Europe, 10 May 2012

St Theresa in Ecstasy

Today was a full day in Rome to see some new things as well as repeat some we had seen on our previous trip here. One of our primary goals was Bernini's St Theresa in Ecstasy at Santa Maria della Vittoria, a very interesting sculpture from the Renaissance.

at Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

From there we headed to another new to us site, the Spanish Steps. This series of stairs goes down a hill for about a block from a church to another neighborhood. Next was a repeat visit to the Trevi Fountain in daylight which we had seen at night last time. It was not nearly as crowded when we first arrived, making it much easier to get good views and pictures. When we returned a bit later in the day it was much more crowded.

Of course there are many churches in Rome, and our next four stops were all churches. First was San Ignazio, the "Jesuit Church" where Gonzaga (as in Gonzaga University) is buried.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon is an amazing building that started as a Roman temple to all the gods. It is a very large concrete dome which gets thinner as it gets to the top, that dates from pre-Christian times. It is now a large round church with a beautiful mosaic floor.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva was the next church stop. Its claim to fame is a Michelangelo statue of Christ bearing the cross, one of the few Michelangelo statues in Rome. That was followed by Gesu Church, the Roman headquarters of the Jesuit order.

After all that culture it was time for some local refreshments. First came Tazza d'Oro Casa del Caffé for a granita di caffé con panna. It was interesting and good. That was followed by gelato at Gelateria Caffé Pasticceria Giolitti. It was then time for a return to our hotel for a short rest before heading out again.

We took the Metro across the Tiber River to Ottaviano, a short distance from the Vatican. On the way through the neighborhood we stopped for a pizza lunch at a small sidewalk café.

Since we had been to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter's on our first visit here, our goal this time was to climb the dome of St Peter's for its wonderful views of both the inside of the basilica and over Rome. There is an elevator to the base of the dome followed by about 350 steps up inside the dome to the copula. The views of the interior of the basilica from the dome are amazing as are the views of Rome from the copula. It was well worth the small cost and the exercise effort.

St Peter's Dome from above the nave

Looking down the nave from the dome

Once back at ground level, we went inside St Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. It also houses an amazing collection of art, the most famous of which is Michelangelo's Pieta. Unfortunately, due to vandalism, it is behind a wall of bullet proof glass. Still a beautiful piece of art. We also caught the end of a Mass in the Basilica, which included an organ postlude, filling the church with beautiful sounds.

Obelisk in St Peter's Square

Sunbeam in St Peter's Nave

Michelangelo's Pieta

From The Vatican we ventured into new area to us. We walked along the Tiber River into Trasteverve, an area not frequented as much by tourists. Of course, there are more churches. We visited Santa Maria Trastevere, another fine example of a Roman church, and one of the oldest having been made a Christian basilica in the 4th century. It's also interesting how many of the churches are Santa Maria Something.

Dinner at Da Lucia Dal in Trastevere

As we wandered the neighborhood, we found a ristorante on a side street with plenty of sidewalk seating (even if there was no sidewalk). All the outdoor tables were marked as "reserved" but we were seated there anyway. Our dinner at Trattoria da Lucia was, of course, excellent. This small restaurant has been operated by the same family sine the 1930's. Two ladies from Britain who were in Rome for a few days were seated next us and we had a good conversation.

After dinner we took a long walk back to the hotel through several neighborhoods. It was then time to repack for the train ride to the cruise port, including a good supply of Italian wine for the cruise.