Last week in Rome!!

This week is our last week in Rome.  On Friday, we travel to Milan, Ravenna, and Florence for the final leg of the official trip.  Half of the students will be traveling with me to Paris to celebrate the Bastille festival after next week.  Last week was a very full week at four of the five major catacombs in Rome (Sts. Priscilla, Agnes, Callistus, and San Sebastiano).  St. Callistus' catacomb is the largest of the catacombs, but it was a bit of a disappointment.  It was much too crowded and our guide was not very qualified.  The students had been through the routine enough that they knew what he was saying was completely wrong.  Then one person in our group told him that we had a group of church history students.  He then put on his best face and his commentary was even worse!   No people did not live in the catacombs. 
We also visited the Pantheon, Capitoline museum, Ostia Antica and Nuova (the beach!).  Some of the things worn on the beach are an assault on the eyes.  As one of my students puts it, "Spandex is a privilege, not a right!"  There is nothing more frightening than a semi-clad person in their 60s who has experienced the onslaught of gravity.  These are the moments that I support the early church's emphasis on Neoplatonic spirituality and move away from corporeality. 
At the end of the week, we went to St. John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, and San Paolo fuori le mura (St. Paul outside the walls -- the church over the supposed sight of the apostle Paul's death).  We enjoyed a wonderful mass there for the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul (a Roman holiday), had a little picnic, and then took the metro to St. Peter's Square to watch fireworks over Castel Sant'Angelo.  It was truly wonderful!

Castel Sant'Angelo (Hadrian's mausoleum)

Fireworks over Castel Sant'Angelo

St. Peter's basilica at night

Zenna Singing!

Prayer Request

Tonight Laura was taken to the emergency room for what is believed to be an allergic reaction. Everything is fine and she is being well cared for, so no need to panic :) however prayer for continued quick recovery is appreciated!

Our first week...

We had a very busy but exciting first week.  On Monday, we visited the Roman Forum and Palatine hill to discuss the origins of Rome.  There are new discoveries which was quite wonderful including the unearthing of an arena of the Emperor Domitian which had not been seen or unearthed for more than 50 years.  On Tuesday, we toured a couple of national museums (Massimo and Terme) as well as the Diocletian baths (the site of Mandy's group picture below), as well as the columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius.  On Wednesday, we were taken through the Colosseum by Darius Arya, the executive director of AIRC, our host site.  Dar is a respected archeologist and specialist on the Colosseum and other arenas in antiquity.  The students really enjoyed their time with him and seeing the Colosseum up close and in depth.  (See a couple of my great pictures below.)  On Thursday and Friday, we visited the Vatican.  On Thursday, we were priviledged to tour the necropolis of St. Peter.  The evidence for this being the actual burial place of Peter is actually quite compelling, and I actually do  believe it to be authentic (not that the bones that they have are necessarily Peter's); however, for me the most compelling evidence is the length of the tradition of that exact site as the burial place of Peter.  It actually goes back to the first century, only a few years after the death of Peter.  On Friday, we climbed all the way to the top of the cupola of St. Peters (half of us) where we were able to overlook the entire city.  We then went through the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel.  The students are off for a three day weekend, visiting places like Pompeii, Sorrento, Venice, Capri, and London.  I'm staying "home" in Rome to get caught up on work and rest.

Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre)

Colosseum inside

Seeing eye behind altar in St. Peters

Podium in front of baldicchino over tomb of St. Peter

Our Group

Arrived

We have arrived! Rome is beautiful! It is so full of life and color! I cannot wait to spend the next three weeks exploring this city!

Getting lunch/gelato

And we are off!

So far everything is going smoothly. Pray for continual safe travels! :)