Vatican favorites

If you can get it, I would highly recommend the Vatican Scavi tour. We did this recently and it was amazing to see the old Roman necropolis below St. Peter's Basilica. I think your husband would appreciate the architecture that remains and what they did to build the old and new basilica on top. Plenty of original artwork and artifacts to see as if they had never been touched.

Consider Sant’Ignazio for stunnIng architecture and frescoes, and the Caravaggios in Santa Maria del Popolo and in San Luigi dei Francesi.

Hi Jules -
Some would probably gasp in horror that the Vatican/St Pete's is not my fave! I'll weigh in on some of the other churches in Rome you don't have on your list that I found interesting. I'm not a Catholic and not very religious but from an art and architecture standpoint, I'm rarely "churched out"! Some of the links don't provide a ton of background info so google the suggestions up for more pix and whatnot.

Santa Sabina:
http://www.turismoroma.it/en/node/669
VERY old and interesting!
Another plus: there is a nice view of Rome from the Orange Garden (Giardino degli Aranci) beside the church, and it's a good spot to re-energize with a packed-along snack. Peer through the keyhole in the gate of the Priory of the Knights of Malta just a few steps up the street for an interesting peek of St Peter's dome.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-aventine-keyhole-rome-rome-italy

San Clemente
http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/eng/
Great mosaics and, ooh, there's a pagan temple in the basement!

San Stefano Rotondo
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/node/652
Gory but interesting. It's a favorite for weddings; go figure.
(They've been in the process of some restoration work at this one so may be a lot of scaffolding about. It's pretty close to San Giovanni in Laterano and San Clemente though so wouldn't eat up too much time to stop by to see what might be seen.)

Santa Maria in Trastevere:
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/node/678
Another very old lady; more great mosaics

Santa Maria Del Popolo:
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/node/739
Bernini, Caravaggio, Raphael....

Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri -
Interesting as it was designed by Michelangelo to be constructed inside the former ruin of a Roman bath. While little of his original design remains, it also has an elaborate meridian line that's worth a look-see. Use this just for background reading:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-santa-maria-degli-angeli

So many others but that's a start!

Check on the Vatican museum web site. Friday nights can be very special: 7:00 pm entry, happy hour (don't get excited - it's one glass of wine), supper buffet (REALLY good), concert (area orchestras and ensembles), and then you have the museum and Sistine until 11 o'clock. At 11 they start ushering you out of the Sistine Chapel but you still have a couple beautiful and long hallways to go through. All for, I think, 35 euro. Best part: less crowded by far!

My experience with Friday night in June 2018 was a little different. The wine and buffet were nice, but the actual museum and Sistine Chapel were overwhelmed with visitors, many as part of group tours. Maybe I needed to wait around until 11 to see if the crowds shrunk.

Hey Jules,

For me, hands down, St. Peter's Basilica is my most favorite.

While there are many beautiful churches in Rome, large and small, I was drawn to St. Peter's over and over. I never tired of it. Despite the crowding at times, it did not even faze me. There is so much history about St. Peter's. So much to see. You can spend hours in there. I got a great book about The Basilica.

I had a couple of very special experiences to add to my love for the Basilica. I attended a very special celebration Mass officiated by Pope Francis to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe - The Mass was stunning and beautiful. Priests sang many songs. I was elated to find the recording of the whole Mass on youtube. I "snapped a memory" of the whole Mass - an experience I will never forget.

Just walking up to the St. Peter's Piazza, it is amazing and awe-inspiring in itself. Plus, the added 'treat' was I was there for the beginning of the Christmas season - A gorgeous, hand sculpted Nativity - sand imported from Venezia. A huge tree that sparkled a special glow upon the Nativity. The ornaments and special dedication of the tree changes each year. I was witness to that since going two years in a row.

As you look up on the Basilica, the 140 statues of the Saints seem to give a "soft welcome with a gentle guidance" to all who enter.

When I walked in the through doors, and saw to my immediate right, La Pieta, some kind of Peace took over. It is beautiful and sad at the same time. Seeing it will invoke different emotions for people. I bought a beautiful La Pieta that is made in Italy. It was in one of the gift shops. I treasure it, and it brings me right back, so vividly, to my visits.

There is the Chapel of The Blessed Sacrament - gorgeous, ornate, peaceful, spiritual. It is a dedicated prayer, reflection and silent chapel. There is seating of course. Guards will remind all to turn off phones and cameras and any recording device.

St. Peter, The Chair of St. Peter - a real "presence." I love it.

There are a lot of altars to visit within the Basilica. Some have pews you can sit and reflect.

Two adorable chubby, marble Cherubs adorn the Holy Water font - It is usually filled with the Holy Water. If you are inclined, you can bring a little glass bottle to fill. Or, you can buy an empty one in the gift shop for 3€. I brought my own, lol.

Above the Cherubs is a statue of St. Teresa of Jesus - Order of Carmelites

Here is a link (floor plan) of St. Peter's Basilica - very easy to follow
http://stpetersbasilica.info/index.htm

I would also add that at different times I visited - morning, afternoon and evening, each was a delight to walk around the Piazza.

Nightfall was my favorite. The Nativity and Christmas Tree lit up were beautiful and lovely. Walking "away from" The Church, I turned around a few times and was just blown away - the lights around the Church with its soft "halo-like" glow, the approaching darkness, the gentle command of The Saints above - breathtaking.

Jules, if you visit, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I can't wait to return!

Girasole,

I was in St. Peter’s many years ago and when I read your description I felt like I was back there again.

So vivid!

Vatican - for Renaissance and later: Pinacoteca for paintings (do that before entering the main museum, it's on the right after going up the elevator (and take a few minutes for the Bramante staircase first); on the way to the Sistine, you go through a gallery of tapestries and a gallery of maps. Also be sure to see Raphael's Stanze before the Sistine.

A great place for ancient Roman frescoes and mosaics is Palazzo Massimo, one of the branches of the National Roman Museum.

Save up coins for the churches. There are coin boxes near the top art works. Pop one in and the spotlight goes on for 2-3 minutes. Echoing Denny, San Luigi (St. Louis) is excellent, it's a short walk from the Pantheon (talk about architecture), even if you're not into sculpture, spend a moment looking at the Bernini work in the piazza.

My favourite is the Pantheon...get there around 8 am in the morning before the crowds and soak up the atmosphere of a place of worship for over 2000 years then go and enjoy a coffee at one of the numerous cafes and people watch.

There are 3 other churches worth visiting in the Pantheon area, Gesu the home church of the Jesuits and burial place of its founder St. Ignatius of Layola.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva built over a temple dedicated to Minerva contains a state of Christ by Michelangelo, a fresco by Lippi, and in front of the building a Bernini statue of an elephant supporting an Egyptian obilisk.

San Ignacio has a wonderful painted ceiling. Look for the yellow disk on the floor and look up at the dome...that is not a dome but a wonderful piece of fakery, a painting that looks like a dome.

St Paul’s Outside the Walls was originally built in Late Roman times and is supposedly the burial place of St. Paul. It was destroyed by fire in the 19th Century and rebuilt using the same footprint and style. It’s a huge church and was pleasantly empty when I was there. It has rather a nice gift shop selling items made at its associated monastery, I can recommend the limoncello!

Thank you BethFL.

I could go on and on about St. Peter's, lol. So stunning on many levels.

Jules,

I always get caught up in moment when writing about St. Peter's Basilica - still my favorite Church, lol - but other Churches in Rome deserve a visit and adoration. There are so many Churches, you could spend many, many weeks exploring them.

Beauty and inspiration await you at Sant'Andrea delle Fratte -- (close to Piazza di Spagna) -- Via di Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, 1, 00187 Roma RM, Italy

It is 'off the beaten path.' A beautiful little Church created in the 17th Century. From the outside, the Church seems simple. Once you enter, you are taken by surprise. Beautiful dome. Gorgeous frescoes.

From an art perspective, there are two huge, beautiful Bernini angels adorning the presbytery. One holds "The Crown of Thorns," the other holds a "Cartouche" displaying symbols of The Passion.

There is also an altar dedicated to Madonna of the Miracle https://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j112sdOLMiracles_1-20.htm

The history behind Basilica di Sant'Andrea delle Fratte is truly amazing. But, "shhh," it is not too well known so crowding is not bad, lol. People flock to the Trinità dei Monti, standing above the Spanish Steps. The Church is well known for its position and rich history - like so many in Rome.

Sunset at Castel Sant Angelo, best view in Rome the sun setting behind St. Peter’s.

https://www.rome.net/castel-sant-angelo

Appreciate the great info! LGATX, thanks for the tip on catching the Sunset at Castel Sant Angelo. I did see that it was probably a great place for views but its always great to have a suggestion for sunset photos. Girasole, I think you really need to move to Rome, or have a early visit planned for the rest of your life! Posted by LGATX. Chani, I would have never thought to save coins. I'm usually working to get rid of them! mrm1111, I will check on the Scavi tour and how it fits with the RS tour.

Appreciate all the suggestions and have added to my notes. Kathy, thanks for the links. We are not going until October/November so I will continue to watch for ideas.

Jules, it was a complete accident that we were there and saw it. We were down stairs enjoying a glass of wine at the little bar and the sweet couple next to us who were on their honeymoon asked us to go up with them and they’d take our sunset photo if we’d take theirs. We all went up with our wine. It was one of those perfect vacation moments.

Girasole, I think you really need to move to Rome, or have a early visit planned for the rest of your life!

LOL! Oh, how I wish!! I hope to work up to spending two months one day - pushing to the 88 days. Yes, Rome yearly - I would be so happy. Working on a third trip. Eventually, branch out to other places. ;)

Hey Girasole - remember: YOU deserve it! So keep planning those trips to Italy. I'm just finishing up 7 weeks (ok, I'm an opera singer so part of it was work - if you can believe that!?!). They'll have to carry me kicking and screaming onto the plane.

Back to this conversation thread. I just got back to my apartment from the Friday night experience at the Vatican Museum that I mentioned earlier. There were several groups, mostly Germans, that moved rather quickly from room to room. There was only one time that I felt the space was too crowded, so I held back and waited a couple of minutes before entering what was then a basically empty room with the most beautiful Raphael art. The Sistine Chapel too was a bit crowded but I moved from side to side so I could sit and more easily look up. If it was crowded I wouldn't know. An hour later the guard told me it was time to leave. OK but it still took 20-30 minutes to get out. I thought originally that there were still 2 or 3 hallways to pass through. It was more like 10, and there was plenty to see! I still think this is one of the great deals in Rome and I'm already planning my Friday night for next summer.

Appreciate all the suggestions and have added to my notes. Kathy,
thanks for the links. We are not going until October/November so I
will continue to watch for ideas.

Great. There are other churches well worth visiting and which aren't overrun so if you want more ideas...
If you are just out walking around, stop into the church nearest you which is open...which is what I do. While it may not be the biggest or most elaborate, it may have something very beautiful/very old/ very interesting to take in!

I was going to suggest Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, but I just read on TripAdvisor that it is closed indefinitely [acknowledge that TripAdvisor is not gospel].

Chiesa del Gesu - the home church of the Jesuits, was beautiful and fascinating to me.

I would skip the Pantheon.

I would skip the Pantheon.

Whoa. Nope, gotta disagree. To give you some idea of how old it is, this former Roman temple to "all the gods" was only converted to a Christian church in A.D. 609. The dome is a masterwork of architecture for the time (early 2nd century) and is considered one of the most well preserved Roman structures of that era in the world. But fortunately you don't have to make the decision because it's included in the itinerary of the RS Rome tour, as well it should be!

PS: the renowned Renaissance painter, Raphael, is buried there along with two Kings of Italy.

From the outside, the Church seems simple.

This sums up my best visits to Italian churches. So many that are not on lists of must-sees, yet are hidden treasures every bit as stunning (although usually on a smaller scale) as some of the most-visited churches.

Hi Jules,

Since you mentioned frescos and having extra time, I will mention that my favorite of all church interiors in Europe is the cathedral in Parma because of the amazing line of frescos on both sides as you walk towards the front of the church- radiates warmth & stunning! Also, I love the Bible passages written in several languages on the front block chairs, altar, etc.

Back to Rome- we stayed near the Pantheon the last time we were there. The Pantheon at night is amazing; it really shows it’s age and prominence with the night glow on it. Also, there’s good gelato nearby!

You might want to consider the Borghese Gallery, too.

Hey Girasole - remember: YOU deserve it! So keep planning those trips to Italy. I'm just finishing up 7 weeks (ok, I'm an opera singer so part of it was work - if you can believe that!?!). They'll have to carry me kicking and screaming onto the plane < LOL.

Hi Robert (DE),

Thanks for the encouragement!

lol, Yes! As soon as I stepped off the plane at FCO a couple of years ago, Rome "felt home to me." I planned two trips in a row and am working on my third (and many more.)

As JulesM joked with me above, I should "just move to Rome or plan yearly visits!" Right now, it will be yearly or close to it.

If I can do it in the future, I would love to spend a couple months, a tad more within the Agreement. Rent a little apartment and "make myself at home."

I found out I am eligible for Italian citizenship! So I might be working on that. Who knows? lol. When I retire (long away), "half a year in Italy and half a year in USA."

Hey, that is great you are an opera singer! What better place? - Italy!

St. Paul's Within The Walls hosts some lovely opera remakes. Very nice acoustics.

Where do you sing? If you can't put it on the forum, maybe PM me?