Sarcophagus Sunday

The Vatican Museum's were free today for European Heritage Day so after the 9:30am nose bleed Mass I headed right over there.  Sunday's are formal here so I ran back and ditched my suit jacket and headed over to the Museum.  The line to enter started at St. Peter's, so it was something like 10 blocks long.  I made my way past the crowd on a hunch that wearing my collar might help.  I passed a Swiss Guard who stood to attention and saluted me outside the Vatican Palace.  When I arrived I asked one of the fellows how I might get in, he told me to use the exit.  So went through the exit and voila the next attendant waived me through.  At least living in the Vatican counts for something on Sunday at headquarters!  The Museum was mobbed, as you might well imagine.  But it was very nice being there, it closes at 12:30pm however and I arrived about 11am.

You may recall I told you that Porphyry was an purple Egyptian granite reserved for imperial use.  Well here is fine example of a Porphyry Sarcophagus which at one time contained the earthly remains of Christianity's greatest patron, St. Helena, the mother of Constantine (her relics are in St Peters beneath a statue of her behind the Papal Altar).  Actually there are two of these in the Museum, one was Helena's and the other belonged to her granddaughter St. Constantina.  St. Helena's is covered with War stories so it is speculated that it was meant for either her husband or her son, most scholars now believe it was probably made for her Son but she died first and he gave her his noble sarcophagus.

Sarcophagus of St. Helena

Sarcophagus of Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great

The museum has many wonderful treasures, too many to recount but here is sampling of some of the wonders it preserves for the whole world.  Some people say we should sell all these treasures and feed the poor, a noble gesture but it will only feed them for a day or two. In truth the Church has preserved all of this for everyone and anyone who would like to see these treasures, it is the custodian of human history.  They are on public display not hidden in private collections.

Egyptian collection

Raphael's Ascension

Raphael

Raphael

Medieval Crucifix

Titian, a great painter from Venice

St. Helena by the great painter from Venice, Paolo Veronese

The Taking down from the Cross by Caravaggio

Huge bowl cut from a single block of Porphyry for Nero's Golden House

floor mosaic

 One of the Five Good Emperor's was Hadrian.  He succeeded Trajan who adopted Hadrian assuring a peaceful transition as the next Emperor.  He scaled back the empire to better manage it and avoid wars.  His reign was marked by great peace and prosperity.  He traveled widely and was beloved by the his legions because he slept, ate and marched along with them.  He loved all things Greek and was an Architect.  here in Rome two of his great building survive, his mausoleum and the Pantheon.  Though married he had no successor and so adopted Marcus Aurelius among others to succeed him.  Marcus Aurelius would prove a great emperor as well and is also number among the 5 good emperors.  Hadrian also fell in love with a Bithynian Greek named Antinous, the chronicles of the period refer to him as the emperor's "Favorite".  Antinous met an untimely death, he drowned in the Nile in Egypt in 130AD.  Hadrian was so distraught he had Antinous deified, an unprecedented move since the boy was probably a slave of Trajan's.  This was an honor only given to the Emperors.  Hadrian built a city on the Nile where he drowned calling it Antinopolis.  His cult was very popular in the ancient world and many images of him have come down to us from antiquity.  The largest of these is from Hadrian's magnificent Villa in Trivoli.  Hadrian's skill as an architect was proved several years ago when an earthquake struck Italy, many modern building were severely damaged or collapse here in Rome but the Pantheon had not a single hair line crack.

Emperor Hadrian

Egyptian image of Antinous as a priest

Egyptian image of Antinous

Antinous from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli

bust of Antinous, his hair style tells us he was a slave or at least a common citizen

panel from a sarcophagus with image of chariot races at the Circus Maximus

Papal seal made with Lapis Lazuli

The Emperor Trajan

 Having finished up my jaunt to the Museum, I exited through the Sistine Chapel (named for Pope Sixtus who built it) where photos are not allowed and headed home to make myself a peanut butter and strawberry sandwich and a hazelnut cream filled cornetti with a cappuccino.  Here is nice floor tile that made my stomach growl since I missed Pranzo for the Museum...it was worth it!

Floor mosaic with typical Roman foods, notice the Artichoke (right corner) which are about to come into season here!

Orvieto or bust

We left Rome and the district of Lazio for Orvieto in the district of Umbria.  We walked down the hill and crossed the Tiber River and picked up the bus to Termini Station.  Here is a picture of a dozen of us  trying to figure which track our train is on and where the track is for our train??  Who knows Italian?  Not a soul in this group!  Another group went to Subacio and another to Ostia today.

Hmmmm, where's the train???

 So you can see we found our train and our track.  The train takes about one hour and twenty minutes. There was one casualty, I fell asleep while studying Italian on the train.  Our group was scattered about in one car since it was crowded.  I was sitting alone and someone from our group yelled out, "This is our station".  I bolted up and dashed out the door leaving my favorite thermos with ice water on the seat!!!  Once at the station we had to take a tram up the mountain to get to the town.  Once off the tram we had an 8 minute climb up a steep hill to the Cathedral.  From there it was up and down all day.

Orvieto

The turn in the road that took us up to the Cathedral

 The Cathedral is the only real attraction here, there is an underground tour but we did not have time.  The entire city rests on Tufa, a soft volcanic stone.  The inhabitants carved out an extensive maze of tunnels under their town in case they needed to escape a siege in the Middle Ages.  The Cathedral is built on the flat plain on top of the mountain.  Beautiful structure and well maintained.  It cost 3 Euros to enter.  The outside is more beautiful than the inside which is largely plain except for the frescos in the main sanctuary and the frescos in the a side chapel called the Cappella Nova or San Brizio Chapel, it had wonderful frescos some of which were painted by Fra Angelico and the rest by various artists.  That Chapel was certainly worth the admission price!  The opposite or North 'Chapel of the Corporal' contains blood stains on a corporal upon which a miraculous host began bleeding during Mass in the at Bolsena (a nearby town) in 1263, though they are no longer visible on the corporal.  They do not allow pictures in the Cathedral so I only have exterior shots.

exterior of Orvieto Cathedral

 The Cathedral is dedicated to the honor of St. Mary of the Assumption.  I am sure if they could find a way to charge you for viewing the exterior they would but it is too big, here are a couple of shots and some close up pictures.  The front exterior is completely covered in mosaic.

mosaic over the door

mosaic crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth at the peak of the building.

Rose Window

 The town had several working artists.  We saw many beautiful Majolica pottery stores, common in Umbria and Tuscany.  You could pop into their studios while they worked and of course their work is for sale. Here is a young Iconographer at work on a Icon of the Holy Family.

Iconographer writing an Icon

His icons for sale.  They were several hundred Euros each.  He also did some illuminations.

 After our tour of the Cathedral and stroll through town we had lunch at a cafe.  I had a four section pizza with artichokes, black olives, mushrooms, pork and spiced salami with a glass of Orvieto wine.  We also had a few appetizers, one of which was a medium sharp sheep's milk cheese served with local honey which was quite tasty.  The tang of the sheep's milk cheese and the sweetness of the honey was a nice play off one another.  Then we made our way back down the hill to catch the tram to catch the train to catch the bus to climb our own hill home!!    It seems, like life, Italy is a series of ups and downs!

This picture is from the lowest point in the town, a panoramic view!

Here we are coming down on the tram with another tram about to pass us going up

Orvieto Station.

Brideday

Oh, sorry I meant Friday!  Well, Friday is Bride day here in Rome.  This afternoon I went to the Church of St. Barnabas, where as it says over the main door 'Corpus', meaning his body is in the Church.  I have come by this Church several times, it is usually locked.   But today there was a wedding in the afternoon and it was open. The Church is located on an island in the middle of the Tiber River called the Isola Tiberina.  The legend says that the Roman's had a plague and sent Tireme's (small fast ships) to Greece to consult god Aesulapius and returned with one of the sacred snakes (his symbol, you see it on a doctors emblems).   The snake escaped the Tireme and swam onto this island.  This was a sign from the god Aesulapius to build his temple there.  Since they travel in the Tireme, a swift boat, they eventually made the island in the shape of this boat, still visible today.  Eventually Christians built a hospital on the Island for plague victims associated with St. Camillus.  This is the happy couple, what you do not see are hordes of tourists snapping pictures in the back of the  Church, respectfully I might add!

Wedding at St. Barnabas

 The wedding was in the afternoon so I am ahead of myself on the narrative.  We started our day at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.  This Church was built by St. Helena the mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great.  She was married to one of the Co-Emperors at a time when the penalty for being a Christian in the empire was death.  Her husband basically ignored the fact she was a devote and zealous Catholic.  Her son did not, she persuaded sonny boy to abolish the death penalty for Christians, which of course he did.  That not being enough, she was an Italian mother after all, she also wanted a few Basilica's built.  She also wanted a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which he paid for...along with quite few basilica's there and in Rome.  You will note the name of the Church below is "The Holy Cross "IN" Jerusalem.  That is on purpose because St. Helena had truckloads of earth moved from Jerusalem to Rome and this Church was built on that soil from Jerusalem, therefore it is built "IN" Jerusalem or better put "ON" Jerusalem. Now you know why her son did not bother to argue with Mommy!!! She then brought back all the Relics of the Passion preserved by the Church of Jerusalem.  The True Cross, the Plaque from the Cross, two thorns from the Crown of thorns, etc.

18th Century Facade of the Church Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

 I keep meaning to take some photos of the beautiful floors found in these ancient Churches.  Though the buildings themselves have usually undergone several renovations over 1,700 years the floors seem to survive.  They are found in all the ancient Churches here and are quite intricate and lovely, called Cosmedian floors.  You can tell the importance of an ancient Church by the presence and quantity of Porphyry (poor-for-ree) granite.  This is a purple granite reserved to the Emperor and Imperial Use. The   tombs of St. Helena and her daughter were made out of single blocks of Porphyry and can be seen in the Vatican Museums. It is a very dense and expensive stone from Africa.

Cosmedian floor Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

Interior of the upper Church

chapel of the relics of the passion

upper part of the relic case, the cross contains the true cross.

shot of the Chapel of the Relics

 The Relics were kept in the Crypt Chapel but Bl. John Paul II had them moved into a new Chapel off the main altar for the Great Jubilee year 2000.  In the Crypt is this statue of St. Helena depicting the moment she discovered the True Cross in Jerusalem.  Though Constantine the Great is credited with freeing Christianity and making it the official religion of the Empire, in truth it was because of this woman, this mother's, strong devote passionate unyielding faith!!  She moved heaven and literally earth in the case of this Church!  She was quite a woman.

St. Helena

mosaic ceiling of the Crypt Chapel of St. Helena

 After Santa Croce we then went for our tour of St. John Lateran led by Liz Lev.  For my shoe hounds out there, Liz wore these designer shoes with a cross similar to a Jerusalem Cross.  Nice touch Liz!

Liz Lev's Shoes for Lateran Tour

 We first had Mass in the largest of several Chapels of the Baptistry of St. John Lateran.  Now, notice there are two Porphyry columns behind the baptismal font, in fact they line the room!  Probably taken from an imperial temple, St. Helena had style too.  The massive trophy in the center is a later addition to the baptistry, the entire floor it sits on was once flooded for baptisms, this font was added when only babies were baptised.  This font (the floor area, not the trophy) is where Constantine the Great received Holy Baptism, causing his mother's heart to swell with joy.  It was the only font in the City until the 19th Century because St. John's is the Cathedral and only place baptisms were permitted during most of the Christian Era.   The Lateran was built by Constantine the Great, at his mom's request of course.  The land and palace were donated by the Laterani Family of Rome, a Patrician family who daughter was Fausta Laterani, the wife of Constantine the Great.  It was, in ancient times, referred to as the "Domus Faustae".  She must have had good relations with her mother-in-law to have donated the land where Helena wanted the Church built!!!  Or she knew not to get between and Italian mother and her son!!!  The Church is the Mother Church of Rome and considered the mother Church of all the World, as is inscribed over the lintel; "Omnium urbis et orbis eccesiarum mater, et caput.

Baptismal Font and Baptistry of St. John Lateran

 My patron saint, also patron of the Cathedral, St. John the Evangelist with his symbol the Eagle.  The main aisle is lined with these massive statues of the 12 Apostles.  Only one protrudes beyond the niche, that one is St. Thomas.  St. Thomas hand extends beyond the niche and points to the Altar.  This finger directs worshippers to believe, this is the finger than was put into the side of the Resurrected Lord.  Thus the doubter points to the fellow Christian to believe without proof.

Statue of St. John the Evangelist, one of the Patrons of the Cathedral.

 I have shown pictures of St. John Lateran in previous posts but not this particular one.  This is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.  It carries a lot of symbolism, as does much of the art in Rome.  It is built in the style of a Roman Temple but over it is the One God Jesus Christ in Resurrection.  Over the Marble Pediment you can see a bronze reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci's last supper, it is a reliquary and behind it is a fragment of the table of the Last Supper, brought over by you-know-who, St. Helena!  The 4 Bronze Pillars you see are from the Roman Pagan Temple of Jupiter "Optimus Primus", First and Best among the gods, Rome's favorite god.  So Christ triumph's over paganism and He is Optimus Primus, First and Best.  Great Stuff!

Optimus Primus Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

I end today's post with a fun little trivia question.  What strange thing did Father see today in Rome???  Everyday brings a new surprise, what was today's?  Was it:

1. A man carrying a large orange Iguana?
2. A man caressing a woman from her neck, to breast plate to (below the breast plate) in public?
3. A man washing his Jack Russell Terrier's butt in a fountain after it left a package on the lawn of a Church?
4. Two beggar women begging from each other, fighting over territory, then going for a smoke break?
5.  A beggar with a sign saying "this is a hard job and very boring so give me some cash to make my day interesting"?
6. All of the Above?

If you guessed #6 'All of the above' you would be correct. The strangest was having 33 priests watching an elderly gentleman wash his Jack Russell's behind from a public fountain after the dog left a package "IN" Jerusalem!!  And yes, though he washed the dogs hind quarters rather thoroughly, he did not wash his own hands after the dasterdly deed.

In the late afternoon I took the long hike to the National Food Festival (nice lead in aye?) taking place here in Rome this weekend.  It is a celebration of all the regions of Italy and their food products.  They gave out free samples of regional cheeses, dried cured meats, bread, olive oil, Balsamic, olives, dips, jellies, cookies etc.  Small little morsels but delicious non-the-less.  The cheeses were fabulous.  When I was exiting I strolled down a little row that only had 6 stalls and was under traveled by the mob. My choice of the 'path not taken' was a good one, as I passed a booth a man jumped out and gave me a mozzarella buffolo the size of a plum on a stick!  Yummy!!!