I boarded the night train to Basel from Köln just past midnight. We made it into Basel (after the false alarm of Basel Bad) around 6am, only moderately late, and I did make my connection - even though I had to sprint up the stairs with my backpack to change platforms. Basel to Milano, and Milano to Roma were without incident. Arriving at the Roma train station I first attempted to look for an information center with a map – to no avail. Giving up hope on finding useful things I decided I had learned my lesson in Köln, and I did a loop of the train station. What with my bag and the heat this proved more difficult than my journeys in Paris, especially given that Rome is a tad more hilly. Mostly the area around the train station is a dirty city, but I did stumble upon a large wall which apparently used to contain an aqueduct. I think this is really the defining characteristic of Rome – the old stuff everywhere. It seems it is literally impossible for one to wander about without coming upon something ridiculously old. And, the whole city it built pretty helter-skelter on top of itself. I think it is because of the spread out nature of the original city that the plan today appears to have little rhyme or reason. In more northern European cities there is a pretty clearly defined old city and the buildings radiate outwards in gradually newer sections from there. But Rome pretty much seems to happen on top of itself with the old and the new mixed in together. I have to note also though that my time in Rome has been limited, and as such, I can’t really judge the city all that well.
Completing my loop I returned to the train station and began on my way to the hostel in Ostia. Mostly the Roman metro system didn’t give me too much trouble – I did skip the first train to Ostia though because I wasn’t sure if it was the right one. Getting off of the train in Ostia I also attempted to get on the wrong bus – or rather the bus that wasn't leaving next. I ended up getting on that bus anyway because the bus that left right away was full. The bus I rode was pretty full too, but I was on it first so I, with my massive backpack, got a seat. Getting a seat is actually an accomplishment – Italian busses are filled to the brim, people push and shove their way in until every possible space is filled. So, even though I did have a seat I was still squished up against the window as I made space for the old Italian lady next to me. She attempted to speak to me, and I explained that I didn’t speak Italian, she seemed a bit miffed when she realized I wasn’t lying about not speaking Italian. I got off at the right stop, but didn’t see the hostel right away. I asked two young women on the street for directions, but they didn’t know either. A 30ish man nearby overheard me however, and was happy to direct be to the hostel – which I would have seen if I’d walked another block – its bright yellow and says “Litus Roma Hostel” in bright red letters on the wall.
The hostel itself is in a large building which appears to have been a school. The hallways are rather broad and the ceilings are pretty high. The hostel occupies only a part of the building, and other sections appear to be occupied by appartments. The building is quite old, and I’m not gonna lie, just a little creepy. The service staff are all really friendly, its creepy in that the hallways are lit solely by sunlight during the day which is fine for most of the building, but makes some of the back corners rather shady. Also, the rooms are spread out enough that one doesn’t see a lot of other patrons about. The other women in my dorm are really nice, two university students finishing up a six week tour, one of their mothers, and another young woman. So far everything has been clean and easy to use but the big quiet building does have an eerie quality.
Arriving at the hostel I checked in, took a shower, and went to take a walk on the beach. I didn’t do much more than put my toes in the sand, but it made me happy to have seen and experienced the Mediterranean. After my walk on the beach I pretty much crashed. Not having slept particularly well on the night train I was pretty exhausted. Unfortunately the Friday night crowd on the beach didn’t have many plans for letting me sleep. The one downside of having the hostel directly on the beach is that the numerous clubs on the boardwalk can be heard, especially if one leaves ones windows open to heat the surf. In addition it was chillier than I expected. All of this pretty much amounted to another fitful night. I was up early in the morning, around 6:30. I had tickets for the 9:00 tour in English of the tour of the excavations underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. My cousin Lisa was supposed to meet me in St. Peters to join me on the tour. Regardless, it takes about an hour and a half and 1€ to get into Rome. Breakfast is served at 7:30, and I wanted to hit it as soon as it opened, and even then I knew I would be cutting it close. Breakfast consisted mainly of little cakes – I don’t think the Italians are really breakfast people. I grabbed myself a bite to eat, as well as some fruit and a bread for the road. I walked to the train station instead of taking the bus – it wasn’t that far and I’m cheap. I hopped on the train and was off.
The metro in Rome is pretty simple; it’s a giant X. There is an A line and a B line and they cross in the middle at Roma Termini, the central train station. Apparently there will be construction of a C line soon. There are also several other lines extending to the suburbs of the city from each end of the X. There also appears to be an extensive tram and bus system, but I haven’t taken the time, or had the need, to figure it out yet. Generally the interior of the trains and the stations are clean and well maintained. The exteriors of the trains however are pretty much covered in graffiti. I actually think the effect it pretty cool though, because the graffiti goes right over the doors and windows, and when the doors open it looks like they come out of nowhere. The outer stops and non-tourist stops are pretty easy to handle, but the main attractions (Colosseo, Circo Maximo ect.) and the Termini are pretty miserable. Again everyone crams into the cars of the train like sardines. There is a lot of pushing, and you’re really lucky if you manage to get a seat.
From the metro stop I followed both the crowds and the nuns. I figured nuns were probably headed in the right direction towards St. Peters :P. I headed in towards the Basilica past all of the street vendors stopping once to ask directions from a guard who greeted me with a “Bonjourno!” and a salute. I passed through the columns, and into St. Peter’s square. I must say I was woefully under prepared for what I found. Not that I hadn’t seen pictures of the square before, but I hadn’t really studied it too closely. Its really quite magnificent.
If one is facing the Basilica most people enter from the right side through security and then exit from the left. At the left side of the Basilica is a gate and three Swiss guards. In order to access the excavations office one must present ones receipt to the guards and be let in the gate. I successfully made it past the colorful guards and to the excavations office. I was rather hurried at this point because the tour was supposed to start at 9 and it was already 8:45. I still hadn't heard from Lisa, and apparently her Italian cell phone was unable to call my German cell phone.
Our guide was from Texas and was studying Theology in Rome. Though he was very friendly, and apparently very knowledgeable, he was a bit nervous and not particularly eloquent. It was hard to believe he’d been giving tours for almost a year. Despite this, the tour was amazing. The excavations are below the Vatican necropolis, the level where all of the popes are buried. One descends from the necropolis to the excavations, which are fairly humid. Apparently before Constantine built the first St. Peter’s the land was a hill with an open air mausoleum. In order to level the hill and build his basilica Constantine used the dirt from the top of the hill to completely fill in and bury the various tombs. Essentially he filled various buildings with dirt. The Vatican has always known these graves were buried here, and on occasion ran into them when adding new spaces in the necropolis. However, in the late nineteen thirties, while attempting to lower the floor of the necropolis workers broke off the corner of one of the cornices of a tomb. It had always been held as church tradition that St. Peter’s basilica was built on top of the tomb of St. Peter, but it wasn’t until this particular incident that the pope of the time, Pius the eleventh, that it was decided to excavate and attempt to confirm that tradition. The tricky part however was that St. Peter’s is no small church, and the excavations had to conducted in a manner so as not to disturb the large underground chapel, the necropolis, or the foundations of St. Peter’s.
The tombs themselves are really interesting from a historical standpoint. Many of them appear to have been reused ( a practice apparently still common in Switzerland and Germany according to Noemie and Christian), and one can see the change from paganism to Christianity in the decorations in the tombs. The most important part of the tour however was the hardest to see. Directly underneath the high papal alter of the Basilica the excavators found a funeral monument. In the wall of this monument they found a box containing the bones of a man dated from the first century. The most interesting part of the bones were that there were no foot bones. This would make sense if these were St. Peter’s because he was hung upside down on the cross, and the quickest way for early Christians to get him down would have been to cut him off at the ankles. The box the bones were found in was covered with purple fabric sewn with gold thread. After much testing and study the Vatican finally declared that these were in fact the bones of St. Peter.
From the awe striking excavations we exited through the necropolis and then into the Basilica itself. The most striking thing about the Basilica is the amount it has been altered to accommodate tourists. There are almost no permanent pews in the church. When a mass is to be said at one of the many alters the section is partitioned off and then chairs are set up. There are hundreds of tourists in the basilica at any given time, and this makes it rather noisy. Even in the sacristy it was pretty noisy. I did say MP is the sacristy despite the tourists however. The only real quiet I got was going to confession. Apparently confession scares off even Catholics. One has to assure suited men in front of ropes that one really intends to pray or attend confession before one can pass into either the sacristy or the area reserved for confession. Following MP and confession I finished my loop of the church. Of course I stopped at the grave of Blessed John Paul II, and Michelangelo’s Pieta was gorgeous.
From the Basilica I exited to the bookshop where I exchanged my Swiss Francs and American Dollars for Euros. Two great things about this: 1) the Vatican doesn’t charge a commission, 2) now I coins with the pope on them! I also picked up some postcards. I traversed the square, taking time to stop and admire everything, and made my way to the Vatican Museum. I really only wanted to see the Sistine Chapel, but I hadn’t realized that this was a part of the Vatican palaces and that one had to enter the museum in order to see the chapel.
The museums were actually really very interesting. Of course popes through the ages have lead various historic acquisitions, and they have been given numerous objects by heads of state and the like. The Vatican museum not only shows off those objects but also displays the rooms of some of the Vatican palaces. Mostly I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of ancient objects. I simply was unable to process the multitude of ancient Greek and Roman statues. There were also large collections of ancient Egyptian artifacts. My favorite parts of the museum however were the paintings. There was one hallway entirely of maps of Italy painted on the panels on the wall. There was another set of rooms which were part of the papal apartments, and they were painted by Raphael and his followers, those were pretty amazing. The Sistine chapel on the other hand was a bit of a letdown. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful. But, there are so many tourists crammed into such a small space it is very hard to keep a reverent attitude. Also, all of the paintings are at least fifty feet in the air. It is rather hard to admire them from such a great distance. I think that if one really wants to admire these great paintings one should buy a book. It would be a much better way to admire the skill and detail involved.
Sunday I of course headed back to the Vatican for Sunday mass at St. Peters. I ended up getting a little bit of a late start, but miraculously getting to the Vatican at 10 still gave me enough time to make it through the line which stretched half way around the square, through the metal detectors, and past the modesty police. For all the massive crowds trying to get into the Basilica on a Sunday morning there weren’t particularly many people trying to get to mass. Mass functioned much like confession on Saturday, one simply had to indicate ones desire to go to the suited guard by the barriers. I went to the high Latin mass and I must say it was really very interesting. This brings my foreign language mass count to seven (Swedish, Kmer, Spanish, German, French, Tagalag, Latin). The altar where mass was celebrated was the so called “Alter of the Chair” because instead of a cross above the alter there is sculpture of the chair of St. Peter. Like everything in the basilica it’s huge and ornate. Mass was pretty cool, the second reading, and a piece of the homily was actually in English!
After mass I went back out into the square to see…guess who… THE POPE! On Sundays he gives a blessing to the masses, and I caught the last one before he went on summer holiday. It was pretty funny to see the little man in white appear from a window high above the square. I will leave this post here with the last of the Vatican, and check back for more tomorrow about the streets of Rome!
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