My conference officially ended Thursday and by Friday I was checked out (of the hotel – I had been checked out from the conference since Wednesday night) and headed to my hotel in the city center: Ripetta Rooms. What a difference moving locations was for my mental health; or maybe it was just the amount of Italian restaurants in a less than 5 minutes from my hotel. My first true Italian meal besides the very delicious eggplant parmesan from the Marriott (it was actually really good or I was just food-deprived to not care) was spaghetti carbonara on recommendation from David, the hotel representative, not My David. I’m 2 blocks from the famous shopping street – Via del Corso – and found a new piece of luggage since I overstuffed my carryon and accidentally broke 1 of the 2-way zippers. After shopping around, I settled back into my hotel to prepare for the Crypts and Roman catacombs tour on Saturday morning.
At 8:30a on a Saturday, but when in Rome, I walked to the tour meeting point at Plaza Barberini which was named for the ‘barbarians.’ On my way, I got to see the Spanish steps pre-crowds and during wedding photo shoots. I found myself passing the Spanish steps on the way home and I think anyone who wants to visit should definitely go before 9a.
First stop on the tour was the The Capuchin Crypt located below the church of Santa Maria. It reminded me of the bone church I went to outside of Prague and has such an interesting history. Tombs (ultimately the bones) of saints were raided by the Barbarians, and the bones weren’t safe. I can’t remember who it was, but some guy (probably important), decided to bring all the bones within the city walls and create art from them. Within the crypt, there is an intention to how the bones were laid out, like making heart-shaped decorations on the wall or turning them into chandeliers.
Once we met Alain, our tour guide outside, I noticed this writing on the building outside: tempora, tempore, tempera. Alain explained it means that “temper the times with time” or basically, “let time temper the hardships of time.” But even more interesting is the phrase listed above it: boni vicini absint mali which means “may the good be neighbors, and may the bad stay away.” Since we’ve lucked out on the neighbors around us, I love this phrase and am now working through my crafty-brain to figure out where we can display this phrase on our property – just in time for an upcoming Halloween party!
After Capuchin Crypts, we boarded a bus to travel outside the city walls and into the land of the dead — Christian Catacombs. No photos were allowed underground but Alain led us through some twisting tunnels and further down into the ground. At one point he told us that there are gases that come up from beneath the earth & that you’re not supposed to stay down there for a long time. In fact, he specifically said: “it’s a museum, it’s not meant to kill people.” To which we all sort of chuckled and quickly head for the exit, and on the final stop of our tour, Basilica of San Martino Monti. It also had a lower level – I’m beginning to think that Rome is built like lasagna, layers upon layers – where we saw red marble that only the Pope/Emperor/Head Dude could afford because it is so rare and expensive. Also, just being near the saints’ tomb, where 9 popes are buried, absolves everyone of their sins for the next 3 years. All you have to do is stand nearby and you’re good?!
Today is Sunday and my last full day in Rome. So as Audrey Hepburn would do, I ate gelato for breakfast outside of the Trevi Fountain and walked to the Pantheon (not to be confused with the Parthenon). As Amy Gonzales Bennett would do, I bought souvenir shirts that don’t actually look like “Ciao” or “I love Rome.” Also, I need a shirt to fly home in because I slightly misjudged the amount of tops I brought for my capsule wardrobe. But with the bigger suitcase I purchased earlier in the weekend, I could also afford to bring home MORE souvenirs home with me.
And one last Italian meal of lasagna (there is a theme to this post I suppose) before my long travel day tomorrow. But on teh other end are my ‘Bennett Boys’ waiting to pick me up! Ciao Roma — though I didn’t get a “I love Rome” shirt, I/we will be back to explore more of the southern part. But up next…Spain at the end of November with Mom!
