As the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day"... The city was founded sometime around 750 BC. This was near the end of the iron age which also counts as part of the "prehistoric era". I'm not trying to get too far out of my depth or bore you with pre-history. I'm just saying this place is OLD, and there are literally thousands of years of history to appreciate. It's impossible to overstate the importance of this one city in terms of its impact on the entire history of Western civilization. So not only did it take more than one day to build, it could take an entire lifetime to see and appreciate. But as a group we were gonna try do it in about 36 hours.... In a heat wave.... At the height of tourist season in Europe. Here we go!
This particular morning called for an amount of caffeine that would kill an average person. I wondered if there was perhaps a hidden option on the machine that would allow me to consume it intravenously. At 6:30 AM, we were out the door and down to breakfast. The kids were doing great (seriously) at getting themselves up, showered, and on time the whole week. I was really proud of all of them. But I knew this day would be a real test. A blast of warm air met us as we exited the hotel to board our bus at 7 AM. The sun had barely risen and it was already warning us what kind of day it had in store.
In a previous post, I spoke about my intention to prepare for the flood of information that was heading our way by shedding expectations. I grew up going to Catholic school, and surrounded by Catholic imagery throughout childhood. I already had some baggage. My formative years were spent in Catholic school, attending Catholic mass, and going through all of the most important ceremonies associated with it. I had a very functional knowledge of the story of Catholicism, and its place in history. But, it is also impossible for any adult to separate themselves from the modern history of perpetual abuses the Catholic church had perpetrated. Yet for all of its faults (of which there are many) the Vatican itself has to be recognized as another axis point on which human history and culture have pivoted. I was not here to litigate or evangelize after-all. I was just another attentive and highly caffeinated tourist.
We were turned over to our guide for the day, Fabiola... She was very easy to pay attention to, which was good because over the next few hours she would give us the equivalent of a college semesters worth of information on the Vatican and later the Colosseum. We had been given our tickets, and walked briskly past lines that had already formed. I marveled at the amount of people who just kind of thought they would "show up" to get into Vatican City. The wait is hours long, and these poor people had no idea... Or maybe they did. Either way, I felt an entirely unearned sense of pride that we were given preferential access as we were ushered to the front of the line and through security into a crush of humanity that fed itself slowly up a series of escalators. This was the first time I really felt like "cattle" on this trip. It's an impossible thing to avoid though. We were literally at the epicenter of Catholicism, at the height of tourist season.
We gathered in a courtyard known as "Cortile de Pigna" (Pine Courtyard) which was significant to me because I had heard many different perspectives on the meaning behind the pinecone. As I was asking Fabiola about it, I also asked about the Vatican archives. She told me that the courtyard we were standing in was directly above a portion of the 53 mile underground labyrinth of original texts and records held privately by the Vatican. Knowing a little bit about the Vatican archives makes it so much more significant when you realize they are literally right under your feet in that moment. We were led across the courtyard and through a long hallway lined with paintings, frescos, sculptures, and huge knit tapestries depicting a variety of aspects of Catholic, Roman, and Italian history. It was quite warm, and difficult to fully appreciate as we were moving, listening, and dodging other tourists. The long hallway ended and we were herded into a holding area where we were then briefed on the rules of entering the Sistine Chapel. Nobody was to speak, or make noise or take pictures... When it was our turn to squeeze into the chapel we were greeted by the din of conversation, and repeated scolding from guards. It was quiet chaos. Of course people were taking pictures and talking. It was again hard to allow my mind to fully embrace the serenity and weight of the magnificent, and legendary ceiling which was painted by Michelangelo. He was only 33 when he began the work, and it took him 4 years to complete. I've allowed home improvement projects to sit idle for the same amount of time... It was a somewhat deflating realization.
We exited the Sistine Chapel into the massive courtyard in front of St. Peter's Basilica. It was now mid-morning. There were hundreds of people lining the courtyard and the sun was blazing. I was overwhelmed by the scale of the courtyard. You could park a fleet of battle ships end to end along the massive stone path. We made our way up the stairs in order to enter the historic church. The temperature dropped at least 15-20 degrees upon entering. The massive interior offered welcome respite from the otherwise humid and crowded tour so far... I found myself awestruck in a way that is somewhat similar to the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. The space is so unnaturally large that your brain almost short-circuits trying to orient itself to something so huge. Allow me to give you some quick numbers here. The interior of St. Peter's Basilica covers an area of 320,000 square feet, and stands 520 feet tall at it's highest point. To give you a sense of how big that is, it could fit the entire statue of liberty (including the pedestal), three 747's with room to spare, the iconic Cinderella Castle at Disney World, or the entire population of Dubuque Iowa (60,000 people). It's really friggin' big.
Not only is the scale overwhelming, but the level of intricate detail and significance of every square inch. It's impossible not to be affected by this place regardless of your perception or attitude about the Catholic faith. It's simply a marvel of human achievement. Construction began in 1506, and technically didn't stop until 1630. This spanned the reign of 10 popes, and involved 7 lead architects. We walked around the place, pausing for mini lessons and to observe various services being conducted in different areas of the Basilica. At one point we were shown the actual wax embalmed body of Pope John the 23rd. He was encased in a glass coffin, on full display. Perhaps the strangest thing about this is that he only died in 1963. This struck me as an oddly modern time to decide to embalm a deceased Pope in wax. It was weird and macabre but far from the worst thing the church has ever done.
We exited the Basilica, and were blasted again with the wet, hot air. It was nearly midday and there were now thousands of hopeful pilgrims lining the courtyard, waiting for their turn to enter the various museums, chapels, and buildings on the grounds. Our group headed towards the cafeteria/gift shop for lunch, and some much needed espresso. The cafeteria was comically small given the mass of humanity that arrived in a swell. Ravenous from the morning of walking and learning, we divided our group into little pods and scattered ourselves throughout the tight room. We ate hurriedly and exited again into the heat where we would wait for Giussepe to take us to our NEXT destination, the fabled "Colosseum".
The heat, sickness and general pace of the trip was beginning to wear on the minds and hearts of some in our 40 person group. This became apparent as we boarded the bus and the rotating seating order began to break down. It was a silly and juvenile expression of exhaustion, and required some coaching from Ursula who assured everyone that the trip to the Colosseum was short. The air conditioning was cranked, and the windows were hot to the touch. Outside, the sun was obscured by a light haze. It was a combination of smog and smoke from distant wildfires, and humidity.
Arriving at the Colosseum was less overwhelming than anything we saw in Vatican City in terms of scale. It's built up to be such a huge place in our minds, but it's more of an archaeological feature in it's present state. We were ushered through a shorter line and through security. I checked my weather app. The temperature was an even 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a heat index warning indicated on the screen as well... It was officially very hot. We walked around the lower level and learned about the various significance of particular eras, and architectural features. We scaled the steep stairs, and exited onto the mid-level loop which gives the opportunity for a full view of the arena. It's impossible not to let the Hollywood version of this place flood into your mind. It's somewhat helpful to fill in the details, but also fails to capture the true depth of being there for real. The structure itself is almost 2,000 years old. Through the ages it had fallen into disuse, disrepair, and was looted for building materials at one point in history. It suffered the ravages of age and earthquake damage, and though it still stands as a looming testament to the age of the Roman Empire, it is a worn down shadow of what it would have looked like during the age of the Emperors.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to absorb the full weight of its historical significance as we were desperately trying to find shade anywhere. The sun was blazing overhead and literally cooking us in this stone oven. We managed to take some photos and strained to appreciate the moment, but eventually we surrendered to the heat and made our way back to the bus. The boys were hot and tired and we all needed to take a little break.
Upon returning to the room, I checked the news and saw that the main photo on yahoo was of a tourist at the Colosseum. The headline indicated that this was the hottest day on record so far that year. As I was writing this I looked it up to check and see how bad it was. 40,000 people in India were hospitalized or reported for suffering from heat-stroke that day. All around the Mediterranean there were similar headlines. Yeah, I wasn't overreacting. But the heat apparently didn't stop my sister who was bound and determined to see the Trevi Fountain with her boys. They opted for that side-quest. We rested a bit and then Christie and Mason headed out to do some shopping along the main road near our hotel.
Once I was recharged, I decided to venture out and find Christie and Mason. They were just down the road. I spent a few minutes with them before deciding I wanted to go explore on my own. I walked out of the shop, around the corner and almost immediately got myself turned around... Some might say "lost". The good ol' instincts were really firing on all cylinders. Eventually I gave up trying to FIND anything and just let myself wander around. When I got too hot I ducked inside a cafe and had a spritz. I let my eyes guide me, and stayed on the shady side of the streets whenever I could. I found some cute little outdoor markets, and noted the location of a cool looking bar that would be showing the Spain vs. Italy soccer game that night.
I knew there was no way I would either be able to find the place again or even want to, but I was having my own little adventure. I felt like I might be squandering energy I'd need later, so I eventually found my way back to the hotel and took a shower. We took the boys back to a restaurant called Ginny's that Christie and I had found earlier in the day, or maybe the day before. We had some cocktails with mom and dad in their earlier, and thought it was super hip and cool. It turned out that the food was really good too.
Christie and I spent the last night in Rome sitting out in the alley enjoying the cool evening and just relaxing with negronis and aperol spritz until we gave in to the demands of our exhaustion. That was literally a record-breaking day. But little did we know, it wouldn't be the hottest...
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