called the Palazzo Corsini and is full of unusual plants and elegantly decayed fountains, ponds and marble staircases. Climb to the garden hill and you'll get a magnificent view of Rome.

That is, if the city doesn't crack down on tourism first.



'WE'RE NOT MOVING'

Thanks to the rise of Ryanair and its rivals, Rome isn't the only Italian city struggling with tourist overload in every season. And some of these cities are fighting back.

Venice proposed a toll this year on visitors to stem the surge of budget travellers. Tuscany's cultural chief has suggested moving Michelangelo's David to a suburban location to relieve some of the pressure on Florence's historic core.

In Rome's case, overwhelmed tourism officials are trying to discourage discount travellers from touching down in the city at all. Complaints about noise and congestion have persuaded Italy's Civil Aviation Authority to exile Ryanair and its kind to a regional airport near Viterbo.

The airlines are protesting against the move because Viterbo is 70 kilometres from Rome and lacks the train capacity to move the tourist armies into the city. "We're not moving," Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has said again and again.



(He has always argued that the Viterbo proposal is a cynical attempt to protect money-losing Alitalia from low-fare competition. Alitalia became insolvent in the autumn and is to emerge under new ownership any day.)

And he could be right. Change is slow in Italy. Ryanair, easyJet and the other cheapie airlines may not switch airports for two or three years, if at all. As the economic slowdown takes hold, Rome's hotels and restaurants will also welcome any tourists they can get.

Ryanair has another advantage. It is one of few European airlines to drop average fares and keep airplanes full while expanding its fleet. Most airlines are reducing capacity so they can keep fares intact, or from rising.

Extremely low fares -

surprise! - have a habit of

attracting customers. That means the discount carriers' airborne armadas will deliver an endless stream of tourists to Rome, recession or not.

For visitors who like a bit of elbow room, the best strategy is to hit the city in the off-off-season - and pray for an airport strike once you're here.



Pack your bags

GETTING THERE

Ryanair (http://www.ryanair.com) does not fly from Canada. However, it does leave from major hubs such as London - in some cases, for free. For example, the sample price of a round-trip ticket from London's Stansted Airport to Rome on Jan. 10 is $0. Still, you will pay $85 in taxes and base fees. Other fees may also apply. Should you arrive in London by way of Heathrow, an airport shuttle to Stansted costs about $50 return (http://www.londontoolkit.com).

WHERE TO STAY

IL COVO Via del Boschetto 91; 39 (06) 481 5871; http://www.bbilcovo.it. This B&B in Monti has double rooms from $115 a night.

HOTEL SANTA MARIA Vicolo del Piede 2; 39 (06) 589 4626; http://www.htlsantamaria.com. In high season, double rooms in this Trastevere hotel start at $280. However, January and February deals can be negotiated.

THINGS TO DO

CAPITOLINE MUSEUM Piazza del Campidoglio 1; en.museicapitolini.org. Open until 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays. Tickets are $10.

ORTO BOTANICO Largo Cristina di Svetzia 24, Trastavere; 39 (06) 4991 7107.

MORE INFORMATION

http://www.romaturismo.it.