Brand New ROMA Social Network Site

Avete Citizens!

Add 'Social Network' to the list of Web 2.0 features available at ROMA. Think of it as 'Facebook for ROMA'.

It is called, imaginatively, ROMA Citizens.

Sign up and you can have all the links for ROMA in one place, consult event schedules, contact other Citizen friends offline (without having to sign into SL), share your photos, and... network!

This social network site was inspired by the popular one Angelia created for Collegium members. Hopefully Citizens will find it useful!

Get socializing today!

Vestalia/Bellona/Quinquatria Festival Schedule

Vestalia -- 13th June

3pm -Vestalia Ritual and Subura Procession in ROMA & ROMA Subura

Ritual to honour Vesta and celebrate the Vestalia @ the Vestal Temple in ROMA, followed by a procession through the Subura, where we will stop at various houses to be welcomed and given wine & gifts. The Procession will parade through the Subura and back into ROMA, to end with a party in the Felicitas Tavern. Be sure to buy a souvenir sunglobe at the houses we stop at along the way! (All proceeds go to the Collegia Religio Romana, who bring these monthly festivals to ROMA)

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Festival of Bellona-- 14th June

10am - Legio Romana Cohors Equitata Horse Parade & Combat
@ the Fort Legio VII Augusta in ROMA

The Legio Romana Cohors Equitata will honour us with a parade through the streets of ROMA beginning in the ROMA Plaza to display our fine cavalry, and ending in Fort Legio VII Augusta where they will display their horseback combat skills.

12pm - Bellona Games @ the Ludus Dacicus Gladiatorii in ROMA Transtiberim

Come to the Ludus and watch our brave gladiators fight for the honour of ROMA and the Goddess Bellona! Free Ludus Bread and wine at the door.

2pm - Amazon Combat @ the Flavian Gladiator Arena in ROMA

In honour of the War Goddess, Bellona, the Amazons will present a combat demonstration in the Flavian Gladiator Arena. Come cheer our Amazons on and celebrate their victories!

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Quinquatria-- 15th June

1pm - Fortunes and Oracles in ROMA Subura

We will be celebrating an ancient Quinquatria Tradition - that of consulting oracles and fortune tellers for a peek into the future the Gods have in store for us! There will be modern tarot reading, provided by Morgana Fillion (for a small fee) and free Delphic-style Oracle readings provided by Spaciva Ivanova, with Ludovik Cazenove as her priest-interpretor. Curious about what the future holds? Then consult our diviners!

3pm - Quinquatria Build Contest in ROMA Subura

A building contest in the Subura which celebrates the arts and Minerva as it's Patroness! Entries must be a build, but may have anything to do with any area of "the Arts", including (but not limited to :) domestic arts such as weaving and pottery making, fine arts such as sculpting & painting, entertainment arts such as music and dance. So come build something with us which reflects your commitment and dedication to the Arts in ROMA, and your reverence for Minerva as Patroness. Prizes will be given in three level categories, beginning, intermediate and advanced in two divisions, pre-built and improvisational. A special Minerva's Favorite prize will be given to the one build which best reflects reverence for and connection to Minerva, (i.e., is most directly related to Her aspects or myths) regardless of level or division. Winners will be announced and prizes given out at the Grand Feast (but contestants do not have to be present at the Feast to win).

5pm - The Vestalia/Bellona/Quinquatria Grand Feast
@ The Gardens of Maecenas in ROMA

Themed feast to celebrate the end of Festivals - Costume themes can reflect any of the three festivals and their goddesses - Vesta (Home, Family, Flame and Warmth), Bellona (War, Military Prowess) or Minerva (War, Wisdom, and the Arts). There will be food, wine, dancing, and the announcement of the winners of the Quinquatria Build Contest, as well as a contest for most creative costume with a cash prize, so please join us for a fun-filled night of celebration and prizes!

"Welcome to ROMA, Citizen!"

Soldier Aurelius Concordius has received a special posting. He has been picked to staff the Customs House in ROMA, the place where all visitors and Citizens arrive when the come to ROMA.

Aurelius will be sitting behind the Customs desk, recording the names of all visitors and dispensing information to all who pause to converse with him. You may need to get his attention by tapping his armored shoulder, but he is quite friendly and eager to help!

Come by today and introduce yourself to miles Aurelius Concordius!

ROMA SOTW in MM

In case that sentence gave you a headache I'll translate: ROMA has been named the Sim of the Week in SL publication the Metaverse Messenger.

Both Torin and Angelia were interviewed. You can find the full article here (pages 10 & 20).

Two New ROMA Groups!

Announcing two new ROMA groups:

ROMA GREEN: Show your Green sensibility! This group is for ROMA (SPQR) Citizens who try to take active steps to recycle and reduce their carbon footprints. Group members pledge to try and find ways to offset the pollution caused by their time in SL such as purchasing carbon offset credits.

ROMA LGBT & AMICI: This is a social group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Citizens of the ROMA estate and their friends and supporters. Social chat is allowed in the group IM but NOT SPAM. Group events will be held to help support our inclusive community. A messageboard has also been set up: http://romacitizens.proboards54.com/index.cgi?board=lgbt

Both new groups are set to Open Enrollment now.

Introducing the Lupanar District!

A great new development has occurred in ROMA!

We conducted a survey regarding the Caligula's Pleasure Palace facility last month. The results were that most agreed 1) it was useful to have such a facility to help keep adult activity in the sim contained, 2) the current facility was too large and did not meet the current needs of the community.

The Emperor has decided to replace the Caligula's Pleasure Palace facility with a new build that is more useful. Introducing the new Lupanar District!

Our City Prefect, Torin, has built a small working-class neighborhood behind the gladiator arena. The ROMA Lupanar Brothel, marked by its distinctive wolf sign, sits at the end of a small plaza. The surface structure is a reconstruction of an ancient Roman brothel from Pompeii. Several signs explain the life of ancient Roman prostitutes. On the upper floor is a gallery space that will now house the "Ars Amatoria: Sex in Ancient Rome" exhibit (formerly in the Capitoline Museum).

If a Citizen touches the wolf sign, they will be transported to a subterranean hallway. Two private rooms can be found down there, each with free sex beds available for use. Every couple animation built into the beds has been given a coy Latin name. How many can you translate? ;) The animations contain heterosexual, boy-boy, and girl-girl menu choices. Please be sure to read the rules down there governing this space.

The Lupanar Brothel will now be the place where all adult activity must be kept in ROMA.

Apart from the Lupanar Brothel, the district also contains two other attractions. The Vulcan Smith shows how the Romans worked metal, and Citizens can try their hand at making a chainmail shirt and their own sword. The Cracked Potters Workshop allows Citizens to make their own pottery (formerly housed in the Baths of Caracalla portico). Other attractions will be added to the district in the future.

The demolition of the Caligula's Pleasure Palace facility will commence in the next few days. The Blue Grotto area will be retained, moved to the cavern under the Forum, and become a non-adult general attraction.