My first weekend in Rome

Friday I was trying something no one else seemed to be interested in.  I wanted to see the churches west of St. Peters.  After walking for four hours I found out why they weren't interested.  You can't get to them.  I got some great exercise walking over six miles, almost got myself killed walking on what was more like a road in Ireland.  It was two lanes, fifteen foot stone walls on each side and very narrow.  It was some kind of thru-way.  I thought I was thru.  I couldn't get off.  The cars are all going 45-50mph and I was clinging to the wall.  Of course I was lost when I finally got off that road.  So I learned not to believe anyone who tells me how easy it is to get to places in Rome.


Saturday we had a three hour tour of the Roman Forum ruins.  History majors would have been in heaven.  Our guide had an immense amount of information that he wanted to share with us.  The only problem was that he didn't follow an outline, so the train of thought was very hard to follow.  I think the teachers will empathize with me as they listen to their students stories.

 Flat Stanley is showing you the war memorial that celebrates Italian unification.  I think it is called the Capitaline.  It is big.  The guy one the horse just to the left of the flag was the general that made the unification possible.  That bronze statue is so big there is a picture of nine men having a drink at a table inside the horse's belly.

This is what they are excavating to understand their history with the Caesars.

After the tour I was able to go on my own and see some of the many churches that surrounded the Forum.

 This is the body of St. Robert Bellarmine in the Church of St. Robert Bellarmine, which is a great thing to do on his feast, 9/17.

                                            The ceiling is awesome in so many of these churches.

 The front of St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Rome.
Below are pictures of the Bascilica of  Ss. Cosmas and Damian, whose feast is 9/26.  It is being taken care of by the Fransicans so there is some of their influence as it was redone.  It is a very old church, so the inside looks good but the outside is really weathered.

                                                              Ceiling.

                                                           St. Francis of Assisi

 It is interesting that the pulpit is directly above the confessional.