“We will be pilgrims today.”
—Erika Fisher
Our day started with the usually weekly morning check-ins for our independent research project from 10am to 12am. The sun is out. Glorious! A perfect day for our 3 o’clock pilgrimage walk. On this oddly warm winter day, we crossed the Ponte Sant’Angelo and marveled at the scenic landscape that crescendoed to the emergence of St. Peters basilica and piazza.
The pilgrims stop for a brief photo op
The route inspired nonstop exclamations of wonder. When we finally arrived, Erika was ready to get down to business. Her presentation began with explanations of the piazza and all it contained: the fountains, columns (standing at two foci that give the illusion of one column though three are behind it), and the layout of the piazza. We now know which fountain is older, the history of the piazza, and piazza’s architecture. Good job Erika!
After Erika’s presentation, we moved through security to enter St. Peters basilica. The grand scale of the structures inside was breathtaking, with eight feet cupids! This time no angry security personnel hunted down tourists with cameras. We can take photographs, with flash?! Lisa enlightened us. Yes, all the art here contains no frescoes due to the past fear of flooding that would ruin artworks. Thus, all the decorations are done in mosaic. None of us could believe the details of the mosaic, so perfectly laid that it rivaled some of the best paintings. As we tried to learn more about this basilica, a Vatican guard angrily silenced us and threatened “banishment” from the church if we continued our group-talk during mass. No matter. We wandered around just as mass started and studied some of the huge sculptures.
The sunset was picturesque. It was an excellent time to climb Castel San Angelo and see the entire city against a glowing horizon. Amazing! The refreshing breeze ruffled our hair as we took countless pictures against a backdrop of a radiating St. Peters. Thanks Erika for all our pictures, faces basked in warmth from a honey sunset. Just beautiful. Some left and a few stayed behind to witness Rome at nighttime. All the lamplights turned on and flooded the entire city in a surreal romance. Below is the proof.
Later that night some of pilled into the Rome Center and enjoyed our movie date with Roman Holiday and the iconic Audrey Hepburn
Until the next sunrise, ciao Roma!
Alexis and Teo
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