Churches, Palazzos, Piazzas...Oh My!

What a day.  It being Sunday, the Mama Mia wanted to be sure to attend mass, and we had such a nice invitation from Fr. Martin to go to Mass at the North American College for priests that we decided to take him up on it.   We were a little nervous because we had to take the bus to get there, but it worked out great.  We squashed onto the 40 bus (literally guys...I was RIGHT by the front door where it opened and closed for passengers...it was pretty great.  I was up right by the driver and got to see a lot on our drive) and we were off.  We kind of knew what stop we wanted but it was a case of knowing it when we saw it.  We knew there was a Subway near by (the sandwich shop, not the metro stop)  and we sort of knew the street names (some of them are complex, just like streets in the US...Pleasant Run anyone?) but we allowed ourselves plenty of time to get lost which we ended up not needing.  Our stop was by the Ponte Vittorio Emmanuel (bridge) with nice views of the Tiber River and Mama Mia had a coffee at the counter (cheaper than a table) while we waited for Fr. Martin to come get us.

He showed up looking spiffy in his blacks and sunglasses and we climbed the hill, entered the wall (his school is a walled complex) and had a quick tour of the rec room, the seals from all the archdiocese in the US (including Indianapolis, Ft. Wayne, and Evansville) and a model of the school before the renovations (I swear, no building in Rome was only built once...they were all built on top of each other approximately one million times).  Then we found our seats for mass (he was a part of the service) and settled in for mass with about 200 priests and students in attendance.  There were other visitors too, particularly a couple of little girls who were darling.  The choir was amazing.  There's something about a men's chorus that just souds medieval and ancient but beautiful.

Brunch followed.  We ate with Fr. Martin (who was a Deacon at Christ the King Parish) and Tony Hollowell from Nativity and their friend Matt from Bloomington.  Matt and Tony had not been stateside in a couple of years so we talked about (what else) east side kick ball.  Catholics and their kickball.  After brunch (Fr. Martin told us a joke about the pictures of the popes on the walls) we saw their library which had a neat fire system having to do with sucking all the oxygen out of the room (must check to see if we can install this system into the State Library...surely not) and then Fr. Martin took us to the roof for some splendid views of Rome.  It was a lovely way to start our morning.

Following that, we headed to the Castel di San Angelo, the fortress that used to guard the Vatican and before that, it belonged to Hadrian who I believe is buried there.  Talk about views.  That was a great place to see the city spread out before us and it was amazing to see an ancient building melded into a Renaissance castle complete with art work on the ceiling and everything.  We also heard about when that structure was used as a prison.  The prisoners would be left to die of thirst and starvation.  Not a great way to go.  We walked along the upper parapet and even saw the Pope's little escape road that brings him from the Vatican to the castle to keep him safe.

We next wanted to see the Luigi church, but they didn't open until three, so we slipped around the corner and encountered the Piazza Navona.  A Bernini sculpture is the focal point of this piazza with a big obelisk in the center.  There are three fountains total...one on each end and the big one in the middle.  The piazza was covered with artists selling their wares, peddlers peddling their junk, gelato shops, restaurants, and tons of tourists.  We took some pictures then decided to go one block to the Pantheon.  

You know when you look at your art book and you think, "that's not that exciting looking."  You would be wrong.  It is absolutely amazing and is one of the most ancient and well preserved buildings in Rome.  Hadrian had it rebuilt in AD 126 so that building has been there for hundreds and hundreds of years.  It's famous because a perfect sphere could fit under the roof, it's so well proportioned and there is a big hole in the top that lets in the light.  It was great and very impressive.

Luigi followed.  This ornate church is very large with huge chapels on either side, but it is famous for it's St. Matthew Carrivagios (which was why it made it on our list).  Again there was a light you had to pay for to be able to see anything (and there was the obligatory guy on a speaker saying "Quiet." from time to time.)  This one was a place where it is okay to take pictures, but many places it is not.  I've gotten quite good at the sneaky picture taking.  

I'm so tired guys.  The highlights and then I need to go to bed.

We walked to Barbarini metro stop for two other stops to complete our day.  On the way we ran into the Column of Marcus Aurelius so were were able to snap pics and quickly gaze upon its splendor.  Our first real stop was the Barbarini Museum which includes many fantastic works like Bernini's Staircase, a Raphael or two, and (drum roll please...)  The Caravaggio Judith piece.  She was beautiful.  Bigger than I thought and Caravaggio has such a way of making the characters look like they live in candlelight.  We were also lucky enough to see ANOTHER JUDITH!  So that was pretty great.  We also saw a cool statue of a lady with a veil over her head...try sculpting that...a good looking portrait of Henry the VIII, some Tintorettos (we like him now because he is Venetian), and a huge ballroom.  This museum was once a private home and it was amazing to see the historic place with hardly any people.  This is a great stop near the end of your day because no one is there.

Sigh.  Caravaggio.

Our last stop was to see the bones of the dead Caputian monks.  It was a macabre site comprised of hundreds of bones joined together to look like traditional decorating motifs in normal houses, but it was not normal.  Because, bones.  

Last thought, we had a nice dinner near the Barbarini stop and now I'm so tired I must sign off.  Hopefully pictures are coming.

It was another great day.  Just one full day left.  

Bone note!