Roman Holiday Part Two: Holy City

Let me just preface this by saying that three days is not enough time to see Rome. Not by a long shot. Like London, Rome is a city I could live my whole life in and still find rich secret corners to explore. Just for starters the city has over 900 churches, spanning from the ancient to the very modern. It's overwhelming just to imagine, almost a thousand churches, each with it's own unique architecture, art work and history. Left to my own devices I might have waundered into every shiny church that caught my eye, but with only a day to devote to the holier side of Rome, we stuck with the most famous highlights.

In a nice segue between the ancient world and the Catholic one the first church we visited was the Pantheon. This is one of the oldest buildings in Rome, it was originally an ancient Roman temple, built in 125 AD. It evolved alongside the city and was converted to a Christian church in the seventh century. It is easy to see the pre-christian flair still in this overwhelming, circular building with it's impressive and influential domed ceiling. It is also well known as the burial place of Raphael, my least favorite ninja turtle. It is even more big and overbearing then it looks here, just this massive stone building sandwiched into the city.

But most of Rome was like that, everywhere we went there were churches. dozens and Dozens of churches. Old Churches, new churches, massive churches, tiny churches, ornate and plain churches. Churches right next to other churches. Why did they need three catholic churches in a row? Who can tell but they are beautiful to see. It was pretty overwhelming so we decided to go straight to the source- Vatican City. My personal religious leanings can only be described as very lapsed Catholic, but even so, the prospect of being in the Holy See a mere three days before Christmas was exciting.

As the trip's resident Catholic, I had spent most of the week fielding questions about the state religion. What is a relic? Why are priests celibate? What is the difference between a basilica and a church? (the answer to all three: I have no idea!) On our bumpy public bus ride across Rome I found myself struggling to outline the basic ideas of the Pope, St. Peter's and the Holy See, the tiniest independant state in the worldI could tell I hadn't done a very good job, my friend seemed to imagine the pope has some sort of holy cross between Santa Claus and Dumbledore...

We didn't run into the Pope, but we did get our fill of Michelangelo's elaborate St. Peters. It was every bit as massive and imposing as the most famous church in the world should be. I took over one hundred pictures and not a single one could capture the immensity of this structure. It is the biggest, richest, most massive building you could imagine. From the glittering golden altar to Michelandelo's famous Pieta (now viewable behind bullet proof glass after an unfortunate hammer attack) to the rows and rows of confessionals, each with a sign indicating the language of the priest inside, the place was entirely overwhelming. In the summer I've heard it can take hours just to get inside the doors so this was one instance where our off-season tourist strategy definatly payed off. While not empty (I'm sure it is never empty) there was space to waunder, and to breathe, and even to find a secluded corner to say a small prayer.
After some unfortunate misplannings, we made our way around the church to the Vatican Museums. The Catholic Church is nothing if not wealthy and over the centuries it has amassed an art collection which could give the British Museum a serious run for it's money. The biggest draw here is of course the Sistine Chapel. It was beautiful of course, but in a crowded, touristy way (I think it may have been the most crowded space I saw during my entire three month trip). All week I had been personally rediscovering some of the most iconic symbols there are: The David, the Colisseum, the entire city of Venice. This was one of those moments, and for once, it didn't live up to the hype. I was more compelled by the rooms and rooms of paintings, sculptures and other treasures which lead up to the chapel. There is some really amazing stuff that is completly overshadowed by the tourist attraction element.

Our final stop that day was secular in nature, but certainly no less touristy. The Trevi Fountain is at the top of every guidebook list, and probably requires no explanation at all by me. We got there right as dusk was falling and the backlights were coming on. The deal is if you throw a coin in it means you will return to Rome. Of course I threw mine in, over my shoulder, like everyone else. Rome was an amazing city, like London, I think it would take me a lifetime to full explore and appreciate it. I didn't need to throw a coin in the fountain.

I know I'm coming back.