All roads lead to Rome

“Everything comes back to Italy.” – Marco

We walked the streets of Rome with a local.

Marco is an Archeologist & professor at the (Rome university). He’s from Gallopini on the “boot heel” of Italy. He’s currently excavating the Petra in Iran. I share that, to give you an understanding of the type of guide we had. He was engaging, supremely knowledgeable and we could tell has a deep love for Italy & it’s culture.

We started at the Vatican & toured the Museum. Let me tell you, it’s huge. It would take a few months to see everything. Macro took us to his favorites & shared historical & personal stories throughout our tour. He had a proud moment when he showed us one of the vases he found in Turkey that is on exhibit in the Vatican Museum. I felt as though we had a unique experience at the Museum, due to his wealth of knowledge & the facts/history/stories he told.

So, when you think of the Vatican, you think of St. Peter’s Basilica & The Sistine Chapel. I had been looking forward to seeing these 2 corner stones of the Catholic Faith & I have to say, my expectations did NOT meet my experience.

The Sistine Chapel was stunning. To see the work of Michelangelo – a sculptor, who had never painted prior to his work on the Chapel – was awe inspiring. The detail, the story & the colors are truly a show of the human spirit & divine faith. However, as a Catholic, to stand in a room where a pivotal & holy experience takes place – the Conclave – I felt very little reverence in the space. There were a few hundred people in the chapel at the time & I felt as though the magnitude of where we were & what it means to Catholics was lost. Not going to lie, disappointment set in & I feared the worst heading into the Basilica.

HOWEVER, “faith was restored” being inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where the Prince of the Apostles & Rock of the Church, St. Peter is buried & where the tomb of Pope John Paul the second is located. I felt the enormity of where I was & how I felt at “home in faith” in such a MASSIVE place of worship.

Leaving the Vatican and heading to the Colosseum & Roman Forum was a great change of pace & was definitely in Marco’s wheelhouse. He lit up when he spoke about the history & how the Romans & Italians have truly shaped our entire World. What I loved, is that Marco made it a point to tie everything back to Rome/Italy. Everything you think comes from France or Spain – according to Marco, it originated in Italy.