Our first week in Rome was full of beauty and deliciousness. Our second week, mindblowing!
Sunday, we took an Uber and attended Stake Conference at the church right next to the Rome LDS Temple. After the conference we enjoyed walking the beautiful grounds and visiting the building right next to it designed for visitors. After seeing so many architectural marvels, it was cool to learn about the planning and thought that went into this building. Much of it based off of symbolism used by the great artists and architects of Rome. I found a great article that explains a lot of the symbolism here.
Our favorite part was the Christus area. The statues and the mural behind them have so much meaning! The Chrisus Statue stands almost 12 feet tall, and the apostles behind are each about 8 feet tall. Each holds a symbol showing either something about their life's work or how they died a martyr's death. Each base bearing an Apostle statue has inscribed a Greek equivalent of that Apostle’s name. The larger Christus statue has a shorter base with “Venite a Me” and “Matteo 11:28” Italian for “Come unto Me” and Matthew 11:28, which reads, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you are interested, this article goes through each apostle and the symbol he holds. The original statues by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (who trained in Rome) have been in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark, for nearly 200 years. Through digital mapping technology, the statues in Rome are a precise replica of the Copenhagen statues but with marble from Carrara, Italy. To learn more about the amazing process, you can read about it here,
The mural was absolutley beatuiful and brimming with symblic meaning. I'll share everything I remember: The sun with it's rays reaching every corner of the vineyard symbolizes the Savior who is the light and light of the world. There are twelve olive trees each above the head of an apostle symbolizing the atonement. On the left are sheaves of wheat and the right is a grape vineyard to symbolize the sacrament. There are forty sheep but twelve different kinds symbolizing the twelve tribes of Isreal gathering together in the Lord's vineyard. The artist Joseph Brickey said, “These lambs are encircled by the olive trees, which I hope will help visitors feel included as members of God’s family.”
In a small corner you can see a hen gathering her chicks which points to the the scripture in Matthew 23:37 "...how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"
A broken altarpiece symbolizes that Christ fullfilled the law of sacrifice.
Over to the far right corner is a lamb that has lost his way; there is a beam of light on him, reminding us that no matter how lost we become, we are never out of the reach of our Savior's love.
As we walked around, the kids found this poor little lizard that looked like he had been stepped on. Their animal-loving hearts were very concerned.
They snuck him on the 45-minute bus ride home. He lived for about half an hour after we got to the apartment. RIP, little buddy.
On Monday, we headed to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel!
The lines weren't too bad, but we are glad we went early because even though this is considered off-season, the crowds were crazy later in the day.
The entrance. The construction of the entrance dates back to the beginning of the 1930s, when together with the birth of the State of Vatican City (did you know that the Vatican is its own state? I talk more about that later) there was the need for direct access to the Museums on the Italian territory. The top of the portal is the coat of arms of Pius XI, and at the sides are the figures of Michelangelo and Raphael, allegories of sculpture and painting. They hold in their hands the tools of their craft, and their position is based on the style of the figures of the Sistine Chapel.
The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel were so completely mind-blowing that I have a hard time even communicating about it, but I will try! The Vatican Museums is home to a collection of roughly 70,000 works (20,000 currently on display), including some of the most prominent Roman sculptures and Renaissance paintings, which the Catholic Church has amassed over the centuries. To accommodate such a large number of artworks, the Vatican City has created 54 galleries that have come to be known as the Vatican Museums. The Museums employ around 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments. You could spend a lifetime here learning about all of the incredible architecture, sculpture, and paintings!
Our first stop was the Gregorian Egyptian Museum, nine rooms full of the most amazing examples of Egyptian art and culture. The collection was created in the former 16th-century apartment of Pius IV. Its founder was Pope Gregory XVI, ruling at a time of great excitement about everything Egyptian following the first decipherment of hieroglyphics. Pope Gregory was driven by a passion for learning. He ordered that all Egyptian and “Egyptianized” artifacts in the Pontifical states (and Roman antique markets, private villa collections, etc.) be gathered together in a new museum.
The Mummy of Taymen is from 750-525 B.C.!
Romanized Egyptian works
Anubis, the great Egyptian god of mummification and lord of the Necropolis. He is so imposing in typical Egyptian one-dimensional art, but as a Romanesque statue, he looked like a short cartoon character. He even got a special Roman toga!
View out one of the windows. I used Google Lens and learned it was Ceaser Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire!
Two good lookin' guys in the courtyard area in front of one of the many museums.
Perseus and Medusa
I loved this one. She just looked like she was living her best life people-watching.
Rare smiling busts.
The Nile. The river is shown as a revered old man stretched out on his side with a cornucopia of fruit in his left arm and ears of wheat in his right hand. Egypt is represented by the presence of a sphinx, on which the figure of the Nile supports himself. The scene is enlivened by sixteen children who allude to the sixteen cubits of water by which the Nile rises for its annual flood.
Apollo with a Lute. Imagine the skill it took to create that flowing garment!
I mean...
A whole room filled with sculptures of animals. The camel head was a favorite.
And then we started getting into the ceiling art. Every ceiling was full of the most intricate, beautiful paintings brimming with symbolism and story.
And also, more oculos domes
Oh, and then there's the incredible mosaics at your feet.
Copy of the famous Discobolus statue
Again, a lifetime's worth of things to see and learn about. It was overwhelming in the best way.
A room filled with hand-woven tapestries
The Massacre of the Innocents was created by students based on drawings from Raphael’s pupils depicting Herod's decree that all male children under the age of two would be killed.
Ressurection of Christ
The Maps Room. I mean...
Just a few close-ups of the ceiling. Notice all of the detail in the sculptured frames as well as the paintings...it was ridiculous and so inspiring!
I don't know the name or who it is by but this was so beautiful.
Hall of Emmaculate Conception by Francesco Podesti. In 1855, the year of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX, Podesti was commissioned to paint the events leading to the announcement. It took eleven years to paint the room (including the ceilings).
And then, as if that wasn't enough, we entered the Raphael rooms...
Absolute genius. There are no words. I wish everyone in this world could jump through the screen and experience these rooms and the glorious colors in real life. It's unfair that everyone cannot experience this for themselves!
There are five rooms done by Raphael, and each is a treat to behold. I understand now why he was so loved even in his lifetime.
Raphael's School of Athens. The twins spent the good part of a semester learning about this painting and its symbolic meaning at the golden age of the Renaissance. It represents all the greatest mathematicians, philosophers, and scientists from classical antiquity gathered together, sharing their ideas and learning from each other. They lived at different times, but here, they are gathered together under one roof. If you want to learn more about this painting, go here. The rest of the paintings in Raphael's five rooms, you can go here.
After the Raphael rooms, we got to see more contemporary art. I loved this one by Giulio Aristide Sartorio, The Precursor, done between 1927-1928
And this one was one of Maisy's favorites. The Deposition by Vincenzo Irolli in 1936
Another favorite of the twins, Gavroche, based on the Les Miserable character by Medardo Rosso in 1882 (the book was published 20 years earlier in 1862).
Vincent van Gogh painted this small Pietà just a few months before his tragic death in July 1890. Despite his profound faith, he rarely painted religious themes. He painted it for his sister Willemien, to whom he wrote his interpretation: "a woman of the people destined to suffer and often rejected by society." The figure of Christ is closer to traditional iconography; some say it is a self-portrait, but it is, in reality, faithful to the lithograph by Eugène Delacroix's Pietà, which it was inspired by.
Another one by Rosso. Aetas Aurea (The Golden Age), done between 1884-1885
We loved the hand-painted tile in this room.
Vierge et Enfant, No 1. Mother and Child, No 1., 1950-51 by Henri Matisse
Jesus Repels Demons from the Deathbed of St. Joseph 1974 by Salvitore Fiume.
A little rest while we looked at St. Peter's Basilica in the distance. Finally, we made our way to the Sistine Chapel.
We couldn't take photos in the chapel, so I found some online to share here. Of course, they don't do it any kind of justice. As an art major, I learned about Michaelango's reluctant masterpiece and recognized the many familiar scenes, but to be in that room and see it in real life...there are no words. I just cried. It was such a deeply spiritual experience for me personally. I really wish everyone could see and experience it for themselves.
If you'd like to learn more about the history and symbolism behind the paintings, I thought this was a great overview.
We spent 8 hours in the museums; finally, it was time to go home via the famous Bramante Staircase. This is a double-helix spiral staircase designed by Giuseppe Momo.
It was President's Day in the US, so Jeff didn't have to return to work that night and wanted to celebrate with Sushi (there was a restaurant just around the corner from our apartment)! We have missed sushi, so this was fun (and delicious). Norah and Ollie aren't big sushi fans, so they stayed back, content with leftovers in the fridge. We relished having the twins to ourselves for the night.
On Wednesday, we headed to the Roman Forum and Colosseum. I bought tickets in advance that included a special movie in a particular meeting place. We did our best to find it on Google Maps but spent most of the morning going in circles trying to find it. It turned out to be in an obscure little building across the street from where we thought it was. We missed the movie and barely made our time slot.
Maisy's face says it all while we waited for our guides to take us (and a huge group) where we could've easily gone alone with much less stress. Jeff was grumpy, and I was defensive. 😏.
This is the picture we took after entering the Roman Forum. I had just snarkily suggested Jeff go take a break from us and return when he could stop being so grumpy. Smile, kids! 😆
This is the picture we took after we both apologized for being ridiculous. Reunited, and it felt so good! We are all getting really good at apologizing for being ridiculous. 😏
Okay, back to the sights! Once the center of public and political life in Ancient Rome, the Roman Forum remains Rome's most impressive archaeological site. It is nestled near the Colosseum and Palatine Hill in Rome's historic heart, it is a huge collection of ancient ruins.
It was the scene of public meetings, law courts, and gladiator matches and was lined with shops and open-air markets.
Laurel found spring blossoms! It was such a beautiful day.
Ollie's panoramic shot. If you want to learn more about the Forum, this was a great overview.
Next, we headed to the famous Colosseum!
We noticed there were pock marks all over and learned that during the construction process, workers used iron clamps between heavy bricks to secure them together to eliminate the use of mortar. After the fall of Rome, this metal material of around 200 tons became highly valued and was torn out along with many stones and decorative marble. Alot of this was used for the building of St Peter’s Basilica and other structures from the 16th century. Even though serious earthquakes damaged the Colosseum in previous centuries, it was mostly damaged by people who reused its materials for other buildings’ construction.
The Colosseum, completed in 80 AD under Emperor Titus, was primarily used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. It could hold an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators and is a testament to Roman architectural skills and their understanding of crowd management. Here's a great overview.
This curious little seagull was very friendly.
Especially when Ollie shared water with him.
View of the Arch of Constantine. It is the largest surviving example of a classic Roman triumphal arch. Triumphal arches were monuments to military triumphs and significant events; they were often constructed over roads, ideally on the route used by triumphal processions.
Emperor Constantine is an important figure in Roman history for multiple reasons: his transformation of Roman politics, the founding of Constantinople (now Istanbul), and his tolerance and support of the Christian religion. Today, some see the arch as the triumph of Christianity over paganism.
In short, the Colosseum was amazing.
We walked down some side streets (this shows some of the graffiti all over the city).
And searched for a take-out restaurant so Jeff could get back to work in time for an important client meeting.
We didn't get back in time, so here he is, explaining code to a client while we drive through Rome in an Uber. We're so thankful for this guy!
The next day, I decided that our tiny washer and single drying rack weren't cutting it and found a laundry service. Laurel helped me transport everything. The plan was to take a short Uber ride, drop it off, and take us back. Unfortunately, our driver didn't feel like taking us to the one I had asked for (I didn't realize it until it was too late), and we were stranded while I found another Uber driver who finally took us to the right spot. I will forever be grateful for a dryer and my own car when we are back in the States!
After figuring out the laundry we were on our way to St. Peter's Basilica. I caught this day in the life scene of a nun on her way to Vatican City. We entered and were greatted by hundreds of statues above out heads...
We stood in line outside the Basilica in St. Peter's Square for about half an hour, which was a perfect amount of time to look up and study some of the 140 statues of Catholic Saints. We were so curious about each of them. I found this map that explains who each Saint is and who the sculpture is, and I look forward to learning more. Here's the map if you are interested.
Christ and his twelve apostles at the head of the Basilica
And St. Peter holding a sword right at the opening.
Looking up as we entered
Just as we walked in and looked right, we were greeted by Michaelangelo's Pietà. Michelangelo carved it when he was 24, and it is the only sculptue he ever signed (he later regretted signing it - it was an impulsive move when someone else claimed it was their work). I was disappointed that the sculpture was behind glass, so we couldn't walk around and view it from all sides and up close. A guide nearby explained why. On May 21, 1972, a mentally disturbed geologist jumped the railing at St. Peter’s Basilica and attacked the Pieta with a geologist’s hammer. He managed to inflict twelve blows to the sculpture before he was finally stopped. In the aftermath, Mary’s left arm had been severed at the elbow; an eyelid had been chipped, a piece of her nose was missing, and one of her cheeks was damaged.
There were various proposals put forth to the Vatican on what should happen to the damaged sculpture. One proposal was to leave the sculpture as it was, with the damage speaking to the violence of our time. The second proposal was to repair the Pieta with visible seams to serve as a reminder of its past, and the third proposal was a seamless restoration. Ultimately, the seamless restoration was chosen. The restoration took ten months to complete, in which bits and pieces of broken marble were painstakingly identified and subsequently affixed to the Pieta using invisible glue and marble powder.
The scope and beauty of this building is just incredible.
On each side of the main walkway are three smaller domes, each telling a story. All of the paintings are actually mosaics - which pretty much blew our minds!
Mosaics?! Yes, mosaics.
Maisy looking up. This gives you an idea of the size. We felt like little ants walking around this immense building.
The main dome. We learned that while quite a few masters, including Bramante, Bernini, and Raphael, contributed to Saint Peter’s Basilica's beauty, it was Michelangelo who designed the magnificent dome. He started this project at the age of 71. He died in 1564 (age 88 at a time when the average life span was 40), and his student successfully continued Michelangelo’s vision, finishing the dome in 1590.
We also learned it has been a model for numerous other domes, including the United States Capitol Building; St. Peter’s Dome has a height of 448 feet (we learned that the Statue of Liberty at 151 feet could easily fit inside) and an internal diameter of 138 feet, making it one of the largest domes in the world. It was also cool to learn that Michaelangelo was inspired by the Pantheon, built centuries earlier but just a few miles away.
I was a little bummed that the baldachin, designed by Bernini, which has stood over the tomb of St. Peter since 1634, was undergoing restoration for the first time in more than 250 years. The scaffolding made it hard to see all of the amazing details. We learned that it was being done in preparation of The Jubilee Year in 2025. The Year of Jubilee, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a celebration observed on certain special occasions for 1 year every 25 years. Pilgrims from all over the world will come to Rome to walk through the Holy Door and receive a plenary indulgence - a complete remission of their sins. During the Jubilee Year, many special events and activities will take place in Rome and the Vatican City.
We went into the basement area (where many popes are buried) to see St. Peter's tomb.
When Christ first met Peter, he said, “You are the rock upon which I will build my Church.” His name wasn’t even Peter at the time; it was Simon. Jesus changed his name to Peter, which means rock.
Constantine defeated Maxentius in A.D. 312 and legalized Christianity. He then took it upon himself to fulfill the scripture above and built a church on top of St. Peter’s tomb (thus in his mind fulfilling the scripture). The original basilica Constantine built lasted from the mid-fourth century A.D. (the 300s) until 1506. The current basilica still uses foundational elements from the original structure. That means the foundation is nearly 1,700 years old!
Did you know that the Vatican City is its own country? The Vatican became a country in 1929. This makes Vatican City officially the smallest country in the world by both size and population. Vatican City has a population of just under 1,000 people and a size of 108 acres, with the Pope as its head of government. It has its own postal service,mints its own money, has its own flag, and it even has its own national anthem.
Vatican City is also the country with the smallest army in the world. 110 Swiss Guards who go through a rigorous training and selection process to become Vatican citizens and carry on the important tradition of protecting the Vatican. If you are interested, you can learn more about it here.
This is the only picture we got of us in front of the Bascillica. Ollie's acting like a twelve year old boy here who is done with pics and wants to eat. 😏
I made him take one more in front of Angels Unawares a new bronze sculpture by Timothy Schmalz installed in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on September 29, 2019. It was inaugurated by Pope Francis in 2019 for the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Then we ate!
and found some Gelato
Never enough gelato!
I had a few errands to run so Jeff and the kids headed home and I got enjoy the sights and sounds of Rome for a few hours on my own. It was wonderful!
Back at the AirBnb.The kitchen was the biggest we've had so far with a full sized fridge!
I loved the tiles in the bathroom. Not pictured is the awful rainbow toilet that looked so tacky.
Friday, we headed to the Rome Temple again to go inside and do some service. On our way, we saw this:
The Mousillini Obelisk. This was the only trace we saw of Mousillini in Italy (though we didn't look very hard). The Obelisk is in front of Foro Italico, previously Foro Mussolini (a place for sports and physical training for young fascists) during the Fascist Period. The monument was erected in 1932. The obelisk is surrounded by the idealized masculinity of athlete statues. These statues are the Fascist ideal, resembling the Uomo Nuovo (The New Man concept of Fascism), and they are “looking up” to the obelisk. On the front of the obelisk is an inscription in large font that says: 'MUSSOLINI DUX,' or ‘Mussolini the leader.' Underneath the obelisk, a secret message was locked in a tiny metal box with a couple of gold coins. Researchers were able to find a way to access the box without destroying the monument. They accessed the message some 70+ years after Mussolini died in 1945. The parchment note was a 1,200-word essay in Latin that extols Mussolini’s 21-year-long rule. Latin had a special significance for fascists. It was the language of the Roman Empire that they hoped to regenerate. But it was also an eternal language, rather appropriate to send messages to the future, which is what Mussolini did with this note.
It was a cold, blustery day outside and we felt like the only ones there until we went inside and met some of the kind temple workers and then in walked the Branch President and his family from the branch in Greece! They had flown in from Athens the night before to spend a whole day together in the Temple. What are the chances?!
We had a wonderful soul-filling time. It was so nice.
We looked at the Christus and Apostle statues one more time and headed home to pack.
Saturday marked the first day of our Fast Travel Month. We got on a train to Florence!
Olive trees everywhere!
The skies were so beautiful!
We made it to Florence! It was pouring rain.
Heading to dinner.
We liked the pizza in Florence! We learned that each restuarant makes their own cheeses and cures their own meat so every experience is different.
Sunday morning, we got dressed and ready for church and realized that we had misunderstood the starting time and would be pretty late. We decided to stay home and have our own little meeting. We did and it was just so wonderful to sit and read and talk and sing together.
Our AirBnb in Florence was the most charming home hidden in a long courtyard and tucked away from the city. Hearing birds instead of sirens and cars felt so nice.
Beautiful, original artwork adorned the walls. I was in heaven!
The house upstairs where our hosts lived. Just an example of Tuscan architecture.
There was even a backyard. I hugged the tree! 😂 The kids decided to have a little picnic that afternoon.
That evening, we had a nice dinner on the long, narrow table in the beautiful dining area. It was a perfect day.
I am behind, so look for the next installment coming soon! I will show you the rest of our adventures in Florence and our next stop, Venice! Until then, LOVE TO YOU ALL!
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