Roma, part I.

What a week in Rome! We saw and experienced such amazing, beautiful things! The crowning point was of course, Popes John Paul II and John XXIII's canonization Mass. I felt that the week was permeated with such grace and joy despite all the traveling, walking, and juggling our sweet children's needs. It's hard to go through 1000+ pictures and choose what to put on here, but I will do the best to capture our first time in Rome.

We took an hour bus ride to Bratislava, then flew Ryan Air from Bratislava to Rome, Easter Sunday night and stayed outside the city in Ciampino near the airport for a few nights. After a good sleep and breakfast Monday morning, we took the train into Rome! Knowing that the city would be quite crowded since it was both Easter week and canonization week, we agreed to just take our time and learn our way around, enjoying what we could see. We spent the morning walking the perimeter of the Coliseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill.

 

Arch of Constantine

It was almost time for a lunch break...

We walked around the whole Colosseum, remembering those who died for Christ within its walls.

 We found a nice little restaurant where children eat free in view of the Coliseum.

 Enjoying our first taste of Italian gelato!

 After lunch, both boys conked out = freedom! We constructed some sun/wind shades on the stroller and set off for more exploring. We walked down Via Dei Fori Imperiali - so many ruins on both sides of this street with very informative plaques naming each section. Very nice.

 Trajan's forum and markets.

Trajan's Column, which now has a statue of St. Peter on top! 2500+ carved figures spiraling up the column, tell of Trajan's victories.

The impressive Victor Emmanuel Monument built in 1861 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Italy's unification. Its facade is supposed to remind visitors how ancient Rome would have looked in its glory days.

Its equestrian statue is the largest in the world; for example, the guy's mustache is 5 feet long, and an adult person can sit inside the horseshoe. Quite impressive.

 Then the little ones woke up.

 Heading towards the Pantheon which you can see behind Michael.

 It was unfortunately closed; we found out later that April 21st is the birthday of Rome and so many places closed early that day. Next time!

 Michael enjoyed trying to lift various sized chain barriers throughout Rome. This one above, was a particularly impressive one for him, as it was very big and heavy.

Across the street from the Pantheon is the only Gothic church in Rome; the church of Santa Maria sopra Minivera which houses the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena.

 Frescos depicting events in St. Catherine's life adorn some of the side walls.

 St. Catherine of Siena's tomb - Catherine's patron saint, so of course we prayed especially for her!

A little-known statue of Christ by Michelangelo.

 Then we went into the Gesu church - headquarters of the Jesuits in Rome. Seriously the most glorious church I have seen yet.

The tomb of St. Ignatius of Loyola is in this church.

As we returned to the subway station to catch the train out of the city, we walked past the Circus Maximus, once a chariot course in old Rome. A large theatrical reenactment of gladiator vs. barbarian tribe encounters was going on so we stopped to watch for a bit. Michael didn't like the "fighting" so we didn't stay long. 

- Day 2 - 

 We began near the old city walls of Rome to visit a few spots before heading out to the catacombs. I had it in mind to dedicate this day to our early Christian brothers and sisters who gave their lives for Christ, in particular, the apostles Peter and Paul.

The Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran.

The atrium and statue of St. Constantine.

The nave is lined with magnificent statues of the 12 apostles.

 

Above the altar are enshrined the heads of Sts. Peter and Paul.

 

So much to take in.

 Dominic enjoyed the ceiling views from his bunk in the stroller.

 A portion of the table from the Last Supper is encased above a side altar.

 We next hopped over across the street to see if we could go up the Scala Santa (the Holy Stairs), which according to tradition are the stairs Christ ascended a few times on the day He died when he met with Pilate (brought from Jerusalem by St. Helena).

 Alas, it was very crowded and the people were moving slow; one ascends these holy stairs kneeling. Michael was ready for lunch and a nap, so we couldn't stay long. I had the privilege of kneeling on the bottom step for a few minutes. Andrew ran up the side stairs to view the chapels above.

 At the top chapel of San Lorenzo, under the altar, is a vault where many saint relics were stored over the years. The image of Christ above is called the "Acheropita" image; (that which was not made by human hands), and has been revered as early as the 8th century.

 Then we went for lunch and the waitress enjoyed Micheal's antics so much that she gave him this balloon. We then caught the bus to go outside the city walls along the Appian way to one of the catacombs.

 The entrance to Catacombe San Callisto.

Waiting for the English tour to be called. And what an amazing experience to stand where 16 popes and many Christians and martyrs were buried from the first centuries of the Church! The burial passages were an artichteal feat in themselves, originating from the middle of the 2nd century, and extending down 75 feet and 12 miles long. Only about 3% is open for touring, and just that portion seemed large to us! As picture taking is not allowed underground, we bought a few postcards of our favorite rooms, and are sharing pictures of those below. :)

 We walked through many passageways to rooms of particular interest.

Crypt of the Sacraments from the 3rd century with original frescoes.

The crypt of St. Cecilia, 2nd-3rd centuries. Her body was venerated here for 5 centuries until it was moved into a church in Rome. On the left are original frescoes of St. Cecilia and Jesus Christ.

 The Popes' Crypt, 3rd century.

 We walked down the hill to the Church of Domine Quo Vadis. This church stands on the Via Appia on the location where tradition has it that Christ appeared to Peter as he was fleeing Rome. Peter said, "Quo Vadis Domini" (Where are you going, Lord)? Christ told Peter He was going into Rome to be crucified again, and Peter understood that he should return to Rome and would give his life for the faith. Legend has it that our Lord's footprints were left in the stones - the originals are now in a different church, but there is a replica there in the Quo Vadis church.

 On this trip, Michael learned to distinguish St. Peter from other saints by the keys in his hand.

We returned to the city, and in keeping with our St. Peter theme for the day, we headed over to the church of St. Peter in Chains, so called because it houses the chains which kept Peter imprisoned in Rome. Above is the exterior of the church. So many churches in Rome surprised us with their plain exterior compared to the glory and brilliance we would find inside!

The famous Moses statue by Michelangelo is also in this church. 

We returned to the ancient Rome area near the Colosseum to stop at the Mamertine Prison which allegedly held Sts. Peter and Paul before their executions. It was of course closed at that hour, but was a moving place to take pause and remember these saints.

We continued up the hill to the Capitoline Museum plaza and rested a bit.

 

 Micheal's position is an accurate portrayal of how we all felt at the end of each day. And that is after two naps in the stroller for him. But it was so so worth it. Needless to say, we all slept well throughout this week!

(Stay tuned - parts II and III are coming!)