Touring Day

No Classes today in house. Field trip today. We celebrated Mass early and got an early start on day away. We took city buses which was a great lesson in itself. In all my trips to Rome, I have rarely used the bus system, primarily because the groups were just too large. So today was a kind of tutorial that I know will serve me well in the weeks to come.

Today, our group visited the ancient Roman Forum. This was a public area in the city of Rome, built first as a market place, but soon became the location of legal and political events as well. There are a few pictures that show the area. We met our guide at the Capitoline steps - a beautiful stairway designed by Michaelangelo leading up to the city government buildings, which he also designed. We met our guide, Cornelius. He is Dutch origin, but has lived in Rome for 35 years. He had been a teacher in Holland, but came to Rome to serve as a guide. He is also a permanent deacon for the diocese of Rome.

Our guide, Cornelius, speaking to our group in the ancient Roman Forum

Looking down into the Forum from the back of the city hall in Rome. The forum was expanded by each successive new emperor. The ground plan of one of the markets is visible to the left of the columns. You can see the bases of two rows of columns which would have held stalls under the roof supported by the columns. The high walls at the rear are the foundations of the palace of Augustus Ceasar who built massive palaces on the Palatine hill beside the forum.

A row of statues in the area of the forum designated for the vestal virgins. Women who lived a celibate life devoted to prayer to the gods. They were responsible for maintaining fires which were lit in the temples. These fires could not be allowed to go out or fear of retribution by the gods. The statues are headless because in the 15th century, the heads were broken off to serve as projectiles in catapults when the army ran out of other things to sling to an enemy.

This church was built in the 16th century on top of the ruins of the forum. The columns in front are 100AD columns that would not fall so they decided to build the church a few feet away from them. The arch in the facade of the church that be seen between the columns is the front door. But now since the excavations of the forum have taken place over the past hundred years, the front door is now 20 feet above ground level. The brick steps you see at the base of the scaffolding are modern additions. This church must be entered by a new entrance cut through the wall at the rear of the church on the modern street level. This picture is great example of how the many Romes were built one on top of the other. As the city was destroyed, in wars, fires, or earthquakes, the rubble was not cleared. It was leveled and the new buildings were built on top of the old city. Archaelogists have identified as many a 7 levels under many modern buildings. Construction is very slow in Rome because anywhere you dig, you uncover a major archaelogical find. All construction must stop until the scientists come to study which can take years.

Ruins of the last "basilica" to be added to the forum. What you see in this photo are side chambers of this building. These three arches form the side of the building. There are three more facing it. The ceiling would have been about 60 meters (198 feet) high. The building was 100 meters (328 feet)  long and 65 meters (213 feet) wide. These are the floor plans which became the model for the many large churches that were built after Christianity became legal in the empire. A "basilica" is an architectural design. The word comes from a greek word which means a place of assembly, for business. This huge building in the forum was a market place, and also a place where justice issues were decided. There were several such basilicas, but this was the last and the biggest.  

There are many triumphal arches in Rome but this one is especially important. This arch was built after the Jewish revolt was put down in Jerusalem in 68 AD. The Roman army returned to Rome carrying all the treasury of the temple. There are friezes depicting the army carrying menorahs, the ark of the covenant, candlesticks, and most importantly, slaves. The Jewish slaves were then added to the work force building the new Coloseum.

The arch of Constantine. The largest and best preserved of the arches in Rome. This one is standing beside the Coloseum. It was built to commemorate the victory of Constantine against his enemies in his fight for the throne of the empire. It has a particular prominece now because much the area around it was cleared, and a wide avenue was built leading up to it so Adolph Hitler could drive through it after Italy fell to the Nazis in World War II.

One of the most famous sights in Rome. Trajan's stadium or the Coloseum. This is the portion with the wall at their original height. Some of the marble facing over the brick structural form is still visible. The coloseum was used as a quarry for the building of many early churches in Rome. The church used stone from pagan temples and roman buildings extensively for new churches. So the site does not have much rubble on the ground because it did not collapse, it was taken down stone by stone.

Next to the froum is the basilica of Sts. Cosmas and Damien, 3rd century Roman martyrs. This small white facade is all that is visible of the church from the outside. But the beautiful church opens up behind this deceptively small entrance.

The sanctuary of Sts. Cosmas and Damian. The apse of the church is totally decorated in mosaics which date from the 4th Century. They are as vivid today as they were 1700 years ago when they were created. There are workers in the lower left who are in process of restoring the wooden choir stalls which line the rear of the sanctuary. The colors of my photograph do not do this justice. The background behind the central figure of Jesus is really a bright cobalt blue. Notice the 12 sheep at the base of the mosaic. They depict the 12 apostles. Behind the top of the altar is the traditional "lamb of God" with the sheep holding the white banner with the red cross.

The Ceiling at Sts. Cosmas and Damian.

Lunch break: After leaving the area of the forum, I went with Fr. Joe Porpiglia, from the diocese of Buffalo, NY to visit the Farnese museum. We had walked by it on the tour of the Via Giulia the day before but did not have the time to go in. Today we made a point of it. And Father Rodney recommended it highly. Fr. Joe knew of this restaurant called Il Ponentino in the Trastevere section. Trastevere means tras =  across, tevere = Tiber river, which flows through Rome. This is one of the oldest sections of Rome. It was a slum in early days, a place where the slaves and servants lived, mostly a swamp. But today, it is a very exclusive residential area with some of the really chic shops and great restaurants. We had a great lunch, Buccatini All'amatriciana, (Just look it up on line. Easiest thing in the world to make.) We split this delicious pizza with tomato, olives, mushroom, hard boiled egg, artichoke, and prosciutto. This was followed by a fresh salad. Southern Europeans mostly enjoy their salads at the end of the meal. Of course, a bit of red wine. This filled in the time until the museum opened again. Everything closes for 2 - 3 hours in early afternoon. We arrived at the Farnese at about 3:30 ready to see this beautiful art collection by one of Rome's most wealthy and prestigious families. Today, the Farnese Palace is France's embassy to Italy. The first floor is embassy offices, the top floor is the embassy residence and the middle floor houses the Museum collection.   

On the way back to the seminary, we crossed back over the river and made sure we stopped at what is one of my favorite churches in Rome - Santa Maria in Trastevere. In my first visit to this church about 22 years ago, it was undergoing extensive restoration. That work is complete and the result is breathtaking.

The sanctuary of Santa Maria in Trastevere. The entire wall space is covered in mosaics. Notice the motif again of the sheep at the base of the half-dome. Here the image of the "lamb of God" is visible because the baldichino over the altar is not blocking it as in Sts. Cosmas and Damian. Also notice that the field behind Jesus is not blue but gold. This indicates that it is later mosaic when the tastes changed and the blue field was used much less.

A better view of the mosaic over the altar. Notice the "lamb of God" image in the center.

And finally, the best view I could get of the nave of the church. The gold-leafed coffered ceiling is one of the most beautiful in all of the Rome churches in my estimation.

We headed back to the seminary. It was a long day of walking and my feet were aching, and my bad knee is screaming at me. But is was worth it. A bit of comaraderie before dinner and as usual, a good time at table.

After dinner we had a brief meeting with Colin Wen, a seminarian from the Diocese of Sacramento, CA. He is a third year theology student and is the coordinator of the program for the 40 stational churches which we will visit in Rome during Lent. Everyday, we walk to a different church to celebrate Mass. This means a departure of about 6:00am. It is a practice that goes back nearly 1600 years. It was abandoned for centuries and revived by the students at the North American College about 50 years ago. Today it includes the seminarians and priests from all the English-speaking seminaries in Rome, as well as English-speaking lay people living and studying in Rome.

I am looking forward to my participation in these daily celebrations of Mass. Our trip to the Holy Land will prevent me from visiting all 40 of the stational churches in Rome. However, there will the opportunity to celebrate daily Mass in some amazing places in Israel too.

Hope you enjoyed my field trip today.