We’ve had another wonderful day here in Rome. After a nice breakfast on the roof-top terrace of our hotel––in which we finally figured out where to sit so you can be served all the espresso and cappuccino you like (which is to say, yesterday we sat in what was clearly a self-serve area)––we hit the streets at 9:00. The plan for the day was to head for Tiberina Island, tour Trastevere on the other side of the Tiber River, have lunch in Trastevere, cross back over the river for a walk along Via Giulia, and play the rest by ear.
We headed out on the backroads making our way for Tiberina Island. Along the way we suddenly stumbled onto 3 huge granite columns, a round structure similar to the coliseum, and a very large portico with granite columns. Clearly we were nowhere near either the Coliseum or the Roman Forum, so this was a great surprise. I studied my road map to try and figure out where we were We had come upon the Theatre of Marcellus, the remains of the Temple of Apollo, and the Portico of Octavia. Unfortunately the area was fenced off, disallowing all tours for the day; but it was really beautiful. Just around the corner we came upon the Synagogue Jewish Museum. Due to time, we refrained to going inside, but I did snap a picture of the columned entrance.
We crossed the Ponte Fabricio (Fabricius’ Bridge) to get to Tiber Island. The bridge is the oldest Roman bridge in Rome still existing in its original state. It was build in 62 BC(!). The small island consists of a hospital on one half and the Basilica of St. Bartholomew. It was founded on the island in 998 by Otto III, the holy Roman emperor, and contains relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. We entered neither the church (as it seemed gated shut) nor the hospital (as we were completely healthy) and so took a few pictures from the Ponte Fabricio coming onto the island as well as the Ponte Cestio (Cestius’ Bridge) leading off the island into Trastevere.
After a quick tour of the small island, we returned via the Ponte Fabricio. But instead of returning to the main road, we took the steps which led from the bridge down to the stone walkway along the river and walked along the Tiber River until we reached the Ponte Sisto. Ascending the steps, we used the bridge to cross over the Tiber River again, bringing us into the heart of Trastevere.
Trastevere is a very special area of Rome, retaining much of the quaint nature of “old Rome” due to its very narrow alleyways, old restaurants, and ancient buildings. Once in this area we visited Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the oldest churches in Rome (begin in the early 200s AD and completed in the 340s) and possibly the first official Christian place of worship to be built in Rome. The current church is mostly a 12th century reconstruction of the original and contains some amazing mosaics from the 12th and 13th centuries. Moreover the 22 monolithic granite columns in the nave of the sanctuary were taken from ancient Roman buildings, and themselves being originally shipped from Egypt(!). The Romans built columns in pieces, connecting them like legos with iron pins. So–according to our tour guide–all the monolithic columns we see came from Egypt.
Next stop was San Francesco a Ripa. The church is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi who lived in the adjacent convent when he visited Rome in 1219. His stone pillow and crucifix are said to be preserved in his cell. From there we headed to St. Cecilia, a 5th century church dedicated to the Christian martyr Saint Cecilia (martyred in 230 AD, cf. Foxes Book of Martyrs) and founded on the site of her house. After an attempt to make her deny her faith by scalding her to death, she was beheaded. Her body turned up in the Catacombs of San Callisto and was buried in her house below the church in the 9th century by Pope Paschal I, who rebuilt the church. Most notably, in front of the altar is a marble statue of Cecilia (lying on her side with her face turned away). The sculpture was sculpted in 1600 by a sculptor who used her (remarkably preserved) remains as a model when she was briefly disinterred in 1599. His statue depicts the three axe strokes on the neck as described in an ancient account of her martyrdom. From there we retraced our steps, heading back towards the Ponte Sisto. After stopping at another church, Santa Maria della Scala, we stopped for pizza at Caramella before leaving Trastevere. Needless to say, the pizza was absolutely amazing. Schylie’s featured artichoke hearts, olives, prosciutto, and mushrooms and mine featured buffalo mozzarella, basil, and cherry tomatoes.
We crossed the Tiber River via Ponte Sisto, which brought us directly to Via Giulia, the road we intended to walk. It’s a very narrow road that was built for Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. Technically it wasn’t finished to design, but it’s a very nice (and straight!) street that runs an entire kilometer (not the case for most streets here). We enjoyed the walk and took a picture of the famous Fontana del Mascherone (Big Mask Fountain) and the Farnese archway next to it. The archway was built to a design by Michelangelo and is beautifully adorned by ivy.
Coming to the end of the road, we took a turn or two and ended up at a stoplight. Held there for a moment, I studied the map and suddenly realized where we were! Looking up and moving to the right a bit, I said, “Look! There’s St. Peter’s!” So we crossed the Tiber River via the Ponte Vittorio Emmanuel and found ourselves on the road to Vatican City. Within a block or two we were walking down the Via della Conciliazione (the Road of the Conciliation) connecting St. Peter’s Square to the Castel Sant’Angelo (the Mausoleum of Hadrian). We walked the road and came to a fence with St Peter’s in front of us. One of the many peddlers came up asking if we wanted a guide to go inside. I replied that we didn’t intend to go in but only wanted to take pictures outside. His reply both humored me and stunned me. “Well you can go beyond this fence for free you know. You’re still in Rome if you stand here.” Wow. I had forgotten that the Vatican was an independent city. Needless to say, we found the entrance, crossed the border, and got as close as we could for some good pictures. What a beautiful site. I would have loved to go inside, but wasn’t keen enough on either standing line for hours or paying the tour guide 50 euros per person to skip the line. Instead, we’ll take a tour of the Catacombs on Sunday afternoon.
It was simply breathtaking to see St Peter’s–even from the outside. It’s gorgeous in its architecture and I would have loved to have seen the works of Michelangelo and others inside… But I was also struck by the thousands of plastic chairs that were arranged in St Peter’s square at the feet of where the Pope would undoubtedly appear and give his speech, his blessing, etc. I’ve been repeatedly struck on this tour with how grossly iconic, idolatrous, and mediatorial (i.e. the priests standing in Christ’s place between the sinner and God) Catholicism is. People enter these churches, light a candle, kneel in the pews, and pray to all the images and mediators which fill their eyes. Images of saints, sculptures and paintings of Mary or the Madonna, crucifixes on which a bleeding image representing Jesus still hangs, crypts of the honored dead, and paintings of Mary or the Apostles or saints. The sanctuary is absolutely silent, for God does not speak to the ears in these places. In fact, remarkably, He does not speak because He is not present. He is notably absent. Instead, the place is filled with mediators in whom one must put all their hope. Prayers are cast up silently to heaven via these innumerable mediators in hopes that they will carry the message to God and move Him to act. In stark contrast––if the church has a pulpit––the pulpits are off to the side, comparatively completely unadorned with color, not gilt with gold, not designed with marble, not illuminated with lights, not impressive at all. In fact, unless one looks for it, it will be missed altogether. Again comparatively, where there appears a lectern off to the side somewhere, which is used for Epistle or Gospel readings, they are so simply designed and unadorned as to suggest that what takes place there is utterly insignificant compared to what takes place center stage at the table of the mass. It grieves me to see our Saviour beclouded behind so much human interference and crowded out by so much confusion and distraction. These images do not satisfy the heart; they leave it longing and hurting. These mediators cannot mediate for the sinner; they leave him confused at best and lost at worst. With every crucifix I saw I said to myself, “I thank God my Saviour is no longer dead, no longer on the cross, but risen and at the right hand of the Father, effectively interceding and mediating for me.”
Leaving the Vatican, we made our way back home, crossing the Tiber River again, this time by the beautiful Ponte Sant’Angelo (the Bridge of Angels). This led us to the Piazza Navona and its three beautiful fountains. After a few more photos, we finished our walk home, reached our room, and laid down for a short nap before I came to the lobby to work on this blog.
Thank you for all your prayers. We’re having such a wonderful time here. I’ve had such trouble attaching photos that I’ll only attach a few this time. Hopefully they’ll take and I’ll be able to send them. Otherwise, I’ll have to leave them out.
