History, History, History

So not only do I have two days worth of activities to blog about, but they were two of the coolest days ever. On Monday morning, we went to the Vatican to tour the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica. The land was initially a burial place for the pagan citizens of Rome. When Constantine converted to Catholicism in the fourth century, he wanted to build a church over that spot, because St. Peter was buried there after he was crucified. Then, the current Basilica was built over the old one in the sixteenth century. When Pope Pius XII died he wanted to be buried as close to Peter as possible, and so they began excavating under the Basilica. They found all of the mausoleums and decorations from the first century and then dug most of it out. We got to go down on a tour and it was seriously one of the most interesting things I've ever seen. 

We weren't allowed to take pictures, so this is part of the Vatican from where we were waiting for the tour. But we were able to see the mausoleums that housed the tombs and some original frescos. We learned that there was some overlap between pagan families and Christian families, and you could tell by the symbols used on the tombs. My favorite fun fact was that sometimes, when a family member would die, they would dump the bones from a previous burial into a fancy box, and put the newly deceased into the old tomb. This made it easier and cheaper to bury family members. 

Next we went into the actual Basilica. We are going back a different day so I didn't take too many pictures or anything. But I did find the tomb of John Paul II which was really cool. 

After the Basilica a group of us went to Palatine hill and the forum. This is what I was most excited about. I read a book called Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran that mostly takes place on Palatine. We got to see the ruins of the palaces of Ceasars and the old market area. I couldn't pick just one picture so I'll put a bunch below. It was so surreal to walk along these ruins and picture what things were like two thousand years ago. Essentially: 10/10 would recommend. 

After the Palatine we had a few hours of class, then took a quick nap. Then my friends and I went out to an Irish bar for a quick drink. There was live music, cheap drinks, and we were home by 12. All in all it was a great day. 

Today we woke up early (again) to do some church tours. Professor White was our guide again, which was good because he knows a lot about everything. The first church we went to was St. Maria Maggiore. One of the four major churches of Rome, it was built in the 440's. The inside was original from the fifth century, but the outside has been added to so much that you can no longer see the facade. An interesting fact is that the early church leaders didn't know how to build a church so they modeled it after the pagan structures. We were able to see many of the similarities inside, like the lack of pews and the long rectangular rooms. 

The second and third churches were dedicated to two sisters from the Bible. They were daughters of the first upper class man of Rome to convert to Christianity. They both risked their lives to help persecuted members of Christianity during Nero's reign, and would bury the martyrs that were left to rot. They were later martyred themselves. There was a lot of fascinating symbolism in the art from the Book of Revelations and other books of the Bible. 

I asked Professor White whether any of the major churches had been damaged in warfare. He said that many of them were attacked in the early modern era. However, during World War Two the allies and the axis both agreed to avoid Rome and the Vatican. I thought this made sense, since many of these leaders were Catholic or Christian and might fear retribution in the afterlife. 

Interior of St. Prassede

Apparently the post Jesus was flagellated on

Exterior of St. Prudenziana

Between the church tours and our next event, a few of us went wandering. We found a street market (bought a cute scarf) and a delicious restaurant (bought the salad my poor carbed-out body needed). Then we had to head back to Vatican City for a tour of the mosaic studio. 

Another view of the Frum from our walk this afternoon. I seriously can't get enough. 

Our tour was arranged through an alumni of DePaul who now works for the Vatican. The area is closed to the public, but we got the full access. First we went into a gallery of some of the pieces they've done, and pictures of the Pope presenting the mosaics to various foreign leaders. Here is one mosaic done in tiny pieces (fingers for scale):

Then we went into the studio where they're currently working on mosaics. The highlight of that (and the day) was that we got to see the official mosaic being made of Pope Francis. There is a church called St. Paul Outside the Wall where they have a mosaic of every Pope on the walls. The one being made for Francis was almost done (maybe ten pieces left to be placed) and will be presented to him, completed, for the first time tomorrow morning. So it was pretty special that we got to see it even before the Pope himself. Then we saw how they heat, combine, and shape different colors of glass, went though their stores of glass, and saw other works in progress. Then the head architect of the Vatican gave us a private tour of the secret rooms above the Basilica. We got to see the original model of the Basilica, sketches of Michelangelo's plans, and old pieces of statues and plaster artwork. 

Originally 16th century plan (that we got to walk inside of)

 Mr. Head Architect Man and a comparison of the various stages of planning for the dome. 

After some more class time, we all were exhausted and came up to the dorms to write blogs. This has taken me way longer than I thought, so now I have to shower and go to bed to prepare for yet another early day tomorrow. Goodnight!