Okay, I'm back in the states and ready to start blogging about this past trip again. Sorry for the wait. Being sick and trying not to sound horribly sick in a foreign country on a tour is not easy. Have to constantly deal with the pressure and anxiety of people who may think I have Covid just because I'm coughing a lot to get rid of all the snot in my throat. One of the other tourists has kindly informed me that such people are called 'Covidians' and I shall be using that term from now onward.
Back to Rome:
The last basilica we visited the 2nd full day of the tour was St. Paul outside the Walls. As a quick reminder, St. John Lateran (the official cathedral seat of the Pope) and this one were not in the city limits of Rome because there were so many pagans when they were built. This one in particular was built "outside the walls" in honor of St. Paul because he was killed there. St. Peter and St. Paul were killed for their faith. Peter was killed inside Rome (I'll go into more detail about that event on the day I talk about visiting the crypt under St. Peter's basilica). Paul, on the other hand, was a Roman citizen and, as such, could not be killed inside Rome; therefore, they took him outside the walls. Hence the name.
Outside facade:
Inside the basilica. All along the top of the walls, there are "medallions" (as Flavia called them) in which you can find all the popes with their names and dates. Everyone kept looking around for empty ones and counting them and saying "Ohhh, there are only 5 left! I guess that's when the world is ending" There were more than 5. I found them all. None of them believed me. Must be either because they only believed what they saw for themselves or they thought I was too young or couldn't count. C'est la vie, I guess. I found at least 11. Flavia said that they'll probably put them other places and make room if needed for more popes.
In this picture, you can see 5 empty ones:
If I remember correctly, under the Pope's main alter (because all these basilica's have a huge alter in the middle where only the pope can say Mass, if you remember) is the bones of St. Paul (well, all except his head. More on this later).
Up above the pope's alter, the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul are kept (at least, I remember Flavia saying both Peter and Paul's head is there...maybe just St. Paul, but I'm 98% positive it's both of them. Then again, when I took a tour down in the crypt (Scavi) under St. Peter's, that tour guide said that there was a skull that was St. Peter's down there. So, ya know...). Don't ask me why. I always have had a problem with us Catholics taking saint's body parts and using them as relics or burying parts of their bodies in separate locations. It just seems disgusting and so disrespectful to me. Just let them rest in peace! I can kind of understand if that's how they died (I think St. Paul was beheaded??) But still...
And don't ask me why there is a statue of St. Peter in St. Paul's basilica. You can tell because he's holding keys. I either missed the one of St. Paul because we were walking really fast, or there isn't one in there of him. On the other hand...I just now realized that it is a bit strange that this basilica has all the medallions of the popes in here. Why this one? I don't know. Would be interesting to find out. Why not St. Peter's or even St. John's??
Had to take a picture of the three popes in my lifetime:
The Easter candle is incredibly huge
I found St. Peter! First on the left:
Above the medallions were paintings and windows.
While going to and from each basilica, we saw many historical places and things in Rome. Didn't get off the bus, though, so forgive my bad pictures.
The Colosseum:
Rome's Arch of Triumph (Imagine my surprise that Rome has one, just like Paris!):
I forget what this is called, but basically it is a stadium where the emperor and citizens would watch chariot races. All 7 of the Egyptian obelisks (which were taken from them when they were conquered by the Roman empire) were originally in it and the racers would go around them.
A castle:
Gaius Cestius, a member of the Epulones religious corporation, wanted to be buried in a pyramid like an Egyptian. So, I guess I don't have to go to Egypt to see the pyramids. Already seen one:
That about sums up a very long day in Rome. I'll try to get Day 3 out soon.
It was a great trip...but I'm glad to be home in the US where I belong 😊
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