A Little Background
Prior to our departure, I had high hopes of reading books and watching movies set in Italy to prepare us for our adventure. In reality, I only read guidebooks and blog posts and we managed to watch a grand total of one movie set in Italy, Roman Holiday. It’s one of my all time favorites. I love old movies and watching Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck explore Rome is always fun but especially so knowing that we’d be visiting those same sites ourselves in the not too distant future. It was Jason’s first time to see the whole movie which made it even more fun.
That’s not to say that it wasn’t time well-spent preparing for our trip. We’d compiled a detailed itinerary with our must-see sights, entry times for reserved attractions, transportation information including connections, hotel information, as well as some additional items that would be nice to see if we had time and the locations of nearby playgrounds. We’d also broken up our guidebook into single city mini guides which could easily fit in my purse or even Jason’s pocket. Then there was the chronologically arranged folder of hotel confirmation, museum reservations, and papal audience ticket pickup instructions. Organizationally speaking, this was our most thoroughly planned trip to date.
Exploring Ancient Rome
Upon our arrival in Rome, our first order of business after checking into the hotel was to find somewhere to eat lunch. Jason perused the guidebook and chose the nearby Enoteca Corso which was absolutely fabulous. An unassuming little shop that only serves lunch, it had a lovely menu of pasta dishes. We were greeted upon entry and shown to a table right at the front. The hostess brought over a high chair for Michael and he proceeded to slam a wine glass down on the table at just the right angle to shatter it completely. So much for a graceful beginning to our journey. Gracious and understanding, the staff cleared up the bits of glass. Keeping Michael’s area wine glass free, we finished the rest of our meal without incident. I went with the Lasagna al Forno which was perfectly cheesy with a delightful sauce and one of my favorite meals from our entire trip. Michael helped me with the lasagna. Jason opted for the fettuccine with tomato and basil and was very pleased with his choice as well. We shared a quarto of their very pleasant house wine.
Under brilliant blue skies, we made our way to the Coliseum. Belly full of delicious pasta, Michael fell asleep as we walked. Despite it being early in the tourist season, there were swarms of people. Gypsies accosted us at every turn hawking selfie sticks. We bought our tickets for the Coliseum and Roman Forum and joined the entry line for the Coliseum. As we waited, we continually heard calls for “English tour, skip the line.” Some of these would-be tour guides would address each tourist personally while others just made a general announcement to the queue. However, the line moved quickly enough and soon we were inside.
Inside, we were struck by the incredible engineering and spaciousness of the place. Its aura of magnificence is tempered by the sad reminder of the countless people who lost their lives there in the name of entertainment. It stands not just as a monument of Roman power but its abuse: Roman brutality and aggression. The blood of the Christian martyrs, the gladiators, and slaves who sacrificed all calls out to all who enter the place, urging us to choose our better selves, respecting all human life as a gift, and living in solidarity with those weakest among us. Each year on Good Friday, the pope leads the Way of the Cross through this place, remembering Christ’s suffering, passion, and death and calling attention to the injustices that we still perpetrate against our fellow human family.
Along similar lines, I’m currently reading St. Thérèse’s autobiography, Story of a Soul, which I highly recommend. St. John Paul II named her a doctor of the Church because of the great value to be found in her writings which speak so beautifully of the love and mercy of God. In his homily upon naming her such, he said, “Among the Doctors of the Church, Therese of the Child Jesus and Holy Face is the youngest, but her spiritual itinerary shows such maturity and the intuitions of her faith expressed in her writings are so vast and so profound, that they merit a place among the great spiritual masters.” Getting back to the matter at hand though… In part of her memoir, she recounts her own visit to the Coliseum. This was during her pilgrimage to Italy when she was not quite 15, the same one where she petitioned the pope to allow her to enter Carmelite convent at 15 rather than waiting until she was 21. She speaks with great admiration and inspiration of the witness of the Coliseum martyrs who sacrificed everything because of the depth of their faith in Christ. “How shall I describe the feeling which thrilled me when I gazed on the Coliseum? At last I saw the arena where so many martyrs had shed their blood for Christ. My first impulse was to kiss the ground sanctified by their glorious combats.” She and her sister, Céline, stray from the designated path over barriers and rubble to venerate the site of one of these martyrdoms where she prayed for the grace to be a martyr for Jesus herself. Love motivated these martyrs to sacrifice everything for Christ. That same love of God inspired St. Thérèse’s “Little Way” and her love and prayer for every person as well as her love and admiration of God’s creation. The martyrs remind us that Love is the most powerful thing on earth. The faith for which they died still lives on throughout the world while the Roman empire who put them to death has long since crumbled.
Heavy and deep as all that history is, the Coliseum is truly impressive. The beautiful arches that have stood for thousands of years give witness to the architectural prowess of the Romans that would not be rediscovered until the Renaissance. Seating 50,000-80,000 spectators, the scale alone is staggering. Not content with simple enormity, it is also very beautiful to behold. Still standing as an enduring reminder of a civilization that has long since fallen, it has a definite elegant grandeur. Romans certainly built monuments to last and built them with style and grace.
After the Coliseum, we went next door to the Forum and ventured through the heart of Ancient Roman life. The triumphal arches and remnants of temples tell the story of the Roman people. The arches commemorate military victories that expanded the empire to amass an impressive area, spanning much of Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East at its height. Some of the basilicas (public court buildings) were simply enormous and their remaining columns speak to their gigantic stature. The numerous temples dedicated not just to gods and goddesses but also to deified emperors and empresses give a window into the complicated intertwining of religion and politics in Ancient Rome. Even in the current ruinous state, the Forum is a striking and memorable place to visit. Back when all the buildings and monuments were intact and colorful, it must have been incredibly impressive.
Gelato, Piazza Rotunda, and the Pantheon
With Michael once again awake, we walked back in the direction we’d come to grab our first Roman gelato at San Crispino on Piazza della Maddalena a block from the Pantheon. I selected a cone of my absolute favorite flavor, stracciatella which is a cream gelato with delectable flecks of chocolate. Jason went with a lemon sorbetto cone. Gelati in hand, we found a spot to sit in the Piazza Rotunda just outside the Pantheon. Michael liked the gelato and sorbetto just fine but he devoured my cone. Happy to be free, he ran around the square, chasing pigeons and smiling broadly.
Fortified by gelato/sorbetto/tasty cones, we ventured inside the Pantheon itself. Inside, one’s attention is immediately drawn upward to the magnificent dome with sunlight streaming through the oculus (open air skylight.) This breathtaking dome inspired and served as a model for some of the most famous domes in the world (Bruneleschi’s dome atop Florence’s cathedral, Michaelangelo’s dome of St. Peter’s, as well as the US Capitol dome.) Built as a Roman temple to all the gods, it was preserved as a church dedicated to all martyrs and thus the interior is intact. The colored marble is beautiful and it houses the tomb of Raphael, the famous artist, as well as modern unified Italy’s first two kings.
A Taste of Piazza Navona
We walked over to Piazza Navona and took in the hustle and bustle of the busy square filled with people. Admiring Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), we viewed the statues representing the Ganges (Asia), the Danube (Europe), the Nile (Africa), and the Rio de la Plata (the Americas). Rising up at its center is an ancient Egyptian obelisk. The buildings flanking the square are lovely too and it made for a nice evening stroll.
Caravaggio at San Luigi della Francesi
Between the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon lies the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (St. Louis of the French) which has a lovely Caravaggio chapel with a cycle of paintings depicting the life of St. Matthew (his calling, his inspiration, and his martyrdom.) There are so many beautiful churches in Rome and this is certainly one of them.
Dinner and Jet-Lag
Throughout our afternoon adventures, we’d been enjoying ourselves far too much to feel the effects of our travel. As we returned to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner, the hours on the plane, the sleep deprivation, and the walking caught up to us. We went to dinner at a quiet little wine bar, Enoteca L’Angelo Divino. It was right up Jason’s alley and he enjoyed every minute of our time there. The quiet ambiance coupled with Michael’s tiredness and readiness for bed only enhanced my own exhaustion so I wasn’t able to truly appreciate the atmosphere or food. We ordered a cheese plate and tried several Italian wines by the glass. For our main dish, I had fonnarelli pasta with an almond pesto and Jason had a vegetable lasagna. Michael was a bit restless and our kind waitress found some little toy figurines for him to play with as we ate. He enjoyed the little centurion, R2D2, and a dinosaur. Eventually though, given the length of the meal, Michael reached his limit and had a meltdown. I completely understood his emotions. It had been a very long day indeed. A wonderful day in Rome but such a long time since we’d really slept. We were all entirely and completely wiped out. We returned to the hotel and were asleep mere moments later.
eunbambino 
Beautiful! You made the most of it ❤
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