Rome was not built in a day, so let’s take two days to see it. It’s raining, we leave 7:30 to take the train, and luckily the rain stops when we enter Rome. We decided to prioritise churches today. There are 930 churches in Rome, so we won’t be bored. We choose 9 for today.
We decide to also count Christmas trees and to drink a hot chocolate if we find 100 today. We already count 7 Christmas trees at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The Basilica has a stunning golden ceiling and a shimmering mosaics apse from the 5th century. It reminds us of the mosaics we saw in Ravenna. There are six popes burried there, and to top it off there is an ancient relic said to have been a part of the baby Jesus’ manger. It’s one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the seven pilgrims churches of Rome, furthermore is it the largest and oldest church dedicated to Maria.
Tim photographs the Arch of Gallienus, the Porta Esquilina, an ancient Roman arch where the Via Labicana and Via Tiburtina started.
Next is the Basilica di Santa Prassede, a hidden pearl in a small street behind the big Basilica of Saint Mary. Also here, the mosaics are impressive. The Basilica also houses an alleged segment of the pillar or column upon which Jesus was flogged before his crucifixion. And there is a Chapel dedicated to Saint Zeno, the chapel is completely covered in mosaics, they were part of the decorating scheme of pope Paschal in the early 9th century.
The third church (and 32 Christmas trees by now), Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, seems to be closed. We want to take the metro, but once we’re in it, the operator announces that there is something on the line so it won’t ride.
We climb back up, and see that the church doors are open now. Apperantly it only opens at 10. It is a huge Basilica, housed in the ruins of the former Roman bath houses of Diocletian. It’s constructed by Michelangelo, and it has a stunning marble floor and a concrete vaulted ceiling. It includes a meridian line. A small south-facing hole in the wall allows a ray of light from the sun to fall on the meridian line in the floor at solar noon each day.
We take the bus to the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, This area is an extraterritorial part of Italy belonging to the Vatican as agreed upon in the Lateran treaty of 1929. We start in the Battistero Lateranense, this building dates back to the 5th century and its domed octagonal structure provided a model for others throughout Italy,
Next to the baptistry is the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. The church of churches, seat of the bishop of Rome and the pope, mother of all churches in the world. The church is very big but feels a bit empty like Saint Peter’s. It does have a nice ceiling, some grandious statues and an apse with stunning mosaics. The Papal Throne looks very uncomfortable (straight marble). There are giant statutes of the Apostels on the side of the nave.
Next door are the Scala Sancta, or Holy Stairs. It are white marble steps encased in wooden ones. They supposedly form the staircase which once led to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and are, therefore, sanctified by the footsteps of Jesus during his Passion. The marble stairs are visible through openings in the wooden risers. But you can only crawl upstairs on your knees while praying, we take a quick look at all the people flagellating themselves and take the other stairs up an down.
On the way to the bus we see the biggest Egyptian obelisk in the world on the square. As we pass the Basilica of Saint Mary with the bus, we are shocked by the long line of people waiting to enter the church. It was a good idea to have started with that one. We also count many more Christmas trees, we’re on 43 now.
The final church before lunch is the Basilica of St.Clement. It is famous for its early medieval fresco’s but many are behind big scaffolds. There is an entire earlier church beneath this church but you have to pay and reserve a timeslot online. We’re hungry so we move on.
Meanwhile we improve our count to 53 Christmas trees. We find a nice restaurant around the corner of the Colosseum where we order pizza, lasagna and fries (for Zeno). We wonder why the other kids are so quiet at their tables until we notice they are all phone zombies. Our kids play sleeping glass, and cover up a water glass with napkins.
We take the bus to Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, counting three more Christmas trees. We are shocked to see another line of tourists waiting for the church, the line goes all around the corner. We see another entrance door to the church and are amazed that it’s super quiet inside. Tim notices the tourist that do enter the church all look on their phones and exit the church straight away without looking up. It turns out there is another Tiktok hype in front of the church: The Mouth of Truth. It’s a 2000 year old marble mask and you can stick your hand the mouth. If you’re a liar, your hand will be bitten off. Inside, there are more mosaics and a flower-crowned skull alleged to be of Saint Valentine.
In front of the church lies the old Roman cattle market. It has two old roman temples. The Temple of Hercules Victor is a round temple. The temple is the earliest surviving mostly intact marble building in Rome and the only surviving one made of Greek marble.
Next lies the Temple of Portunus, dedicated to God Portunus as the temple was built next to the bridge that crossed the Tiber. The temple is one of the best preserved of all Roman temples as it was converted into a church in the medieval period (and restored to its original shape in the early 20th century).
We cross the Tiber and see the remains of the Pons Aemilius, the first stone bridge from Roman times still next to our modern bridge. We enter Travestere, a characterful neighboorhood thanks to its narrow cobbled streets lined by ancient orange color houses. Two of the churches we came to visit here are closed for siesta. There are many Christmas trees in The neighboorhood though, counting 83 now.
Luckily the third church is open, so we visit the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. It is a typical basilica with lot’s of old Roman columns taken from Caracalla’s baths and the apse has byzantine inspired golden mosaics like the ones we saw in Ravenna. The children need to go to the bathroom so we go on the hunt.
It’s really busy in Rome today, even busier than two days ago and there are lines outside most restaurants to get a table. So we try a bar, but there we have to stand, not something we want after all this walking. So we cross the Tiber once again and head to the Campo de’ Fiori. It’s busy with a market but on a nearby square we find a bistro with outside tables. Since we count the 100st christmas tree on the square, we get Chocolate milk for the children and use the bathroom. It’s quite a challenge as there is only one bathroom, the flush is not working, and Zeno takes five minutes to poo.
Next to the square is the Basilica di Sant’Andrea della Valle. It’s mostly famous for it’s big dome and beautiful ceiling. Here there are also mirrors to take a selfie but no one is queuing (TikTok did not discover it yet?) so we take one ourselves. Talking about selfie spots, we pinned a must photograph spot in the neighbourhood, and sure when we enter the small courtyard, several people are taking selfies of the orange houses with the poison ivy.
We’re tired and have seen enough churches for the rest of the year, so we head to nearby Piazza Navona. This old stadium is one of the more beautiful squares in Rome but is now crowded with a Christmas market next to the beautiful fountains. Luckily for the kids there is a merry-go-round too, so they get to have some fun too today, after the dozen of kilometers we walked today.
We spot a line in front of the Chiesa di Sant’Agnese in Agone with big posters promoting a Carrevagio and Rubens inside with free entry. We join the queue as it starts to rain and luckily the line moves fast and we’re inside in no time. The Carrevagio is very nice and clearly the crowds favorite as the line continues in front if this painting. The Rubens is not to our taste and is left alone by most others too.
When we get to the bus stop in the rain it’s crowded, our bus comes just minutes later but it’s full and everybody tries to get inside. Tim gets Cleo inside while pushing himself inside with her, but Olga with the Deuter on her back is too big, she decides to try another door and at that moment the doors close and the bus leaves. Cleo is a bit distressed that see will be missing half of her family for the rest of her life. Tim reassures her that Olga will manage to get to the station by herself and this proves to be true. She arrives just seconds later on which was clearly a better bus.
Our train is waiting for us on the far end of the platform, we close the Christmas tree counting at 114, and we head home to get some well deserved rest before bed.
