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Rome & Assisi 2008
Thirteen pilgrims from our Team went to Rome & Assisi with Pax Travel and this is the story of our journey:
We flew with Ryan Air, this is Mary and Christine on the flight ...
and Fr Matthew & Florence .......
From Airport we had a coach take us to our guesthouse ....
We stayed at the Villa Maria, which had nice rooms ........
and some good views .............
as well as a really lovely chapel which we used for morning and night prayers.
On the first night we went our for a drink before dinner. The Pilgrims were: Fr Trevor, Fr Matthew, Peggy, Jeanine, Gillian, Hannah, Mary, May, Christine, Gareth, Sheila, Florence & Tasha.
We had dinner on the first night in the Trastevere district of Rome ...
in this restaurant ......
and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves .....
On Wednesday morning we headed to St Peter's Basilica ......
Where instead of the normal Wednesday morning audience with the Pope, there was a Papal Mass on the third anniversary of the death of John Paul II.
This is us in front of St Peter's and the obelisk that once stood in the middle of the Circus where St Peter was martyred.
The Pope was a long way from where we were sitting and the mass was in Latin, but we managed to follow the words ....
you could see what was happening on large TV screens around the piazza and the Pope greeted the pilgrims from the UK in English.
After lunch we went to the Vatican Museum, where sadly no pictures were allowed, we saw the Sistine Chapel and these are the gardens behind St Peter's.
Afterwards we visited the Catacombs of St Priscilla where the earliest Christians first worshiped.
Fr Matthew, Gillian and Sheila examine their photos ....
Christine, Peggy, Hannah and Tasha read their guide books .....
Mary, Jeanine & Florence had a chat .....
and in the evening of our second day we had dinner at a restaurant near our guesthouse.
On Thursday (3rd Day) we had a walking tour of Rome which started at St John Lateran.
and visited the sacred steps, which were taken from Pilate's Palace in Jerusalem by Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine.
which was amazing to see up close.
After a full morning we stopped for coffee .....
or read their guides .....
travelling together is a really good way to get to know one another.
We then visited St Clement's. Clement was a early Christian and the church is built upon earlier churches going back to the 3rd Centaury. The flag on a walking stick is so that people can follow at their own pace but still see where they are going.
St Clements has the most amazing mosaics ...
and an 11th Centaury choir with Pascal candle stand.
We had lunch in a nearby restaurant .......
The building of the Coliseum was begun by Vespasian with money from the destruction of Jerusalem.
Gladiatorial battles took place here along with many Christian martyrdoms. Some of the stones of St Peter's basilica were taken from this site.
Just outside the Coliseum is the arch of Constantine which celebrates his victory over his rivals to rule Rome and the Christian faith being practiced openly for the first time.
the interior is astonishing ............
St John's is one of four basilicas in Rome and the official church of the Pope.
The obelisk outside St John's is believed to have stood outside the temple of Heliopolis and probably have been seen by Moses.
Friday (4th day) started as usual with breakfast in out guest house
breakfast was buffet style ....
We visited St Peter's again on Friday, this time to see the interior, these are the Swiss Guards who are responsible for the safety of the Vatican City and the Pope.
The Swiss Guards' uniform was designed by Michelangelo and has remained unchanged.
The interior of St Peter's .....
Jeanine touching the foot of the statue of St Peter, which is a tradition for pilgrims.
The inscription on the floor of St Peter's which shows where St Paul's Cathedral London would come up to if it were built inside, because St Peter's was until recently the largest church in the world.
Fr Trevor says something ! ....
Candelabra at the tomb of St Peter.
Leaving St Peter's ......
We then had a cappuccino stop .......
and went on to visit St Andrew's church where the first act of Tosca is set .....
It's one of the most beautiful churches in Rome.
We visited the Piazza Navona and Bernini's famous fountain of the four rivers ...
The Piazza Navona is home today to many of the city's artists.
We then walked to the Pantheon ....
which was first built in 27 BC and rebuilt by Hadrian as a pagan temple, but now converted into a church ....
the ceiling is made of concrete (which the Romans invented) and was the largest dome in the world until Michelangelo's dome was built on St Peter's ...
Inside the Pantheon is the tomb of Rafael .....
The dome of the pantheon is supported by arches built into the walls.
Rome has many ornate fountains, and this one is just outside the Pantheon.
We visited St Mary's over Minerva (Santa Maria Sopra Minerva) which is Rome's only gothic church and the church of the English Cardinal ....
Outside is Bernini's elephant holding up a small obelisk .....
the interior is rich with colour .....
Catherine of Siena is buried here and Michelangelo's Christ holding the Cross is also here.
A rose window at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
We also visited the Trevi Fountain on the way to ....
Babingtons Tea Rooms for afternoon tea ....
this is where English travellers have taken tea since 1893 ....
it's right next to the Spanish Steps.
After tea we visited All Saints Anglican Church in Rome and Fr Jonathan Boardman told us all about the history of the church and it's current ministry ....
We celebrated the Eucharist together and prayed for all those in our churches at home .....
That night we had pizza for dinner in a local restaurant ...
which everyone enjoyed ....
On the Saturday morning (fifth day) we left Rome and headed north to the city of Assisi
The countryside changed as we went north ....
and eventually we arrived in Assisi just in time for lunch ....
Gillian used her guide to decipher the menu ....
In Assisi we stayed in the beautiful 13th Centaury hotel San Giacomo ...
which was a short downhill walk from .....
the Basilica of St Francis.
we learnt quickly in Assisi that every hill you walk down, you later have to walk up ...
We had a tour of the world's famous Giotto frescos and the upper and lower Basilica and well as the tomb of St Francis ...
This is the upper basilica, where Giotto tells the life of St Francis pictorially ....
the lower basilica is also covered in frescos telling the lives of the saints and in particular Francis & Claire.
As you can see Assisi is a town built into a hill side.
That night we had dinner in our hotel ...
Although we had pasta every day, sometimes twice a day ! we found that with all the exercise we burned off the calories and still felt hungry at meal times !
On Sunday (Sixth Day) we walked to the Anglican Church of St Leonards for mass with the English Community of Umbria ...
the church has a beautiful fresco of the crucifixion on the east wall
Fr Matthew assisted with the music ...
afterwards we chatted to those who live in Umbria or who were just visiting
and then we took a leisurely walk to lunch.
at a restaurant in town square, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed
by this time some of the group had enough of walking uphill and took a taxi up to the castle on the hill behind Assisi and the rest walked up via the Cathedral of St Rufino. On the left is St Clare's family house, this is where she first heard St Francis preach.
The door to St Rufino's Cathedral has lions guarding the entrance
and inside is the font where Francis, Claire and many of the early Franciscans were baptised.
The Cathedral is built over the remains of an earlier church which are exposed under glass panels set in the floor.
At the top of the hill, those who had taken the taxi were enjoying views over he Umbrian countryside ...
with the town of Assisi below ....
and some splendid views of St Francis' Basilica.
We then walked down the hill ....
through the olive groves
to the tiny church of St Damien ....
where one of the nuns told us the story of how Francis first heard God speak to him whilst praying and looking at the famous cross
in the grounds of the little church is this statue of Francis, looking out across the plain at God's creation, which embodies an important part of Franciscan spirituality.
On the Monday (Seventh Day) we took a walk through the medieval town centre to the Basilica of St Claire.
The Basilica, set on a beautiful piazza, is the home of the Poor Claires, the order founded by St Claire the spiritual companion of St Franics.
In the basilica is the original cross that spoke to St Francis at the little church of San Damiano.
Then we headed up into the hills to the retreat where Francis and the brothers would go to pray and get away from the distractions of everyday life.
It's a quiet and beautiful place ....
and there is a small cave where Francis used to sleep, on a small stone bed ....
the grounds are very beautiful and this is the tree under which Francis preached to the birds.
We visited St Mary of the Angels, where Francis and the early brothers were given a small church, which they rebuilt and ....
and is now inside a much bigger basilica ...
the original building dates from the time of Francis but the decorations were added later.....
this is the place where doves are almost always on a statue of Francis or in the basket he is holding ....
We then went back to our hotel for well earned rest before dinner.
On our last evening, we had a special dinner to which we invited Br Sam and Br Tom ...
at one of the best restaurants in Assisi
the very special occasion was Peggy's 85th birthday
the candles were blown out and a toast was raised .... Happy Birthday Peggy.
The following day Tuesday (Eighth Day) there was some last minute shopping, or a rest for some ....
and we took the plane home............
There are literally hundreds of pictures that were taken, these a just a selection I hope they have given you a flavour of our time away together.
Pace e Bene
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