At 7:30am on Saturday the 16th, I was awake. Perhaps it was jet-lag, excitement, the people coughing in the courtyard bellow the window to my new room that woke me, or none or all of the above, I cannot be sure. But needless to say, I cancelled my scheduled 8:30am wake-up call. I ducked my head out to let Matthius know that I was cancelling the wake-up, he’s the only staff member of the B&B who’s name I got to know, and he was as jovial as when I’d met him at 11pm on the 15th. He assured me that they could make room for me in the breakfast room, because I’d scheduled to have breakfast at nine, however I wasn’t at all prepared to have breakfast with strangers in a small room, un-showered. I waited my turn by opening up the window to the courtyard of the apartment buildings opposite the B&B and taking a look around, by showering, and by studying my tourist map of Rome.
Each day I did not make a schedule, but instead left the B&B around 10am with a rough idea of the direction in which I wanted to travel, for the sites that I hoped to find. In doing this, I often saw things that were not listed on any map. Such as the first basilica in Rome that I visited, which happened to be just around the corner from my B&B, tucked between condo’s on a narrow side street:
This was also the first place at which I purchased “souvenirs”, postcards. The counter was full, and I perused the cards for some time before anyone realized that I was there. An Italian gentleman came by to take my money for the cards, but having no small change I gave him a bill that he could in turn not make change for. I added another postcard worth 1euro, and gave him a 5euro bill, then he took off saying “one moment, one moment”. I waited, and five minutes later he came back and counted out my change in 10 cent pieces. I assume that he went to the man at the door of the basilica who was collecting from visitors upon their entrance and exit to and from the basilica.
From there I made my way down the street, and came out at Via Nazionale. A major road with a lot of traffic. Following this I found myself at the Piazza della Repubblica and the Fountain of the Naiads. Here, I had an Italian woman, who was with her husband, take my photo. While I tried to relay to her that I wanted the fountain in the background, she continued to zoom in closer, however the photo turned out nicely. It is the only photo I have of myself in Rome.
I followed the fountain around to the left, and up the road. I was walking my way toward the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini near the Piazza Barberini and the Fontana del Tritone; the church houses the Capuchin museum and crypt, a place that I had always wanted to see. Along the way I found an old building marked “Planetario”, the dome on top still in tact, though the walls of the building appeared to be the only thing left. I walked on, and on. Eventually the road I was on opened up to a square, the Triton Fountain, commissioned to the renowned sculptor Bernini, stood in the middle. I knew that the Capuchin crypt had to be nearby. I walked around the fountain a few times, watching Triton push water from his mouth through a conch, his arms raised to hold it there, straight up. I located the church by backtracking one street, took a look around, and made my way to the museum next door.
Unfortunately, one cannot take pictures in the museum or crypt, however photos of the crypt can be found via a quick internet search. The museum was full of paintings of former friars, their personal history, and objects (now artefacts) that they carried. After carefully reading every plaque attributed to some painting or vitrine of artefacts, followed by a small section “What are they up to now? Present day Capuchin Friars” (my title), I turned a corner and came upon a small stair set and the smell of dirt. The first thing you see are bones, a lot of bones. The air is dry and the hall that opens to five chapels that are dimly, day lit by windows along the hallway wall and small hanging lights. The hallway is arched and narrow so you are pushed to either side, on one side, closer to the remains of friars stacked to the ceiling, and on the other against the bare cement wall of the hallway, beneath lamps elaborately decorated in bones. The entire crypt is decorated: pelvic bones are set behind skulls on the ceiling to make it look as though the skulls have wings, while other bones are used to recreate the shape of the hourglass. In one chapel, two friars lying and three standing, are set beneath the small skeleton known as the Barberini Princess, with scythe. There were few other tourists in the crypt and so I was able to slowly make my way down the hall, taking in awe each chapel, and reading the small, informative plaques en route. In a fleeting thought, I wondered if the friars would have protested against being gaped at by so many, but I continued on. I don’t think that I’ve ever been so surrounded by death in the way that I was at the crypt, though the craftsmanship behind the display made everything feel natural and in place. For me, the Capuchin Crypt, final resting place of nearly 4000 friars, is a memento mori in the form of a work of art.
I left the crypt, which ends unceremoniously at the book shop where I picked up a postcard, and into the full light of day. Shortly, I found myself walking uphill, and the next thing I knew I was atop the Spanish Steps. From here there is an amazing view of Rome, in addition to the still higher view from the Church of Trinita Dei Monti built in the early 1500’s.
From here I located the Palazzo Zuccari also known as the “Monster House”, and the then “closed for construction” Keats-Shelley Memorial House that I had planned to visit. The streets at the bottom of the Spanish Steps were filled with tourists who were either eating, shopping, or puzzling over a map. Again, the street eventually opened up to a square. I had found the Piazza del Popolo. I took quite a few photos of here; the polar bear stopped to pose with a sphinx. At this point I had done a lot of walking, and a lot of sightseeing, so I decided to turn back in the direction of my B&B.
At some point along the way I crossed a bridge over the Tevere (Tiber) River, and walked along at a leisurely pace with fellow tourists and locals alike. Along the Tevere I saw the building who’s top I had seen in the distance from the landing of the Trinita dei Monti, followed by a castle, and finally, the Holy See. I wasn’t entirely expecting to find myself walking toward Vatican City, but I’d decided to continue toward the looming dome of the Basilica of St. Peter and the surrounding columns. For a moment I contemplated joining the line to view the inside of the basilica, but the security checkpoint was crawling, and the day was getting no younger. It was hot and people milled around and under the surrounding wall of columns to take some shade. I wandered my way back to the Tevere River via a side street.
Somewhere along my way back to the B&B I found a small alleyway covered in wheat pastes that opened onto the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. Another beautiful fountain sculpted by Bernini. I’ve added photos taken the next evening, in addition to those I took on the first day, when I returned to see the fountain lit up at night. From here I weaved my way through narrow streets and the sound of utensils clashing on plates. It was dinner time but I only wanted to continue exploring, and I wasn’t yet hungry.
This is when I turned a corner and there was the Pantheon. It was large and set back off of the square. The front was open to those having dinner, while they stared into it over their glass of wine. The facade is grand and I found it difficult to approach the large, ancient building. Outside the Pantheon the square was busy, and men dressed as Gladiators in cheap plastic costumes ran after the tourists for photo ops, only after which charging a “tip”. The doors hidden behind the columns were open and so I decided to go in. I marvelled at the ceiling for some time. You can find similar ceiling structures elsewhere in Rome, but most of those that I saw were no longer fully intact. The large hole in the top of the ceiling is the only source by which natural light comes in, and so it was difficult to get a decent shot of the interior. Despite this, it was busy and tourists pushed one another to capture the best shot of the, now, basilica and themselves in front of some part of the structure.
Leaving the Pantheon, I found myself eventually reaching Capitoline Hill, Ancient Rome, and along the Forum to the Colosseum. By the time I’d reached the Colosseum I’d exhausted my legs. I took a few photos along the way, my last being of this ancient building lit up from the inside at dusk, giving it the semblance of an empty shell. I would return to Capitoline Hill again the next day, because I was just as determined, as I mentioned, to climb to the top. When I found myself back at the B&B I was somewhat relieved, because it meant that I could rest both my eyes and feet. I let reception know that I’d be having breakfast at the same time, and set a wake-up call for 8:30. In my room I turned the air on, closed the window, cleaned my feet which were covered in a layer of dirt from walking all day in sandals, then lied down and passed out. Full day one in Rome was over.
Travel Lore 