Churches of Rome & Crooked Street?

I've been to Rome six times, starting in 2003, and continue to research it extensively. I've never heard anything about "The Most Crooked Street in Rome." My guess is the tour guide just threw that in.

As for books on the gorgeous Christian mosaics found in Rome, I'm afraid the only ones I know about are the ones you purchase in the gift store of the actual church. (I have a beautiful one from Santa Prassede/San Zeno.)

Good luck.

Okay, thanks. I wish I had bought a book at Santa Prassede. I also should have bought one at the Gift Shop of the Catacombs of Callistus. Next trip I will. I did notice the info given on the various bus tours vary, as does their music. The yellow Rome/Vatican tour bus claimed Christians were martyred at the Colosseum, and the Pink Bus claimed that was not true. I liked the Big Bus the best. I haven't tried the Roma Bus yet.

Michael, my sister added this: "We were on a street heading away from the Vatican. We may have migrated a street or two to the right of the street with the big bus stop but fairly perpendicular to that street . As we looked down the crooked street, you could see where streets intersected with the crooked street - the corners of buildings on those intersecting streets were visible, staggered in a delightful way. I have seen drawing(s)/painting(s) of it. I saw the lady taking the selfie using the crooked street as the backdrop. Or it was a very similar street."

I'm still drawing a blank. I remember my sister pointing out the woman taking the selfie, but I didn't get a good view of the street.

Have you poked around on Google Maps?

You could browse through these photos and see if anything looks familiar

Thanks, Nancy and Michael. I sent her the link, and she said, "I don’t see it. As I recall it it went towards a west southwestern direction and went downhill."

But thanks for your help. I'm hoping to go to Rome again with her soon, and maybe we can find it if we take the Big Bus and it still has the same route by the Vatican as it did last April.

maybe we can find it if we take the Big Bus and it still has the same
route by the Vatican as it did last April.

If I'm correct, this next trip would be at least your third trip to Rome? Hoho buses are not an efficient, economical method of transport in Rome to begin with so it's curious that you would use them again? Based on your past posts, you're interested in budget travel so why, now that you're familiar with the city, wouldn't you use public transit + walking to get around?

That is a good question, Kathy. It is the only way I can think of to satisfy my sister's curiosity as to what is the name of the crooked street she wants a picture of. I have no idea which public bus we would take to get there. She seems to recall exactly where she saw it from the Big Bus. You are right that the Metro is a far better way to get around, and she would agree. A Metro pass for 7 days costs only $24 (good for bus/tram/metro), compared to $26 each (Euros) for 24 hours on the Big Bus. We discovered the Pink Bus by mistake, thinking we were buying tickets for the Big Bus. It is 19 Euros per person for 24 hours. The Yellow Vatican/Rome bus charges 28 Euros each per person for 24 hours, but it does stop at more church/religious sites than the other two busses do. For instance, it stops right at the Santa Scala location. We couldn't find the Metro or a bus back to the Termini from there. I must confess I love the lively music on the Big Bus. My hubby liked the soft Italian music on the pink bus, though. I would like to ride the Big Bus one more time for its music. Maybe that's silly, but I found it energizing and romantic. The public bus and train don't offer music. Also, there are no beggars on the Big Bus. The beggars on the public transportation made me sad. I gave the children granola bars. But we'll use the public transportation a lot. Our lodging was right next to the Cipro Metro-- so convenient. I hope I can secure the same lodging for our next trip. Beautiful lush courtyard.

The Yellow Vatican/Rome bus charges 28 Euros each per person for 24
hours, but it does stop at more church/religious sites than the other
two busses do

However if you've already taken that bus, you'd be repeating what you've already done. Same with the others. Plus you miss a LOT in between if you don't do some exploring on foot. Are either of you unable to do that?

Yes, the beggars are "sad" but they're also all over the city so you won't avoid having to see them by avoiding public transit.

It's your trip and so it's just FINE to do whatever you wish to. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me to repeat hoho trips you've done before when budget has been a much-commented-upon concern in previous posts, and when there are so many NEW things to see?

Editing to add:

For instance, it (the yellow Roma Christiana hoho bus) stops right at
the Santa Scala location.

Scala Sancta is right next to San Giovanni in Laterano, and the S. Giovanni metro stop is just a block away.

Ask her if there was car traffic on the street or if it was pedestrian only.

gracialynne, related to your initial request about books on Rome’s churches, I own a paperback book entitled: “The Pilgrim’s Guide To Rome’s Principal Churches”, published by Angelus Press of Kansas City, Missouri. It covers 51 of the most important churches in Rome, with histories, and discussions of both the exteriors and interiors. There are several color photos of each church, nice, but not what I myself would classify as “really great photos”. It is not a “coffee table book”. Some of the photos are of mosaics in certain churches, but not close-ups of details. I’m quite sure I bought this book through Amazon.com, thinking of it as a good way to prepare for some next trip to Rome, in order to choose some particular less-visited churches, to visit.

Have you checked the route map on Big Bus's website? You could determine roughly where that street may be, and then use Google Maps to zero in on the location.

Great suggestion on checking out the Big Bus map. I did and there's nothing like what your sister "remembers." I'd like to ask a delicate question: Could your sister perhaps have been sampling a large quantity of lovely Italian wine before she "saw" this alleged street? (^_^)

Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mure, Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls, site of his grave, and Tre Fontane, Three Fountains, where he was martyred, 2 miles from gravesite. Tre Fontane I think the most interesting church I've seen, in how it tells the story of his martyrdom.

If you haven't seen these, worth the trips. Tre Fontane also about sustainable tourism with Trappist Monks there making chocolate and beer. Nice shops in the complex, Bar selling the biggest chocolate Biscotti I've ever seen, and a shop selling homemade and donated gifts, novel and unique items.

Thing about Roman churches--at least to me--is that a lot of them don't look like much from the outside, and also the fact that many are part of the fabric of modern neighborhoods. I think of two--San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter-in-Chains), which houses Michelangelo's statue of Moses; and Santa Costanza, way up northeast of Porta Pia on via Nomentana. This one is 4th century, almost Coptic-looking, with some tremendous mosaic and a beautifully-preserved basilica.

Check both of these out on your next trip!

Jay, we missed those two churches. We did walk to San Pietro Vinconi, but it had just closed. I want to see that Moses sculpture. You are right. We'd be walking in Rome, and suddenly, "Bam!" A big beautiful church to explore. So fun!

Kathy, when we were in the area of Santa Scala, there was a terrible downpour with hail. It would not have been fun walking to that Giovanni Metro Stop, especially when we got turned around and lost our bearings so much. We didn't have Google Maps, just a good ole National Geographic Map that I didn't dare take out in the rain, for fear of ruining it. We did ask some people with phones for directions, and they'd try to help, but often they would tell us to go the opposite direction we should have. They had trouble reading their phones' directions, I guess? Luckily, when we were ready to go, that Rome/Vatican bus was right there to pick us up.

As I've stated, hubby is O-L-D, and his hips were hurting him some on this trip, as he wasn't used to so much walking. Often, we'd breathe a sigh of relief when we realized we had Hop On/Hop Off tickets and could put up our feet for a while, with room to breathe and space. We could rest, relax, and enjoy the sights and sounds and hustle and bustle of the city in comfort. We liked the Open Air top the best, fresh breezes. The HoHo would often remind us of places we hadn't yet explored in depth, and we'd do so afterwards.

The problem with public transportation was it was crowded and bumpy. I was thrown into a woman who was irritated by that. I can't find my balance well on a crowded bus, holding a pole. And then there are the pickpockets we had to contend with... I'd rather pay a little extra for the luxury of the Hop On/Hop Off, even if it is cheesy. The Metro is much better than the bus, but often we didn't feel like walking all the way to a Metro Stop, especially in the pouring rain. I'll bet we walked at least 10 miles per day on this trip. It didn't bother me, except for the fact I came down with laryngitis early on, from a bad cold I had before we left on the trip, and when we'd get into our hotel at night, I'd be totally exhausted and just collapse, from my immune system being low, I think. I would have liked to have had the energy to research our next day's explorations in advance, but I was just too darned tired.

That said, next time I'd like to ride the bus into unexplored areas of non-touristy Rome, and see even more. I wonder where that wrong Appia bus we got on goes to, for instance? It wasn't crowded, but a nice man on it told us it was a different bus we needed to get to the Appian Way. I would also like to take all the Metro lines. But I still want to ride the Big Bus one more time. It was my initial introduction to Rome in April, and I have Rome-anticized it. Smiley Face for Kathy.

LOL, Michael. No, my sister is a tea-totaller, like me. We had no wine in Rome on our brief trip there last April. However, hubby and I did this past December. We dined on fabulous Pizza at La Pratolina, where they brought us complimentary White Wine, their house wine! Oh, my! I was sick with laryngitis and exhausted from walking all over the city. Let me tell you, I chugged my glass down. We actually thought it was just water, when they brought it. Hubby is a Baptist Pastor who doesn't drink. He said, after his first sip, "Is this what I think it is?" I said, "Oh, no. It's just fabulous water." He knew I was teasing and generously handed his glass of wine over to me, seeing how much I needed it, and it WAS our wedding anniversary, after all. It was medicine for my cold, and it REALLY helped. I love this memory.

Larry, that book on the churches of Rome sounds perfect! Thank you for telling me about it. I hope I can find it to buy.

Thanks for the church tips, Sandra. I don't think we saw any of those. I need to get out my map and plot all we saw. I'd like to figure out which of our church pictures go with which churches. At first, we just walked into any church we came into. I tried to collect literature, but not all of them had it, but my National Geo map has a good listing of all the churches on it, so I think I can figure it out. I loved Santa Sabina, with the adjacent orange grove and the oldest depiction of a crucifix in existence. Great view of the city from the orange grove, too! And the church with the oldest floor tomb. I think that WAS Santa Sabina. Need to get out my notes. Also loved the one with the Mithras cult rooms underneath it.

Jay, we missed those two churches. We did walk to San Pietro Vinconi,
but it had just closed. I want to see that Moses sculpture. You are
right. We'd be walking in Rome, and suddenly, "Bam!" A big beautiful
church to explore. So fun!

Gracialynne, we took the bus, then Metro to San Pietro Vinconi, of course stopping for lunch first. The English-speaking waitress asked where we were going and we said 'Vinconi' and she said 'oh, I think they close for a couple hours in the afternoon.' Sure enough, we walked up the lo-o-o-ong flight of stairs and around the corner to the front of the church, and sure enough, they were closed for another hour. So we sat around, I walked down to a rattrap food truck and no lie had some of the best gelato ever in Italy.

Sat back down, dozed a little, then finally we got in and the interior was smaller than I expected but still magnificent. Then we got back on the Metro, it was in the wrong direction, got off, back on the right way (no problem since we had a weekly bus & Metro pass) and took it up to observe Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain but from a distance. Don't like dem crowds...

All in all, a fun afternoon knocking around in Roma!

Sure brings back fun memories, Jay! We had taken the Metro to Colosseo. Stopped to ask a man on the street how to get to San Pietro Vinconi, as it appeared to be near, on our map. He said, "Is that the one with Moses?" I replied, "I think so..." He responded, quite testily, "You THINK so." (All the church info was in a jumble in my head, as I was sick with laryngitis.) But he told us the way. Still, we got lost. Stopped at a police station type thing, and the first female worker we encountered directed us to another young female worker, who told us how to get there. She was on her way somewhere, and she got in her car. As we approached the church but didn't know it, she honked, stopped, got out of her car and pointed to the church, realizing we are travel dufuses. HAHA. Such nice people in Rome. Alas, when we got there, it had just closed for the evening. Still, it was fun to see the outside. The next time we were in the general area, it was too long a walk for us to even think about, as tired as we both were, and we were way on the other side of the Colosseum at that point and would have had to walk all the way around to get there, but we will definitely go see it next time. At least we now know how to get there. Glad you had fun. We love Rome and can't wait to return. If I'm feeling better next time I go, than I did this last time, we'll have even more fun. Sightseeing while sick is a bit hard.

Just because it keeps getting identified incorrectly I have to weigh in and say that it's San Pietro in Vincoli, not San Pietro Vinconi. It means St. Peter in Chains ("vincoli" are chains and it's pronounced VEEN-koh-lee) because this little church has what it claims are the chains that held Peter when he was imprisoned in Rome.

Speaking of this church, they have recently done some work with lighting to recreate the natural light that was shining in from an upper window when Michelangelo sculpted Moses for that specific spot and light. A century or two later that window was blocked. Now you can see that statue the way Michelangelo intended.

Thanks for the good info, Michael, and spelling correction. I can't wait to see Moses as his sculptor intended!

When we stopped at Trastevere's info center, we were told that the church San Stefano Rotundo was closed. Do you happen to know when or if it will reopen? I'm curious as to why it is closed.

We also missed Sant'ivo, which they told us is open only on Sundays.

Does anyone know anything about a Pope Joan tribute at the Termini? This same info center mentioned one, when we inquired about the Shrine to Pope Joan that is near San Clemente and San Giovanni. We asked at the Termini, but no one knew anything about one, except that they said it might be with famous women's pictures at Platform I, but we couldn't get in there without a ticket.

Is San Giovanni the same as St. John Laterano? Is San Giovanni the Cathedral, the Papal Seat of Rome?

https://www.rome.info/basilicas/st-john-lateran/

{Basilica of St John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano)} is the Cathedral church of Rome

There is a Pope John-Paul II statue outside of Termini, past the bus piazza. It is a very odd and controversial statue that had to be redesigned after the first one was criticized heavily.

Yes, Laurel, we saw that odd statue of Pope John you mention. But the Trastevere info station claimed there is some sort of tribute to Pope Joan, the only female Pope. There are books written about her, though her existence has not been proven. There is a shrine to her near San Clemente we had hoped to visit, out of curiosity, but we didn't make it there. The Trastevere information site didn't know anything about it, having never heard of it, but they looked up the address of it for us. The worker there said the only Pope Joan tribute she knew about was at the Termini, but when we inquired there, the workers knew nothing about it. Maybe she was mixed up and thinking about the Pope John one there, instead. However, she was intrigued by the Pope Joan Shrine, having no knowledge of it before our visit to her station.

Is this the crooked street you are referring to?

Been there, done that Roberto. Crookedest street in all the world, Lombard in SF. Tough to consider that suburban Rome, but maybe.

I wonder whether it could be one of these streets? I was reading that Via de Coronari is the most photographed and considered one of the prettiest.

https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/travel-tips/the-7-most-magical-streets-in-rome

When we stopped at Trastevere's info center, we were told that the
church San Stefano Rotundo was closed. Do you happen to know when or
if it will reopen? I'm curious as to why it is closed.

It's temporarily closed for restoration work: not unusual in a city full of very, very old buildings!

http://www.cgu.it/it/santo-stefano-rotondo/

"ATTENTION: THE CHURCH WILL BE CLOSED FOR RESTORATION WORKS FROM 8 TO 28 JANUARY 2018.

While it publishes a re-opening date of Jan 28, this work appears to be continuing, in one form or or another, into April.

"FOR RESTORATION WORKS WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO CELEBRATE WEDDINGS FROM 18.12.2017 UNTIL 13.04.2018."

We stayed at a hotel once on via Coronari, close to Piazza Navona. I remember the street as a bit curvey but not crooked. Good luck with your eccentric search.

Good morning all
Roberto you had me on the floor LMBO, needed Kleenex for the tears. Thanx

My sister doesn't think it was Via Coronari. I showed her the picture. She wrote: "We were hurrying toward big bus stop from Vatican. We walked quite a ways. Pretty sure it has to be between Corso victorio street and Tiber river. You could see the crooks or angles or curves in the street with corners of buildings visible. It was at intersection of Corso v. Or a street or two to the right. You could see down the street. Pretty sure it sloped downward to the Southwest."

Larry, I have found The Pilgrim’s Guide To Rome’s Principal Churches on Amazon. Yippee. I'm going to buy it for hubby for his Valentine's Gift, the edition with pics. I'm thinking the smaller one with just the floor plans and no pics would be great to have, too, lightweight for carrying around on foot while exploring the churches. Is the larger one very heavy? Thanks so much for telling me about it.

Kathy, thanks for the good info on San Stefano. Looks like we'll be able to see it at Eastertime, then. Yes, there was lots of construction in Rome when we were there, understandably. Is there a web site with info on which churches of Rome will be closed for construction at Eastertime?