Roma

There were many things I didn't like about Rome, and many things that I did. These are a few of the more pleasant things about Rome.

One of the best things about Rome was going to visit all the different churches. My favorite was the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. It's only a little church, but it has a substantial piece of the Cross, one of the actual nails, and a thorn from the Crown of Thorns. I used to like going to the Stations of the Cross there during Lent. One of the most unusual things about that church was that it was actually quiet in there. (A lot of people don't know the difference between a church and a museum.)

There were also other colleges. I had an old friend at the Irish College. I went to see him there often. I went to one celebration there, and there was a surprise appearance by Dana! That was one of the highlights of my year in Rome.

Click on the pictures to see them larger!

The food in Italy is very good. Italian pizza is great. And I think Italian chocolate is the best in the world. And of course there's the pastry and gelati ("ice cream") of Italy.

"Piazza" is a common term in Rome. A piazza is a spot where many roads would meet, like the hub of a wheel. This is the Piazza dei Re di Roma, which is like a little park. It's a nice place to go and sit down and relax.

The Tiber River runs through Rome.

This is an interesting sight: it is a gothic church in the middle of Rome, that you see if you ride along the Tiber. The church is called S. Cuorre del Suffraggio.

One of the bridges across the Tiber, near a large castle, is called the Bridge of the Angels.
This statue is there.
In the background is the dome of the Vatican.

Vatican City

The smallest country in the world is a very important place for all Catholics. Like other famous sites, even the Vatican does become commonplace after a while. Sometimes, we'd make a trip to the Vatican just to get stamps, or mail letters!

I attended one canonization Mass, for Saint Leopold Mandić from Croatia, and a few weekly audiences.I was sure to get some rosaries blessed when I'd go! I still have one of them, a rosary I made from clear beads. (Getting rosary parts is another good thing about Italy, as well as getting lots of holy cards very cheap.)

Once or twice I was up to the roof of St. Peter's. There are a *lot* of steps to climb! There was one long, circular staircase with hundreds of steps without stopping. But the view once you get to the top is spectacular, and there is a nice little souvenir shop up there.

Other cities in Italy

Nettuno

It was easy to get to the suburbs of Rome. One of my favorite places to go was Nettuno, the home of St. Maria Goretti. This is the church on the beach where her body is kept, under an altar.

There is a castle in Nettuno.
This is a picture of me in front of the wall in front of the castle, taken by a friend of mine who was with me, from one of the streets.

Assisi

Once there was a long trip, to Assisi. That is a fascinating place! One thing I found amusing was a bit of graffiti inside one of the churches left by some other turist, dated "1776".

There are also a lot of catacombs to go on tours through. And there are other nice suburban churches to visit.

It wasn't usually too hard to find other people to take short trips with, but long, overnight trips are more often taken alone. That's what happened when I went to Germany and France.

That's all for my tales of Rome. Now you can go to my trip to Germany and France.
Or, you can go back to the Italy page and go somewhere else from there.

You can write to me at

HOME	Religion	Latin Mass	Denton	Prayer Requests	Homeschooling
Stories	Art	*******		Commodore	Miniatures
England	Italy	Florida	Musical	Gregorian Chant	LPH Resource Center