We first walked over to Amber's hotel, The Columbus, which was built in the 1400s and is just a gorgeous step back in time. We found Aunt Amber and Marky (who had spent the night for "cousin fun night") having breakfast in the most beautiful breakfast room- the walls and ceilings are all frescoes- we sat and chatted a bit and then went up to the room to say goodbye to them as they were flying out today.
After a light breakfast we meandered around some shops and got some drinks to take to sit in St. Peter's square and just enjoy the sunshine-
It was quickly lunch time and we met an American family from Alabama with whom we had mutual friends and had a great lunch and realized we had so much in common and had wonderful conversation. We ate at a great restaurant and had street musicians in the background.
After lunch with our new friends it was off church exploring. First stop- Santa Maria sopra Minerva, so named because it was built on the site of a shrine to the goddess Minerva- and it happens to be the only Gothic church in Rome. A friend told me this church was a "jewel box" and that is surely correct. (The obelisk was for Minerva)
I love the dark jewel-toned colors throughout
I was shocked to find this beautiful statute by Michelangelo called "The Redeemer",
And St. Catherine of Sienna is buried here under the high altar-
Next stop was supposed to be the Church of Il Gesu where St. Ignatius of Loyola is buried, but it was closed from 12-3 (like many many churches are for some reason). So we decided to make the best of it and have gelato!
Walking around searching for taxis led to some fun discoveries- for instance, my own shop-
And we discovered that Marc could not be any kind of driver or even maintenance worker in Rome. Tuck Tuck has bigger cars than they do- this is Marc thinking- "that ain't a F-150"
After finding a taxi we made our way to San Clemente- to say this church is a step back in time is an understatement. Unfortunately you can't take one picture anywhere in the entire church. The fascinating thing is- San Clemente was built on top of a church that had been built in the the 300s and was sacked in the Norman conquest. They just filled it in with dirt and built over top of it. Excavation found the church underneath today's church in wonderful condition and you can see how the earliest Christians worshiped- and there are still beautiful frescoes on the walls. But even more exciting is the fact that you can go down another level still and see an original house church owned by a priest named Clement who was a contemporary of St. Peter and the Apostles. There is also a house under the 2nd level church that had a Mithrian shrine and school attached that you can see. So you get to see a church under a church under a church. Oh- and St. Cyril is buried there.
After San Clemente we journeyed out to St. Peter in Chains. This church, I bet you guessed, has the chains that held St. Peter in jails both in Jerusalem and in Rome.
Little man lights candles for people in every church we enter- this one was for Noah and Charlie.
And this is the church with Michelangelo's famous "Moses" sculpture-
Leaving St. Peter in Chains we went looking for a taxi and walked past this church and found it to be so beautiful inside.
Finding a taxi, we made our stop to the last church of the day, Santa Maria degli Angeli, that is St. Mary of the Angels. This Church was exciting to Marky b/c it was built in an old Roman bath house built by the evil Emperor Diocletian on the backs of Christian slaves. This bath house reeked with ridiculous opulence and was a sign that the end was near for the Roman empire- it was humongous. In the 1500s Michelangelo was called on to design a church for the bath houses that had basically just sat there empty for over 1,000 years. He designed it in the syle of a Greek cross, and it was the final project of his life. It was completed two years after his death, but you can see and appreciate his design for light and space and openness.
Head of John the Baptist
What I loved most about this church is thinking about the evil Emperor Dioceltian beating the Christian slaves and forcing them to build this ridiculous-sized bath house and what he would think today if he saw that the only water here is Holy Water and the God of the Christians is adored and loved and the Church is more beautiful and grand than it ever was as that bath house. St. Bruno is buried here, by the way. I wish I'd taken more pictures. By the way, when this church was built the Pope at the time issued a papal coin that said, "That which served as a pagan function is now a temple to the Virgin. It's founder is Pius. Begone Satan!"
After this church, we headed home, so full of satisfaction with our journey in Rome to see where the Church began and how it has grown. I just feel contentment more than anything. Tonight we had the most special treat of going out to dinner with a friend from our hometown and his colleagues here in Rome. The two men were from our town and one woman was from Germany and one was from all over, but mainly Rome. They all spoke many languages and were full of life. We had the most delightful conversations and ate at a real "Roman" (as opposed to Italian) restaurant that was in an old Roman home. It was called il Barroccio et Faciolaro near the Pantheon.
Marky was with us and spent his time looking out the window to the alley at the street musicians- and we were there for hours. He's a good boy.
For dessert we had a special gelato on top of fresh strawberries treat.
Then we came back to our hotel one last time and got ready for our big flight tomorrow. If you read this, please say a prayer for safe travel. Well, there are just no words to say how blessed and thankful I am for this trip. Goodnight.
