Monastery stery night

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Lazy sleep in this morning, which was much needed. Yesterday in Rome was exhausting. We decided to take the twelve forty train today, and take time to have breakfast in the sun, enjoy our view and pack an overnight bag for our two night stay. It was a nice warm morning today, which made my usual plan of "wear everything you might need for two days" challenging and uncomfortable. It was such a lovely and idyllic morning that one of our party commented on the sweet, funny noises the cows were making in the distance, and the other three members of our party corrected unanimously that it was a chainsaw.



The train went much more smoothly today, especially when we realized that we could actually stay on until a stop much closer to the monastery where we will be staying, which is near the Vatican. Yes, we are staying in a monastery, but we don't have to wear robes or chant. Once we got off the train we had lunch at a great hole in the wall called pizza boom. My dad didn't have anything, as hot weather turns him into a food camel and he doesn't eat until after the sun goes down, and then he eats all the day's worth of food. He did partake in a gelato with me, and gamely said yes when they asked if he wanted whipped cream on top.



Then we seemed to walk everywhere but to our hotel. We wandered around some very pretty areas and had some spritzes, but the goal had been to get to our hotel, leave our bags and then head to St. Peter's in the evening after the crowds had left. Once it became clear that though we were not lost, we would never get to the monastery we took a cab, which saved us another forty five minutes of trekking in thirty degree heat with weekend bags. The monastery is nice enough, we're sharing a room with three tiny beds like three aged orphans.



St. Peters wasn't very busy and we got through security without issue. I stopped to take a photo, and my parents pressed on through the last checkpoint and into the basilica without me. Normally, this would not be an issue, but the basilicia is a holy place, and exposed shoulders are unholy and must be covered up (yet they can decorate the inside of the churches with weenies (though to be fair, theyve flip flopped with the implementation of those weenie hankies)). I was wearing a tank top and had brought a cardigan to use to cover my offensive shoulders, however the cardigan was in my dad's backpack. The security man stopped me and said I had to cover my shoulders, and I said I knew and needed to get my dad from up ahead and he said no, I could go no closer to the church (I was about fifty meters away). I called out, but my parents didn't hear me. I waited in my fenced in heathen area for my parents to realize I was missing. It only took a few minutes before they came back out to look for me, and saw me in my heathen cage and connected what the problem must be. It wasn't a great way to start the visit.



St. Peters defies words and my photographic skills. The glory of the place is the size and quantity of treasures, and these can't be adequately described by my vocabulary or my iPhone's lens. St. Peter's is defined thusly: Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. While it is neither the official mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom". Construction of the present basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. The plan was in the form of an enormous Greek Cross with a dome inspired by that of the huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon. The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. The baldacchino, a pavilion-like structure 30 metres (98 ft) tall and claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world, stands beneath the dome and above the altar and was designed by Bernini. Its design is based on the ciborium, of which there are many in the churches of Rome, serving to create a sort of holy space above and around the table on which the Sacrament is laid for the Eucharist and emphasizing the significance of this ritual. These ciborium are generally of white marble, with inlaid coloured stone. Bernini's concept was for something very different. He took his inspiration in part from the baldachin or canopy carried above the head of the pope in processions, and in part from eight ancient columns that had formed part of a screen in the old basilica. Their twisted barley-sugar shape had a special significance as the column to which Jesus was bound before his crucifixion was believed to be of that shape. Based on these columns, Bernini created four huge columns of bronze, twisted and decorated with olive leaves and bees, which were the emblem of Pope Urban.

The Pietà by Michelangelo is incredibly beautiful, but you can't get close enough any more it really appreciate it. My father has photos from the seventies, before someone took a hammer to Mary's face, and you can really appreciate the fine workmanship of the marble. Now it's behind thick glass and far away, so it's harder to appreciate. All I can say is that it's worth it to go to st, peters and its worth it to go later in the day.



A big goal we've had for days now is to eat more like Italians. We north Americans each order a single dish and it comes on a big plate. We've noticed the Italians order shared dishes of pasta, meat, appetizers, and we wanted to do that. When we have tried, they've divided our portions in the kitchen beforehand and brought them to us on our own plate, knowing that as north Americans, we'll stab with a fork he who tries to share our food. We found a little place at the end of our street with a handmade sign he door that said in English: "no pizza, no sandwiches, no cappuccino. Please understand". This seemed like a real promise of authenticity, since those are the token items ordered by obnoxious tourists.

We had a really charming server who we managed to convince we wanted to share. She brought us the dishes plus empty plates for each of us, and we toasted with our first and second bottles of wine our success at finally eating like Italians.



Tomorrow we go to see some tintoretto exhibit (points if you can guess the member of our group is most excited by that prospect) and then the Vatican at night, which has been designed for local people to see the Vatican without all the tourist groups.



Important discovery from today: I have now seen all the teenage mutant ninja turtles: a Donatello statue, Leonardo's painting, Michaelangelo's sculpture and Raphael's paintings. I can die happy.

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Photos

We're eating like Italians!!!
Roasted potatoes, lemon veal, spaghetti carbonara (served as the first course) and bruschetta (appetizer)

Comments

[Auntie Jeanie]

Darn the stupid vandals who spoil things for the rest of us!
You can't get close to Stonehenge now, because of people who wrote their names on the stones or chipped off "souvenirs". And it's heartbreaking that sculptures, the most tactile of the arts, can't be experienced at least right up close, if not actually touching the marble. I knew, of course, about the damage to the Pieta, but somehow hadn't realized that it was now behind glass.

[MaryMD]

It is a shame about the pieta being behind glass. My dad did manage to get some great shots anyways. I'm so glad you're reading my blog auntie Jeanie! I just hope my crazy nonsense isn't too shocking. I love getting your comments.