The New Pope

Why was this man praying in the center of the Vatican City?

He saw black smoke billowing from the roof of the Sistine Chapel at today's 12 noon decision.

This afternoon, I went to the Piazza of St. Peters to see if the New Pope would be chosen. After the black smoke appeared, everyone went on their way hoping the Cardinals would make a final vote later this evening.  The single-man pilgrimage stuck around just a little longer to change the world through prayer.

Seven hours later, I received notice that white smoke came from the pipe sticking out of the Sistine Chapel. It wasn't through an email, it wasn't from a phone call.  In typical Roman fashion when new Popes are named, the bells of all the city's Catholic churches rang across Rome.  This bell, at St. Peter's Basilica, is the first one that starts the chain reaction.

When I heard the church bells in my neighborhood just now, I knew it could mean just one thing: the New Pope was elected, and this rainy afternoon crowd quadrupled in attendance because everyone rushed over to Piazza San Pietro.

I'm wishing I was able to make it over there for the announcement tonight. It would have been crowded, rainy, and I likely would have been tired standing on my feet for hours.  But it would have been something truly amazing to squish my way into the masses. Congratulations Pope Francesco (Francis in English)!

The Pilgrimage

Fearful of floating in nothingness for too long once you die? Anxious about your after-death sentence to heaven or hell? Do yourself and your loved ones a favor - reduce your time spent in Purgatory by going on a pilgrimage to the four Papal Basilicas all in one day like the people of old did (and possibly still do today).

That's how I would advertise pilgrimages if I worked for the Vatican. Luckily for them, I'm not in advertising.  However, I am into writing about fascinating things to do while in Rome, and this historical, religious journey was foreign to me until recently.

My Roman history expert shed light on the subject, about the many journeys from around the world to visit the four Papal Basilicas of Rome, which are:

• Saint Paul Outside the Walls (San Paolo Fuori le Mura)
• Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore)
• Saint John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano) 
• Saint Peter's Basilica (San Pietro in Vaticano)  Easily the most popular one being in the Vatican City, so start or end your day there to avoid this long queue.

For those not participating in a pilgrimage for strictly religious reasons, I think it is worth attempting for a number of reasons.

1. The Basilicas are huge! We are talking awe-inspiring grandiose structures folks. You  somehow  feel ... different when you stand inside, looking up and around, taking it all in.
2. See what makes each one different! No Basilica is the same. Each has it's own unique flavor of design, both interior and exterior and are well worth viewing.
3. Compare their Papal Altars. In each one, a special altar resides for only the Pope to conduct his own Mass. 
4. Consider each location's relic. These ancient religious objects may be a part of the body of a saint or may have been an object that a saint touched or used at one point in history. Each Basilica's relic has it's own fascinating story.
5. The artwork and sculptures! There are some extremely popular items in the Basilicas you would not want to miss viewing in person. For example, Michelangelo's The Pieta sculpture is in St. Peter's. Simply amazing work.
6. It's one of the many Free Things To Do In Rome! Enough said.

I have taken many a photo of the insides of each Basilica and I almost posted them for you. But I abstain. This is something you should see without my influence.  It's sooooo much greater in person.

Here are the Basilicas and their closest metro stops for your convenience.

• Saint Paul Outside the Wall (San Paolo Fuori le Mura) - Metro B line, stop name: Basilica S. Paolo
• Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) - Metro A/B line, stop name: Termini
• Saint John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano)  - Metro A line, stop name: San Giovanni
• Saint Peter's Basilica (San Pietro in Vaticano) - Metro A line, stop name: Ottaviano - S. Pietro

Happy Pilgrimage, whatever the reason!

Free Things To Do In Rome: Chiese

I have been a big proponent of Free Things To Do In Rome while living here and I can't believe this is the first time I am mentioning such an obvious thing.

Where can you find outstanding architecture?
Where can you find beautiful paintings?
Where can you find sculptures from some of history's most revered artists?
And all for free (usually)?

The answer is CHURCHES of course.  In italiano, chiese.  And they are ALL OVER ROME!

Seriously.  You could be in any random neighborhood with the purpose of trying a great gelateria you had heard about and stumble on a church during their open hours.  Why not go in?  It's free entertainment (usually) and here in Rome, you will be amazed at the grandeur of some of these establishments.  

Don't believe me?  Have a taste of this!

Santa Balbina

Santa Maria in Trastevere

Santa Maria Della Consolazione

St. Peter's Basilica

Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso

San Giovanni in Laterano

Like I said, going into the churches allows you to see some wonderful art, even what some consider masterpieces.

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Gianlorenzo Bernini,  in Santa Maria della Vittoria.  Most just know the artist as Bernini.

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The Madonna di Loreto by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, in Sant'Agostino.  Most just know the artist as Caravaggio.

The Pieta' by Michelangelo Buonarroti (THE Michelangelo in case you didn't know his full name), in St. Peter's Basilica.  My expert tells me this was Michelangelo's first major work of sculpture for a public place, and basically secured his getting the commission to create the David.  He was 24 years old when he completed this!

I still encourage all to visit the museums in the area which often charge admission, however, free art is the best art!

Occupy Rome Protests

Living in Rome, Italy during the world-wide protests known as Occupy Wall Street this weekend has brought up some concern about my safety from friends, family and just VASGO followers.  If you haven't heard by now, the city of Rome and the country of Italy received attention world-wide for having the most violent protest out of all the ones that were organized this past Saturday, October 15.  And if you didn't know that, let me take this moment to chide you for not paying better attention to world-wide current events.  Bad Reader!  Bad!  You win trivia night questions when you pay attention to that stuff.

For example, I attended Pub Quiz the other night, a local trivia event at an English Pub and what did I win because I paid attention to current events and knew some answers?  That's right.  A chocolate bar.  Yum.

Source

Now let me take a second to thank you for reading my blog, your number one news source.  Good Reader!  Good!

I'm glad we can be friends again.

For those who are interested, I am doing very well.   I did not participate in the protest.  My apartment was not close to the violence that erupted during the peaceful protest so my belongings are doing well also.  All is fine regarding me.  But not Italy.

Italy and Rome are now forced to bear the shame from of a few bad apples, as we say in America.  I'm here to say, as we also say in America, don't judge a book by its cover.  Regardless of how many cliches I use in this post, the important thing to remember about the whole Occupy Rome event is that a select 200 individuals out of potentially 200,000 people chose to be violent over being peaceful.  Keep in mind I'm getting my numbers from other blogs and news articles.  But if those numbers are correct, that fraction makes it .001 of the whole group.  Better worded, potentially 0.1% of all participants chose to make it a violent demonstration and now the world is going to think Rome is not safe, or has angry, violent people living here.

Don't let your impressions of a wonderful city and wonderful people be ruined from what you hear.  I asked some of my native Roman friends who are in their late twenties what they thought of this situation and they thought it was terrible.  One made it very clear to me, even though his English is almost as broken as my Italian language skills, that the violence was unnecessary.  He referred to the people who caused violence as "idiots".

Although I never approached the protest itself, I had things to do the afternoon of the event and to get there, I had to pass through the area where the protest was to finish.  As the police, media trucks and ambulance trucks all prepared for the worst, I walked through the demonstration's end point, the Palazzo Lateranense in front of the huge church called San Giovanni in Laterano, possibly an hour before chaos ensued.  TV and camera crews stood by waiting for things to happen.  Police chatted to themselves in little circles close to major stoplights.  The five ambulances parked in a row along the street, with their attendants sitting in the vehicles, doors open to have the cool breeze pass through.

This idle activity didn't last for long.

BEFORE.  Media Trucks lined up beyond the balloons.

Notice the huge church on the right side in the photo above?  Here's what happened in front of it a little while later.

AFTER.  Source

How about another view?

BEFORE. Several signs were posted in support of Occupy Rome.

Notice the right side in the above photo.  Pay attention to the walls because this is exactly where the next photo takes place maybe an hour later.

AFTER.  Source

One last view.

BEFORE.  Notice the structure on the right, just behind the large tree.

The tallest, light tan-colored structure in the above photo, located on the right, is called the Tribune.  Though you can't see it well, my Blue Guide book on Rome tells me it was erected in 1743 and contains the mosaic called Triclinium of Leo III.  You'll notice the below photo was taken across from it.

AFTER.  Source

From what I've read, estimates of damage to cars, buildings, atms, statues and more amount to 1 to 2 Million EURO.  Today, that exchange is 1.37 Million Dollars US to 2.75 Million Dollars US.  To an already hurting economic situation here (2nd most debt out of all the European Union), it's a shame to see it getting worse in the course of a single day.

Please, no more violence.  Rome is still beautiful and filled with wonderful people.  Let's try keep it that way.

For more details about the event, I highly suggest reading the following post from a fellow blogger.

http://www.revealedrome.com/2011/10/indignati-rome-october-15-protests.html

POP QUIZ - current events

What European Union country has the most public debt as of Oct. 17, 2011?

A.  Romania

B.  Belgium

C.  Portugal

D.  Greece

ROAD TRIP: Teramo, Italy

What's one of the greatest things to do when living in a big city?  Exploring smaller cities outside of your home, of course!

Today, you and I will visit the grand city of Teramo, Italy.  Located less than two hours by car from Rome, this ancient city allows you to wake up first thing in the morning, grab the old pole and tackle box to inhale the salty air as chilling sea waters splash on your face from deep sea fishing and be done in plenty of time to drive back, strap on those dusty ski boots you haven't used for two seasons and ride down the snowy slopes of a mountain side.

How is that possible?  It's because the people from ancient times, as early as 295 B.C., saw value in being able to snowboard and boat race on the same day and so they looked down at their map and said to themselves, "Let's put the city here.  Right between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine Mountains."



View Larger Map

And so they did.

Ok, that's not exactly how it happened.

Pop Quiz #1:  For 10 points, in what year was the first object that resembled a snowboard invented?

A.  1964
B.  1966
C.  1968
D.  1970

It was called the Snurfer by the way.  That's short for Snow Surfer.  You know, I kind of like the idea of combining two words to make a brand name. I think I will rename my blog JUSGO from now on.

So by car, Teramo is ideally situated 30 minutes from the Adriatic Sea and 30 minutes from the Apennines Mountains.  Eat your heart out my friends living in Denver, CO.  Sure, you can drive 30 minutes to get to the Rocky Mountains, but wouldn't it be nice to not have to drive 16 hours to get to the nearest major body of water?

Pop Quiz #2:  For 10 points, what major U.S. city (relatively close to a major body of water) is estimated to take you 16 total driving hours by car when starting from Denver, CO?

A.  San Francisco, California
B.  Los Angeles, California
C.  San Diego, California
D.  Houston, Texas

Come back tomorrow for the answers.  And the electronic delivery of points.

Well let's hit the road, shall we?  Here, I'll drive.  You be the passenger.  Sorry my car is so small.  Four-door sedans are considered VERY large out here and aren't common.  We honestly wouldn't fit through many of Rome's side streets if I had that type of car.

Not much to see as we deal with the Rome traffic exiting the city boundaries.  But wow, check out the view as we approach the Apennines.

The mountains are so pretty in the distance.

Wow, I never expected that we would pass by L'Aquila on this trip.  They had a massive earthquake in April 2009, remember that?

Looks like the city is rebuilt and hopefully doing fine now.

Love those mountain photos!  

Ok, Let's put the camera away.  You are starting to look like a tourist and I hate when the other drivers look at us and just shake their heads in disgust.  Besides, once we go through the tunnels and get on the other side of that range, it will be much darker outside and you won't get good photos then.

Excellent!  We arrived at our hotel, got unpacked and changed into clothes more suitable to the colder temperatures...finally feels like fall!  Let's go walk around the city a little.

I love the city's main piazza.  Nice bell tower connected to the Teramo Cathedral. 

The back side of the Teramo Cathedral.

A view in the piazza.

A street with lots of retail shops already closed.

Well let's grab some dinner and go to bed.  I bet the city will look great in the sun tomorrow.

Wow!  The cathedral is beautiful in full sunlight.

This is the front of it.

And there is an outstanding view of more mountains in the background to the city.

Let's step inside the cathedral.  Interesting.  My expert tells me many renovations were made over the last several hundred years.

Back outside, the piazzas are booming.  Plenty of people to watch on such a beautiful day.

Does that guy on the left have the longest stride in his step you have ever seen?

So pretty.

Ok, we've seen all the stores, a few piazzas, some of the major sights of the city.  There is plenty more to see here, but let's go home now.  We can always come back.

To get back to the autostrada, highway, we need to turn right up here.

Whoa!  Cool.  Road art.

We just need to continue around this and it'll loop us on the highway.

First tunnel on the way back home!

Perfect view of the largest peak in Italy.  The mountain itself is called Gran Sasso d'Italia (a member of the Apennines). It's tallest summit is called Corno Grande, Large Horn in English.  It tops out at 9,554 feet.  For better perspective, the Rocky Mountains have summits that top out over 14,000 feet.  
Fun Fact: Hiking enthusiasts and natives of mountain areas know those as "Fourteeners".

One final pretty view of the mountains.  Bonus 10 points go to the first person who can name what kind of cloud that is in the sky.

And we are home, back in Rome!  Ciao! Arrivederci!

Tune in to JUSGO tomorrow for more fun and adventures.