Italy Day 6-Rome

Hello.  We had such an exciting first day in Rome that I was too exhausted to share it with you.  So I missed posting to you yesterday, but I'm back today to share our adventures.

We hopped onto this golf cart for a tour of Rome at 8:30 am.  We needed to get an early start because we had a very full agenda.

The first stop was the Roman Forum, where we saw a Statue of St. Peter holding the keys to heaven atop the Column of Trajan.  This column, depicting the military might of Rome, was once topped by a statue of Emperor Trajan.  Pope Sixtus replaced Trajan with a statue of St. Peter, demonstrating Papal authority after Christianity overturned the Roman Empire.

This statue stood at the gates of the Roman Forum, much of which has been preserved and restored and much of which is under restoration.  

Our next stop was Sant Ignazio church.  Built in the Baroque era, it is an amazing example of the talent at that time.  The church had wanted a dome but ran out of money.  The artist was able to paint the ceiling so that appears to be a dome, while the ceiling is flat.

The church is filled with sculptures around the inside perimeter with descriptions in both Italian and English.

As you exit the church, there is an altar with a painting of the Blessed Mother, where you will see hundreds of petitions left.

The next stop on our list was the Dominican order church of St. Sabina.  Born to a wealthy family, St.Sabina gave up her riches to follow Christianity and was killed for her beliefs.  

Being of the Dominican Order, this Basilica is much simpler and less ornate than the others we visited, but no less amazing.

Glass was not yet invented when St. Sabina's was built.  This window is filled with thinly sliced stone to allow light in while offering protection from the elements.  Much of the flooring is original, and there is a hole in the wall that looks out over an orange tree, planted by St. Dominic, that is over 800 years old.

The Basilica also holds the legendary Devil's Stone, or Lapis Diaboli.  Legend has it that this stone was thrown at St. Dominic by the devil, who was infuriated by his unshakeable faith.  It missed, and the three indentations show where the devil's fingers had burned into the stone.

As we drove, our guide, Flavio, pointed out sites of interest.  There are 8 miles of wall remaining of the 12 miles that the Christians had built to protect their city.  There was a pyramid built on the border so they attached the wall to it instead of tearing it down.  Flavio also pointed out an ancient bath house that would service over 5000 people a day, holding 1500 people at a time.

We stopped by St. Giovanni ArchBasilica, better known in the USA as St. John Basilica.  This was the Papal seat before St. Peter's Basilica.  

We were very fortunate to be visiting during the Jubilee. This Holy Door is only open for 1 year every 25 years.  

This Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome was the Papal seat for centuries and holds many treasures. It is vibrant, rich, and opulent having been destroyed by fires and then renovated under the reign of Pope Sixtus V, who hired architect, Dominic Fontana, to supervise the renovations.

Our Golf Cart Tour ended with us being dropped off outside Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, where we met up with another tour guide.  As with all of the Basilicas, this was filled with artwork and beauty.  However, this Basilica is very special.  It was one of Pope Francis's favorite places to worship and where he chose to be buried after his death.

I was able to enter through this door to await my turn to honor Pope Francis for his service to our Lord and our church.  He was a very simple man, and his tomb portrays that simplicity with nothing more ornate than a single cross and a stone engraved with his name.

It was a very full day, we walked across the street to a rooftop restaurant where we enjoyed cocktails and lunch with Max before he had to fly home.  We headed back to our hotel to get some rest.