July 29, 2019 Monday the
first of two posts for this date
We were up and off early for our 9:15 AM Scavi Tour. I booked these tickets on May 7th,
as soon as I could. Each tour is limited
to 15 people. We got there early and had
to wait a bit before we could go through security. That gave me time for more photos of St.
Peter’s. The line was not bad this early,
later in the day it will extend all the way north through the west Colonnade.
We went through security and then waited for the rest of the
group and our guide. Our guide, Erik is
an American who has been teaching at several universities in Rome for I think
22 years. I would guess he is about
50+/-. He explains that the tunnel and
crypts are very humid, so let him know if anyone feels weak, faint, etc. He also explained that photos were not
allowed and that taking anything or marking the walls was also not allowed and
that there where cameras observing our trip.
Then we were off. He did tell us
how deep the necropolis was, I forgot, but I’ll guess that we eventually were
about 30-40 m below ground. He explained
a lot about the churches that were built on the site and when. He is a history professor after all. I’m sure there are books about this if you
are interested. As I recall the rich
were the first buried here before there was a church in the per-Christian
era. The crypts start out with art work
and symbols for Roman gods. Eventually
there are more symbols that could be considered Christian, or at least heading
in that direction. Just before we get to
St. Peter’s grave we stop at one crypt where he tells us there is a very
suggestive painting. There is only room
for one person at a time to take a look.
Well I won the prize by thinking it looked like a lamb. You know the one that Jesus is shown carrying
it about his neck. It was actually a
small chariot with two horses and the ceiling was covered with grape
leaves. I guess I was pre-disposed to
see a Christian image. When he seemed a
bit amazed at me seeing a lamb, I did tell him that I only have one eye.
The next stop was the tomb/grave of St. Peter. I should add he explained the various stages
of the discovery of this area beneath the Basilica. It happened over many years. I think the grave of St. Peter was found when
Pius XII was Pope. Our guide always left
the certainty of the identification up to each of us. This grave was found under the central Altar
of the Basilica. Most of the bodies that
were found during the years of excavation were not complete. The body that the Church now believes is St.
Peter’s is almost entirely complete, except that it has no feet. This is when he told us that Nero ordered a
mass execution of Christians as punishment for the fire in Rome, and not for
being Christian. Peter chose to be
crucified upside down (see the painting by Caravaggio). The suggestion is that the easiest way to
remove the body that was hanging head down was to just cut off the feet. He told us the history of the discovery in a
neutral fashion. He did tell us when the
church declared that these were the bones of St. Peter, but I don’t remember
when that was. I should also add that he
told us that many of the other bones that have been discovered were always
determined to be of men too young to be St. Peter. The mass executions happened around 64 A.D.
(or C.E. Common Era). Peter would have
been an old man by then. Well the bones
of the body without the feet have been tested and determined to be of an old
man. There is a place where you can look
into the tomb and see some of the bones.
I think the bones may be in a clear container. In answer to someone’s question Erik said
that a few years ago Pope Francis had given some bones to the Patriarch of the
Eastern Orthodox Church in Turkey. A
priest on out tour explained that this actually happened just a few weeks ago.
Once the tour was completed we could enter St. Peter’s
Basilica without going through security again.
The Basilica was crowded as you would expect. We were looking for sculptures by Bernini. The Wikipedia page for Bernini lists 15 that
are in the Basilica, Museum, and the Apostolic Palace. We were able to see 11 in the Basilica. Per usual I took too many photos, but I
didn’t take enough. IF we ever get back
to Rome I will take a photo of EVERYTHING in the building.
If you want to know anything about St. Peter’s this is the web
site for you, will give you more information that you will EVER want to know.
After St. Peter’s we stopped to get our second breakfast and
coffee. Then we went back to the
apartment to rest.
July 29, 2019 Monday second
of two posts for the day
Once we were back home Sue wanted to rest, so I went back
out to take more photos. I headed for the location where Caesar was
assassinated on the Ides of March. I had
read about the location before we left on this trip. The area is basically a small city block that
is about 10-15 ft below today’s road level.
I have no idea how much of the columns, structures, etc. were recreated,
but I think most of them probably were from what I read on the internets. Then I went to visit the Church of the Gesù,
or Jesuits to re-see the ceiling painting that is on another list we kinda,
sorta track down. I missed a Bernini sculpture
that is at this church, maybe we have too many lists.
The Church St. Louis of the French was not very
far away, and it has three Caravaggio’s that we’ve seen before. After visit that church I was ready to go
home. Getting home took some time. I use Google Maps to get directions. At the first stop I went to the buses were
very late, and packed. So I would walk
to another stop and try again, eventually I made it home. We went out to eat later that evening, like
we did every night. Since I’m writing
this three weeks later I don’t remember which great meal we had, but it was
pizza or pasta I’m sure.
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