At the end of the last post, we were ready to leave Rome. WAIT. What?? Hang on just one gladiator-sparring minute. What about the Vatican? The Colosseum? The Forum? Etc.?

Well, of course, we saw as many of the famous landmarks to which our shoes could carry us in the six days we allotted to the Eternal City. (We snapped nearly a thousand photos to prove it.)

This post is hereby dedicated to the classics. Ready, go!

Let’s start with a really obvious one, Vatican City, which we could do because we had tickets! Yes, we prebooked a private three-hour tour. (Lessons learned.)

The Vatican. Oh my, there is just so much history. Too much! An enclave surrounded by modern Rome on all sides. Slowly established across the Tiber River from Rome, in a big marshy area. Before the Church arrived, the area was developed really early, like the early 50’s AD ;-), by Nero who built a large circus there. That meant fill it in, flatten it out, and put in a big “racetrack.”

The Vatican City State is now, in fact, the smallest country in the world, and the Pope is technically a royal! 2024 population of 496. Of note, the area (less than 1/4 sq. mi.) wasn’t within the ancient wall of Rome, so it ended up with its own wall. Now it’s a tiny walled country within the city of Rome!

Early one morning, we walked a few kilometers to the main gate of the Vatican to meet our private guide, Fabi, a lucky and excellent choice. Full of life, full of energy, full of information! We cut to the front of very long lines and always had any questions answered during an almost steady stream of facts. It’s not enough to say, “there’s a lot of stuff there.” There’s an overwhelming amount of stuff.

First on the list were the Vatican Museums. Notice plural. They are so numerous, it’s hard to get an accurate count. We saw only a few. Needless to say, the Catholic Church has been collecting stuff for a very long time, and it would take days to see just what they exhibit, so our tour focused on the popular highlights.

After the museums, we finally arrived at the Sistine Chapel. What to say about that ceiling? “Wow” just doesn’t cut it. We joined the crowd to stare upward in amazement at the absolutely magnificent frescoes painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1512. (Remember, no photos allowed. And… 🤫) After a time of silent oohs and aahs, we cued Fabi – quietly waiting near the exit – that we were ready to move on.

Next stop on the tour? St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the W-O-R-L-D! The Old St. Peter’s Basilica, finished in 322, was built on the burial site of the Apostle Peter, then, as you might guess, demo’d in 1506 to build the “new” basilica during a 120-year period from 1506 to 1626. Unlike modern man, the Romans whacked down old stuff and just recycled the materials to rebuild it!

The size of the structure is overwhelming. Ceiling hundreds of feet above you, mosaic paintings 25-30 ft tall, giant structures in the room, and everything ornately decorated.

After going inside the basilica, we rejoined Fabi near the square just in time to witness the changing of the Pope’s personal Swiss Guard. They may dress funny, but they were on point and in sync. (And just read about them – you don’t want to mess with them.)

* Oh, a random tidbit regarding fig leaves: apparently, it depended on who was in charge at the time as to whether or not statues and paintings were “adorned” after the fact by the addition of fig leaves or left in their more “natural” state. 🫢🫣

We just happened to visit Rome as it was preparing for the 2025 Jubilee. “Jubilee” is a holy year that’s been periodically declared by the popes since 1300. The interval between Jubilees has changed several times throughout history but is now 25 years. Rome will soon be a destination for millions of pilgrims from all over the world, and the preparations are intense!

So, that very special big bronze door into St. Peter’s Basilica is opened just once every 25 years!

Other than the fact that much of Rome seemed to be encased in preparatory scaffolding, cranes, and bubble wrap, boy did we time our visit well! See Rome and get outtathere! Whew.

The only impact for us was to our photos. For instance, having read about the scenic bridge and approach to the Castel Sant’Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian erected between 134 and 139 AD), we set off with new friends Gonzo and Yvonne Sunday afternoon to get some great shots. Oops. Or not.

Now, did someone mention gladiators? Can’t think of Rome without also thinking of the Colosseum, originally simply called the amphitheatrum. (“Simply?” Ha!) Biggest in the world, still. As entertainment for the masses, admission was free. The wooden floor was covered by sand, and there were a bunch of ways in and out to the floor. The Colosseum was used for all kinds of purposes still being argued. Think lots of different shows, animal acts, juggling, you name it. But certainly fights. Between animals, against animals, etc. It’s told they even flooded it enough to depict a sea battle! It’s that big! Heck, it’s so old, Rome used it as a quarry from which to build other stuff!

During the Underground portion of the tour, we learned more about the most well-known aspect of the place, the gladiators. Depending on the stories, they were more well-trained actors than anything. They lived like Hollywood stars. Their owners had a lot invested in them and certainly didn’t want the dudes to die. History claims only 30% of the fights ended in death. The details on their uniforms, from 100 AD are just stunning.

We learned a lot! And with imagination could practically hear the roar of the crowd!

* Oh, here’s a random tidbit regarding the fights: The movies are wrong about the thumb👎. Thumb down is actually believed to mean put the sword down, as this guy is too valuable to kill. Ah, Hollywood.

Heading towards the Palatine Hill, outside the Colosseum, is the Arch of Titus. Triumphal arches were earned by victorious generals with at least 5000 enemy soldiers killed in battle. They still have a few of them here.

From the Palazzo di Spagna (Spain Square) – that’s right Spanish in the middle of Rome – the 135 famous Spanish Steps take visitors up to the beautiful Trinità dei Monti, a French (we know, confusing) church built in the early 1500s. Spain’s embassy to the Vatican (Holy See) has been located near the bottom of the steps since 1480. And the beautiful steps, themselves? Not built until the early 1700’s.

Going way, way back, Palatine Hill is thought to have been named by Evander of Pallene, an important Greek, 60 years before the Trojan War (1200 to 1300 BC)! Moving forward, tradition then holds that Rome was created right here as one of the seven hills, when Romulus and Remus founded the original city in 753 BC! It was the center of Rome for many, many years. All the really rich important folks lived up on the hill, overlooking the center of Roman life and government, the Roman Forum.

See, the history around here is amazing! They wrote stuff down! Enough, Todd.😇

As one last instance of the Jubilee bubble wrap phenomenon, here’s a shot of the well-known Trevi Fountain. We found the crowd easily enough. They were being held back by scaffolding and fencing so the fountain can be cleaned.

Anyone paying attention to the dates of our posts may have noticed we are approximately a month behind. To that, we say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither are these posts. Ha! 🙂

Heading out on November 20, we were surprised to find a handy sign outside the gate pointing us in the right direction. That’s right, we were headed to the big boy – Roma. That which was, at one time, the center of the world for goodness’ sake!

Well, to be fair, the arrow pointing in the right direction is actually missing, but we got the point. (The “point.” Get it? Sometimes we crack ourselves up.) 🙂

_{Wait. I thought all roads lead to Rome… ?}

In renting Villa Perlata, we’d positioned ourselves for a two-hour drive to the Rome Fiumicino Airport, where we’d arranged to return the rental car and take car service into the city. We DID NOT want to be driving in Rome. (See? Proper planning. We can still do it!)

Under a brooding sky, we headed for Rome. The drive was nicely uneventful, except for a mile or so of highway covered by …

We marveled our way past the birds to the airport, which is 20 miles outside of the city. It’s weird to think Rome with all its strength is not on the water. You know, on a big port or something. The ride into the city was as crazy as expected, and the driver screeched to a stop at the door of the apartment building where the owner was waiting on the busy sidewalk to greet us.

Once we’d unpacked, we looked at each other and said, “Well, we’re in Rome. Now what?”

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? So, let’s walk. And eat.

Before stepping out, Todd surprised Susie with the random bit of trivia that fettuccine alfredo was invented in Rome. (He can’t remember where he put his sleep pants, but he knows the origin of fettuccine alfredo??) 🙂 You don’t say, she asks? So, he proceeded to look it up, and found, “Hey, it’s close!” We went downstairs to get our bearings only to look up and see the sign on the next building over. Our first meal in Rome!

Now how do we quickly sum up a six-day visit to Rome? Truthfully, it simply can’t be done. There is so much history, so much extraordinary architecture, so much beauty, so much bustling about and so much shopping. Oh, and the great food and the people! (Not to mention nearly a thousand photos.) All that one might hope to find in an amazing world-renowned city. Wow! So, here are just a few architectural sights:

In our wanderings, we stepped into many historic churches all over the city. In one we found a long line of people waiting to look into a large mirror on the floor. Huh? We did the mutual shoulder shrug, skipped the mirror thing, snapped a few shots, and agreed to research it later.

Turns out the Jesuit church of Saint Ignazio was originally designed to include a glorious dome, but the money ran out during construction in 1642. What? No dome?? What’s a church family to do? Jesuit brother and painter Andrea Pozzo proposed a unique solution, offering to paint a life-sized illusion of a dome and barreled ceiling that would fool the eyes of visitors (as long as they looked up from the proper angle). His false masterpiece, painted between 1685 and 1694 on a single 56-foot canvas, still deceives the eye today! The church has kindly marked the correct spot on the floor and added a mirror for the best viewing angle.

With roots back to a smaller church of the 1400’s, the Basilica San Carlo al Corso (below) is dedicated to Saint Ambrose and Saint Charles Borromeo, the patron saints of Milan, in recognition of their valuable construction work on the Sistine Chapel. Susie appreciated the little cutie waiting outside.

Visible from most of the old city is the towering Victor Emanuele II National Monument, the Vittorio, or colloquially known as “The Wedding Cake.” Interestingly, with all the ancient history in Rome, this monument is relatively new and one of the most important.

Alert! History coming!

In simple terms, the U.S. is older than Italy!

In 1861, while in the United States of America we were fighting ourselves, what we now know as Italy was created!

To celebrate and in honor of the first King of Italy, they built this amazing monument, reflecting both the really old style and the modern on the big Capitoline Hill. And wow, is it B-I-G!

As said, we can’t possibly cover it all. Here are just a few random fun shots:

Out and about:

We walked everywhere, easily averaging more than 6 miles (9 km 🙂 per day, all whilst watching – and sometimes dodging – the crazy drivers navigating the roads. Truth be told, the city has a large ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato or Limited Traffic Zone). No permit = very bad/expensive fine. We completely understand why they don’t want “just anybody” trying to drive around the old city!

Friday afternoon we went looking for a little restaurant that was recommended as being off the beaten “touristy” path and arrived to find at least a dozen teenagers hanging out in the doorway (good sign, but why aren’t they in school?). We were pointed to a tight back corner next to another couple already dining. After exchanging courteous “Buon Giorno’s,” the female patron sweetly asked, “Parla Inglese?” (Do you speak any English?) Hot diggity dog! Our “Buon Giorno” was so good we came off as Italian!! 😉 Dang skippy! We laughed. They laughed. And thus, we met Gonzo & Yvonne from New Orleans. Small world.

We got together a couple of days later for an English-speaking church service before sharing lunch and exploring into the evening hours.

While in Rome, we walked and walked, but we also ate and ate… and, well, you get the drift.