When in Rome...

Like young people the world over, when I first heard the saying "when in Rome..." I wondered, what exactly is it that the Romans do in Rome. Well this past June Marina and I had our chance to find out!

It was quickly explained to us, that in 387 AD, when St. Augustine arrived in Milan, he observed that the Church did not fast on Saturday as did the Church at Rome. He consulted St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who replied: "When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are." The comment was changed to "When they are at Rome, they do there as they see done" by Robert Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy. Eventually it became "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

We figured this meant we should start our quest at church... so we were off towards Vatican city!

When we caught sight of Saint Peter's Basilica we knew we were getting close. Saint Peter's Basilica is situated in Vatican city and has been the residence of Popes since 1377. The dome is clearly visible from many areas of the city and dominates the view of Rome; it was designed by Michelangelo, and is one of the most famous buildings in the world.




... wait! What's that? Saint Angel's Castle? We decided a little detour wouldn't hurt.




Know what? We're pretty close to Piazza Navona - let's go see that first!In the piazza there are three fountains: the central one, the Rivers' Fountain made by Bernini with an Egyptian obelisk added later (unfortunately this fountain had scafolding over it); the others are Moor's Fountain and Calderoni's Fountain. There are also plenty of artists in the piazza, selling their creations to the tourists - I do believe we bought a little something.


After wandering the PiazzaNavona for a while we were starting to get hungry. We decided it was time to head for lunch over by Piazza di Spagna. The piazza is famous for "the Spanish steps" a big flight of steps up to the Church of Santa Trinita (under scafolding, wouldn't you know it!). We climbed to the top for a panoramic view from the terrace of Pincio. The area is famous for the large number of "made in Italy" botiques: Armani, Versace, Valentino, etc. Needless to say, lunch was temporarily postponed while we shopped for, though it proved to be elusive, a reasonably priced designer bag that appealed to Marina.

We finally sat down to a pleasant lunch of pizza and wine on a pedistrian street. After lunch we wandered around and did a bit more shopping, finally deciding to call it a night relatively early.

The next morning we remembered our quest.... back to Vatican city! This time we actually made it in and promptly bought tickets to climb the steps to the top of Saint Peter's Basilica. Here are some pictures of the view from the top.

And the inside...

After our tour of Saint Peter's we toured the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel - but you can't take pictures inside. You will have to take my word for it, but the Sistine Chapel is a bit overwhelming! I knew the ceiling was painted but I didn't know the whole inside was nothing but floor to ceiling murals.

After the Vatican I need a break. We decided to wander, at a leisurely pace, over to the Fountain de Trevi. Along the way I saw some of these funny little public busses. Later I saw this tiny moving truck. I know the Italians are not big people but sheesh…

Further along the way we spotted these sisters looking in a window. I wondered what they were looking at… Oh, of course, a religious store! I had never thought of nuns shopping before!

We finally made it to the fountain! Here is a picture during the day and one at night when we went back to see it with the lights on.



Later we went to the coliseum and took the tour, then moved onto the Roman Forum, which was interesting, but quickly became one of my proverbial piles of rocks.

Here is a picture of the Piazza Venezia. We just walked past as it was too hot in the sun to hang around long!


Well I am sure I left something out … but I hope you enjoyed the photos. We didn’t ever find out what the Romans do, but I guess that just leaves us with a reason to visit again someday!

Cheers!