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Published: August 5th 2007
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San Clemente
There are two other churches below Ciao!
Sometimes a chance meeting can turn into something very special. That is what happened to us Sunday morning. We had made our way to the Colosseum looking for the street to the Basilica of San Clemente. San Clemente is three churches built one on top of the other. As we were trying to figure out which street to take, an older gentleman passed by. I showed him our map with a picture of San Clemente and asked which way should we go? He responded in Italian. He could tell by the look on my face that I could not understand what he was saying. So, he smiled and took me by the arm and led us to the Basilica. As we walked up the street, he would stop at ruins and give an explanation of what we were looking at in ITALIAN. Claudio, as I later found out, was determined to get us to understand what he was saying. He even went as far as acting out his explanation. Jabbing with spear meant Gladiator; making wide circular hand movements while saying acqua meant lake; and walking while beating chest with mean look on face meant Nero. I translated his
Claudio
We had our own personal guide. One problem, we could not understand each other. gestures to the group: Big bad Nero lived here. There once was a lake where the Colosseum now stands. Gladiator slept at the ruins we were looking at. Apparently, the translation was correct, as we later found out by our English speaking guide on our Ancient Rome tour.
Our time with Claudio did not end at San Clemente. He escorted us to Saint Peters-in-Chains church were we saw the impressive statue of Moses sculpted by Michelangelo and the actual chains that held St. Peter. We had only planned to see those two sites in the morning, but Claudio wanted to show us one more site. We had no idea where we were going, but trusted Claudio. On the way there, he bought us gelato. As we walked with him, he would continue to explain the area in his native tongue. We were soon at the Piazza della Repubblica. But this was not where he wanted to take us. A quick walk across the street, and we were at the Santa Maria degil Angeli—a beautiful Basilica that honors Angels and the Christians that died building the Baths of Diocletian’s. The Basilica was designed by none other, but Michelangelo. Michelangelo was
St. Peter's in Chains
They say these are the actual chains that held Peter. commissioned to design the Basilica by the Pope. Both men wanted to honor the architectural wonders of the past by converting a monument of pagan hedonism into a religious masterpiece. And what a masterpiece! We would have missed this wonderful place, if we had not asked Claudio for directions. After spending an hour in the Basilica, Claudio escorted us to the metro. We said our goodbyes - a kiss on each cheek. Claudio was off to see his wife and we were off to find a restaurant near our B&B.
With our bellies full and refreshed from the rest at our B&B, we then went to Ancient Rome for a 2.5 hour guided tour. Our guide was an American woman, here in Rome studying Philosophy. We started at Capitol Hill and ended at the Colosseum. The guide was awesome--funny and very knowledgeable. I could write several pages about Ancient Rome, but will share the one we all found the most interesting…The House of the Vestal Virgins.
The House of the Vestal Virgins is within the Roman Forum and housed six Vestal Virgins. As the name implies, Vestal took a vow of chastity for 30 years. At the age
of 10, girls were recruited from noble families and trained for ten years. They served for the next 10, and were teachers the remaining 10. The Vestal Virgins had to keep the sacred fire burning. It has been said, that if the fire dies out, Rome falls. Allowing the sacred fire to die out was a serious offence.
Because a Vestal’s virginity was thought to be directly correlated to the sacred burning of the fire, if the fire was extinguished it might be assumed that the Vestal had acted wrongly (hanky panky). The punishment for having sex was live burial. The Vestal was taken to a crypt, given a few days of food and water and left to die!
After hearing this we couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be a Vestal. Well, they did have some perks. The Romans honored and revered the Vestal Virgins. They were given a box opposite the Emperor at the Colosseum. They were allowed to vote, own property and even pardon prisoners. When the Vestal Virgin completed her service, she was allowed to marry. Many chose not to, as Roman laws placed too many restrictions on woman. As a Vestal Virgin
you were respected and honored and had the same rights as a man. Tough to walk away from and then be subjected to the authority of a man. I can see why live burial was a risk they were willing to take.
I hope you found the information about the Vestal Virgins as interesting as we did. Ciao!
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Lara Jean
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The Beauty of Rome
oh the Beauty of Rome.... Your pictures take my breath away! Kahlil and I are avid watchers of the History channel, and funny , we were just watching a show on the Underground cities of Rome. IF you have time, ask a tour guide if there are ANY tours of the underground citites.... trust me, it is absolutely AMAZING! SO worth it if you can find someone to show you! Reading your Blogs and viewing your pictures , only CONFIRMS that Kahlil and I HAVE to go! I swear , I really must be an old soul, I must have been a Roman Princess in my other lifetime..... sigh. love and miss you, The Polish Princess in LA LA LAND.