Around Town

    So, while I write this in mid-October (and now because I want to keep track of how long it is taking me to write this down, I will keep that and add that I am working in mid/late November), my mind is starting to become slightly hazy on some of the details, but I will do my best to piece together the events from my memory, emails, and pictures.



    On May 11th, the Coulter family (sans Maddie) departed for the US, since the did not have an extension to stay beyond the maximum allowed time of 90 days in Italy, and thus the breakup of the Bernardi family began, and soon Matt Slattery would leave to go back home to Sarah.  It was a Wednesday, so we all said our goodbyes and left for class with Dr. Lev.  After that, we had a lot of free time, because we normally would have had Dr. Coulter's class and then a break between that and Italian, so we had an extraordinary amount of time on our hands (scary, huh?).
    At that point I still hadn't been to Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four great basilicae of Rome, nor had I been to Santo Pietro in Vinculi (St. Peter in Chains), and Matt Slattery wanted to see the St. Mary Major one more time and hadn't yet been to St. Peter in Chains, so we headed out for each on a pilgrimage of sorts.  Fortunately for us, St. Mary Major was only about 20 minutes away, and St. Peter in Chains was not too much farther away.
    We were always able to see the high tower of the basilica, but until then I hadn't gone down the road to actually visit it, but as I got closer and closer, I was filled with more and more awe, and what I saw was only the back of the basilica.  So we went around, where there was a pillar with Mary on top, facing the facade of the great building, covered in travertine, added during the Grand Tour, around the middle of the 18th century.  I can't remember if I said anything on the Grand Tour, so I'll do so now.
    It had become quite popular by the late 17th century for those in northern Europe to learn the classical languages and about ancient history (namely, that of Rome) and antiquities from Rome.  These highly educated persons would come to Rome not as pilgrims, but as historians and sightseers.  In reaction to this, the popes desired to "improve" upon the already magnificent basilicae around Rome, as well as various other projects (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, etc.), so as to impress these educated tourists, hopefully garnering a positive report that modern Romans were not just a bunch of illiterate, uncultured yokels.
    So, as it pertains to this story, the relatively new facade of Santa Maria Maggiore now covers up beautiful ancient mosaics, so you now have to crane your neck just to get a glimpse of them.  Fortunately, however, I was able to get one good picture of a mosaic of Christ.  The inside is absolutely massive, yet I'm sure that three or four St. Mary Majors could fit comfortably inside St. Peter's.  Contained in both sides of the transept are a great chapel for the Mass (left) and chapel for Eucharistic adoration (right).  It is a typical Roman-type basilica (built in the 4th century), in that the roof is not vaulted, but flat, in the typical Roman style.  There are huge colonnades on either side, just like at St. John Lateran, leading up to the altar, and there are still 5th century mosaics in the interior, particularly in the apse.  Although it seems like a mostly empty space, the side chapels and art more than make up for that feeling.
    At the point where the transept and the nave meet is a mini crypt, as well as a crystal reliquary, supposedly containing some of the wood from the cradle of Christ.  St. Jerome, the great translator of the Bible from Greek into Latin (known as the Vulgate), is also buried there.
    From there, we made the trek to San Pietro in Vinculi (St. Peter in Chains), which is actually pretty plain, and even the facade is unremarkable (by that I just mean that it doesn't really jump out at you), but is neat nonetheless  (I say 'trek' because it was just that, walking in unknown territory up and down stairs and down winding streets, and I am pretty sure that a bird had freshly pooped when I grabbed a handrail).  The inside is mostly white and is reminiscent of a hospital ward, though you could still see, because the church has undergone several renovations, where the new and the old met (I believe the facade is old, and there are ancient beams and stone visible). To the right, near the intersection of the nave and transept, is a set of statues and background, which, I thought, was reminiscent of the Trevi Fountain.  And apse was beautiful (as is every apse in Rome), and just about the only other notable thing there (aside from the Eucharist of course) was the set of chains that supposedly bound St. Peter. Whether or not that's the case is up in the air, but it doesn't matter since a) the chains are from that era, and b) we are not worshiping the chains.

    When Matt and I said our prayers and had sufficiently taken in all we could see of the church, we went back to the Ange, passing the Coliseum one last time, and we were stopped by some college-age American girl who was passing out stopping for fliers for some sketchy bar crawl. We humored her and said, 'maybe' but thought 'hell no, we would be killed instantly'. The we got some gelato along the way, and Matt was kind enough to pay for mine with some tickets he had left over and would not be using since he would be leaving soon.  Very generous of ya, Matt!  Wow, that was just an awesome day--it was warm, sunny, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Another day in paradise, as we relaxed in the garden of the Ange, waiting for another rip-roaring day with Anna Maria in Italian class!
    I should be posting on my trip to the Amalfi Coast with John, Peter, Minh, and Fr. Carola, but we'll just have to see if/when that happens.