Buon Giornio Sweet Friends!

Our cruise ended in Rome after 7 glorious days through the Greek Isles. I love Roma. I’ve been several times and each time I return, I fall more in love with the Eternal City. To be such a large, heavily populated city, there is a lot of green space so the city feels smaller and more residential for lack of a better word. The people are wonderful and I love the food, the language, the history and culture. Every piazza has a beautiful, historical fountain surrounded by cafes and shops just waiting for patrons to come in and sip an espresso or prosecco. But, despite its loveliness and green spaces, it is still a huge city, so we signed on for three tours of theRome (6) Vatican, the Colosseum and Roman Forum, and a walking tour of Rome.

We arrived at our hotel around 11 AM after the hour and a half drive from Civitavecchia, dropped our bags and hit the streets. We walked down the street towards San Giovanni Square and walked through the Basilica of St. John Lateran. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. As the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, it ranks above all other churches in the Catholic Church, including St. Peter’s Basilica. For that reason, unlike all other Roman Basilicas, it holds the title of Archbasilica.It was massive and amazing with its ceiling frescoes, Baroque columns and architecture, and 14th-century Gothic baldacchino.

We had lunch at a place called Coming Out, a gay bar and restaurant across from the Colosseum. TheRome Coming Out (2) staff were delightful and the salad I had was awesome; in fact we ate there twice during our stay. Since we were doing a tour of the Colosseum later that day, we did not go in but we walked around the area exploring the ruins and people watching. We had coffee shakarata’s (shaken iced coffee) at a cafe before meeting our tour group. David with City Wonders was our tour guide and he was awesome! To work for the company you have to have a degree in Roman Cultural Heritage, and his knowledge of ancient Rome was impressive. He was also funny and engaging. It was a 3-hour tour on a hot day, but he kept it interesting and kept us moving. Rome also has many, many cold water fountains throughout the city – Rome Coming Outancient Roman fountains that still pump fresh, clean water from the aqueduct to the citizens of Rome, so you can just refill your water bottle at one of the many fountains along the way. We went inside the Colosseum and learned much about its history and the “battles” that went on there. From animal fights to gladiator fights to pageants, it was year-round fun for Roman citizens. We also learned that the Colosseum was the small theater. The really BIG theater was the Circus Maximus. It was massive and could seat up to 150,000 people!  Nothing remains of the Circus today and much of the Colosseum has been destroyed or bits and pieces stolen by the Papacy to create Christian monuments and Rome Colliseum (5)palaces including the Vatican. Much of the marble used in the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basillica was taken from the Colosseum and other pagan monuments. It’s sad really.

We also toured the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill is the center-most of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands 40 metres above the Forum Romanum, looking down upon it on one side, and upon the Circus Maximus on the other. It’s where all the rich people lived and includes the Imperial Palaces. Ruins are constantly being excavated today; the entire city of Rome is built on ruins so every time the city tries to dig, they find something else. This is why most of the trams and trains are above ground and not underground, although they have a few underground lines.

Rome Colliseum Rome Colliseum (14)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the tour, we returned to the hotel and checked in and unpacked. We found a spot for an early dinner since we had a very early morning tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel the next morning.

Vatican (3)Breakfast the next morning at the hotel was huge and so we enjoyed a quick meal before catching an early morning subway to Vatican City where we met our tour group and guide Gigi at 7:15 AM outside the Vatican. With our tour guide, we were allowed to go into the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel before the general public. So instead of fighting 10,000 people trying to tour the same small place, we were among less than 100 people. Gigi took us through the Pinecone courtyard and offered us a brief history of the chapel and Michelangelo who by all accounts did not want to paint the chapel. When the request came from the Pope at the time, he replied that he was a sculptor not a Sistine Chapelpainter and had no interest in the project. He actually ran away at one point and his best friend (who later became the Pope) convinced him to return and to take on the project. He did but on several conditions: no one was allowed to help him, he wanted to do the whole project on his own; no one was allowed to see the chapel until it was completely finished; and no one was allowed any input, it was his way or the highway! Gotta admire his kahunas! When they were agreed, Michelangelo began his work, which took him four years to complete (1508-1512). He then left the city vowing never to return as the project took the life out of him. But he did return 30 years later and painted the very famous Last Judgement for his friend Pope Clement IV (the guy who sent him back to Rome 30 years earlier). Photos are not allowed in the chapel, so I stole one from Wikipedia!

After touring the chapel, we went back to the entrance of the museum to tour the entire museum, Vatican Raphael rooms (3)well, we saw as much as we could. It’s massive and it’s estimated that if you spent 5 minutes in front of each piece of artwork, it would take two weeks to get through the museum. We did not spend 5 minutes at each piece, but walked through the rooms and halls stopping at pieces that interested us. The Raphael Rooms, painted by Michelangelo’s rival Raphael, were equally amazing as the Sistine Chapel! Each room of the Papal apartments was painted by Raphael and his assistants (one reason Michelangelo did not want help) and each room is just as impressive as the Chapel. We spent hours taking pictures and reading about each room and its frescoes.

After the museum, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica and toured the massive church of Rome’s first Pope and the official head of the Catholic Church, St. Peter. What can you say about St. Peter’s? WOW. Wow is all I got. It sets the bar for Basilica’s and Cathedrals all over the world. The original church was built on the site where St. Peter was martyred and where his remains are entombed. It also houses Michelangelo’s very famous marble sculpture, Pieta, the Madonna and Jesus, as well as numerous other artworks. At the heart of the basilica, beneath the high altar, is the Confessio or Chapel of the Confession, in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the burial place of Saint Peter. Again, it is so massive and amazing, there are not enough words to describe it. It is the heart of the city and holds a high and unique rank in the Catholic Church.

We left Vatican City and headed towards the Tiber River for lunch. We ate at a street tent outside of Castel Sant’Angelo and thenRestaurante de Pancrazio walked along the river enjoying views of all the bridges and the wonderful river breeze. We ended up at the Spanish Steps and walked through the many pedestrian streets full of high-end shops. We took the metro back to the hotel to prepare for our dinner at Ristorante da Pancrazio, a traditional Roman style trattoria built on top of the space where Julius Caesar was murdered. The food was wonderful and while the downstairs, historical area was not open for dining, we were allowed to go downstairs and look around at the ruins. It is located just off the Campo de Fiori on a quaint, tiny square. It’s lovely and a very historical place to dine if you’re in the city!

OK, enough for today; Roma Part II tomorrow! I hope you are having a historical day my sweet friends!!! Carpe diem y’all!!

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