We planned to visit 2 of the 4 largest basilicas in the Rome surrounding area (St. Peter’s Basilica is in Vatican City which is not part of Rome) namely Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
We went to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore first. It is one of seven pilgrimage basilicas in the world, this church was founded in 432 AD and is where the famous architect Bernini was buried. The Italian word maggiore means major, and this signifies that the church is the most important one out of eighty Rome churches that are devoted to the Virgin Mary.
The church is widely known for its impressive interior that still resembles an ancient basilica. The oldest parts of the Santa Maria Maggiore are the Athenian marble columns that support the main nave. They may have originated from an ancient Roman building or were an original part of the basilica. There are mosaics from the fifth century that can be seen underneath the windows and they depict many Old Testament scenes. The triumphal arch has golden mosaics that dated back to the fifth century and display scenes from Christ’s early life. An additional focus of the church is the stunning coffered ceiling that was created in the sixteenth century. The gold that was used to decorate the ceiling is believed to have been brought back to Spain from America by Christopher Columbus. It is believed that the King of Spain presented the gold to Pope Alexander VI.
Later, we went to Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (also known as the Basilica of Saint John Lateran) which is the bishop of Rome’s residence. And Pope comes to celebrate Mass on certain holidays. The present building is characterized by an 18-th centrtury facade by Alessandro Galilei. Borromini rebuilt the interior ordered by Pope Innocent X. The entrance of this basilica is via the Holy Door which is the door opened by Pope Francis on Dec 13, 2015 for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The nave features the original mosaic floor and gilded wooden ceiling (Borromini’s renovations in the mid 17th century) are the main attractions. The papal cathedra (chair) with rich decorations and mosaics is also a must-see in here.
After Basilica of Saint John Lateran, we went to the Pompi store near Re di Roma subway station to try the famous tiramisu. There are several Poppi stores in Rome. For 3.80 Euro you can get a prepackaged box of tiramisu. It was a little bit too sweet for us, but it tasted great and was very smooth. We just sat outside the store like many Italians and tourists.
Then, we took the bus to Piazza Cavour and walked to Castel Sant’Angelo. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. Museum part is not that impressive, however, the castle part is very nice. You can climb up to the top of the castle and have a wonderful view of Vatican City and Rome.
Next, we walked over the Ponta San Angelo(a pedestrian only bridge) to the Renaissance part of the Rome to do the Renaissance Walking tour. The bridge provides a photogenic view of the Castel Sant’Angelo. Then we found the Via Giulia which was laid out during the reign of Pope Julius II (1503-13). Via Giulia and its straight edges were one of Renaissance Rome's earliest examples of urban planning. Designed to facilitate access to the Vatican, it was the widest, straightest, and longest city street in Rome at the time of its construction and was bordered by the 16th-century homes of such artists as Raphael, Cellini, and Borromini, and the architect Sangallo. Today the street is lined with some of the most spectacular antiques stores in Rome. We had more than a dozen of historical attractions (recommended by Forrmer’s Tour Book) to visit. We had descriptions and maps helping us to do the walking tour. However, when we got there, we had a very difficult time to identify the street names and the building (attractions) names. We just walked through this famous street and could not sure what did we see. We finally end up at Piazza Campo de' Fiori. It was just an open air market to us, therefore, we did not stay for long and then moved to see the Pantheon. Pantheon was still very crowed, to enter the Pantheon, there was a long line. Since we saw it in 2006, therefore we just took a photo and moved onto Piazza Navona for another photo oppportunity.
The Renaissance Walking tour was sort of disappointment to us, therefore we decided to move to Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II and Capitoline Museums area to check out those huge monument and buildings. We passed by this area in 2006, but we did not even know what is this monument. This was the 2nd time we visited in this area and we finally realized Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II ("National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II") is a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of goddess Roma after World War I.
The church is widely known for its impressive interior that still resembles an ancient basilica. The oldest parts of the Santa Maria Maggiore are the Athenian marble columns that support the main nave. They may have originated from an ancient Roman building or were an original part of the basilica. There are mosaics from the fifth century that can be seen underneath the windows and they depict many Old Testament scenes. The triumphal arch has golden mosaics that dated back to the fifth century and display scenes from Christ’s early life. An additional focus of the church is the stunning coffered ceiling that was created in the sixteenth century. The gold that was used to decorate the ceiling is believed to have been brought back to Spain from America by Christopher Columbus. It is believed that the King of Spain presented the gold to Pope Alexander VI.
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