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Published: June 16th 2017
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01 Interior
The plain interior of San Pietro in Vincoli. Geo: 41.8955, 12.4823
Again this morning we woke early and then packed up, showered, had a quick, small breakfast and then walked down our street and around the corner. We wanted to see a church that we have been walking past so many times each day. To get there we had to walk up a steep flight of steps. The outside of the church doesn't really look like a church to me, as there is no visible bell tower or dome. This church is called San Pietro in Vincoli, which means St Peter in Chains.
Inside I noticed that there weren't many pews. This church seemed large inside and I think it was due to the lack of paint on every inch of the wall. It was easier to take it all in. This church is well known for two things – Michelangelo's sculpture and St Peter's chains.
There are quite a few tombs of deceased cardinals, each with unique designs. This made me wonder if they chose the design or if someone else did. Secured behind glass was the 7th century mosaic of St Sebastian.
In a sunken area in front of the altar the special chains were on display.
02 Tomb
The tomb of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini. Two sets of stairs led visitors down there; I did not feel the need to go any closer. These chains are special as after they were used to imprison St Peter they miraculously joined together.
Nearby was Michelangelo's Moses. This is a huge monumental tomb that he built for Pope Julius II. He did not complete it and the pope was buried elsewhere in Rome. At the bottom in the centre is the statue of Moses. Unfortunately for us, the whole structure was covered in scaffolding as it was being restored.
It was now time to walk back to our apartment, on the way we could not resist stopping at a bar and buying a freshly baked pastry. We ate them back in our apartment and they were amazing. For the next half an hour we cleaned up (so we didn't have to pay a cleaning fee) and finished packing. We would be spending our last two nights in Rome in another apartment as this one was not available. Michael got in touch with Francesca and told her we were just about to leave.
Then it was an uphill walk to our new place but it was worth it. Our apartment
03 Mosaic
Protected behind the glass is a mosaic of St Sebastian from the 7th century. building was on Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore. The owner's brother met us and took us up. This place was huge and so spacious compared to our last apartment. The cleaner was still preparing the place for us, but we were thankful that we could check in early and leave our suitcases.
We prepared ourselves for a day out and went to the train station. Here we bought tickets to go to Orvieto. There was just over an hour until the train departed, so we walked around the dodgy Termini area and found somewhere to have an early lunch. I think pizza is always a good choice, as you know it is always freshly cooked.
After our tasty lunch we walked back to Termini, validated our tickets and went to find our train.
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