Nihil Obstat Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I am in the initial, information gathering stage for planning Katy and my honeymoon in Rome this summer. Aiming for two weeks at the very beginning of August. I was there summer before last, but I cannot afford the hotel we stayed in. It was a two minute walk from St. Peter's, which was excellent. The Atlante Garden Hotel, on Via Ottaviano. Does anyone have personal experience in any of the hotels that are quick walking distance from St. Peter's Basilica? There are tons of hotels with great reviews in the area, but I would love to hear about personal experiences too. I have found that the FSSP have a personal parish that is just two kilometers away, which is already one third of the way to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. I have a feeling that we will make that walk several times. :) When I was there in 2011 the Lateran Basilica was by far the highlight of the entire trip through the Mediterranean. Besides the obvious things to do, like the Vatican Museum+Sistine Chapel+St. Peter's Basilica tour, the Catacombs, St. Peter in Chains, the Lateran Basilica, etc., does anyone have really good ideas that I might not think of on my own? Better yet, does anyone know a good resource that has all the major religious 'things to see while in Rome'? I mean, every half block you are passing another historically important church or relic, so it can be easy to miss important ones. :hehe: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus_lol Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Step one: find some local purveyor of booze in an interesting part of town and get smashed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Dat grappa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Eat some of the pizza there. I hear it will be as if you have never eaten pizza before. Honestly, if I went, I am pretty sure I would just go to Saint Peter's Basilica and go on the tour every day. There are so many things in the Vatican and you will always learn something and notice something you didn't before. Just watch out because according to some recent popular low-budget movies with so-so actors some of the tours are in fact ways of feeding for vampires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 I had pizza a couple times last time. :) It was very good. Although when it comes to pizza, I think American style has a bit of an edge. No contest with pasta though. The pasta was perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I had pizza a couple times last time. :) It was very good. Although when it comes to pizza, I think American style has a bit of an edge. No contest with pasta though. The pasta was perfect. For me, the sauce is everything on a pizza (Seeing as how I take the cheese off due to my distaste for the moldy substance). Was the sauce better? I can eat very little pasta for the reason listed above in the brackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 For me, the sauce is everything on a pizza (Seeing as how I take the cheese off due to my distaste for the moldy substance). Was the sauce better? I can eat very little pasta for the reason listed above in the brackets. I found the cheese to be much more prominent. I think perhaps they use stronger cheeses than what we are used to in North America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I could survive on pizza and gelato. Yum. When we were there many years ago, we stayed at a bed and breakfast out in a neighborhood. It wasn't super close to the Vatican (took us maybe a half-hour to get there), but since it was in a neighborhood, it was sort of like living in Rome vs. visiting Rome. Just a preference we had. Two weeks is a long time to be in Rome proper. Are you planning to visit elsewhere in Italy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominicansoul Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 watch out for the gypsies and the muggers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Santa Maria Maggiore - One of Michaelangelo's earliest statues, a risen Christ, AND St. Catherine of Siena is buried there (laid out in a glass-fronted altar), AND Fra Angelico is, too. No cost to get in. The Trinita, at the top of the Spanish Stairs & Piazza Spagna - Used to be the world headquarters of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and it has the mural of Mater Admirabilis (appropriate for a newlywed wife - and her husband, of course) plus a lot of other art. No cost to get in but I think you need to call ahead. The Trinita is now occupied by the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinit%C3%A0_dei_Monti BTW, there's a terrific little restaurant off Piazza Spagna named Gigi's. There's a very interesting walking tour of the old (food) market district; it also goes through the (probably ONLY) non-Catholic cemetery in Rome, where Lord Byron and lots of other famous people are buried. I stayed in a great little apartment down past the Coliseum - an architect owns it & rents it out - got a reduced price on it that summer but at full price it's pretty expensive. I can track down more details on any'all of these if you're interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmenchristi Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 http://www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html Check this out. A convent is usually a good solution, especially if you plan on being out most of the time. And you probably already know that the pope blesses newlyweds (within 1 or 2 years since wedding) during the Wednesday audience, but not sure if he does that at castle gandolfo too... Contact the US bishops office in Rome to find out. visitorsoffice@pnac.org. Whatever you may need, feel free to let me know. Though I will be in the states over the summer, I will gladly help you out with whatever you need in your preparations... Bummer that we won't get to meet though, that would have been cool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 do you know a priest who went to the NAC? a lot of times those priests supplemented their income by giving tours of Rome, and therefore they have some great insights on where to go, or out of the way hidden places to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadrePioOfPietrelcino Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I would suggest a walk through the Palintine Hill other than the religious sites this was my favorite place in Rome. The views are beautiful the gardens on top wonderful. They had Ceasar Augustus' house excavated and open for public walk through when I was there. I think it's good to stop and appreciate the secular history of the eternal city as well as the religious history which we often get focused on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Now that I think about it, that apartment would be too big for two folks. I think it sleeps eight ot ten - I was there with a group. I also stayed with some nuns one year - very close to St. Peter's - but I think all the beds were singles. If you go to Santa Maria Maggiore, it's not far from the Pantheon, which is not far from Piazza Navona. In Piazza Navona is the French church of St. Louis (San Luigi!) which houses two Caravaggio paintings - Jesus calling St. Matthew, and I think St. Paul falling off his horse on the road to Damascus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmenchristi Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 [quote name="Luigi" post="2535792" timestamp="1358951346"] Santa Maria Maggiore - One of Michaelangelo's earliest statues, a risen Christ, AND St. Catherine of Siena is buried there (laid out in a glass-fronted altar), AND Fra Angelico is, too. No cost to get in. Btw.... That's Santa Maria Sopra Minerva... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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