Roma

Rome is often called the most beautiful city in the world, and it’s easy to see why. The Italian capital is full of history, world-famous landmarks and beautiful buildings at every turn

Countless European cities are hailed as stunning destinations.

Travellers frequently gush about destinations such as Paris, Vienna, Prague and Budapest, whilst here in Britain, Edinburgh is regularly dubbed among the most gorgeous. However, according to seasoned globetrotters, none can match Italy’s capital: Rome.

Those who have explored the Eternal City declare it the most breathtaking destination they’ve ever encountered, boasting streets steeped in history, world-renowned landmarks and magnificent architecture around every corner.

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OPINION

One visitor wrote on TripAdvisor: “Honestly the most beautiful city ever! Every corner has something incredible to see.” Another commented: “Rome is beautiful. It is like a huge museum, and you get to experience it just by walking around.”

A third remarked: “Yes, Rome is the most beautiful city. Easy to walk, full of surprises and wonderful monuments.” Someone else described the historic centre as the place that “makes this city the most beautiful in the world”.

The Italian capital brims with iconic attractions, including the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and the Vatican. Yet many insist it’s the ambience that truly sets it apart.

One traveller who explored the city noted: “Rome is like nowhere else. Beautiful buildings, amazing food, and history at every step. Just go, you won’t regret it.”

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Getting to Rome from Britain couldn’t be simpler, reports the Express. One-way Ryanair flights from London Stansted to Rome Ciampino on certain dates in September and October are available from £25, with the journey taking just 2.5 hours. Once you’ve touched down, the city centre is a mere 7.5 miles away and can be easily accessed by train or taxi.

Moreover, with the summer holidays behind us, September and October are fantastic times to visit as many attractions are less busy and can be enjoyed without enduring lengthy queues. The weather remains pleasant with an average temperature of 22C in October.

Beyond the main sights, many tourists find that simply wandering the streets is one of the most enjoyable ways to experience Rome. One traveller shared: “We didn’t even plan everything, we just walked, and every street had something beautiful.”

One of the few gripes visitors often have is the traffic and the crowds, particularly during the summer months. That’s why it’s beneficial to visit Rome outside of the peak holiday season. While the traffic may still be hectic, the throngs of tourists will be significantly reduced.

MANCHESTER United fans and neutrals alike have revisited a video of Jose Mourinho from last year as evidence that he could be on his way back to Old Trafford.

The tongue-in-cheek comments about a return on social media come off the back of the Red Devils’ embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two outfit Grimsby on Wednesday.

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The iconic manager made comments last October hinting that he would be open to a return to a bottom-half Premier League side, after his Fenerbahce side secured a draw in the Europa League AGAINST Man Utd.

He told the press: “The best thing I have to do is – when I leave Fenerbahce – I go to a club that doesn’t play Uefa competitions.

“So if any club in England, from the bottom of the table, needs coach in two years – I am ready to go.

Fans across the English game this window have jumped on the bandwagon, with Leeds, West Ham, Wolves and Utd fans all linking themselves to the manager through the video on social media.

One United fan succinctly commented on the post: “So Mourinho is going back to Man Utd, innit?”

Fans are split on the Portuguese, who already spent two years at the helm at Old Trafford between 2016-18, but at least some of the Red Devils faithful would be open to the move.

Speaking on the players, one X user commented: “None of them can manage the pressure and the culture of winning. We just need Jose Mourinho back.”

Fans of other clubs have also been circling around the old clip as it circulates on X.

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One Leeds fan commented:” “I don’t care if he got us relegated, this needs to happen.”

A Hammers fan added: “Feel like Mourinho and West Ham would be pure entertainment. Let it happen, fate.”

Man Utd ratings v Grimsby

MANCHESTER UNITED are at rock bottom after the biggest cup upset saw the club crash out of the Carabao Cup second-round to League Two Grimsby Town on penalties.

Ruben Amorim’s United lost to a four-tier side for the first time ever.

The home fans sang “you’re getting sacked in the morning” to Amorim throughout and you can’t help but wonder if they’re right.

Here’s how SunSport’s Katherine Walsh rated United’s flops at Blundell Park.

The beloved maverick was even linked with the Nottingham Forest job last week after news emerged of Nuno Espirito Santo‘s falling out with the club.

The 62-year-old’s CV includes spells at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, becoming one of the sport’s most successful managers.

He is currently causing his signature chaos as manager of Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Roma have made an offer to sign England winger Jadon Sancho from Manchester United, where he remains excluded from training with the first-team squad.

United sources have not revealed the size of the bid from the Serie A club, nor whether it has been accepted.

However, the offer in itself underlines that there is interest in the 25-year-old, who has been told to find a new club before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

Juventus, who unlike Roma have qualified for this season’s Champions League, are also known to be interested in Sancho.

The former Borussia Dortmund wide man returned to United in the summer after Chelsea paid a £5m penalty to get out of an obligation to buy him, having spent last season on loan at Stamford Bridge.

There have also been suggestions that Roma would be interested in a loan, containing clauses that could be triggered at the end of the season.

However, that issue is complicated by the fact that Sancho’s United contract expires next summer. The club does have an option to extend it by an additional year, although given Sancho’s salary, it is debatable whether they would be willing to do that.

United are determined to sell Sancho. However, the closer to September they get without a deal in place, the more likely they are to consider a potential loan move, given it would at least take a significant sum off their wage bill.

Four players – Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrrell Malacia – have been training away from boss Ruben Amorim’s squad since the start of pre-season last month as the club believes they will have left before the window closes.

Tudor Lakatos challenges Roma discrimination through Elvis Presley’s musical legacy.

Sporting a rhinestone shirt, oversized sunglasses and a classic 1950s quiff, Lakatos captivates audiences across Romania with his distinctive renditions of songs like Blue Suede Shoes.

Rather than being an impersonator, Lakatos harnesses Elvis’s universal appeal to dismantle stereotypes about Roma people and inspire Roma youth.

“I never wanted to get on stage, I did not think about it,” Lakatos, 58, said after a recent gig at a restaurant in the capital, Bucharest. “I only wanted one thing – to make friends with Romanians, to stop being called a Gypsy,” he added, using an often derided term for people belonging to the Roma ethnic group.

The Roma, with South Asian origins, have endured centuries of persecution throughout Eastern Europe and continue to face poverty, unemployment and prejudice. In Romania, they represent approximately seven percent of the population, with one-fifth reporting discrimination experiences in the past year, according to European Union data.

Lakatos began his mission in the early 1980s as an art student during Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist regime. When anti-Roma sentiment was widespread, he discovered that Elvis’s music created connections with ethnic Romanian students while simultaneously symbolising resistance against government oppression.

Now, 40 years later, his audience has expanded. As a teacher for 25 years, Lakatos uses music to show his students they can aspire beyond the limited opportunities of their northwestern Romanian village.

“The adjective Gypsy is used everywhere as a substitute for insult,” Lakatos said. “We older people have gotten used to it, we can swallow it, we grew up with it. I have said many times, ‘Call us what you want, dinosaur and brontosaurus, but at least join hands with us to educate the next generation.’”

Despite his teaching career, Lakatos continues performing throughout Romania at various venues.

The eclectic mix of languages can sometimes lead to surprises because there is not always a literal translation for Elvis’s 1950s American English.

For example, “Don’t step on my blue suede shoes” does not make sense to many of the children he teaches because they are so poor, Lakatos said.

In his version, the lyric Elvis made famous becomes simply “Don’t step on my bare feet.”

It is a message that Elvis – born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Great Depression – probably would have understood.

Southern Europe struggles with soaring heat as temperatures hit 40C, sparking fears of wildfires and health risks.

Europeans are braced for the first heatwave of the Northern Hemisphere summer, as climate change pushes thermometers on the world’s fastest-warming continent further into the red.

With temperatures expected to rise to 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Italian capital, Rome, on Saturday, the Eternal City’s many tourists and Catholic pilgrims to the Vatican alike have been converging around the Italian capital’s 2,500 public fountains for refreshment.

In France, with residents of the southern port city of Marseille expected to have to cope with temperatures flirting with 40C (104F), authorities ordered public swimming pools to be made free of charge to help residents beat the Mediterranean heat.

Two-thirds of Portugal will be on high alert on Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires with 42C (108F) expected in the capital, Lisbon.

Meanwhile, visitors to – and protesters against – Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos’s Friday wedding in Venice were likewise sweltering under the summer sun.

“I try not to think about it, but I drink a lot of water and never stay still, because that’s when you get sunstroke,” Sriane Mina, an Italian student, told AFP news agency on Friday in Venice.

Meanwhile, Spain, which has in past years seen a series of deadly summer blazes ravaging the Iberian peninsula, is expecting peak temperatures in excess of 40C (104F) across most of the country from Sunday.

Scientists have long warned that humanity’s burning of fossil fuels is heating up the world with disastrous consequences for the environment, with Europe’s ever-hotter and increasingly common blistering summer heatwaves a result of the long-term warming.

With peaks of 39C (102F) expected in the cities of Naples and Palermo, Sicily has ordered a ban on outdoor work in the hottest hours of the day, as has the Liguria region in northern Italy.

The country’s trade unions are campaigning to extend the measure to other parts of the country.

In Greece, the first heatwave of the summer arrived on Thursday when a fast-moving wildfire engulfed holiday homes and forest land on a section of the Greek coastline just 40km (25 miles) south of the capital, Athens.

More than 100 firefighters, supported by two dozen firefighting aircraft, battled the wildfire that tore across the coastal area of Palaia Fokaia. The flames were whipped up by high winds as temperatures approached 40C (104F).

The heatwave comes hot on the heels of a series of tumbling records for extreme heat, including Europe’s hottest March ever, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate monitor.

As a result of the planet’s warming, extreme weather events including hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves like this weekend’s have become more frequent and intense, scientists warn.