in hindsight, the events of these days seem so clear-cut -- like, of course we just happened to go to such and such a place at such and such a time. but behind the scenes, there was
much planning and research and debating over how to squeeze it all in, how best to map out our plan of attack based on the weather, the bus schedule, and of course, the opening hours. we were on a bit of a time crunch, visiting the first two churches on our itinerary for this day, since they both close in the afternoon. maddeningly, there was some discrepancy between various sources (both online and in print) about exactly what those closing hours were. it was a Saturday, and as far as we could tell, the Basilica di San Clemente would close at 12:30 PM and the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo would close at 1 PM.
the bus gods smiled upon us and we arrived at the Basilica di San Clemente sooner than expected. this church stands on top of two other places of worship. the present day church and courtyard were built just prior to the year 1100 A.D.
inside, the church is decorated with beautiful mosaics and frescoes. no photos are allowed inside the church. the tomb of St. Cyril is here, as well (he was one of the primary missionaries to the Slavic people).
after looking around the church for a bit, we bought our tickets to go underground. at €10 each, i thought the price was a little steep to go see a house of worship -- but now, having visited there, i think they could easily charge more. we walked down a steep flight of stairs to arrive in the fourth century basilica. this ancient building was filled with fragments of sculptures and frescoes from one of the earliest paleo-Christian buildings still surviving. technically, no photos are allowed down there either, but several people (including a priest) were snapping a few discreet photos without flash, so Rebecca took a few too, and i'm so glad we have them.
 |
| ancient Christian funerary epitaph; this slab was placed in a swinging frame, so we could flip it over and view the reverse side, which was inscribed with a pagan message |
 |
| many of the frescoes date from the tenth to eleventh centuries |
one of the most incredible pieces of art in the ancient basilica is a fresco depicting the Madonna and Child, dating from the eighth century. it gave me actual goosebumps to be in the presence of something so old, and yet so familiar.
we next descended even further, down a fourth-century staircase, to a building complex whose earliest component dates to the first century A.D. this building is thought to have been an imperial mint. you can walk through this into an ancient Roman apartment building. one of these rooms has a window overlooking a freshwater spring whose water runs toward the Cloaca Maxima, the largest sewer system of ancient Rome. smelling the damp moss, hearing the rushing sound of the water, we were transported nineteen hundred years back in time.
across a little alleyway stands another building, which in the year 200 A.D. became a pagan temple to Mithras, or
mithraeum.
we finally walked back up through the layers of history. it was like being in a time machine, and the effect made me feel both more connected to humanity and more insignificant as an individual. what will we have to show for ourselves, two thousand years from now?
we emerged into the courtyard, which was now brilliantly sunny. today's forecast had called for intermittent showers all day, which is part of why we wanted to visit indoor sites like the churches. but still, this was a welcome surprise. we walked along through the neighborhood for about ten minutes, until we reached the Via di S. Paolo della Croce.
we walked under the brick archway and along this picturesque road. in the background, you can see a little band of approaching nuns, dressed in white. as we passed them, we could hear them singing a sweet little song.
we arrived at the Basilica of San Giovanni e Paolo at 12:45, fifteen minutes before it closed for the afternoon. this is another ancient basilica, built in 398 over the home of two Roman soldiers, John and Paul, who were martyred in 362. it is now the home of the Passionists.
 |
the entrance to the ancient Roman rooms underneath the basilica, including a domus ecclesiae
or a house church from the time when Christianity was outlawed |
inside the church is a riot of chandeliers. we knew that they would be closing soon, so we walked around to see as much of the church as possible before they closed. we both almost picked up a brochure sitting near the entrance, thinking that it was a guide to the history and art of the church, and then put it back when we realized it was just information about the Passionists (i thought "ain't nobody got time for that!" and immediately felt guilty about it).
 |
| * (photo credit: Rebecca) |
 |
| * |
the first chapel on the left is dedicated to St. Gemma Galgani. i had never heard of St. Gemma prior to this, but further research reveals that she was a young woman who was devoted to the Passionist movement, but unable to join the convent due to significant physical and mental illness. she had many mystical experiences and received the stigmata. she died at the age of 27.
on the opposite side of the church is the Chapel of St. Saturninus, who was martyred in the third century. i don't know much about him, but he might just have the most awesome name ever.
then, in the largest chapel on the right side, is the Chapel of St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist community. his relics are enshrined below the altar. the columns here are Egyptian alabaster, given by Muhammed Ali to Pope Pius IX.
at this point, the sacristan came into the chapel and announced that it was closing. we hurried out, and as we walked across the portico, another sacristan was closing the gate to the piazza! we got his attention and he let us out, and then Rebecca told him that there were still three other visitors inside the church as well. i'm not sure if he understood or maybe he just didn't care, because he continued the process of closing the gate, until the trio appeared. they didn't speak Italian either, but thanked him for opening the gate with somewhat nervous laughter. i got the impression that after that gate was locked, the sacristans would probably be off to a leisurely
pranzo (lunch), and woe to you if you happened to be in a dark alcove of the church and somehow got locked in.
 |
| free by the hair of their chinny chin chins |
we continued walking past the church, under the supporting arches that made me think of flying buttresses. by this point, it was drizzling again, and we felt vindicated in our choice of activities for the day.
we had about a ten-minute walk to our bus stop, and i somehow didn't realize how close we were to the Palatine Hill. we turned a corner and saw the ancient ruins towering above us. it just never gets old.
here commenced the most frustrating part of our day. we waited at the bus stop for at least twenty minutes, and another group of people that had been waiting at the same stop left after a while, so we thought maybe they knew something we didn't about the bus. like maybe it got caught up in a sharknado and wouldn't be coming at all (as opposed to just coming late, which is annoying but still workable). it was also raining steadily by now, although we both had our coats and umbrellas. i finally made the executive decision that we would wait ten more minutes, and then if the bus still hadn't come, we would go up to the corner and hail a cab. we reached the time limit, and somewhat reluctantly left our post at the bus stop (knowing that as soon as we stepped away, the bus would come). but the bus didn't ... and all the taxis that sped past were full ... and we were getting more and more frustrated as the minutes ticked by.
finally, we decided to walk to a bus stop on the cross street, so we could hopefully catch a bus that would get us close to our destination. and after waiting just a few minutes, the very bus we'd been waiting for pulled up ... even though it wasn't supposed to stop at that stop at all. i still have no idea what happened, and we got on in such a rush that i forgot to check which direction the bus was traveling and for a few horrible minutes i thought it was going to take us further away from our destination, but no! it took us right where we needed to go. so, thanks, Rome, i guess.
by this point it was almost 2 pm and we were starving. we ducked into a little restaurant near the Piazza Venezia, the Caffe Napoleon. i had
very low expectations for any place around such a tourist mecca, but the food was actually decent and the prices were reasonable (with the exception of the drinks - it was €5 for a soft drink!). bottom line, it was okay for a quick lunch. don't worry, we'll take you someplace better if you visit!
from there, it was just a short walk over to the Imperial Forum Museum at Trajan's Market. this museum is unique as it is housed inside the market complex -- essentially an ancient Roman shopping mall. the bottom floor of the museum is dedicated to the Emperor Trajan's exploits. he reigned from 98 - 117 A.D., an unparalleled military leader and philanthropist. he was adopted by the Emperor Domitian and succeeded him as emperor. during his reign, he expanded the borders of the Roman Empire to its largest extent.
 |
| statue of a Dacian man (from the area of present-day Romania, which was conquered by Trajan) |
 |
| fragments of sculptures from Trajan's Forum |
 |
| the foot of a winged bronze sculpture, possibly the goddess Nike |
 |
| section of the portico from the Forum of Nerva (98 A.D.) |
 |
| a model of a monument to Trajan that was erected in modern-day Romania after his conquest (109 A.D.) |
 |
| the Fasti Ostienses were marble slabs that delineated the major events in the city. this one commemorates the building of Trajan's Forum (112 A.D.) and Trajan's Column (113 A.D.), among others |
 |
| the hand from a colossal statue of Trajan (~117 A.D.) |
 |
| this map shows the vast extent of the Roman Empire (in red) at the time of Trajan's death in 117 A.D. |
the second floor of the museum houses more artifacts and sculptures. unlike some museums in Rome, this museum includes English translations of all the descriptive plaques, and even has some informative signs geared towards kids (in both Italian and English).
 |
| fragment of a Corinthian capital from the Forum of Augustus (2 B.C.) |
 |
statue from the Forum of Caesar (3rd century A.D.); i loved the juxtaposition of this statue
with the modern graffiti on the left side of the building across the street |
next we walked out to the portico and looked out over all the imperial forums, and the Vittorio Emanuele monument.
 |
i was pretty proud of myself for capturing this image of the Vittorio Emanuele monument reflected in the window ...
and then realized Rebecca had gone inside! |
 |
| this is a letter from Plotina, Trajan's wife, to the Epicureans in Athens, which she composed in Greek. she was highly educated and interested in philosophy. |
 |
| fresco from the Villa of Trajan (114-117 A.D.) |
finally, the moment we'd been waiting for ... we stepped outside onto the ancient basalt road, and down into the remains of Trajan's Forum itself.
dd
 |
| * |
 |
| * |
 |
| these roads are no joke. not built for strollers, wheelchairs, or weak ankles |
we were pretty much ready to have a helicopter fly in, pick us up, and drop us off at the hotel ... but there's no rest for the weary. we had to climb three sets of steep stairs to get back to the main level of the museum. for the record, my fitbit counted 15,000 - 17,000 steps for each of these heavy sightseeing days!
 |
| the Roman version of a StairMaster |
that evening, Sabrina and Rebecca watched the girls so Nick and i could go out for our 8th anniversary -- but that deserves a post of its own!
Comments
Post a Comment