Day trip to Orvieto and more exploring around Rome

This weekend one of my roomies, Cara, and I went on our first trip by ourselves outside of Rome. We thought we'd start with just a day trip somewhere relatively close to minimize on cost and the stress of getting a hotel. Plus we wanted to still have some chill-time in Rome since we're going to be traveling quite a bit in the coming weeks. We decided to go to Orvieto, a small town in the countryside of Umbria (very similar to Assisi). We bought our train tickets online, got on the express bus to Termini (the train station in Rome) very early Friday morning, found our track (with some help from people at the station), and were on our way! The ride was only about an hour and a half and before we knew it, there we were, being dropped off in this teeny tiny town in the middle of Italy. The town was super quiet and several of the stores were closed at first, but it was relaxing just to walk around and explore a new place. We saw the main attraction there, the Duomo, which is a beautiful Cathedral with a colorful mosaic facade. In the afternoon we walked into a few other churches, browsed the shops filled with hand-painted pottery, took an underground tour of the caves beneath the town, indulged in a yummy lunch, and enjoyed a great bottle of the area's famous wine, Orvieto Classico! We could have easily seen this town in a half-day as it is extremely small, but our full day there enabled us to just hang out and be away from the big city for awhile.

In front of the Duomo in Orvieto

It's actually autumn in Orvieto!

My partner in crime for the day :)

Beautiful pottery...I want everything!

Crazy awesome views of the Umbrian countryside

On Saturday, Shannon and I went on an excursion to the Catacombs of San Callisto. It took both of us putting our heads together to finally figure out how to get there (2 buses and one metro ride), but we eventually did and it was well-worth the trek outside the city. We were the only two on the English speaking tour, and our tour guide was a wealth of fabulous information! Because it was just the two of us, he showed us some areas that we otherwise would not have seen and he let us take a few pictures, even though they technically are not allowed :) I learned so much in the short 30 minute tour. Here's a recap....Before Constantine legalized Christianity in Rome in 313 A.D., Christians had to practice their faith in private, so as to avoid persecution--and this included burying their dead outside of the city, in underground cemeteries (this is why you never find catacombs within the ancient city limits). The above-ground mausoleums within the city were built after the legalization of Christianity. None of the catacombs contain bones, because when the barbarians invaded Rome in the 800s, they destroyed the tombs in search of gold and treasure (they thought that like the Egyptians, Romans buried their dead with treasure--however, in reality, all they found were decomposed bodies). Because of the repeated destruction of the catacombs and for security reasons, the Popes in the eighth and ninth centuries ordered the removal of the relics of the martyrs and the saints to city churches. During the Middle Ages, these catacombs were abandoned, landslides obstructed the entrances, and no one knew of their existence. It wasn't until centuries later that they were explored and opened to the public. The Catacombs of San Callisto are one of over 40 known catacombs around the city of Rome and are particularly monumental because of their size and because they were officially the burial place for Rome's early Christians. These catacombs once contained the bodies of over one million people, 30% of which were children, which explains the many small tomb openings. Out of those one million, 16 popes and over 50 martyrs were buried there.

Catacombe di San Callisto

On our way back from the Catacombs, we visited San Giovanni in Laterano, the first Christian church in Rome and originally the center of Catholicism and home of the popes until the Renaissance renovation of Saint Peter's. Today it is still the home church of the Bishop of Rome--the pope. In my opinion, this Church closely rivals Saint Peter's in grandeur, size, and beauty. Similar to Saint Peter's, a huge statue of Christ stands triumphantly on the top.  Inside, all along the main aisle are gigantic statues of each of the twelve apostles, and above them, relief panels of events from both the Old and New Testaments. Everything about the church is huge and imposing, but it manages to remain comfortable and familiar at the same time. The Holy Steps (la Scala Santa) are located in a building right next to San Giovanni and are very impressive as well. Jesus climbed these 28 marble steps up to Pontius Pilate's residence on the day he was sentenced to death. The steps were brought to Rome by Constantine's mother in 326. The steps are covered with wood and have glass covered holes showing the stains from Jesus' blood. Visitors must go up the stairs on their knees as they pray, feeling the pain of Jesus as they go.

San Giovanni in Laterano

San Giovanni in Laterano

La Scala Santa

On Saturday night, we cheered our Irish on to a victory once again...11-0 and 1 to go! Scholars was packed because of some rugby game that had everyone's attention, so Cara and I left at halftime to walk around and pick up a bottle of wine. We went to the Trevi in the rain and it was the quietest and most peaceful I've ever seen it there.

Late-night Trevi visit and lovin' life :)

This week we only have 3 days of classes, then our Thanksgiving banquet at the Tiziano on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning a big group of us are off to London for the long weekend! First time traveling outside of Italy, so it should be a fun adventure!! I'll blog after the weekend, but for now, I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by those you love! I'm beyond thankful for each and every one of you and for your investment in my study abroad experience.

Love to all,
me