I went on the Scavi tour today. Scavi means excavations and it's a Vatican tour of the necropolis under the Basilica. The bones of St. Peter are said to be buried there. Well, the Vatican won't say for sure if the bones are really those of St. Peter. Our guide told us it was a matter of faith if you wanted to believe it or not. Well, I'm not the most devout Catholic, but if I want to think that the bones of someone who died around the same time Peter was crucified, in the same spot where he was crucified, and without feet (a consequence of being crucified upside down), are really St. Peter's, I guess its my perogative.
It was a fascinating tour, and it's well documented elsewhere, but I will say one of the most interesting aspects was being several tiers below ground and standing on what was ground level at the time of Pagan Rome. Here, the Romans had their mausoleums. The families buried their dead in one room and had another room above it for eating and drinking. They so wanted the deceased to join in on the festivities that they actually piped in food and drink into the coffins and urns! Such is the Roman (and, I think by extension, Italian) heritage. Food is such an important part of this culture. And, I would like to think that part of our eternal reward would be fabulous food. If heaven doesn't serve bucatini all amatriciana (an exquisite pasta), theres something very, very wrong!
For a more immediate reward, I walked over to Pellacchia, a gelateria in Prati, a leafy residential neighborhood. Pellacchia is the favorite gelateria of my brother and sister-in-law who lived in Rome for 4 years. Rich had told me about gelato affogato, and I ordered one (or maybe it was two, but who cares?). An affogato is ice cream served swimming in espresso. For such a simple idea, it was astoundingly good.
I left Pellacchia secure in the knowledge that I'm doing all that I can to uphold the rich traditions of my heritage.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hi, Janet. The troubles of the first few days will soon be (or perhaps already are!) a vague memory. Glad to hear that even with the recovering ankle you're mobile again. When I picked Corrado up at Phila Int'l, he said "Carry-on is the ONLY way to travel" and we're determined to fly that way whenever possible, particularly due to our recurring luggage problems with numerous airlines -- but USAir is certainly the greatest offender. Be sure to call our lovely friends Guido & Sandra! I've put your blog on my favorites list and will be reading it frequently (even if not leaving a comment). xo
Hi there, World Traveler!
It's been a crazy week at work, so I'm just getting around to posting. When my niece and I went to Italy, everyone told me to put an extra outfit into my carryon, which I did. Our luggage was fine, but the outfit really came in handy as I had under-packed -- not enough clothing for a 9-day trip. Anyway, I'm happy for you and excited to be traveling vicariously through your blog. Can't wait to see what comes next. I don't suppose you could bring home an order of bucatini to go? Sounds yummy. Keep us posted! I may not always comment, but I'll be reading. We had lunch last weekend with the priest who arranged our place to stay in Rome. Hope you try that trattoria we went to with him. Seeing him again brought back so many great memories of Rome. I'm thinking of you.
Post a Comment