Parish Pilgrimage to
Rome
We
landed in a thunderstorm and our coach was delayed getting into the city by flooded roads. But a warm welcome at the Casa La Salle, a good
meal and litres of local red wine at only 5 Euros soon cheered us up.
We’d
been met by our wonderful courier, Giorgio, who hardly stopped talking during our visit. His enthusiasm and knowledge was phenomenal and we
felt very fortunate to have him. (Anyone
travelling to Scotland may be interested to know that his brother-in-law runs the best ice
cream business in the UK - Vesocchi's at Broughty Ferry.)
Next morning
we were on our way by 8.30 with Giorgio pointing out places of interest to right and left
all the way. As we went into a tunnel near the
Vatican, Felix grabbed the microphone to point out the college where he spent his first 4
years in Rome.
We visited
the catacombs and church of St Sebastian. We
followed our guide single file through the labyrinths of underground tunnels dug out of
volcanic rock, and were anxious to stay close to the person in front as we passed the
burial shelves in niches on either side. A
church was later built on top of the tunnels.
Next we went
to the church of St Paul Outside the Walls, built on the spot where St Paul was buried. 146 marble columns flank a formal garden leading up
to the beautiful painted and gilded façade of the church - the most finely decorated in
Rome – but it’s not the original. A
big fire destroyed much of the lavishly constructed church in 1823 and what you see today
is mostly 19th century.
It was time
for lunch and Giorgio took us to the station buffet! British
Rail could learn a thing or two – we had a choice of pizzas, salads, hot dishes,
sandwiches and more.
Later, we
walked through the narrow streets via the Piazza Navona to the Piazza do Rotonda where we
stopped for an ice cream (from a choice of about 50 different flavours) before going in to
the Pantheon – my personal wonder of the world – and then to the Trevi Fountain. When we arrived back at the Pantheon the square was
crowded with people celebrating the victory of President Obama in the US elections. From the stage a gang of politicians were speaking
in his support and a large screen was showing live television pictures from America.
Another early
start on Thursday morning to beat the queues at St Peter’s. First we met our guide for the day, Maria, and had
fun setting up our “whispers” (radio receivers and earphones so that we could
hear her commentary as we went along.) Andrew left us to climb to the top of the cupola
which Ronnie and I did this some years ago and the views are stunning. In the cathedral we spied a gap in the queue to
touch the foot of the seated statue of St Peter. The
toes had been worn away over the years and now they have placed a solid toecap on his
right foot just like an army boot!
Next stop was
the Cathedral of Rome, St John Lateran where the pope is bishop. Across the road is the Scala Santa – the holy
stairway brought back from Jerusalem by St Helena and said to have been trodden by Jesus
in the house of Pontius Pilate. The 28 marble
steps, now covered with boards must be climbed on one’s knees. At the top is the pope’s chapel and the holy
of holies containing important relics. Two of
our group went up on their knees – the rest of us cheated and walked up the steps
either side! Finally, a visit to the church of
St Clement – or rather, churches. The 12th
century church at ground level is built over a 4th century church and, lower
still, a partly excavated pagan temple.
A walk round
the Vatican gardens was scheduled for Friday morning and the afternoon was free for us to
wander round the Vatican Museums. We did the
short tour taking in the Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of the Tapestries, Gallery of
the Maps and the Raphael rooms before entering the magnificent Sistine Chapel. It was smaller than I expected but nothing
could prepare you for the splendour of Michelangelo’s ceiling and his painting of the
Last Judgement.
Our day was
not yet over. The “Left Bank”
neighbourhood of Trastevere was where we would eat at a local restaurant. We had another lovely meal finishing with tiramasu
where Ronnie managed to get a double portion! After
the meal, some stayed in the restaurant and finished the wine while a party of us walked
through the narrow streets to the main square and to the floodlit church of St Maria de
Trastevere.
Saturday was
the turn of Ancient Rome. First up the
“gentle” steps to the top of Capitoline Hill, the ancient citadel remodelled by
Michelangelo. Behind lie the ruins of the Roman forum – temples, arches, palaces. Interestingly, the hand chiselled carvings on the
earlier remains have survived better than the later ones which were done by hand drills. These cut deeper into the stone allowing water and
silt to rest there and erode the stone.
At the
Colosseum the sunshine we’d enjoyed all week gave way to heavy rain and we decided it
was time for lunch! Given the trouble we had
finding accessible toilets in the city (they all seemed to be up or down 2 flights of
stairs) public transport is fantastic. The
buses are kerb level anyway but additionally they have ramps that roll out from under the
central doorways making wheelchair access simple. We
ate while it rained – then hit the shops!
On Sunday we
decided on early Mass (7.30!) in Italian in the chapel while others went later to the
Anglican church in the city for a Remembrance service.
We all had different plans for the morning – the forum, St
Angelo’s castle, Felix went to see his sister, the Villa Borghese park. We went to the top of the Spanish Steps then
through the Pincio gardens to the terrace overlooking the Piazza de Popolo where a treat
awaited us. An orchestra and singers were
rehearsing for a concert in the square below and the beautiful music spiralled up to us
– rivalled by the bells of St Maria del Popolo.
As we reached
the Piazza di Spagna again, I heard the roar of an engine.
Ronnie had been complaining all week that he hadn’t seen a Ferrari
– and there was one speeding towards us. We
let out a cheer as it drove past and the driver stopped, reversed back and shook
Ronnie’s hand.
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