Italy – Vatican & Colosseum

Written by: Jessica
Captions by: Diego

Pro tip: get to the train station early for your choice of seats. The Naples/Rome route ticket prices vary significantly based on how many stops there are along the way— your options are for a more direct and faster service, or it can be slow and meandering. We chose slow and meandering as the price savings were huge (USD$50 vs USD$15, or in that ballpark per person). So huge, that the train company didn’t seem to care who rode the train and never checked tickets during the entire 2.5-hour journey.

We checked into Hotel Morgana.  Despite it being early, they accommodated us with the early check in. Afterward, we grabbed our laundry, dropped it off at a laundromat around the corner and ate an amazing meal at Trattoria Cecio. I had my favorite meal in all of Rome there: a truffle and cheese sauce on pasta with ham.  Although, some other restaurants had fantastic artichokes for me to enjoy…. The meal prices between Rome and Naples is massive. Rome is about 50 percent more expensive than Naples. The wine was still cheap, though! Diego often would purchase a ¼ or a ½ liter of the house wine for us to enjoy with dinner for about 5 euros.

Later that day, we took a walk around the city and photographed the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. We went back to the Trevi at least one other time during our stay in Rome to get photos in different lighting.

The next day had a packed schedule. We got up and walked the hour from our hotel to Vatican City.  We spoke to the guards and got guided into the city itself (not the museums, or St. Peter’s Basilica) where we met our tour group for a tour of the Necropolis of St. Peter. This was a truly amazing experience and there is so much history within that city.

The Vatican was built on a pagan memorial ground, because that happened to also be where the apostle Peter was supposedly buried after he was crucified. The early Christians built a memorial for him, and then Emperor Constantine leveled the hill so that Peter’s tomb was at the top and built a church right on top. Over the centuries the churches got destroyed and re-done until today we have St. Peter’s Basilica above his supposed tomb. There was no body inside the tomb when it was excavated, instead bones, missing the feet, were found in a wall surrounding the tomb. Scientific analysis has shown that the bones are from the correct time period, and correct age and information about the man—but nothing is conclusive, since there is no historical record of Peter being removed from the tomb. The tour led you through some of the crypts that had been buried, and we were able to see a small portion of what is believed to be Peter’s burial place. If you ever have the chance: Take the tour! Sadly, I cannot show you photos of the inside as we were not allowed to take photos (it is a cemetery, after all).

Afterward, we climbed the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica. There were too many stairs for my taste, but the views were gorgeous. I liked that better than the interior of the Basilica, personally.

Due to time constraints, we had to eat right next to the church. This is an awful idea in general as restaurants near major monuments tend to be too expensive and serve terrible food. We hurried over for our scheduled entry to the Vatican Museums. We had purchased “Skip-the-Line tickets” online, for a small extra fee, because sometimes the line to enter wraps around the entire Vatican City. February is low-season for tourists and this proved to be unnecessary as there was barely a line to skip in the afternoon. Diego experienced the wait years ago during the summer months, it took about 1-2 hours to get in.

We spent a few hours going through exhibits on Christian history as presented by paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and other works of art. It’s not all Christian in the museum, however; there was a hall of Greco-Roman statues. I particularly liked that.  Most people are aware that the Sistine Chapel is within the Vatican Museums, but I think fewer people know that there is also artwork by Leondardo Da Vinci and Raphael. I looked for art by Donatello, to round out the Ninja Turtles, but I didn’t see anything. The Sistine Chapel is massive, and gorgeous, but I personally enjoyed the rooms by Raphael a bit more. Perhaps it was because they came first, were less crowded (and pictures are allowed!), and I was better able to appreciate the views. The Sistine is one of the last rooms to tour in the Vatican Museums, and by then it was getting toward dinner time.

The next morning, it poured.  We had purchased hideous lime green ponchos at Machu Pichu, but had never used them, and pulled them out when it started raining right before we got to the Colosseum. Within 5 minutes we knew the things were absolutely useless. There were no arms, the front and back were loose and the wind kept pulling the front up, since it wasn’t connected to the back, except at the top, and the hood kept blowing off.  The Colosseum is an amazing place, and really interesting, but due to the weather our trip there was a bit shorter than we’d have otherwise planned and not as enjoyable.

We went back to the hotel for a while to dry off and wait out the rain. Afterward, we walked to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. This is THE technical seat of the Pope and ranks higher than St. Peter’s Basilica in official church organization. However, in reality, the Pope is almost never there and it’s less grandiose. What really hit me was this: I had expected the souvenir shops at the top of the cupola of the Basilica, and in the Vatican Museums, and in the Vatican City. But here, within the main chapel itself, there was a room to sell souvenirs in the number one Catholic church in the world…I was appalled. Diego, who has been to Rome before, tells me this is fairly typical at the major basilicas. Jesus must be very upset considering he flipped sellers’ tables in front of Christian churches.

Afterward, we spent our evening back outside the Colosseum, taking some night photos. If it hadn’t been for a need for dinner, I think Diego would have stayed there a lot longer! As it was, we probably took photos for an hour and a half that evening, between sunset photos, and after-dark photos.

Tune in again soon for the rest of our journeys through Rome!