Roamin Round Roma

TUESDAY: The Vatican Cattle Drive

We woke up early (though not as early as we’d planned) to beat the rush to the Vatican Museum. Apparently, it is not possible to beat the rush. By the time we got there the line was already three blocks long; we waited at least an hour to get inside. When we finally did, it was awful--not the exhibits, of course, but the experience itself. You can only move through the museum on a specific path. You can jump ahead to the more famous parts—the Rafael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel—but once you’re there you can’t backtrack. We chose to take the longer route and saw some neat things, but the congestion was such that we couldn’t stop to look at things properly. It just got worse as we neared the end. It truly felt like a cattle drive, and the Sistine Chapel was our Abilene.

By the time we reached the Chapel, I was pretty annoyed. And the throng’s blatant disregard for the chapel rules—be quiet, no photographs, etc.—just made it worse. So now that I’ve “been there, done that” at the Vatican, I don't plan to return next time I visit Rome. We stopped by a pizzeria for lunch and learned that LP was right—the pizza in Rome is nothing to write home about. I would suggest sticking with pasta dishes and save your pizza craving for Naples.

After the hectic morning and unsatisfying lunch, our first day in Rome wasn’t off to a great start. Luckily, the weather and St. Peter’s helped turn the tide. We strolled over to the Piazza San Pietro and basked in the warm glow of the sun for a while. The Piazza is a lovely open area. We stood on the two points from which all the outer columns perfectly align, which was quite neat, and then joined the queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica.

The basilica is truly massive—the second largest in the world, I believe. Naturally, there’s a ton to see on the inside: Michelangelo’s Pieta (his only signed work), the red disk on which Charlemange was crowned emperor, the ornate altar, the statute of St. Peter (we all rubbed his right foot for good luck), etc. And I was just dying to climb the dome and look out upon the city. After our hill-topping adventure in Cortona the day before, Ally and Laura weren’t too keen on the idea so they waited for me in the piazza. The views were definitely worth a few more sore muscles, especially on such a gorgeous day.

After sending a quick postcard off from the Vatican, I rejoined the girls in the piazza. They were being harassed by chatting with an older Italian gentleman. He wanted us to meet him in the Piazza Navona for dinner, which meant we were going nowhere near it that night! We trekked over to the Spanish Steps, which I found to be a bit of a let down on such a pretty day. I think the construction at the bottom and the scaffolding on a building right behind the steps really detracted from their charm.

At this point, we were going into severe gelato withdrawal; it had been almost 48 hours! But as we were leaving the gellateria, my cone broke and my precious gelato plummeted to the sidewalk. I was devastated. Luckily, the sweet man in the shop took pity on me and gave me a replacement cone. We enjoyed our treat while lounging on the steps and basked in the waning sunlight of the afternoon. On our way back to our hostel, we stopped by the Trevi Fountain and insured our return to Rome by tossing in one coin each. None of us are too keen on Italian men so we didn’t throw in any more than that (a second coin means you’ll fall in love with an Italian while a third means you’ll marry him).

Dinner that night was at a lovely restaurant on Quirinale Hill. The place we originally went to was full so we were sent us next door to its sister restaurant. It was a fairly pricy meal, but it was also the best we had in Rome. I had salad followed by spaghetti with monkfish. Everything was simply delicious.

WEDNESDAY: The Ides of March

Is there a more fitting day to visit Ancient Rome than the Ides of March?

Ally, Laura, and I split up until dinner. I woke up early and got to the Colosseum as it opened. It was a lovely morning so I drifted around the complex for a couple hours with my trusty audio guide. Among the things I learned: the Colosseum wasn't so named for its colossal size but rather after for the colossus of Nero that used to stand at the front gates. I'm fascinated by trapdoors and pulleys used to make animals and sets magically appear from the beneath the floor; they had a mininature showing how it was done. Such ingenuity in the name of gory entertainment!

Next up was the Palatine. It was here--legend has it--that Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded Rome in 753 BC. It used to be a posh Roman neighborhood, but the Palatine now resembles a lovely park checkered with ruins. I relaxed for a while on a bench overlooking the stadio and then headed down to the Roman Forum. It was all so overwhelming that I bought a book to help me understand just what I was looking at.

It would be futile for me to try and describe every detail so I'll just briefly discuss my personal highlights. I started from the Colosseum and walked along the Via Sacra (Sacred Way) to the Arch of Titus. The Arch commerates Vespasian and Titus' victories over Jerusalem. What I didn't know is that Roman Jews would avoid passing under it because it marked the beginning of the Jewish disapora (expulsion from Jerusalem). At the other end of the Via Sacra stands the Arch of Septimus Severus Snape, built to celebrate Rome's victory over the Parthians. This arch has very impressive reliefs but unfortunately I didn't get a good close-up of them.

In the center of the forum is the House of the Vestal Virgins. (I feel a particular affinity for my VV sisters, having played the (secretly slutty) Vestal Virgin at Leigh's murder mystery party back in the day!) Vestal Virgins led privileged lives (theater tickets, dinner parties, etc.) and were honored throughout Rome, but it all came at a price--30 years of celibacy, which could begin as early as age six. The punishment for breaking the vow of chastity was being buried alive!

After swinging by Trajan's Column (decorated with a spiral of beautiful reliefs of his battles against he Dacians), I headed to the Capotiline Museums. But as interesting as the exhibits sounded, I just wasn't up to spending time inside on such a lovely day. So I decided to head toward the Pantheon, searching for some sustinence along the way.

I sat down at a restaurant near the Pantheon. Somehow, I got to talking to two English men (father and son) who were sitting at the table next to mine. (I think I had noticed their Middlesbrough kits and asked if they were British.) They were in Rome for the Middlesbrough-Roma football match that night and informed me that I'd be seeing red-clad Middlesbrough fans all over Rome that day (and I did). I ended up chatting with them for a good 45 minutes. I told them about the Chelsea game I had attended, and we just talked about various things--British weather, rugby, skiing, the cost of living in Norway (random, I know). The father showed me pictures from the ski-jumping competition he had watched the week before, and I gave them advice on a gelato place they should try. Our checks came about the same time, and the father insisted on paying for mine. He explained it was for the "pleasant company," which was incredibly sweet of him. I really wish I'd taken a picture of my Middlesbrough friends for posterity's sake. Oh well, at least their team drew a tie that night and advanced in the Uefa Cup!

I wandered through Piazza Navona before stopping by the Pantheon, where I happened to run into Laura. We checked it out together before heading to Gelateria Giolitti, which is said to have been Pope John Paul II's favorite. I would say it was the best gelato I had all trip, not including the return trip I made the next day. ;P Laura and I split apart again; she wanted to visit a church, while I wanted to make one last visit to the Roman Forum and Colosseum area.

The three of us regrouped at the hostel later that evening. Ally had spent the day in Tivoli checking out Emperor Hadrian's villa. Laura had visited many of the same sights as I did but just as different times. We took it easy on our feet and just had dinner near our hostel.

THURSDAY: Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

We split up again on Thursday. On the recommendation a couple girls staying in our hostel, I got up early and headed to the Borghese Gallery. I had to get there early because the gallery limits its tickets, which I didn't have yet. They assured me that 9 AM tickets would still be available this time of year, and they were right. I walked to the Museum through the grounds of the Villa Borghese. It was drizzling rain, but I didn't mind too much. It was a nice respite from the hectic streets of Rome.

The Gallery was created in the early 1600s by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the pope's nephew and passionate art collector. He was so passionate, in fact, that he would use whatever means--monetary or muscle--necessary to get the pieces he wanted. The Borghese family has kept up and added to the collection over the centuries, although many pieces were "sold" to Napoleon after his sister Pauline married into the Borghese family. These now sit in the Louvre.

I bought and audio guide on the advice of a Patricia, an older woman I met in the ticket line. I was glad I did. I got so much more out of the gallery because of the insightful commentary. And with only two hours to see everything, it was nice to have a more precise path to follow. One of the gallery's highlights is its collection of sculptures by Bernini. The Cardinal "discovered" the brilliant Bernini at a young age and commissioned many of his most famous works. I was particularly taken by his Apollo and Daphne, a dramatic piece which captures the moment Apollo catches Daphnes and she starts turning into a tree. Other wonderful Bernini works include Pluto and Proserpina, David, and the incomplete Truth Unveiled by Time.

The upper level contains the bulk of the paintings. Titian's Sacred and Profane Love has become somewhat of a museum symbol. Rafael's Deposition, Caravaggio's Madonna, and Bassano's The Last Supper are among the "Life of Christ" highlights. But my favorite painting was Domenichino's Diana:



I just find it to be an interesting transposition--women (fittingly Diana and her nymphs) doing typically male pursuits--hunting, wrestling, running, etc. What you might not be able to see is the two young men spying on the nymphs from behind a bush (a big no-no). One is giving the viewer the "shhh" sign, but the woman bathing in the foreground sees you!

I barely made it through the collection when the two hours was up. After purchasing a book on the Gallery, it was back out into the rain. I didn't mind the rain that much. It wasn't coming down particularly hard, and it meant far fewer people on the streets. I walked back into town, swinging by the now-empty Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and Giolitti. After a bit of shopping, I walked back by Ancient Rome on my way to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. I took refuge in the church for a while to write some postcards, and then I was off to meet up with my roommates at the hostel. Laura had spent her day checking out catacombs somewhere along the Appian Way. Ally had gone church-hopping.

After getting Ally a train ticket (Laura and I used rail passes all week), we stopped by a supermarket to get food for the road. When we went to get on our train, it was ridiculously full. Moreover, Ally had forgotten her Florence poster at the hostel. So instead of cramming onto the train and sacrificing the poster, we decided to wait an hour for the next one. It was definitely a good decision; our train was pratically empty. After a relaxing ride to Naples, we found our hostel and turned in for the night.

Here's the link to the second Italy photoset. Enjoy! Next up is Naples, Pompeii, Vesuvius, and the Amalfi Coast!