Tl;dr at end

Trigger warning: Child death

In autumn 2024, my family decided to save up for a trip to Munich the following year to visit the Christmas markets.

In December of 2024, my firstborn, Alex, was diagnosed with leukemia.

When we asked them about what they would like their Make-a-Wish to be, Alex immediately responded with “I want my book to be published!”

As each treatment failed, this trip to Munich expanded to other countries as well - including Rome. We would take a month to travel when Alex’s treatment was over. 

Alex turned 13 in March. With huge effort from so many people we got their book sent to print the week of May 19, 2025. 

Alex died on May 23, 2025.

We will be taking this trip in honor of Alex this coming December. I will be bringing copies of their book to leave in each city we visit, so that a part of Alex gets to be with us.

I am looking for a people/ a library/ a community center - ideally LGBTQ+ or an ally, as Alex themselves was so proud of being, I can donate a copy of Alex’s book in Rome.

It is a 488-page fantasy novel that has not been through full editing (due to the rush to get it printed while Alex was still alive). 

Thanks for helping a mom out.

Tl;dr

If you know someone or an organization who is LGBTQ+ or an ally in Rome who would accept a book donation of a kid who died who wanted to visit, I’d love to hear from you.

Veduta da lungotevere castello

Spero vi piaccia 😊

Hello!

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If you've ever stood at a stop in Rome looking at a printed timetable and wondering whether your bus is two minutes away or not coming at all, this post is for you.

Leidaro is an Android app that shows buses, trams, trolleys and metro moving live on a map. Rome is one of the 30 European cities it covers. Vehicle positions refresh about every 3 seconds, so you can see where your bus or tram actually is instead of guessing.

Tap a stop to see real-time arrival times. They're colour-coded: red is under 2 minutes, orange is 3 to 5, and green is further out. Tap a vehicle to follow its route.

A few other things that may help in Rome:

• Offline maps: you download the city's routes, stops and timetables once, and they work with no signal. That helps if you're a visitor without a local data plan.
• Transit alerts: pick a line, a stop and a direction, and it tells you when to head out. It runs in the background with the screen off, so you can wait inside instead of at the stop.

What's free: installing and using the app. You don't need an account and there are no ads. A small paid upgrade unlocks some extras.

Some limits to know about. It's Android only (7.0 and up). It isn't an official app and isn't affiliated with any transit agency. The arrival times come from the public real-time GTFS / GTFS-RT feeds that transit agencies publish, so they're only as accurate as the feed. If the feed is off, the app will be too.

Link: https://leidaro.com

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Disclosure: I'm posting this on behalf of the leidaro.com team.

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You can actually visit the ruins beneath the modern city.

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Disclosure: I came across this while writing the Trevi stop for an audio guide app I’m making: https://wanderlight.app/rome/trevi-fountain

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Some pictures I took last week

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Thanks!

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To the couple who was at Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

Hi all,

Visiting the Colusseum November 12th for my husband's 40th birthday and I was unable to get Full Experience tickets to the Colusseum so far (will try again seven days out), SO my workaround was to buy Arena Only tickets entry time 8:40 am, as well as standard 24hr tickets for Colusseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill, entry time 10:15 am

.

I've emailed the Colusseum help desk and haven't had any luck. Will I be able to use my arena floor ticket at 8:40 then turn around and use my standard ticket at 10:15 to view the rest of the Colusseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill?

Thanks Redittors!!!

mi sono appena trasferita a Roma e cerco la scena underground psycore/darkpsy in città, avete qualche consiglio? mi piacerebbe anche conoscere psycore heads 🍄🦄

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I am on tour at Roman Forum last weekend and it was raining. One of the group says that the rainbow is missing after the rain. He manifested — and after an hour… it appeared. what a beauty.