Livin' the Life.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Little pizzeria we stopped at in Trastevere.

            It was a great weekend in Rome (Friday through Sunday, since there is no class on Friday).  We all went to visit two orders of nuns with whom we will be able to do our community outreach.  The first, the Missionaries of Charity, was very humbling, especially since that is the one that Blessed Mother Theresa started.  We sat in the chapel, listening to how the order began, and we learned what they do within the community, as well as their daily regimen, which, as one nun admitted, becomes a “daily grind”.  After listening to her, we were able to see the cell where Mother Theresa would stay most of the time when she was in Rome.  This room, as you may imagine, is very small, no bigger than 10’x10’ at the very most (although it might actually be bigger than the room in which I am staying at Bernardi).  The Missionaries of Charity, however, do great work in the community, from taking in people from the streets for even a day or two to providing a hot meal at their men’s shelter, and we would be helping with tasks at the shelter, which is kitty-corner to the main house in Rome.

            Our second stop was at the Little Sisters of the Lamb, who are more of a cloistered order.  What we would get to do (and what I have chosen to do) with them would range from gardening to assembling furniture, and everything in between.  After these two visits and taking the Metro home, Kelsey led the charge in making parmesan eggplant, which turned out to be really, really good (much better than I expected, especially since I had never had eggplant, or at least not for a long time).  Later that night, a group of us went to the Spanish Steps, spending about an hour or so there before going home.

Ceiling of St. Maria in Trastevere.

Baldacchino of St. Cecilia in Trastevere.

Byzantine mosaic in the apse of St. Maria in Trastevere

            On Saturday, a lot of us went to Trastevere, a section of the city that is at least an hour’s walk away.  A side note—if you ever plan on visiting Rome, be prepared to walk, as public transportation can be unreliable, and you will not want to sit in a cab trying to bob and weave through traffic.  Good shoes are the key, since the cobblestone roads (narrow sidewalks get crowded) are generally uneven and hurt your feet and lower leg after awhile.  Anyway, our goal was to get to Santa Maria in Trastevere in order to view and take notes on the intricate mosaics of the apse.  I was blown away by both the Byzantine and Romanesque mosaics, as the former showed more of a portrait of Christ, Mary, Peter, and several popes; whereas the latter showed more of the humanity of Mary, as well as of Christ.  The Romanesque mosaics also told six stories of Mary, or of which she was a part, including the Immaculate Conception, Nativity scene, and Assumption.  Both side chapels were amazing, and the one, to the left, that was open was simply stunning, as every square inch was ornately covered.  Afterward, we went to lunch at Dar Poeta, a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves.  The food was alright, but it was still fun, just wandering around the city, and a little off the beaten path.  After lunch, some of us kept wandering, and we made our way to St. Cecelia’s, which is a beautiful church in its own right, but we had to get going and were there for maybe five minutes.  Then we hurried back, and, after walking around for about 6 1/2 hours, we finally made it back to Bernardi.  For dinner we went to a Pizzeria fondly referred to as Tuborg, because of its Tuborg beer sign in the front window.  This was my second time here, and again I got the calzone, which was probably at least the size of a rabbit.  To cap it all off, we ventured to GP2 (or JP2 in English), a bar—right under the Church of Sts. Ambrose and Charles Boromeo—dedicated to John Paul II.  It was almost ridiculous, with an amateur “band” on stage; they mostly played songs in English, ranging from Led Zeppelin to Disney, and even Nolan got up on stage and played a few tunes, and that was just awesome!

The biggest calzone you'll ever see. Big as a newborn baby.

Interior of Santissima Trinita dei Pelegrini.

            Today, Matt Slattery, Tim, Minh, and I went to Mass at Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrinini (Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims).  This was an especially neat experience, since the entire Mass was in Latin (except for the homily), and I had never been to anything as solemn aside from Triduum Masses.  Also, I was actually able to follow along somewhat (perhaps I’ll buy a Latin missal) and read the Gospel and psalms and Pauline Epistle (I forget which one exactly), which were printed in Latin—finally, after 6 ½ years of it I can put it to use!  Not much else to report, as I crashed and took a 4 ½ hour nap.  ‘Til next time, ciao da Roma!