When in Rome...
June 28, 2004
There are over 500 Catholic churches in Rome. I think Kim would like to see them all, if we had time. So far, the highlight of our time here was the tour of the excavations beneath St. Peter's Basilica. The original St. Peter's was built on top of a Roman necropolis - sort of a city of tombs. The Roman Emperor Constantine built the church by filling in the entire area with rubble to flatten out the side of the Vatican Hill. Thus, the tombs are amazingly well preserved. We saw ancient pagan and Christian burial sites. We saw some extremely early Christian art. And finally, towards the end of the tour, we saw the actual remains of St. Peter, which were found inside a wall almost directly beneath the main altar in the Basilica. It was an amazing moment.
To get into the excavations, we first had to gain access to the private areas behind St. Peter's square by speaking with the Swiss Guard (who still where the uniforms Michelangelo designed for them).
The rest of the Basilica was beautiful. It is the first gilded church I've been in where I didn't first find the gold and decorations out of place. The building is enormous. Michelangelo's Pieta is actually small compared to some of the other statues in the place. Unfortunately, it is too dark inside to take many pictures.
Today, we took a trip to see the Spanish steps. It is a large, impressive staircase in the middle of Rome. The poet John Keats died of tuberculosis in an apartment just next to it. We also ate ice cream at Crispino's gelato. I had a ginger and cinammon gelato. While this seems a very strange flavor for ice cream, it was wonderful. Thanks Ramona for suggesting we eat there.
Speaking of food, the food in Italy has been incredible, as long as you are willing to pay for it. Italian people tend to eat dinner at around 10pm, but then they eat enough to make up for the rest of the day. The first course is always pasta. For example, one night I had Tortellini with an indescribably tasty sauce. The second course is usually a meat dish. I've had lamb, roast beef, and a fried seafood platter on various occasions. Along with all this food, Italians drink plenty of wine.
Tomorrow, we're going to see the Pope. He is celebrating Mass in honor of the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. As an extra treat, the Eastern Patriarch will be attending the Mass as well. After that, we are taking a night train to Barcelona, by way of Nice and Montpellier to visit Laia and listen to people on the street speak Catalonian.