How We Were Romanced by Rome
We’ve been Romanced by Rome for almost two weeks now and we are enjoying just living daily life in this eternal and enchanting town. This post is Part 2 of our Rome adventures. You can read Part 1 of our experiences being Romanced by Rome. Rome is a passionate, rough-edged, and hectic place. We were surprised that we also experienced it’s languid, intoxicating, and very lovely atmosphere. Once we got past the grit, noise and graffiti we began experiencing pockets of nirvana in this most beautiful city.
Figuring Out a Few Things about Rome
During our first few days we had a few awkward experiences trying to communicate without a common language. Sometimes we are met with a “no English” and a wave and a few times when we asked questions the locals would mutter “Americanos” under their breath, shake their heads as though they were talking to a small child and sigh. We keep picking ourselves up and trying. Neither of us know any Italian but we have found a few things which help smooth our daily interactions.
Environment
We’ve learned for instance that Italians generally seem eco-friendly and support laws to protect the environment (all the cigarette butts on the sidewalks notwithstanding). Instead of separating our trash into three different bins there seem to be five or six bins here that we do our best to contribute to correctly. Just like at home, we reuse our grocery bags at the market because we care about the environment too.
Cash Basis
Italian businesses prefer cash payments and often don’t have a lot of change so we make things easier on them by paying the exact amount if possible. This is actually pretty easy because nearly all prices are in full Euros and tax is already figured into the sales price. So the price you see is the price you pay.
Walk Like an Italian
Sidewalks are narrow and crowded and there are always tons of obstacles such as posts, construction scaffolding, etc. When we first got here and were exploring on foot, we were continually stepping out of the way to avoid other pedestrians. This is just not how it is done here. In the US we expect person A to politely yield some space to person B. In Italy it seems that both person A and B maintain their share of the sidewalk and just when they would collide, both person A and B adjust their steps ever so slightly so that their shoulders simply graze the other’s. At first this seemed rude to us but its actually just an efficient way to share limited sidewalk space. In that same vein, walking into other people’s personal space here is just the norm and we’ve gotten used to it.
Talk Like an Italian
Finally, we’ve picked up a few helpful Italian words that are fun to say like ciao for hello, arrivederci for goodbye, scusi when you step on someone’s toes, and buona sera for good evening. The most important word we’ve learned is grazie (gra zee eh) which is thank you. We say it often and it seems appreciated.
Smile! We were at the Post Office in Rome trying to mail an envelope with a tracking number. We were struggling to communicate with the representative whose expression could best be described as completely poker-faced. We purposefully smiled at her for a few seconds longer than typical…and finally the sun came out and she returned a huge smile.
A Day Trip to Ostia Antica
We still have a big beautiful bucket list of things in Rome we would love to see and photograph. As the saying goes about experiencing Rome, a lifetime is not enough! Today, we crossed a big item off the list by taking the train from Rome to the archeological site of Ostia Antica about 17 miles southwest of the Italian capital.
Barbara has an ongoing love affair with ruins and after watching a Rick Steves program on Ostia Antica she knew she had to see this archeological site firsthand.
Ostia is very, very old dating back 27 centuries. Today you can get a good sense of what life would have been like back in that day. Ostia’s significant remains including frescos, mosaics, and remains of warehouses, thermal baths, restaurants, and multi-storied apartment complexes.
Ostia had a great location where the sea and Tiber River met. As an added bonus it was also near salt flats. Salt was a valuable commodity traded around the world just adding to Rome’s riches. Ostia was perfectly situated as the shipping point for which nearly all goods came to Rome’s 2 million citizens!
Ancient but Modern
We were mesmerized by our visit to this ancient but “modern” city. Ostia Antica is quiet, and peaceful and Barbara especially enjoyed the tall, graceful Italian Umbrella Pine trees that line the lanes. A day-trip here is a nice break from the hustle, bustle and noise of Rome. There were several tour buses and kids on field trips, but it never felt crowded while we walked through the ruins.
A couple of hours into our exploration of the ruins we came across a nice visitor center with a museum, bookstore and café. We stopped for an afternoon snack and browsed through the artifacts in the attached museum.
After leaving Ostia we strolled through a 15th century walled village complete with castle, moat and a church. These structures were built by Spaniards who settled in the area long after the fall of the Roman Empire and disappearance of Ostia Antica.
Testaccio Market Rome
Two weeks into the Adventure of a Lifetime we are finding we enjoy waking up without alarms or rushing to be someplace at a set time. Had we known how well we would like this simpler lifestyle, would we, could we, have found a way to do this sooner?
Monte Testaccio
During our month of being Romanced by Rome we want to get out of our comfort zones and try more local and less touristy ways of doing things. Today, we head to Testaccio Market which is well off the beaten path for tourists (but shouldn’t be!). The Testaccio neighborhood gets its name from Monte Testaccio – a man made hill dating back 20 centuries. The story of how the hill came to be is pretty fascinating. The ancient Roman state imported millions of gallons of olive oil in 18 gallon clay containers from Spain every year. For unknown reasons, the clay containers were not reused or re-purposed, instead were broken up and carefully stacked creating a hill. Each container had markings indicating when the oil was bottled, who the maker was and the names of those responsible for weighing the vessel. Sounds a lot like how products are marked today.
It was just a short subway ride to the Piramide station and walk of about a mile to the market through a typical roman neighborhood. As we leave the metro station we are very surprised by two unexpected sites — a castle and a pyramid!
We pass high schools with kids chatting and goofing off out front, small neighborhood shops and apartment complexes. Everything is reasonably clean but there is a rawer, less polished look to the street. Garbage cans line the streets and graffiti is scrawled across buildings. Roman folks just living life, many looking a bit harried like we did only a few weeks ago.
A Visual Feast
Arriving at the market our eyes become huge as we visually feast on row upon row of stalls offering baked goods, meats, cheeses, gorgeous produce, oils, vinegars, and wines. Café tables and stools in front of some establishments are full of locals eating and drinking their lunches on the spot.
Everything looks so amazing that it’s hard to decide what to try. But eventually, we split a rectangle of traditional flatbread pizza and cap it off with a tiny airy pistachio donut. Umm, umm good! As we leave the market we feel that first raindrop which soon becomes a Roman downpour. Ducking under a nearby awning we share a quick kiss and hug…This is Rome after all! We spy a quaint neighborhood restaurant serving locals across the street and decide it is time for a real meal. Note: In Rome it always time for real meal. Good delicious food is on every block.
Feeling Like Family
Climbing stairs to the second floor of the restaurant we feel as if we have entered the home of our long-lost Italian relative because of the warm greeting we receive from the owner. Rome is like this. Sometimes we feel like fish out of water and the next minute something happens to make us feel so comfortable that we think we’ll never want to leave. This is how you are romanced by Rome…it sneaks up on you! The waiter turns on the patio heater and brings us a basket of crunchy rustic bread.
Looking at the offerings on the menu, it appears this is a cucina provera (poverty kitchen) style restaurant. This style of cooking relies on simple, hearty but inexpensive ingredients. Our meal of incredibly fresh salad greens, roasted potatoes and butternut squash gnocchi is a huge hit with both of us. We savor our bites slowly and relax and chat after the meal. Since there is no need to hurry or be anywhere, we just wait for the rain showers to pass. When they do, we smile and say ‘grazie’ (thank you) and ‘buona sera’ (good evening) to our new friends. Life doesn’t get better.
Ides of March
Historically, on the Ides of March, all debts must be settled. It was March 15 44BC, the Ides of March, when Julius Caesar was assassinated by multiple co-conspirators on the steps of the Senate. This tragic act was thought to be necessary to save the Roman Republic and Empire. Instead, it triggered a civil war which led to the downfall of the Republic and the rise of Imperial Rome. Shakespeare immortalized this scene in a play on the steps of the Senate. But in fact, Caesar’s murder took place at the Theatre of Pompey, part of the Largo di Torre Argentina complex.
To honor Caesar, we joined locals in marking Idi di Marzo at Largo di Torre Argentina. In addition to this being the site of Caesars’ murder, there are extensive Roman ruins here, many meters below the modern-day street level that cover a large city block. The Largo di Torre Argentina ruins are a significant archeological site and, surprisingly, a cat sanctuary! Hundreds of Rome’s homeless kitties live protected among the ruins. They are cared for and fed by local cat lovers. Seeing the cats roaming free throughout the ruins was an adorable surprise. We are cat lovers, and these kitties look extremely content as cats do when humans give them the run of the place. Rome’s love affair with stray cats has caused us to be romanced by Rome, yet again!
Piazza Campo de’ Fiori
We wandered further and came across the popular Piazza Campo de’ Fiori (Campo Deh Fee Ori) square, which translated means ‘field of flowers’. Along the way we discovered a family bakery that serves the most outstanding street pizza. Yum! We enjoyed some for lunch along the way, and because it was so good, we had some more for an afternoon snack. Yes, it was that good!
Statue of Giordano Bruno
Piazza Campo de’ Fiori has long been a busy gathering place. Giordano Bruno, a Dominican friar in the late 1500s, taught all sorts of theories that went against catholic church doctrine. The Roman Inquisition tried and condemned him to death and burned him at the stake in the center of Campo di’ Fiori.
Nearly 300 years after Bruno’s death, a sculptor named Ettore Ferrari created a statue memorializing Bruno. Intriguingly, Ferrari was also the Grand Master of the Grande Oriente d’Italia, (the Masonic jurisdiction of Italy — think Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code). That’s Bruno in the background behind Jon who is sporting a new scarf.
Campo di’ Fiori Street Market
Campo di’ Fiori is also known for a large modern-day street market surrounded by restaurants. Jon has been wanting a traditional Italian scarf. As fate would have it, one stall offered all manner of men’s fashion scarfs and Jon’s wish was fulfilled by his selection of a stylish scarf. We strolled the many little streets adjacent the Piazza with each known for a specific trade, such as Via dei Baullari (coffer-makers), Via dei Cappellari (hat-makers), Via dei Chiavari (key-makers) and Via dei Giubbonari (tailors).
We also visited nearby Piazza Farnese. This square was the home of the Farnese family, one of whom became a Pope. Pope Farnese had two enormous Greek bathtubs from ancient public baths made into two fountains in the Piazza for his family. Another reason we are romanced by Rome is how these beautiful squares and fountains aren’t for looking but not touching. They are places to sit, eat, drink, meet, laugh and love!
Another fun day exploring and learning.
Meeting Up with Heather and John aka Roaming Around the World
Today we experienced a little bit of serendipity. We got the opportunity to meet up with Heather and John, a young couple from Florida who’ve been Roaming Around the World nonstop for five years! This year they are circumnavigating the globe without any plane flights! Isn’t that an ingenious concept! Heather and John aren’t just roaming around the world, they blog all about their travel adventures on their website “Roaming Around the World.”
Heather and John were roaming around Rome during a port call from their Costa Cruise. They met us at our favorite little corner café that overlooks the Colosseum and Forum. We honestly never get tired of looking at these breathtaking views. It was fun meeting these intrepid travelers who have been to 65 countries. We learned a lot from them! Unfortunately, like all good things, the time passed quickly, and they headed back to their ship.
Tramping around Trastevere
In the late afternoon we made our way across the Tiber River to the village-y neighborhood of Trastevere (pronounced: Tras-tev-eh-rey). The meaning of Trastevere is literally “across the Tiber.” Residents of Trastevere are rightfully proud of their charming cobblestone and ivy draped neighborhood. Our destination was the beautiful square of Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Considered to be the very heart of the neighborhood. This popular square is empty in the mornings, but locals, tourists, vendors and street artists are drawn to its fountain each evening like moths to a flame. We loved strolling by the outdoor cafés filled with convivial friends and families. Again, all the moments in Rome seem to center in these small gathering places. We really enjoyed becoming a part of the community if only for a few hours.
Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere
Anchoring one side of the piazza is a beautiful and very old church — The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. The doors were open, so we quietly entered the darkened space and sat on a bench at the back of the basilica. We were so taken and impressed by the intricate and richly painted ceiling and apse. Awe inspiring!
We comment often how much we find to love and learn about Rome. There is so much to see and do on every corner! And to think, we initially hadn’t planned to come to Rome at all. We are glad that something changed our minds because we continue to be romanced by Rome.
A Slice of Life in Rome
Today we are having a relaxing day at home after all the sightseeing and walking we’ve been doing. We decided to write about some of the random differences we’ve noticed here in Rome.
Public water fountains
See the fountain in the middle of the group? These public fountains are everywhere in the city. The water is fresh and continuously running. To get a drink, you place your hand under the spout and the water shoots up through a hole in the top of the pipe allowing you to get a drink. These are also good for filling water bottles. Coming from California this is a real culture awakening. After many years of droughts in California, you almost must demand a waiter bring you water in a restaurant, let alone having it freely running continuously. Try leaving a garden hose running continuously in California and the water police will be knocking at your door.
Fat Cats are Everywhere
This is one of our cat friends we met at Largo di Argentina (cat sanctuary). Who doesn’t like pictures of cats? Fat kitties seem to be living in and around many, if not all the ruins. They seem friendly and well-fed. We found it interesting the combination of a caring non-profit rescuing and looking after cats blended with an ancient archeological site. Nice example of a public-private partnership. And the cats are a huge tourist draw to the site.
Teeny-Tiny Cars
We’ve talked about our amazement with the little cars. The other convenient thing is you can park them anywhere. We haven’t observed any parking enforcement or tickets. And there doesn’t appear to be such a thing as a red curb.
It’s all Uphill
Our apartment is on a hill overlooking the Colosseum. Stairs, stairs everywhere. Rome is built on seven hills. There is an up and down everywhere. Many cut throughs between larger avenues are steep sets of stairs like this one. These stairs lead to our street and apartment in one direction, or there is a gentle but ever inclining sidewalk in the other. People seem generally slimmer here…we wonder if it’s all the stairs?
The Colorful Colosseum
The Colosseum is illuminated to commemorate special days. On St. Patrick’s Day the Colosseum has kissed the blarney stone and wishes you the luck of the Irish!
Fantastic Vegetables
The vegetables are wonderful! Often oversized but always fresh and tasty. The flavors explode in your mouth! The proper way to buy fresh produce in the grocery store in Rome is to don a plastic glove while you select your produce and then weigh it on a special scale that spits out a bar-coded label which you attach to your bag. Failing to do so will earn you the visible disgust of the checker and anyone in line behind you. The checker has no ability to weigh, price or do anything except wait while you go back and do it correctly. We were very embarrassed to have learned this the hard way – twice!
The Jewish Ghetto
Jon suggested we walk to the Jewish Ghetto today. This will be our first taste of this old quarter known by locals and tourists for its rich food, eclectic architecture, and complicated history.
Walk Like a Roman
As its Sunday we join the throngs of people walking down the center of the Via dei Fori Imperiali which is pedestrian only on weekends. There is something that feels especially festive when walking in the middle of this broad thoroughfare that runs right through the ruins of the various forums. The crowd seems particularly good-natured this afternoon. Folks taking selfies, fending off street vendors and applauding some especially good street musicians. It’s a happy scene where everyone just seems to be celebrating the day!
Victor Emmanuel Monument
At the Victor Emmanuel Monument, we take a few minutes to capture pictures of some of the statuary and fountains at the monument which is called somewhat disparagingly by locals as the “Wedding Cake” or “Typewriter” building. We disagree. We love the twin statues of chariots each being pulled by a team of four horses high on its rooftop. This landmark can be seen from far away in nearly any direction.
A Mini-me Colosseum?
Our next stop on the adventure is the Teatro Marcello (Theatre Marcell). This 20,000-person stadium looks quite a bit like a mini Colosseum, but it is older by 90 years. The top floor has been converted to expensive modern apartments.
A Very Old Footbridge
We continued walking down to the Tiber River where the Ponte Fabricio footbridge crosses it. This is the oldest bridge in Rome and was built in 62 BC. In the center of the bridge is Tiber Island which is home to a church, a hospital, a restaurant and a gelateria. Fun fact: It’s a point of pride for “real” Romans to be able to say they were born in the hospital on Tiber Island!
First Glimpse of the Jewish Quarter
We cross over to a narrow cobblestone lane called Via del Portico d’Ottavia. This is the main drag thru the Jewish Quarter. It’s charming and village-y feeling. It feels like we crossed a street and suddenly have left Rome. Kosher restaurants lining both sides of the lane are full of the lunch crowd. A group of little kids are kicking a soccer ball in the lane while adults look on and smile.
Bagpipers Piping
On the way home, we see and hear a band of bagpipers performing a mournful piece in front of Trajan’s Column. We enjoy this somewhat surreal scene immensely. Since last week we’ve noticed a lot of men wearing kilts out and about. We just learned Scotland was a contender in the Six Nations rugby tournament hosted in Rome which might explain all the kilts. Ireland won the championship, better luck next year Scotland!
Return Visit to the Jewish Ghetto
There’s a lot more to see in the Jewish Ghetto. We wrote a silly riddle to describe all the things we saw today. Bear with us!
What do Alice’s Restaurant, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Led Zeppelin, a Jewish Temple, a Basilica, tasty little biscuits, and a lie detector have in common? Read on to discover the connections!
- Led Zeppelin
The 124 marble steps that make up the Ara Coeli Stairs date from 1348 AD and lead to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli. It is often referred to as the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ as it leads to the ‘Altar of Heaven’! — at Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli.
- Plain Jane Basilica
We found you can’t judge a basilica by its ‘cover.’ Check out the plain façade on this building (pictured lower right). When we entered we were dumbstruck by the beauty of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli which means: Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven. It certainly looks heavenly with its dozens of crystal chandeliers.
- The Eclectic Synagogue
The Great Synagogue of Rome has a square dome design and exterior surface looks something like clapboards. It almost feels like a simplified Victorian building. We were unable to step inside, however, there are some wonderful pictures online that are worth checking out if you are interested.
- In Memory of Alice
We love street pizza and never want to pass up an opportunity to have some. When we saw Alice’s Pizza we knew we had to go in. Our sister-in-law, Alice, was with us on our first visit to Rome. She passed away last year and we really miss her quirky and funny take on life. Seeing her name on the pizza restaurant brought us happy memories.
- Tasty Little Biscuits: The Famous Pasticceria il Boccione
A Facebook follower, Peter, made a great suggestion that we make a stop at this tiny bakery. It was closed on our first visit so all the more reason for a return visit, right? There were six of us at the counter in a shop big enough for 3 at most. The blonde lady was chatting it up with her customer while she oh-so-slowly wrapped a dozen coconut macaroons in brown paper and then tied it with yellow ribbon. A scene out of a novel, for certain.
When it was my turn I asked for 1 cookie each of the three types they had available. They don’t speak much English and I, of course, don’t speak Italian. It took a few hand gestures and pidgin-Italian, but I happily left the store with our little parcel of sweets. The macaroon was to die for.
- Gregory, Audrey and a Lie Detector
We walked some ways outside the Jewish Ghetto to find an ancient stone mask made famous by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the movie ‘Roman Holiday.’ There is a myth that if you put your hand in the mask’s mouth and tell a lie your hand will be bitten off. We love the scene from the movie where Gregory Peck pretends to Audrey Hepburn that he has told a lie and the stone has bitten off his hand. We thought it would be fun and kinda romantic to reenact the scene. As we stood in line for our turn at a photo opportunity it became clear that everyone else had the same idea as we saw the famous scene re-enacted by a dozen different couples.
A Walk to Remember in an Orange-Scented Park
It stormed like crazy yesterday and after it passed we were gifted with beautiful, yet very chilly weather.
Seemed like a good day to venture off the beaten path and visit a real hidden gem of Rome. Giardino degli Aranci or Savello Park. In English its much easier — The Orange Garden on Aventine Hill. The park was created in 1932 and is poised on the site of an ancient fortress. The park was created to provide access to the public of one very incredible view of the city. The park is said to have one of the best panoramic views of the city – We completely agree.
Fontana del Mascherone di S. Sabina (c.1593) is a mask and fountain sitting at the entrance of the park.
Walking through the park, the scent of oranges hangs heavily in the air. Strolling through the park provides a nice relaxing and refreshing break from the hustle of the city. It is a very serene place.
We saw this interesting couple taking selfies and enjoying the scenery. We thought she looked like a real life Ilsa from the Disney movie FROZEN. Our granddaughter would be excited and want to know where Olaf the snowman is. LOL.
PS – That’s the Victor Emmanuel monument in the background with the winged chariots — it seems like this favorite landmark of ours can be seen just about anywhere in Rome
The park is enjoyed by many visitors, but there were only 30 or so people there during our visit, compared to shoulder-to-shoulder crowds at other more major attractions.
The Aventine Keyhole
Next to the park is Basilica di Santa Sabina all’Aventino, a church dating to 422 A.D. with a bell tower & cloisters, nave with marble columns & medieval mosaic.
There is also a secret keyhole in the priory of the Knights of Malta, a religious order of crusader knights founded in the 11th century, the seat of power of the Knights Templar. Peeking through the keyhole provides a perfectly framed view of the dome on St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
The keyhole is not a complete secret, here is the couple in front of us peeking through. The view really is of St. Peter’s Basilica. WOW! — at Knights of Malta Keyhole.
Monument to Giuseppe Mazzini sits on the slopes of the Aventine Hill facing Circo Massimo. The sculpture on the monument (pictured) depicts tributes to Mazzini who was a major figure in the unification of Italy. — at Rome, Italy.
After a big day of walking and exploring, we stopped at our favorite corner café for some Bruschetta and a Peroni. Peroni is a tasty Italian beer that has been brewed since 1846 (4 years before California became a state).
Returning to our home at sundown, we continue to be awestruck by the all of Colosseum’s different moods.
The Roman Guy Colosseum Underground Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
Today we checked the box for one of Jon’s bucket list items. Although we had done a quick self-guided tour of the Colosseum a few years ago. There are now some special guided tours that take you on the Colosseum floor as well as touring the underground portions of the ancient amphitheater. Jon was really interested to see where the wild animals, criminals and gladiators dwelled when they weren’t performing.
The Roman Guy tour company offers a special underground tour of the Colosseum that also covers The Forum and Palentine Hill. Our guide today, is Rafaella E. who must be one of the most engaging, personable and bubbly tour guides ever!
Gladiator for a Few Minutes
Rafaella led us out on the main floor where we were able to experience the feeling of entering the Colosseum as the Gladiators had. We imagined what it would be like to enter the arena with 50,000 Romans cheering and jeering us. After the battle (assuming we were still standing), the Emperor would raise his hand, and we wait to see if we received a thumb up, or the dreaded thumbs down. Games would go on for many, many hours and at the end all 50,000 Romans could exit within minutes due to the revolutionary organization and design of the portals.
After our 15 minutes of fame as Gladiators, we were escorted into the restricted underground to get a behind the scenes tour of what occurred outside of the audience’s view.
Underground Colosseum
Rafaella led us to the two-story underground spaces beneath the Colosseum floor. This is where the Gladiators would wait their turn to perform. The cages for the Lions and the criminals were down there also.
There were 30 elevators built in this space that hoisted the animals and the Gladiators up to the stadium floor. There were 30 of these elevators throughout the underground and each one required four slaves to operate the hoist.
Rinascente Department Store – The Store with Something Extra
We were shopping for a small backpack and saw this as an opportunity to visit the premiere department store in Rome, Rinascente (think Nordstrom on steroids).
There’s an Aqueduct in the Basement
A unique feature of the store which took 11 years to buildout is a segment of an ancient Roman aqueduct running through the basement that still feeds the Trevi Fountain. Projected on wall above this old Roman pipeline is a multimedia show that explains the history and story behind it. Clearly, the Rinascente is encouraging people to check out this unique attraction in their basement. We thought this was a neat little unexpected and educational experience, however, we struck out on the backpack.
We weren’t too far from The Spanish Steps, so we headed that way. Climbing a few hilly side streets, we arrived and realized we were at the top of the stairs! This is another lively meeting ground with lots of people getting some cardio in by walking up and down the stairs.
This is the Trinità dei Monti church at the top of the Spanish Steps. People are gathering in anticipation of sunset which is a few minutes away.
We headed back to our Airbnb and came across this very interesting doorway. The building is a library…does the doorway indicate one should devour learning?
Vatican City Tour with The Roman Guy
Today we left Italy for a few hours to travel to the 16th and smallest country we’ve been to yet – Vatican City. The trip was a short one which cost just 12 Euro by taxi. We were surprised to learn that Vatican City is an independent city-state, does that make the Pope the mayor?
We had such a great experience on The Roman Guy’s Underground Colosseum tour that we decided to book with The Roman Guy again for a Vatican Museum Tour. We’ve been warned about how crowded the Vatican can be, so we chose the “Privileged Entrance” Vatican Tour with Sistine Chapel. The Roman Guy website says they deliver “Italy without the Crowds,” we are counting on it!
Well Qualified Tour Guide
We met our tour guide, Jad, who has a background in anthropology with a specialty in religious history at 7:45 a.m. Prior to entry into the museums Jad gave each of us an illustrated diagram of the frescos in the Sistine Chapel. Jad gave us an overview of the scenes that we would see inside the Chapel and emphasized those which are most significant and pointed out some details we should look for. We found his methodology very interesting and we think we enjoyed visiting the Chapel more because we had received this preview. Once we were in the museum, we walked quickly through the galleries to enter the Sistine Chapel. As promised, we had the chapel almost to ourselves, and it was a lovely experience.
We also toured the suite of four rooms that are covered in richly painted frescos by the renaissance master Raphael. We remembered from our tour of Nero’s Domus Aurea a couple of weeks before that both Raphael and Michelangelo had snuck into the buried Domus Aurea as young men to see the 1500 year old “cave paintings”. It is very interesting how the lives of these artists are entwined through the centuries.
Wrapping up our tour we got a second visit to the Sistine Chapel — which was packed with people — did a visit of the Belvedere courtyard with the Sphere within a Sphere sculpture.
We then toured St. Peter’s Basilica and lingered in front of the heartbreaking La Pieta sculpture. This work was done by Michelangelo when he was only in his mid-twenties.
After the tour ended we bought postcards for the grand-kids from the Vatican gift shop and mailed them from the Vatican Post Office so they’ll have a Vatican City postmark to add to their stamp collections.
In another couple of days we hop on a train for Sorrento — so excited to see all those citrus groves again!
After a year of planning, we almost didn’t make it to Rome – Read about it here.
Read about the best Uffizi Gallery tour here
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