The full title of this magnificent cathedral is “Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World.” It is the oldest and highest ranking of the four major papal basilicas and houses the cathedra (or seat) of the Roman bishop. As the Cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, it actually ranks superior to all other churches of the Roman Catholic Church, including St. Peter's Basilica.
Read MoreAventine (or Aventino in Italian) Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome—and if you read my previous blog post about Palatine Hill, you’ll know this is the hill Remus chose on which to settle Rome, while Romulus chose Palatine.
Read MoreOur third day in Rome once again had a very, very early start: we needed to be across town to catch our tour bus to Pompeii at 7 a.m. This day trip, through Walks of Italy, was the second part of my Christmas present from my mom, and it was a highlight of the entire trip.
Read MoreOur second day in Rome, Ryan and I woke up early yet again to catch the metro over to Vatican City. The last Sunday of the month, the Vatican Museums are free, and being the thrifty people we are, we were willing to brave the crowds to avoid the 17 euros each for a ticket. However, we did not anticipate how crowded it would be. When we arrived an hour before the museum doors opened, the line stretched ridiculously long, disappearing around the corner of the Vatican wall. Nevertheless, we persisted, standing in line for over an hour, and I’d say it was worth it—the line moved relatively quickly, and once we were inside, the crowds weren’t unbearable.
Read MoreOur first day started bright and early at 8:30 a.m. for the Roma Antica Tour through Context Travel (this tour was a Christmas gift from my mom, and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip!). Our guide, Valeria, was an archaeologist who had studied at UC Berkeley and Oxford, and I learned more about Roman history than I could ever hope to retain. We began the tour by skipping the (incredibly long) line to the Colosseum, as Valeria explained that the holes in the walls we often saw in ancient Roman buildings were spots for metal clamps, as most of these ancient structures were overlaid with marble.
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