Pilgrimage to Rome - Ciao Papa

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After arriving in Rome and taking an airport shuttle ride into the city, we were deposited in the Campo di Fiori in lashing rain. We rented an apartment for the week to share with Eric’s mom, to take her on her first visit to Italy. I was nervous after our rental in Rio and the disaster that was. I just wanted this to go well. I left Eric and Mom stranded under the cover of a restaurant to avoid the rain while I investigated exactly where the apartment was. It was quite close to the Campo; closer than I expected. And, the apartment was lovely, if not a little freezing. The heat had not been turned on prior to our arrival, and apparently needed about 24 hours to heat up. Regardless of the cold, we settled in and made our way out for lunch.

We explored the Campo during our last trip to Rome. We stumbled across it while the daily market was cleaning up. Six days a week a market of flowers, fruits and veg, food, and other goods springs up in the early morning hours. It is nice to wander through the stalls, but one of our favorite times is after lunch, around 2pm, when the market starts to close. What in the morning is a serene backdrop while sipping a cappuccino becomes a hubbub of activity. During our last visit we found a small restaurant with outdoor seating right on the campo with a view of the clean up. The vendors each pack up their goods, disassemble their tents, and cart everything away in a small three wheeled cart called an Ape. As the vendors clear, the sanitation crew comes out. They sweep up all the debris from the various food stalls and cart them away in miniature garbage trucks. The final step is an automated street cleaner that is driven around sucking up the small debris and spraying the stones with water to clean them. We enjoy watching all of this happen with a bottle of house red wine and a pizza.

When we arrived at the apartment, we immediately initiated Mom into our tradition. We found our little restaurant, called Il Virgilio, and we even recognized the same server from our last trip in September 2007. We ordered a pizza margherita with buffalo mozzarella and deep fried tomato and rice balls called suppli. We also ordered spinach ravioli in a red sauce. It was as good as I remembered, although I always had a concern that the food at this place was too touristy and not very good. But, after comparing it to several other restaurants during the week, I realized we were wasting meals if we did not eat with our friendly server at Il Virgilio.

Seeing the Sights and an Audience With the Pope

After a long nap to make up for the bad night of sleep we all had in Dublin before flying to Rome, we took a taxi over to Trevi Fountain before dinner. It was lovely lit up at night, even if it was fairly empty due to the cold. Thankfully, the rain ceased for a little walk. We stopped in a little church on the piazza to prepare Mom for the big event the following day - the Vatican.

We had planned the trip to Rome with Mom a few months before, but finally, just before Christmas I really started to look into how we could see the Pope. We knew that just bringing Mom to Rome and to the Vatican would blow her socks off, but seeing the Pope would be the icing on the cake. I was stunned how easy it was, probably because January is the off season. I Googled “Audience with the Pope” or something similar. One of the first sites to be listed was the official site for some office of the Vatican that explains the procedures. For your reference:



The Pope has a public audience about once a month, on a Wednesday. We were lucky that we would be in Rome for one of those Wednesdays. In a fax to the office you list the date you would like to have an audience and how many people would be attending. Less than three days later we received a return fax from the Pope’s office saying all is confirmed - pick up your tickets the day before or the morning of the audience. We were in. Again, I was totally stunned at how easy it was.

So, on Wednesday morning, we took a taxi over to the Vatican and I picked up the tickets. I was fairly sure the audience would not be in the Basilica, and in the nicer weather it is sometimes held out in St. Peter’s Square, so I was unsure where we would be. I just wished it was inside. The tickets were for seats in the Audience hall, which is to the left of the Basilica in a 70s era building. It was very plain, with wood paneling on the sides, and one large stained glass window on each side. In the front was a stage with a strange wood carving and a big Pope chair. It did not look anything like a place for a Catholic mass and instead looked like the auditorium of a community college. We sat down about 45 minutes early and waited, and waited. We shared the room with probably close to a thousand other people, many coming in groups and wearing matching hats, carrying banners of the church or school they were from. We saw at least one bride coming for a blessing. Several cardinals and security guards gathered on the stage waiting. At the appointed time, the Pope emerged from an unadorned door on the left, crossing the stage in his red leather shoes (are they Prada?) waving to the masses. He sat down on his throne, and waited for the crowds to settle down.

I seriously did not know what to expect. I assumed it would be some sort of religious service, a mass or a blessing, but the letter we received and the information online continuously referred to it as an “audience” not a mass. Without all of the religious paraphernalia on the stage that usually accompanies a mass, I was thrown for a loop. We also did not know what language he would speak. The predominant language was Italian, spoken by the Pope and several other helpers. I think a Cardinal greeted the audience and then the Pope took over, speaking in Italian for a great deal of time about St. Francis of Assisi, his sacrifices and devotions. The Pope did not speak off the cuff. Instead, he read from a lengthy script. And, since none of us speak Italian fluently, in my opinion it was pretty long - he just kept turning page after page. Finally, the dissertation on St. Francis ended. Then, in turn, different priests stood to address the audience in each language spoken by a group represented in the audience. In turn we heard at least seven different languages. Each priest welcomed the speakers of the particular country or countries and then, strangely, singled out particular groups. It was as though each group received a “shout out” from the Pope. Many groups merely stood and clapped; some sang songs and waved banners. It was surreal. During each presentation, the priest would greet the Pope, showing him respect, and then the Pope would say a few words in the appropriate language about St. Francis. He then blessed all of the people in the audience in their particular language. Now, we first heard Italian, since we were in Italy, German because the Pope is German, English, because it is quickly becoming the international language, then Spanish, probably because so many people speak Spanish. We thought if the Pope can speak Italian, how difficult is it to learn Spanish? Then, he spoke French, Polish (similar to German, maybe), and Portuguese (which seems to be easier to learn if you know Italian and Spanish). Now, he was reading a script, which I know is easier than speaking fluently, but I was still impressed with the number of languages. The English part seemed to fly by in a flash, but they recognized groups from various countries, including China and Hong Kong. Apparently the Pope does not know Mandarin and I guess the Chinese speakers knew English (funny because we rarely found people speaking English when WE were in China, convenient). They even recognized a church group from Toms River, New Jersey, just down the road from Mom’s house in Holmdel. By the end of his English speech, he blessed us all and any item that we had with us was blessed as well. Mom had a rosary and some other trinkets with her, now all blessed by the Pope. The Polish group was the funniest, though. One of the large groups sang a song when they were recognized. Then, when the Pope was speaking about St. Francis and giving his blessing he made the mistake of taking a breath and the group started another song - they interrupted the Pope while he was speaking. I was shocked - the sacrilege! At the end of the presentation and blessing in each of the languages, add in one more language, the Pope said the Our Father in Latin. It certainly was a unique experience, and by the time we were done after 1pm, we were spent. We stopped for lunch and then the required afternoon nap.

That night, we toured the Pantheon and walked over to the Piazza Navona. The Pantheon was beautiful when we arrived just around dusk. It was a chilly walk over to the Piazza, and disappointing because the large fountain that is the centerpiece of the square was closed for renovations. We then, meandered back towards the Campo for dinner and an early night for another big day in the morning.

Tour of the Vaticano

Although Eric and I have been to Rome twice before, and to the Vatican twice before, we felt ill equipped to do justice to the history and significance of the Basilica. We hired a professional guide, Elisabetta, a Roman archeologist, to do a tour of the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, and then, finally, the Basilica of St. Peter. We met at the entrance to the museums. She explained some of the history of Rome and the city state of the Vatican before moving through some of the halls of the museum, including a hall of Dutch tapestries and a hall of maps. The maps were amazing and were each of the regions in Italy. They were created hundreds of years ago but in comparison to today’s maps and geography, they were remarkably accurate.

We then toured Raphael’s rooms. He painted frescos in four rooms which were the space of the Pope. One of his most famous paintings was of the philosophers, The School of Athens, which he painted at the same time that Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel. After the rooms, we made our way to the master piece of the Sistine Chapel. I think Mom appreciated the explanations of the paintings, to better understand the story of the creation through Noah, and then to understand the significance of the Last Judgment and the way that Michelangelo painted it. When finished with our brief tour of the museums (we saw only a small portion) we took a back exit from the Chapel, located adjacent to the Basilica, to arrive near the entrance to the tombs that exist under the church.

In the past, the highlight for most worshipers in the tombs was to stop at the tomb of St. Peter. It is protected behind a chapel. Although this day there were a few people paused there, the highlight of the trip for most people now is to the new tomb of Pope John Paul II. There is an area to stop and pray in front of the pristine and bright white marble tomb. Many people were quite emotional. I think Mom appreciated being able to pay her respects and to say a little prayer to the first modern Pope. After winding our way through the tombs, we emerged at the base of the stairs to finally see the Basilica. Our original goal was to have Mom see the inside, to absorb the atmosphere, before heading in with Elisabetta, but we were not able to make it in before or after our audience the prior day. This, therefore, was her first entrance in. Elisabetta did a great job of allowing time to soak in the experience of just being in a church as grand as this one. We first saw Michelangelo’s Pieta, which is now safe and secure behind glass after a crazy man tried to attack it with a hammer years ago. From that point on, Mom seemed concerned about the safety of many of the ruins we saw, commenting numerous times about preventing people from destroying or stealing artifacts. We made our way slowly around the Basilica and the main alter of St. Peter at the rear. After saying arrivederci to Elisabetta and thanking her for the successful and informative tour, we returned to a small chapel that is reserved for prayer. Mom went in for a bit to say a direct prayer up for the family and we ended her pilgrimage to the Vatican.

On Mom’s last day, we had nothing set planned. We slept in and watched the rain pour over the courtyard of the apartment. It dried up enough for us to grab a caffe, and then we thought we would push our luck to show Mom the last big sight we wanted her to see - the Coliseum. We grabbed a taxi, which dropped us off just in front as a drizzle set in. We slowly made our way to stand under a tree as the heavens opened up. We tried to wait out the rain, while showing off the Coliseum through a tree. Then, as the rain eased up, we were able to take some photos with dramatic grey clouds in the background. After ten or so minutes, we showed Mom the Coliseum, the Palatine Hill in the background, and explained the Roman Forum. She bought some souvenirs, and we made our way back to the taxi stand, when the sun came out and we were able to grab some more photos with a nice clear backdrop, before heading back to the apartment, thereby ending our role as Roman tour guides.

Eating Our Way Around Rome

We made sure that Mom was able to try all of the Italian and Roman specialties we could find in the five nights she was in Italy. She had some of the creamiest hot chocolate with panna (whipped cream) and we introduced her to cappuccinos; the traditional Italian caffé (espresso) was too strong for her. We frequented a tiny little café just off the Campo for breakfast in the morning. The owner, Antonio, was older and very friendly, calling out “buongiorno” to customers as they ventured in, hit the bar for an espresso, and left in about 5 minutes or less. When we arrived with Mom we tried to find a seat for her. He saw we had Mom with us and quickly came around the bar to arrange one of the three tiny tables for her to sit. I think he was impressed that we were vacationing with Mom and taking care of her. It was nice to see his smiling face each morning and we quickly settled into this routine. When Mom returned to the US and we returned to the café alone, he seemed saddened by her departure, but still friendly to us. In fact, on our last day we told him we would be leaving that afternoon for Siena and he said a thousand thanks and good travels. When we walked by the café on the way to the train station he saw us trudging by with our backpacks on and smiled and waved through the window. It made me feel, even if for only a split second of time, like a local.

In the evenings, we sometimes stopped for an after dinner drink and Mom tasted our prosecco sparkling wine and our favorite Italian liquor, limoncello. She tried spaghetti carbonara and all other different pastas along the way. Despite the cold, we ensured she had gelato at least once - tiramisu flavored, in honor of her favorite dessert, tiramisu, which she tried twice. In fact, on her last day we had a simple lunch of two pizzas at Il Virgilio and when we asked her where she wanted to go for dinner she said she wanted to return to the same place. It seemed we had her hooked on our simple little restaurant and nice server. I think her favorite part, though, was her interest in returning for the tiramisu she had the night before. I think if she lived in Rome she would become addicted. Also, despite the cold, we were able to eat outside a few times, under heat lamps, and have some after dinner drinks outside, while watching the youngsters brave the cold to hang out in groups around the Campo.

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Photos

Apartment Living
Mom in the courtyard

Mom's Pilgrimage
In St. Peter's Square, with the Basilica behind.

Anticipation
Waiting for the Appearance of the Pope.

Papa Arrives
The Pope, or Papa, in Italian, greets the audience.

The Pantheon
An evening stroll

Michelangelo's Pieta
In the Basilica of St Peter

The Coliseum
Once the rain cleared up

Wine and Pasta
A Roman dinner

After Dinner Drink on the Campo
Eric and his prosecco and Mom with hot chocolate and whipped cream

Comments

[MAC]

When will you be home?
I will be in Chicago week of April 12 and was wondering whether you are ever coming back? Of course, I cannot blame you if you do not. You have made world travel interesting for all of us.