When in Rome..

I'm in Rome right now, leaving tomorrow night for Paris. I've been swimming for the past month and a half at Centro Sportivo Santa Maria on Via Matteo Boiardo, which is near the Lateran Palace. My report on swimming here is near the end of this thread: forums.usms.org/showthread.php It is not easy to just go swimming in Rome, as there is really no such thing as a "public" pool as we know it. It can be very expensive, e.g., if you just want to swim once or twice in a hotel pool. The other pools usually require a membership, plus a daily/monthly/quarterly/annual fee. The longer you stay, the cheaper it is. Anyway, the Centro Sportivo Santa Maria charges an annual membership fee of 80 euros. Then there are several different monthly plans available. The cheapest, which is what I pay, is 72 euros a month to swim at lunchtimes, 12:30 to 3:30, Monday through Friday. You can also buy all day and 7 days a week passes for more money. These charges cover not only the pool, but also the gym. There is also a day fee of 18 euros for non-members and 12 euros for members. The 18 euro fee might be the cheapest if you're only here for a week or so. You must present a doctor's certificate in order to swim at most pools in Rome. Mine, which I got from my doc at home, simply said "Mr. C. is fit to swim as much as he likes." When I presented it, they asked me to provide a translation, which I did, and that was fine. If you go to a doctor here for a certificate, it will cost you upwards of 150 euros, and they will do an EKG, a stress test, and various other tests, which you may or may not need. Other things to keep in mind: you must wear a "cuffia," or swim cap, which costs around 10 euros over here (there's a strange cloth one available for 5 euros at the Nike store in the Termini train station). You should also bring flip flops, which everybody uses to get back and forth from the locker room. Bring you own soap and towel and a lock. And if you really want to fit in, you'll need a heavy terry-towel dressing gown, also for moving back and forth between the locker room and the pool (I didn't bother). Also, almost everybody wears briefs, not jammers or board shorts (in France, apparently, you must wear briefs). I highly recommend the Centro Sportivo Santa Maria. The pool is set up for lap swimming with 9 lanes (25 m.). The water is not overly chlorinated. Staff are very friendly and helpful. The only drawback, and this is true everywhere in Rome, I think, is that the lanes are not differentiated for speed, so every lane is only as fast as the slowest swimmer, and there's usually a slower swimmer in every lane! But usually there are not more than 2 or 3 people in a lane, so it's not hard to pass. There is a metro stop nearby, but often the buses will get you there easier, depending on where you're staying. Feel free to PM me or post again if you have any questions. Best of luck, John

I'm in Rome right now, leaving tomorrow night for Paris. I've been swimming for the past month and a half at Centro Sportivo Santa Maria on Via Matteo Boiardo, which is near the Lateran Palace. My report on swimming here is near the end of this thread: forums.usms.org/showthread.php It is not easy to just go swimming in Rome, as there is really no such thing as a "public" pool as we know it. It can be very expensive, e.g., if you just want to swim once or twice in a hotel pool. The other pools usually require a membership, plus a daily/monthly/quarterly/annual fee. The longer you stay, the cheaper it is. Anyway, the Centro Sportivo Santa Maria charges an annual membership fee of 80 euros. Then there are several different monthly plans available. The cheapest, which is what I pay, is 72 euros a month to swim at lunchtimes, 12:30 to 3:30, Monday through Friday. You can also buy all day and 7 days a week passes for more money. These charges cover not only the pool, but also the gym. There is also a day fee of 18 euros for non-members and 12 euros for members. The 18 euro fee might be the cheapest if you're only here for a week or so. You must present a doctor's certificate in order to swim at most pools in Rome. Mine, which I got from my doc at home, simply said "Mr. C. is fit to swim as much as he likes." When I presented it, they asked me to provide a translation, which I did, and that was fine. If you go to a doctor here for a certificate, it will cost you upwards of 150 euros, and they will do an EKG, a stress test, and various other tests, which you may or may not need. Other things to keep in mind: you must wear a "cuffia," or swim cap, which costs around 10 euros over here (there's a strange cloth one available for 5 euros at the Nike store in the Termini train station). You should also bring flip flops, which everybody uses to get back and forth from the locker room. Bring you own soap and towel and a lock. And if you really want to fit in, you'll need a heavy terry-towel dressing gown, also for moving back and forth between the locker room and the pool (I didn't bother). Also, almost everybody wears briefs, not jammers or board shorts (in France, apparently, you must wear briefs). I highly recommend the Centro Sportivo Santa Maria. The pool is set up for lap swimming with 9 lanes (25 m.). The water is not overly chlorinated. Staff are very friendly and helpful. The only drawback, and this is true everywhere in Rome, I think, is that the lanes are not differentiated for speed, so every lane is only as fast as the slowest swimmer, and there's usually a slower swimmer in every lane! But usually there are not more than 2 or 3 people in a lane, so it's not hard to pass. There is a metro stop nearby, but often the buses will get you there easier, depending on where you're staying. Feel free to PM me or post again if you have any questions. Best of luck, John