La Bella Vita: Tour of the Dead: Churches and Crypts Around Rome

Thursday, May 8th

Churches. So many churches.

Today we saw some pretty great things, like the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and so many Catholic churches—seriously, I can't remember how many we went into.

mouth open in excitement?

The Trevi Fountain was wonderful. It is so beautiful, even the second time around. This time I threw a coin in, which is exciting. That means I will return to Rome! I haven't left yet, but I can't wait to come back!

Our first church was actually way cool. And creepy. It was the church of the bones, the Capuchin Crypt in the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. Basically, people dug up all the bones of dead friars and made ornate decorations and "works of art" out of the bones. Literally . . . rooms full of bones. Some were full skeletons dressed in a monk's robes; others were cages of skulls layered on top of femurs, etc. Covering the ceilings and walls were ornate designs made from smaller bones—jaws, ribs, fingers, etc. etc. Even a few chandeliers. Like I said, very creepy. But kind of cool. . . . Actually, mostly creepy. Perfect place for Halloween!

Throughout the day we went from church to church, marveling at the statues and paintings and so much gold in each of them. To be honest, by the time we hit around the sixth church of the day, my head was starting to spin...they all looked the same. (Sorry, cathedral enthusiasts!) It was interesting to see some of the cathedrals designed by Bernini, though.

there's a hole!

Probably the best thing of the day was visiting the Pantheon. We were walking and walking (you know, the usual) until suddenly we came out of an alleyway and into an open square, and there it was! Massive and ancient. The Pantheon is seriously amazing (note: I think by now I have run out of descriptive words because I've used so many, so I'm sticking with the tried and true). It is so great to be seeing in person all these ancient buildings that you always see in pictures. Inside, the Pantheon was beautiful. The domed ceiling is really fascinating because, apparently, it is so heavy that no one can understand how it hasn't collapsed. Those Roman engineers knew what they were doing. Also, there's a giant hole in the top, so if it rains, you're gonna get wet. Just a heads up.