Christian Rome, Rome

Favorite thing: One of the bonuses of traveling at Christmas-time in Rome is the abundance of beautiful Nativity Scenes. They ranged from large life-sized displays, to displays intermingled within ruins, to meticulous and extravagant miniature displays.

Favorite thing: Ever thought of going underground? Roma Sotteranea (Subterranean Rome) is the vast historic ruins of a city that has been occupied for nearly 3,000 years, the first 2 millennia of which are now largely buried by natural sediment and artificial landfills. Archaeologists estimate that these processes have left the streets of ancient Rome as much as 20 yards beneath the surface. If you read Terry Pratchett then it’s very much like the city under the city of Ahnk Morpork. This is an alternative view of Rome and is fantastic as it helps build the full picture of where Rome has come from.

Many buildings on the streets provide direct access to Rome's underworld. Doorways lead down to hidden crypts and shrines. For example the 12th-century basilica San Clemente, has a staircase in the sacristy that leads down to the original 4th-century church and another staircase near the apse goes down to an earlier Roman apartment building and temple, which in turn leads down to a giant public building dating back to the Great Fire (A.D. 64). Another interesting doorway to the past is in the south exterior wall of St. Peter's, leading down to an intact necropolis. The entry in the gardens on the east side of Esquiline Hill carries you into the vast Domus Aurea (Golden House), Nero's residence built on the ruins left by the Great Fire.

This sort of travel can be dangerous and you can easily get lost however the option of a guided tour exists!! For some areas you need wading boots etc as the water can be 3 feet deep in places!!

Tour companies such as Itinera (tel. 06-278-00785 ) and LUPA (tel. 06-574-1974 ) have tours run by trained archaeologists. Città Nascosta (tel. 06-321-6059 ) offers offbeat tours to less-visited churches and monuments, and advertises the week's schedule via a recorded phone announcement that changes every week.

Expect to pay around 12.50€ to 25 for 1 to 2 hours of guiding.

Fondest memory: I generally remember Rome for its sun and monuments however a visit to the old Rome beneath the streets gives you a full picture of development of this great city.

Fondest memory: Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Via Carlo Felice and Via di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
St. Helen was the mother of Rome’s first Christian emperor, Constantine. St. Helen made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and returned with many relics of the Passion, now housed in a chapel in the lower level of the church. Among these relics are the cross of the "Good Thief", nails from Christ’s Passion, a thorn from the Crown of Thorns, the "INRI" sign from Christ’s cross, pieces of the Cross, and the finger of St. Thomas, or "Doubting Thomas."

Favorite thing: Ufficialmente master et caput di tutte le chiese di roma e nel mondo, per i cattolici è la basilica più importante da visitare dopo S Pietro.

Officially master et caput of all the churches of rome and in the world, for catholics it's the most important basilica to visit just second to ST. Peter

Favorite thing: Yeah yeah the vatican is nice and all, but you definitely need to go check out the tombstones...you will find some interesting characters.

Fondest memory: The crick in my neck from looking at the Sistine Chapel...but, definitely worth it!

Favorite thing: The basilica is especially noted for the 5th-century Roman mosaics in its nave, as well as for its ceiling, said to have been gilded with gold brought from America. The church contains the tomb of Bernini, Italy's most important baroque sculptor/architect.-

Esta basilica es especialmente conocida por los mosaicos del Siglo V en su nave, tanto como por su techo, que se dice fue hecho con el primer oro que trajo Colón de América. La tumba contiene también la tumba de Bernini, quién fuera el más importante escultor y arquitecto de estilo barroco.-

Favorite thing: The 28 marble steps here (now covered with wood for preservation) were originally at Pontius Pilate's villa in Jerusalem . These were the steps that Christ climbed the day he was taken before Pilate. The steps were brought from Jerusalem to Rome by Constantine's mother, Helen, in 326, and they've been in this location since 1589. Today pilgrims from all over the world come here to climb the steps ON THEIR KNEES, although some historians say the stairs might date only to the 4th century.-

Allí se encuentran los 28 escalones de mármol (ahora cubiertos con madera para su preservación) .Eran los originales de la villa de Poncio Pilatos en Jerusalén y fueron los que Cristo subió el día que fue llevado ante Pilatos. La escalera fue traída a Roma por Sta. Elena, madre del emperador Constantino, en el año 326 y se encuentran en ese edificio desde el año 1589. Actualmente peregrinos de todo el mundo van a ese lugar para ascender la escalera DE RODILLAS, aun cuando muchos historiadores dicen que la escalera data sólo del siglo IV d.c.-

Fondest memory: I don´t know if it´s the real stairs, but the visit was so emotive, because you can see young and old people making an extraordinary effort to climb the steps, with a lot of faith in God.-

No sé si es realmente la escalera que ascendió Cristo, pero la visita fue muy emotiva sólo por ver el extraordinario esfuerzo que hace la gente para subir la escalera con gran fé en Dios.-

Favorite thing: The stately Gothic baldacchino over the altar houses two golden reliquaries containing the heads of Saints Peter and Paul.-

El majestuoso baldaquino gótico que se encuentra sobre el altar, aloja dos relicarios de oro, conteniendo las cabezas de San Pedro y San Pablo