Rome-ing Through History!

January 4-8, 2023

Trevi Fountain - completed in 1732

I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful our time in Rome was!  Josh’s choir continued as our main focus, but mixed into all of it was authentic Italian cuisine and art, art and more art, which is impossible to separate from its historical significance!

This being said, by the time we reached Rome, we were on Day 11 of this incredible trip, and our energy was beginning to wane in addition to both of us having a slight cough and some congestion going on.  Josh had a 9:00pm concert scheduled at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church which would have required a 30-minute walk both to and from.  Considering all of this, Dick and I made it an early evening, enjoying dinner with Brandon, Maurice and Julie before heading our separate ways.  

Trevi Fountain happened to be not far out of our way as we headed back to our hotel, so we did find the energy to check this spot out!  This was a spot we were at in 2008, where we had tossed a coin into the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world!  Tradition has it if you throw a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain, it assures you will return to Rome.  Seemingly, this actually works!  So, of course we once again tossed a coin, guaranteeing us yet another trip to this wonderful city!  Note: The fountain remains exactly the same as it was when we were there in 2008.  Another note:  It’s clearly NOT the fountain of youth!

It was disappointing to miss Josh’s choir concert, but Anne shared photos so we were able to get a sense of this magnificent church and it was good to catch up on a little sleep!

We originally had scheduled a visit of the Necropolis under the Basilica of St. Peter.  Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  It’s always certain there will be some hitches when traveling.  If anything, this life style of full-time travel has reinforced flexibility in scheduling of activities!  It didn’t take us long to fill the gap! 

Brandon has a great love and appreciation for the works of Caravaggio.  In fact, he talks about several of them in courses he teaches at the University of Utah.  It turns out several of these famous works remain accessible for everyone to view absolutely free!  The Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo (located not too far from the Spanish Steps) displays “Conversion on the Way to Damascus”, and “Crucifixion of St. Peter”.  It was unbelievable to simply walk inside this basilica and see these famous pieces of art!  They were commissioned by the church, so this is exactly where they belong!  Later that afternoon, Brandon and I slipped away from the group to power walk to the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (located not too far from the Vatican), where we were able to view “Calling of St. Matthew”, “Inspiration of Saint Matthew” and “Martyrdom of Saint Matthew”.  Really breathtaking!

On our way to the Vatican (to pick up tickets for Mass the next day), we stopped to take in the Spanish Steps and Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Boat) by Bernini.  Eva and I couldn’t help but imagine we were famous Valentino models, showing off the latest fashions!

Fontana della Barcaccia by Bernini, completed between 1627-1629

A few weeks ago, we got word Josh’s choir was not only going to be singing in St. Peter’s Basilica, but Pope Francis was going to be celebrating this Mass!  One of the other parents happened to have read you can order (free) tickets for papal Masses, so all of the choir members’ parents jumped on this suggestion.  It turns out it wasn’t really necessary, but the tickets do make for a nice souvenir!  Anyway, we needed to pick these tickets up from an office located inside the Vatican, so we had a good excuse to make an extra trip that way!  Along the way, we got beautiful views of the Tiber River, bought some freshly roasted chestnuts, and got our first view of the basilica!

Our first view of St. Peter's Basilica!

By this time, we had already walked over ten miles that day, so Anne’s parents, Eva and I treated ourselves to a taxi ride to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, where Josh’s Choir sang for mass.  This was Eva’s very first taxi ride and boy was it a ride!  There doesn’t seem to be any rules for driving on the streets of Rome!  The speed, the swerving, the cutting in and out, the unexpected lane changes…!  Unbelievably, we never saw any accidents or even any dented up “beaters” on these streets.  Somehow, everyone anticipates all of this chaos and everything seems to work out!  It really felt very much like being inside a video game of some sort!  Eva got a big kick out of it!  The rest of us were just relieved to get to the basilica in one piece!

Mass at Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore was another incredible experience.  Little did I realize it, but Brandon pointed out to me that in the entire world, there are four major basilicas.  One of these is Santa Maria Maggiore!  What an amazing experience for all of us, especially these young choir members!

I think the highlight of this trip was actually attending Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica (a second of the four major basilicas in the world) and having Pope Francis preside at it!  It was difficult to get a good view of him, however, as there was quite a large crowd.  In addition to the crowd, Pope Francis is beginning to struggle walking, so he uses a wheelchair for the long processional to the altar and recessional following Mass, making him even harder to spot.  Josh’s choir, on the other hand, had up close and personal views of this amazing pope!

Before Mass began, the rosary was prayed and I happened to have an extra rosary with me for Eva to use.  This rosary probably belonged to Dick’s grandmother, as it was discovered when we were going through his parents’ estate in 2007.  Someday, I want Eva to have this rosary, as it was blessed by Pope Francis during Mass. 

Immediately following Mass, Pope Francis addressed the crowd from what has traditionally been the pope’s apartment.  Pope Francis is a simple man and rejected living in lavish surroundings.  He does live in the Vatican, but he lives in the same area of the Vatican where everyone else lives.  It was quite a thrill to see Pope Francis (even if it was from quite a distance) in the window as he spoke to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square below.  Big screens were scattered around the edges of the square, so you could see him clearly on the screen.  

Following Mass, the choir members were once again scheduled for a couple of hours of “family time”!  Not only did this give us all an opportunity to spend a little time with this mature and delightful young man, but it gave the chaperones a bit of time “off duty”.  After picking Josh up from the hotel where the choir was staying, we began the search for some quality gelato!  Although it was lunch time, Josh wanted gelato, so gelato we found (who’s going to argue with this request?!)  All we really had time for with Josh was gelato, a little lunch and, of course, some shopping!  We found ourselves a little outside of the touristy area and there were some really nice shops lining these side streets!  Although we were in Rome, I picked up a Venetian, handblown glass Christmas ornament.  I've collected Christmas ornaments from all of the cities we have visited in Italy!

Josh’s choir was going to be singing at 5:30 pm for Mass at Basilica di San Giovanni en Laterano (a third one of the four major basilicas in the world!) and located adjacent to this basilica is Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs or Pilate’s Stairs)!  This sanctuary is named for the 28 marble steps inside it.  In 335, Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine, had these stairs moved here from Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem.  Jesus climbed these stairs several times on that “Good Friday”.  It was humbling to climb these stairs on my knees.  As uncomfortable as it was, I couldn’t help but reflect on the pain Jesus felt as he climbed these very stairs.  Words can’t express the deep remorse and yet deep appreciation for this sacrifice Jesus made for each of us.

I remember growing incredibly impatient as we waited to receive the choir’s itinerary for this trip.  I was anxious to plan all of the surrounding elements to their schedule and couldn’t understand how it could possibly be taking them so very long!  As we were experiencing all of the performances, I found myself wondering how in the world they had possibly accomplished scheduling all of these concerts and Masses in all of these incredible venues!  Really, unbelievable!

For our final full day in Rome, we had a small group tour of the Vatican Museums scheduled.  This was an astonishing experience where we were able to see ancient statues, the Sistine Chapel, tapestries, the Sistine Chapel, paintings, and have I mentioned the Sistine Chapel?  Imagining Michelangelo painting the ceiling and front wall of this beautiful chapel was crazy!  Unfortunately, the crowds were also crazy!  I felt very much like a salmon getting swept away with the current!

The Jubilee Doors - opened every 25 years

Probably my favorite part of this tour was being able to wander around inside St. Peter’s Basilica!  All of the art and history of this basilica is overwhelming!  On my next trip to Rome, I want to spend an entire day just thoroughly checking this holy place out! 

Dick, Eva and I had hoped to climb to the dome of the basilica following our tour, so we got in line to get a little exercise climbing over 500 stairs!  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately??) the line was long and the clock was ticking.  We had a 4:00 pm Mass to get to that Josh’s choir was singing for, so at some point we gave up, leaving time to find a toilet, grab a little bite, and do a little shopping!

The shopping was probably the favorite part, but not for the actual shopping.  Surrounding the Vatican there are shops, but there are also a lot of street venders selling key chains, rosaries, and all kinds of other souvenir items.  Eva was looking for a little gift to take home for one of her friends, so this is where she learned to art of haggling the price of an item.  Eva is a quick study and, before long, she was walking away from these shops with greatly discounted items!  She’s a natural and was floating on Cloud 9 for the rest of the day!

With time growing short, we once again treated ourselves to a taxi ride to get to Mass.  Josh’s choir’s final Mass in Rome was at San Paolo fuori le Mura (the fourth of four of the major basilicas in the world!).  This was such an amazing Mass.  Under the main altar is the tomb of St. Paul!  It was crazy to have made the pilgrimage to all four of the major basilicas in the world within just a few days!  I can’t even imagine how the choir felt, having sung for Mass at each of these holy sites!  Simply amazing!

St. Paul's tomb

Following Mass, we went to dinner once again as a family – including Josh!  His choir is done and they will be heading back to Salt Lake City in a couple of days.  In the meantime, Maurice Julie, Dick and I have a few plans of our own!

Next up:  Pompeii!