World Cup Watch

So you’re traveling in Rome during the World Cup and you want to make sure to catch a game, where do you go?  With the recent heat, hanging inside a pub for more than 90 minutes of football madness is not where you want to be.  You need air and room to breathe and shout– it’s the 2010 World Cup, and elbow room is a prized commodity.

From now through July 11, Rome’s Villa Borghese is one of just seven places around the world (London, Berlin, Mexico City, Sydney, Paris and Rio de Janiero) hosting Fifa’s free FanFest- an outdoor village where larger-than-life footballers grace the maxi-screens as your favorite teams fight to be the best in the world. Games are broadcast live which means that throughout the day Villa Borghese will be a mecca for fervent fans watching simul-casts of favorite teams.  FanFest is free to enter and has a bevy of food concessions, seating and football-related events to cater to football whims and quench turf thirst.

Located in the center of the park at Piazza di Siena, Fan Fest is easy to get to.  Visitors to Villa Borghese can get to the park via public transportation.  Metro: Piazza di Spagna,  Line A.  Bus:  mini-bus 116.  Or walk.

Monday June 14, 8:30 pm– Rome versus Paraguay. Arrive early to get the best seats.  For the latest World Cup news, follow tweets from BBC/Times/Walls Street Journal reporter Gabriele Marcotti @Marcotti for an in-the-trenches reporting.