Rome.  Is there a more exciting city anywhere?  The history, the architecture, the beauty, the sheer majesty of Rome makes it one of the world’s greatest cities.  I’ve visited Rome before, spending time in its “must-see” places - museums, churches, the Colosseum and Forum, the Vatican, and countless piazzas. I’ve also wandered neighborhoods like Trastevere, back streets, markets, and I’ve lingered in cafes and enotecas. And, of course, I’ve had fabulous meals. Each of my prior visits was wonderful, but the crowds of tourists and the summer heat always tempered the pleasure and left me longing to see the city outside of tourist season.  

For just that reason, on the return leg of a recent trip to the United States over Christmas, I grabbed the chance to fly into Rome to spend three days there before returning home to Lucca. Even better was that Judy, who’d spent the holidays in Italy, met me in Rome for a few days of fun. We arrived in early January just in time for Epiphany, which meant the city was still all dressed up for the Christmas season. The weather was brisk (scarf and gloves required), and, while there are always tourists in the city, their numbers are much smaller in winter and there just weren’t the crowds I’d experienced on earlier visits. I’m now convinced - January is the perfect time to visit Rome!

I arrived with only a loose agenda - I wanted to go to St. Peter’s Square to see the outdoor Nativity, to walk across the Ponte Sant’Angelo, and to visit the Pantheon. Other than that I just wanted to soak in all that is Rome, wander about, and eat some good Roman food.  Judy arrived with a few additional things she wanted to do (and which she will write about in other posts) and she also suggested that we should visit the Castel Sant’Angelo, something I had never done but she had.

With those priorities in mind we decided to start the first morning in St. Peter’s Square.The presepe (Nativity) there was a surprise to me. While, like all Nativity scenes it included a manger - with Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, the wise men, and an angel (this one had wings made of 1,000 feathers) - the focus of the display was more on the ordinary people who surrounded the manager. Shepards, villagers, travelers, housewives, wood gatherers, and families. All dressed in authentic dress, including clothing that fluttered in the breeze on that winter morning. A whole village full of people. The role of each character in the scene was explained on a display in front of the presepe. Seeing this Nativity, with the beautiful basilica in the background, was a very special experience.  

On this morning we didn’t enter St. Peter’s Basilica, instead we walked along the papal escape route that connects the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo (well known to people who love Rome or read Dan Brown novels). Though I’d seen this imposing structure from the outside several times, I had never actually entered it.

The structure is unusual - a maze of rooms used by emperors, armies, and popes - that over time has served as everything from the Emporor Hadrian’s mausoleum to papal residence to prison to fortress. It is a fascinating place in and of itself, but perhaps most amazing are the views of Rome from its upper floors and terrace. The views encompass St. Peter’s along with a host of other church domes, long views of the bridges that cross the Tiber river, the Palace of Justice, and the hills on which Rome is built. I could even pick out the rounded top of the Pantheon.

A stunning stature of the Archangel Michael, in warrior mode, sits at the very top, watching over all of it. I can only describe it using one of my favorite Italian words -  mozzafiato (breathtaking)!

Afterward, it was time for a walk across the Ponte Sant’Angelo (commonly known as the “Angel Bridge”).

This is a popular spot, even in winter, and there are vendors selling all kinds of trinkets and hawking guided tours - ignore them and look up at the angels, back at Castel Sant’Angelo, and out at the bridges up and down the Tiber. The views are beautiful and oh, those angels are glorious.

That was the morning - a perfect Roman morning and one of the many reasons I love living in Italy.

-post by Joanne