The city
Today we do not have any formal classes or events so it was a good day to go walking in the city. Rome is a wonderful city in which to walk. Mostly flat and lots of pedestrian zones. It is also fairly compact so many of the things one would want to see are a short distance from one another. The weather was beautiful - blue skies and a nice Roman winter sun. The temp got up to about 50 today and when we were in the sun it was great. At lunch we started out in the sun and ended up in the shade which became pretty cool. There were a lot of people out enjoying the first day without rain or overcast skies in a week.
I led a little group just so they could get oriented and begin to feel comfortable going out on their own. We started out by walking through the back streets to the Piazza Navona. I got a little off course from what we used to do walking to school all those years ago so I will have to review where I went "wrong." Of course, wandering around "lost" in Rome has its own charms. Along the way I pointed out the Pasquino statue. Pasquino was a place that Romans would post satirical and libelous sayings to poke fun at the ruling classes and the papal court. There were several statues in the area that became secondary places which also often had these signs. Sometimes the statues would have a "conversation" as one would feed off the other, Interstingly, the movie theater we used to go to so we could watch English movies was called The Pasquino.
From there we made our way to the Pantheon. I think it is the only intact ancient Roman building in Rome. It is now a church as well as a tourist attraction. King Victor Emmanuel and King Umberto are buried in the Pantheon. When I was a seminarian I happened to be in Rome around the time King Umberto died. The college received a call to see whether there were any seminarians available to serve for his funeral since involvement by Italians might be taken politically one way or the other. I was willing but we were never called back. So I am still waiting for my opportunity to take part in the funeral of a king.
We tried to grab a coffee at Tazza d'oro which is a nice coffee shop up the street from the Pantheon but it was too crowded. We made our way to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which is built over the ancient temple of Minerva and contains the body of St. Catherine of Siena. She is buried under the main altar but we were not able to get very close due to some kind of military celebration taking place in a nearby side chapel.
From there we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. Along the way I pointed out the graduate house of the North American College, the Casa Santa Maria, where I lived while I completed my licentiate degree in 1989-90. We also passed by the Gregorian, my alma mater for my first cycle.
I had hoped to have lunch at the Abruzzi Restaurant but, alas, it is closed on Saturday. I thought I had checked that out but guess I did not. We ended up at a place right up the Piazza Dodici Apostoli (12 apostles). The host/owner was a hoot and he kind of took over ordering. That is usually a danger sign but it ended up alright. We had water and wine, some antipasti (bruschetta, meats, grilled veggies and flatbread) and then ordered our main meals. Some of us had pizza, others pasta. The two "specials" were Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper, similiar to Carbonara) and Vongole (clams). I had the latter. I love Spaghetti alla Vongole but it never tastes the same in the States so I usually pass. This was every bit as good as I remember. There is a great flavor and am not sure what makes it different from the States. No one opted for dessert or coffee so we began to make our way back home.
Since we were nearby I suggested we go partway down the Corso Victorio Emmuele - the main street from the Vatican to the train station. One of our group was interested in the Church of San Marco which is in the Piazza Venezia so we walked by there. I was a little confused as we continued walking and took a few detours (getting lost in Rome is part of the fun). In the end we came upon the Tiber and crossed over into Trastevere. We started toward the College and made our way past the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. WE stopped in for a few minutes. It is a really beautiful church with stunning mosaics. I also checked out the Sunday Mass time as I would like to go there for Mass tomorrow morning. As a student, of course, we were committed to Mass in the College. I am hoping to take this opportunity to visit some of the churches in Rome and attend Mass as they were intended to host. These beautiful churches that people visit as tourists were built to house the worship of the Christian community of Rome. It will be interesting to see them function as they were intended.
We ended up back at the College after climbing the Gianicolo (the hill on which the College sits). Even as a student it was a tough climb. I felt surprisingly decent as I climbed. Had thought about going down the hill for dinner tonight but we'll see how ambitious I am to take on the hill again.
I made reservations to go to Vienna for the weekend next weekend. A couple of the guys will join me. One of my parishioners, Luke Berkley, is a student at Luther College and the orchestra is doing a three week residency in Vienna. They will perform at the Musikverein on Saturday night. It is only an hour and a half flight and both the airfare and hotel were very reasonable so I am looking forward to that. Luke's parents, Scot and Becky who are parishioners, and his grandfather will be there too. It should be a great evening - cold, but great.
I led a little group just so they could get oriented and begin to feel comfortable going out on their own. We started out by walking through the back streets to the Piazza Navona. I got a little off course from what we used to do walking to school all those years ago so I will have to review where I went "wrong." Of course, wandering around "lost" in Rome has its own charms. Along the way I pointed out the Pasquino statue. Pasquino was a place that Romans would post satirical and libelous sayings to poke fun at the ruling classes and the papal court. There were several statues in the area that became secondary places which also often had these signs. Sometimes the statues would have a "conversation" as one would feed off the other, Interstingly, the movie theater we used to go to so we could watch English movies was called The Pasquino.
From there we made our way to the Pantheon. I think it is the only intact ancient Roman building in Rome. It is now a church as well as a tourist attraction. King Victor Emmanuel and King Umberto are buried in the Pantheon. When I was a seminarian I happened to be in Rome around the time King Umberto died. The college received a call to see whether there were any seminarians available to serve for his funeral since involvement by Italians might be taken politically one way or the other. I was willing but we were never called back. So I am still waiting for my opportunity to take part in the funeral of a king.
We tried to grab a coffee at Tazza d'oro which is a nice coffee shop up the street from the Pantheon but it was too crowded. We made our way to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which is built over the ancient temple of Minerva and contains the body of St. Catherine of Siena. She is buried under the main altar but we were not able to get very close due to some kind of military celebration taking place in a nearby side chapel.
From there we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. Along the way I pointed out the graduate house of the North American College, the Casa Santa Maria, where I lived while I completed my licentiate degree in 1989-90. We also passed by the Gregorian, my alma mater for my first cycle.
I had hoped to have lunch at the Abruzzi Restaurant but, alas, it is closed on Saturday. I thought I had checked that out but guess I did not. We ended up at a place right up the Piazza Dodici Apostoli (12 apostles). The host/owner was a hoot and he kind of took over ordering. That is usually a danger sign but it ended up alright. We had water and wine, some antipasti (bruschetta, meats, grilled veggies and flatbread) and then ordered our main meals. Some of us had pizza, others pasta. The two "specials" were Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper, similiar to Carbonara) and Vongole (clams). I had the latter. I love Spaghetti alla Vongole but it never tastes the same in the States so I usually pass. This was every bit as good as I remember. There is a great flavor and am not sure what makes it different from the States. No one opted for dessert or coffee so we began to make our way back home.
Since we were nearby I suggested we go partway down the Corso Victorio Emmuele - the main street from the Vatican to the train station. One of our group was interested in the Church of San Marco which is in the Piazza Venezia so we walked by there. I was a little confused as we continued walking and took a few detours (getting lost in Rome is part of the fun). In the end we came upon the Tiber and crossed over into Trastevere. We started toward the College and made our way past the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. WE stopped in for a few minutes. It is a really beautiful church with stunning mosaics. I also checked out the Sunday Mass time as I would like to go there for Mass tomorrow morning. As a student, of course, we were committed to Mass in the College. I am hoping to take this opportunity to visit some of the churches in Rome and attend Mass as they were intended to host. These beautiful churches that people visit as tourists were built to house the worship of the Christian community of Rome. It will be interesting to see them function as they were intended.
We ended up back at the College after climbing the Gianicolo (the hill on which the College sits). Even as a student it was a tough climb. I felt surprisingly decent as I climbed. Had thought about going down the hill for dinner tonight but we'll see how ambitious I am to take on the hill again.
I made reservations to go to Vienna for the weekend next weekend. A couple of the guys will join me. One of my parishioners, Luke Berkley, is a student at Luther College and the orchestra is doing a three week residency in Vienna. They will perform at the Musikverein on Saturday night. It is only an hour and a half flight and both the airfare and hotel were very reasonable so I am looking forward to that. Luke's parents, Scot and Becky who are parishioners, and his grandfather will be there too. It should be a great evening - cold, but great.
Comments