“Father, it has been eleven years.” I had thought about going to confession in Rome but didn’t actually plan on doing it. I have been to confession only on 3 occasions – my Communion, my Confirmation, and another random time. I know being shy is not an excuse not to go to confession at least once a year like a good Catholic should but I’ve never been able to get around the misconstrued idea of being able to do whatever ill you want then go to confession for forgiveness. I blame the Mafia movies where going to confession is an interlude between murders.
Upon exiting the church it was as if all of nature agreed that I had sinned. What had been a cool crisp sunny morning, was now gray, chilly, and with drizzling rain. The sun never came back that day. The weather alternated from soft cold drizzle to torrential downpour. Yes Lord, I got it – I need to go to Church regularly and sin no more!
My tour of the Colosseum and Ancient Forums was by Through Eternity. The guide was Tom, another American, trained as an actor, who had been in Rome for over a decade. The group of 14 visitors was also entirely American. Through the drizzle, Tom gave us background history. He pointed out the ruins while acting out various scenes of what may have ensued there centuries ago. He brought ancient Rome to life and he was quite funny.
Ruins of the forum: the last picture is the burial-place of Julius Ceasar.
However, I was disappointed with the Colosseum part of the tour and it wasn’t because of the rains. Even though the Enjoy Rome night walking tour I had taken on the first day did not include visiting the insides of the Colosseum, I felt that I learnt more about the Colosseum. There was nothing Through Eternity provided about the Colosseum that I wouldn’t have been able to get from an audio guide on site. In hindsight, it may have been a better deal for me to have taken the Palatine Hill tour and I do the Colosseum on my own. Of course, it makes more economic sense for Through Eternity to offer the Palatine Hill tour separately. That’s called business. The rains and my mood did not let me to walk the grounds on my own, so now I have another reason to return to Rome.
Not wanting to return home to wallow in my misery, I took the Metro to Piramide and then Bus 118 to the Appian Way.
Via Appia Antica, completed in 312 BC, is like ancient Europe’s first highway. It linked Rome to its expanding empire to the East. It was along this road that St. Paul was led as a prisoner into Rome in AD 56. It was very important during the times of pilgrimages as it led to the Basilica and Catacombs of San Sebastiano as well as other catacombs. In ancient Rome, the dead had to be buried outside the city walls hence all these catacombs and “necropolis” around the city.
My plan had been to visit the Catacombs of San Sebastiano and San Callisto as well as the tomb of Cecilia Metella while enjoying a leisurely walk along the ancient road. But remember, I was still being punished for my ill-doing through the heavens. So, I participated in a 30 minute guided tour of the Catacombs of San Callisto which was quite impressive, and decided that “seen one catacomb, seen them all!” The Catacombs of San Callisto are on four different levels and most of it is undisturbed. We visited the Crypt of Santa Cecilia where the saint’s body lay until it was discovered in AD 820 and then moved to the church named for her in Trastevere.
A lover of mangoes. A woman - smart, without pretense, lefthanded, Afropolitan - navigating this thing called life. An unapologetic believer in social justice and karma. Choosing to radiate positive energy and be true to myself. Here, my musings.
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