Last Day in Rome

Thank you Carol! Before I left for my trip, Carl (a co-worker) told me about the Crypt at the Church of the Immaculate [Conception]. I would highly suggest that you check out the website for this location: www.cappucciniviaveneti.it But, for starters, here is a quick summary. In 1631, the Capuchin friars left their friary and came to live in their present location. All that is left of the friary is the current church and the cemetery. The prior location had a cemetery as well. I suppose they could have left the bones behind, but that is not what they did. They could also have simply buried the bones in the new cemetery. But…well, that would have been too easy (and not as cool). Instead of burying the bones in the ground, the monks arranged the bones along the walls underneath the church. The crypt is made up of 6 rooms, 5 of which are filled with bones. In the Crypt of the Resurrection, various parts of the human skeleton form a frame for a picture of Jesus commanding Lazarus to come alive out of the tomb. There is also a Crypt of the Skulls, Pelvises, Leg Bones and Thigh Bones, and one of the Three Skeletons. In all of the crypts, the bones are arranged to form chandeliers, flowers, flying skulls, alters, clocks, and more. It was simply amazing to see religious artwork constructed out of bones.

After leaving the church, we headed to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Museo Capitolini. I suppose that I should have something grand to say about these sites, but I am a bit tired right now, and everyone knows about these ruins. I will mention that they do not disappoint. The Colosseum is big and grand, and the Roman Forum is filled with ruins that you can easily imagine how splendid it once was. The Palatine Hill is also pretty cool. One of the Roman Empires decided that he wanted a palace on this hill. But, instead of simply building it at the top, he built a multi-leveled palace with different floors entirely surrounding the hill!

Sadly, it was raining for a good portion of the day, and what could have been a nice relaxing walk through the Forum turned into a bit of a mess. We had a nice guidebook, but it really wasn’t much fun to read in the rain. After leaving the Forum, we wanted to buy some awesome bread, but sadly, the bread store was closed. So was the supermarket. Dejected and broken hearted (I was), we headed back to the apartment. Jeremy desperately wanted a bath, and I looked forward to catching up on my blogging. Tomorrow, we head to Naples, and hopefully internet. We will also check out Pompeii in one of the upcoming days. Tonight, we head to our favorite pizza place (of the 3 we have eaten at). If the prior events of the day are any omen for tonight, it will be closed. But I have a feeling that it will somehow work out.