Churches, churches, churches! That was basically what our day consisted of...
We started out a little slower today - well at least I did because my feet were pretty sore from all the walking we did yesterday - but Sabrina was kind enough to make us some eggs and toast for breakfast before we headed off to meet up with the rest of the group.
Our first stop was the Basilica di San Giovanni Laterano (or the Church of St. John Lateran). This church is of great importance as it is the official cathedral of the bishop of Rome - essentially the Pope - and is the first church the Pope becomes head of when he is elected. The original church structure actually dates from the 4th century and was built by Constantine as a way to publicly show that Christianity was now an accepted religion in Rome. It's interesting though, because the church is oddly situated outside the main city center which shows Constantine's acknowledgement of the fact that 2/3 of all the Romans during his reign were still pagan (and he didn't want a riot on his hands...lol).
The facade obviously has had a few face-lifts and the interior as well, but it was altogether a stunning cathedral.
...view from the side
...that's right! Another obelisk!
...the ancient Baptistery associated with, but outside of the Cathedral
...and I just needed to throw this one in... :)
After that, we headed over to the next church on the list: the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
This church is the largest of those dedicated to Mary in Rome but also is known for the legend surrounding it. Supposedly around the 5th century, two patrons who were unsure of how to donate their possessions, but they knew they wanted to honor the Virgin Mary. They were then given a sign in the form of snowfall on this very hill (which would've been as rare as a dinosaur walking across the street today), and thus, this church was built.
...that huge mosaic and others surrounding it date from around the 5th century and are some of the earliest to depict Mary...not to mention, they're so beautiful!!
....sexy.
...view of the Cathedral's dome from the side.
Afterwards, we continued onto - yes, you guessed it! - another church. This one was called the Basilica di Santa Prassede. It was much less ostentatious from the outside like the other two. In fact, I'm pretty sure had we not made a point to find it, I probably would've walked right past it - it was so simple in style.
But the inside was gorgeous - if a bit smaller than the others.
...it also had mosaics from around the 7th and 8th centuries - when the church was built - and they too were mind-blowing in detail and beauty.
...another cool part of the church: it had catacombs! We couldn't go very deep in, but what we did see was pretty awesome!
...one of the side chapels - also housed a beautiful mosaic.
...and this was a relic they had - supposedly it is a piece of the Roman column upon which Christ was flogged...
Mosaics galore!!
But we weren't done yet! Next, and finally, we visited the Basilica di Santa Pudenziana. This church, though also seemingly humble compared to the earlier cathedrals, is considered the oldest place of Christian worship in Rome. It was built upon the remains of an ancient Roman house in the 2nd century and was actually the house of the Pope until Constantine provided the Lateran Palace (near the first church I mentioned of similar name) for papal residency. The church is dedicated mainly to the two ancient Roman sisters, Pudentiana and Praxedes who built a baptistery in their father's house and helped to convert many pagan believers.
..the mosaic is sort of the shining jewel of the church as it dates from the 4th century and shows amazingly realistic depictions of Christ, the two sisters who flank him, and other various apostles.
....this level of realism was very rare for the more popular idealized, iconographic mosaics of early Christianity - they carry much of the ancient Roman traditions of attention to detail and the human form instead....so cool!!
Also, we were lucky to get a personal tour by the one of the church's staff, a fellow named Mario, who was very passionate about the church and showed us some of the back rooms and treasures within them!
...these were some frescoes (badly damaged, but still visible) located right behind the main mosaic. One shows an image of the sisters baptizing pagans in the bottom right...
...more detail. I think that's supposed to be St. Luke in the center...
...these were some bricks collected from the building during periods of reconstruction - they all have stamps that include dates and what Roman emperor was reigning at that time!
Our guide also took us up into a side aisle along the dome where we got a much better view!
...amazing...
And that completes the church-touring-extravaganza of the day!! Afterwards, many of us headed home to prepare for afternoon class. Sabrina and I got sandwiches on the way back from a 'bar' on the street corner - bars in Italy are like deli/cafes and what we think of as bars are called pubs! - and then caught up on some class reading.
I have to admit that sometimes I forget we are actually doing school right now...not just touring. lol!
But class was good and afterwards we made a dinner of veggies and rice - along with these awesome ice-cubes we made from trays that were left here!!
And to end a pretty intense day, we snacked on some nutella & biscuits as well as these adorable mini-tiramisu treats!! (even though we both agreed the top looked a little like mini boobs....)
...just another day in Roma!
Fino a domani!
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