When in Rome...Day 3

“Rome is not like any other city. It’s a big museum, a living room that shall be

 crossed on one’s toes.” – Alberto Sordi.

(Choosing the above quote was easy for today, this day of the most walking: 9.2 miles, 22,444 steps and 19 floors were registered on my cell phone tracking app.)

Day 3 - October 2

We started our day by walking to the home/church of Santa Birgitta - now a convent church. No pictures were allowed to be taken inside this beautiful little church, but we did see the nuns in their same habits as what was witnessed at the convent in Vadstena.

This is the habit...the nun is made of wax and displayed in Vadstena.

Once again, students gave their talks to the others in our group. 

From here we walked to the square that is considered to be the #2 favorite in Rome after St. Peter's,

Piazza Navona. 

It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian (1st century AD)  where the ancient Romans went to watch the games. In the center of the square is the Fountain of Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi) from 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

 The fountain is right in front of the church of Sant' Agnese in Agone.

 The square even has two other fountains on the northern and southern sides.

I can see why this is a crowd favorite!

Onward and forward we go to

The Pantheon.

I've been dreaming of seeing this in person since I was an Art History student myself!

 The columns are massive as are the crowds of people to see this former Roman temple from 113-125 AD.  Almost 2000 (!!!) years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Think about it.  In the middle of that dome is a central opening - the oculus - which is open to the sky. This means the weather comes inside, too.

Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church. Please come inside to take a look with me now.

One of my favorite pictures of our student group together is right outside the Pantheon.

Lunch break!

For my foodie friends - this was ravioli stuffed with fresh ricotta and spinach...MMM!

 Three brief stops before we go on a longer bus ride:

#1: THE ARA PACIS MUSEUM where a commemorative altar is on exhibit. This altar was built between 13 and 9 B.C. to celebrate peace in the Mediterranean after victorious battles.

#2: THE SPANISH STEPS where crowds have been gathering since 1723 on 135 steps to chat,

people watch, listen to music and check out romantic possibilities.

 #3 THE ARCHBASILICA OF ST. JOHN LATERAN

 This church was huge!

 Seems like a lot of walking so far, doesn't it? 

But we are not done for the day.  We board a bus for a ride out of the city limits to

La Catacomba di San Callisto

(Catacombs)

The entry ticket is the only picture I have of the experience below the earth. It was like nothing I have ever seen or experienced before.  Four levels of tombs below the ground level, including the Crypt of the Popes, dating to the first half of the second century. The catacombs were abandoned for centuries and in the 1800s an archaelogist by the name of Giovanni Battista began recovery efforts.

  

Our reward for making it through the amazing day (still standing) was dinner out at a restaurant overlooking the Colosseum.  Wine was a part of our celebration!