For our Mediterranean cruise, the departing port is Civitavecchia, the port city of Rome. We booked our flight to arrive at Fiumicino airport in Rome two days prior to the cruise departure time. Last year when we visited Rome, we didn’t get to go to St Peter’s Square and St Peter’s Basilica because the Pope was hosting an activity at the square and the place was sealed off. This time we planned to finally see the square and the basilica.
Why was I fixated on seeing the big square and the big church in the Vatican? It all started when I was a kid growing up in a small town in Taiwan. My family owned a rice paddy field next to a Catholic church. I used to go to the open space in front of the church to play. The church was of a basic structure, nothing fancy, and the open space wasn't very big. But somehow I knew that there was a better and bigger church in Rome, and I told myself one day I was going to see it.
Our connecting flight from Chicago to Rome was to take us to Rome on Thursday noontime. Our cruise started on Saturday in the late afternoon. The early arrival at Rome would give us two days to roam around Rome sightseeing. But our flight leaving Chicago got canceled. We ended up staying overnight in Chicago and catching a next-day flight to Heathrow airport in London. Stayed overnight in London again and caught another flight to Rome. By the time we got to the hotel in Rome, it was already Friday in the late afternoon. We were left with only Friday evening and Saturday morning to tour Rome.
We checked into a B&B near the main train station, Roma Termini, in Rome. Not soon after we put our luggage down we were already out walking around.
Rome is a UNESCO World Heritage Site so there are many places to visit. A few minutes’ walks took us to Piazza della Republicca.
Next to the piazza, we saw a church with a plain façade.
We walked in and were in shock….
Rosa was intrigued by the ceiling of the church
This is what she was staring at
Close up on the intricacy of the artworks
I later googled and found out this church, Basilica of St Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, was designed by Michelangelo. The plain façade was a relic of the largest public bathhouse from the Roman Empire, built in 306 AD. The church was built in the 16th century. What were the odds to accidentally walk into a creation by the very master Michelangelo? Lucky us!!
The church courtyard even has a bronze statue designed by the first Chinese Nobel laureate, physicist Tsung-Dao Lee 李政道, donated by mainland China government (why?)
The main destination for us is the Pantheon, a round-roof structure constructed 2000 years ago. It still stands as the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.
Coming out of Pantheon we found that Trevi Fountain was just nearby. Last year when we visited the fountain it was under repair. So we decided to go take a look at its full glory after the restoration.
And were we disappointed! It was still under reconstruction……..
A short distance took us to Piazza Navona. A plaza started 2000 years ago during the reign of Roman Empire. It was substantially reconstructed by the Baroque master Bernini in the 17th century. The elaborate and ornate Baroque building style is simply beautiful.
We were trying to find our way back to the hotel and wandered to the magnificent Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Altar of the Fatherland). It was getting dark also.
We finally decided to forgo the walking and to just take the bus back to the hotel. But before we could locate the bus station we saw a big stairway and up we went and found the National Gallery.
We finally boarded a bus and called it a night for our first venture in Rome. We would go to the Vatican the next morning.
-Joe
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