Rome is historical

Throughout our Italy trip, my friend Sophia repeated the way her dad had described the three most well-known cities in Italy to her, and after visiting all three I completely agree with him: "Rome is historical, Florence is beautiful, and Venice is magical."

Rome is certainly one of the most history-filled cities in the world. Unlike Berlin, which was completely destroyed after World War II and everything is relatively new, everywhere you turn in Rome you are met with something incredible old. My mantra for our four days in Rome was "look, old things!" 

The eight of us arrived in Rome around 11PM and had to take the bus from the airport to Termini, Rome's grand central station, where we would walk to our hostel. Around midnight, our bus rounded a corner and an audible gasp went up from the drowsy passengers. The colosseum! The ancient ruins arched majestically into the night right outside our window, a haunting reminder of the city's past and how quickly such a great Empire can disappear. It was truly a moment of grandeur.

The next morning dawned gray and torrented rain, but that did not deter us from setting out into the downpour to set foot in some of the most famous places of ancient Rome.

The Colosseum in the rain

I bought this umbrella from a street vendor who shoved it in my face. It disintegrated throughout the day.

We spent the morning in the Colosseum, the single place in Europe I had been longing to visit since I was thirteen. It was chilling to think I was standing in a place that had been dedicated to making death and gore into entertainment, as well as to remember those who followed Christ who were fed to lions on the floor directly behind me. It made me wonder if I would have been brave enough to stand up for my faith as they did.

The afternoon was spent browsing the ruins of the Roman forum, where, despite the rain, we were greeted with stunning views of the city spread out behind the ruins . . .

. . . as well as with creepy visions such as the one pictured below.

If you are a Doctor Who fan, you will understand why this is the creepiest thing I saw the entire trip.

Back row: Julia, Sara, Sophia, Alicia
Front row: Meghan, Heather, me, Genesis

Of the entire trip, the most incredible and historical moment was our visit on Sunday to the Vatican. Not only did I attend mass in what is probably the most visually stunning church in the world, but I was also present for Pope Benedict's final blessing.

St. Peter's Basilica - Those chairs are where we had mass.

The Baldaccino in St. Peter's Basilica

Michaelangelo's Pieta

100,000 people filled St. Peter's square, waving flags and waiting excitedly for the appearance of the Pope. Though I am not Catholic myself, it was such an incredible experience to be there among so many people who clearly loved and respected this man. The energy in the crowd was infectious. As excited chants of "Benedetto! Benedetto!" rose from the crowd, I found myself filled with anticipation as the hour the Pope was to speak approached. It was incredible to be part of such a historical event, witnessing the final blessing of a Pope who chose to retire, which has not happened in 600 years. Not only did he address the crowd in Italian, but he also spoke in English, German, French, Polish, and a number of other languages.

Margaret and I waiting for the Pope.

Pope Benedict

Here is a news report about the event if you want to see how insane the crowd was. I'm pretty sure you can see me by the pole on the right at 00:17. I'm famous.

And here is a video I took as Benedict emerged and began to speak.

My friend Margaret Wormer from Grove City is living in Rome this semester, so I spent all of Sunday with her wandering the city where we came across things like this:

And this:

Trajan's column!

and this:

Roman Capitol and the biggest building I have ever seen. Built by Mussolini,.

. . . completely by accident.

Me at the top of the Spanish steps

We also wandered to the Spanish steps which gave an amazing view of the city.

Monday was spent at the Vatican Museum where we were bombarded with incredibly painted rooms, including one entire room painted by Raphael. I found out later that I had walked directly past the School of Athens by Raphael without realizing it was there. I felt really dumb after that . . .

The Sistine chapel was definitely worth paying to see, as well as the rest of the museum.

The Sistine Chapel

Another of my favorite sites was visiting the Pantheon. This structure possessed the largest standing dome in the world for a good 1000 years, until technology caught back up to Roman era building in the Renaissance.

Outside the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Every night, the eight of us trekked twenty minutes to the Trevi fountain and ate gelato while sitting in front of the massive work of art. To be able to casually walk to something like this ever night was truly an unfathomable experience.

Trevi Fountain

 Rome has been the city I had my heart set on visiting for many years. The city exceeded my expectations in many ways, but was also completely different than I had envisioned. Rome is a completely different animal than Berlin with its jarringly ancient buildings and ruins around every corner. To have experienced a city with so much history absolutely blew me away, and I can come away from the experience affirming that Rome is definitely historical.

More to come on my adventures in Florence and Venice, two of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, in the next few days!

Here is a link to a list of videos I took on the trip. I'm still working on uploading them, so keep checking back to that page for more!