La Dolce Vita: When in Rome, do as... ah, Hell... just enjoy being a tourist!

Me at the Fontana di Trevi

This weekend was one of the craziest of my entire life—I spent two and a half days in Rome! I visited at least four basilicas and churches, the Vatican, St. Peter’s, and the Colloseum. I charted a journey and rode on the subway (the Metropolitana) for the first time, stood on a bus crammed with stinky people, walked on a street that was built around the 1^st century (after the emperor Nero burned down that part of the city), had a woman try to scam me out of ten euro for gelato, and had a gladiator offer to be the “meat” to my “bun.” (Nope, not kidding about the last one. And let me tell you that this man was no GLADIATOR! Where the Hell was Russell Crowe?)

I took well over two hundred pictures on this trip, and most would bore you to tears, but I have to share at least a few…and unfortunately, none of them are of the Sistine Chapel—the guards there are SUPER vigilant!!! Most of our journey, discussions, and lectures were held at religious places because of the connection between these specific places and Dante's work.

The first place the Gruppo Dante visited while in Rome was Il Battistero Lateranenese. It once housed the Pope and priests instead of the Vatican! In front of the church is this obelisk. It is the largest one in Rome (and the world); it is from Egypt (around 15th century BC) and was brought to Rome by Constantine's son. The inscription says something to the effect of "Constantine is victor by means of the cross..."

The Laternan (which is what most call it) is the seat of the Bishop of Rome. The floors have lots of red marble circles-- it is interesting because these used to be columns in Egypt, the only place that this marble exists, and were sliced "like salami" and used as floor tiles. The ceiling is almost completely gold (real gold!) and from Byzantium.

Inside the basilica

This is Saint Bartholomew, who was flayed, as you can see he holds the skin of his face in his hands. Gross and cool at the same time.

The next picture is of the apse in the Laternan; this is a mosaic featuring important Biblical figures. I won't bore you with the details, but each item on the mosaic is symbolic of a person, idea, belief of the Church. I wish the picture did justice to how LARGE this mosaic is.

After our visit to the main part of the Laternan, we were allowed to visit the Sancta Sanctorium or the Holy of Holies-- this building houses some of the most incredible relics of the Christian church, including the Scala Sancta, literally the "holy steps." These steps (the marble slabs underneath the wooden pieces) once led to the praetorium of Pilate and are the same stairs where Christ once walked during the Passion.

Devout men and women climb the stairs on their knees (there are around twenty-seven) and kiss the last step before placing their offering in a box in front of the Holy of Holies. No one talks in this room.

As a special part of our visit, we were allowed entrance into the actual room that houses many of the relics. Here are a few that are supposedly placed there-- a piece of the Virgin Mary's veil, a vial of Mary's breast milk, the umbilicus of Christ, bones of various saints, and the Occo Repeta (?)-- a painting began by Saint Luke and finished by angels while he was sleeping. There is also a piece of wood from the bench where Christ sat during the Last Supper.

The doors that lead to the Holy of Holies were made in the 4th century and still in working order.

The ceiling shows Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in their symbolic forms: Matthew, the angel; Luke, the ox; Mark, the lion, and John, the eagle.

While our professors lectured on the iconography, the symbolic representations of the word of God, and the connections to Dante, I couldn't help but allow my attention to drift. The fact that I sat in a room with these relics, that I was worthy to sit on marble benches where Popes, priests, nuns, and monks worship every day since before the eleventh century... a place where most believe Dante visited...simply made me...speechless. Even now, reflecting on the images that reverberate in my brain, I cannot help but to stutter in shock.

After our visit to the Laternan, we walked to Sainta Maria Maggiore, another breath-taking basilica in Rome. The main mosaic in the church is of Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven by Christ and the structure below is from the 5th century.

The gold on this structure and on the ceilings was the first to be brought back from the New World.

Mary is crowned Queen

I love the fact that when you walk the streets of Rome, you never know what you may see-- such as this excavation of ancient Roman structures.

Unlike most of the churches, the church of Saint Clemene does not allow any pictures; of course, I found that out after snapping the one below... oops. Sadly, this apse mosaic was my favorite of all of the ones we studied. From the cross, you may be able to see how a plant grows beneath it (this is the tree of life) and from that tree grows vines (those are the swirly looking patterns). Up close, this mosaic was absolutely stunning! One other small detail about this mosaic-- the cross has an actual piece of wood from the cross on which Christ was crucified.

Underneath Saint Clemene, the church has excavated a 1st century BC "layer" of buildings, mosaics, and frescos! We were able to walk along streets that had been laid by men around the time of Christ's life... and they were in surprisingly good condition! At one point, I bent over and simply touched those herringbone patterned streets; the dirt and damp didn't matter, but laying my hand on something over two thousand years old did.

My roommate Catherine and I took off yesterday to explore the city on our own, which meant learning to use the Metropolitana, otherwise known as the scary trains that move underground, aka subway. We first visited the Fontana di Tritone (Fountain of Triton). Triton is on his knees and drinking water from a conch shell.

Then, we walked to the Fontana di Trevi, possibly the most famous of all Roman fountains. For good luck and a return trip to Rome, we threw a coin over our shoulders into the fountain and walked away without looking back!

A water creature blows a conch shell while holding onto his horse's mane

Last night, two of my flatmates and I went to the Vatican Museum (the Musei Vaticani) Under the Stars. There are a few rooms where you are allowed to take pictures, so I've added some here.

A view of St. Peter's from the Vatican Museum.

A statue from the Egypt exhibit

We saw hundreds of Egyptian artifacts, including two mummies. I was amazed at how you could see the missing eyes, with cloth stuck in the skull, the plastered hair, and even the fingernails and toenails of the female mummy.

Not sure, but probably a rendering of Anubis

The three of us also went through the Classical area (Greek and Roman). I saw one of my favorite statues; one that I've seen in a thousand books-- Laocoon. He is being attacked by water serpents.

A Ceiling Fresco

My friends and I spent almost forty-five minutes in the Sistine Chapel staring at the ornate, complex, and ridiculously beautiful paintings on the ceiling. Describing the vivid colors, graphic representation of Biblical stories, and atmosphere is impossible. What I wanted to do most was to lie on the floor and stare, but the guards were slightly opposed to that. :)

My Flatmates (before we had a hysterical laughing fit about finding a way OUT of the museum)

As we tried to leave the museum, Cara, Catherine, and I realized that no one really gets to leave. All of the exit signs pointed to the entrance (not the exit). We must've walked in circles for twenty minutes, giggling and laughing hysterically. It was brought up that perhaps we did not spend enough in the gift store...I'm thinking it's more like Hogwarts, the staircases and exit signs just kept moving around.