A Haunting Discovery

Okay, so today started out as every other morning here.  Coffee (espresso for Scott and latte machiatto for me) and a pastry at our favorite Cafe Peru that's right around the corner.

Our Favorite Barista

And, I think he likes me too :)

We were on our way to Trastevere, a section of Rome that is across the Tiber.  It literally means "across the river."  It's considered to be a bit of the bohemian, artist section of town and it's funny because the old residents there really think of themselves as being different (maybe better) than the other Romans and only the river separates them.  Anyway, more about that later...

So, we're walking along Via Giulia (this road leads to everywhere) and we see another small church with it's doors open.  Of course, we go in.  It's tiny, tiny but with this beautiful dome.  So we do our usual; light a candle, say a prayer then take a quick look around.

The Choir Loft

Amazing Cuppola

Close up of the Dome
That's a big crack in the glass that covers the amazing artwork

We did notice a nun sitting in one of the pews when we first came in and as I'm contemplating whether to go into a shut door that leads to the back of the church she comes up to us and leads us through the door.  She says something in Italian, opens another door, turns on the light.  As we go in the door shuts behind us...that was scary enough.  As we walk down the dark stairs you would not believe what we see, we still don't believe it!  Mostly, we can't believe our luck at being given this rare opportunity.

Yes, folks, those are skulls on the walls!  Oh, and those candelabras?  Made out of human bones!  There were four cabinets full of skulls, the cross made out of skulls, and a little altar.  It was haunting but fascinating at the same time and we had no idea who these poor souls were - former priests? martyrs? fallen away Catholics?

This character greets you as you go down the stairs!

A few of these guys (or gals) had their names and dates carved into them along with the year that they died - amazing!

Well, it turns out that the nun also spoke English.  She is originally from the Philippines doing an "internship" and studying in Rome.  It turns out that this church - Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte (Saint Mary of the Prayer and Death) - was a confraternity that was responsible for burying the abandoned dead.  Those with no families; perhaps homeless.  It was originally built in the1500's on top of a burial site and I read that the chamber that we were in is the only one that survived the excavation.

I googled the church and only one of the sites that I read mentions the "skull room" so I'm guessing that not many people get the chance to see it.  Remember what I said about serendipity?

I know that all the pictures I took seem a bit morbid, but we were really awestruck by this.  I think we stayed down there for about 15 minutes trying to see every nook and cranny of this small room.

Anyway, we had a nice chat with the nun and she was generally pleased when I mentioned that I was part Filipino.  She is part of St. Vincent de Paul order and will be leaving Rome in April after she finishes her theology studies.  We couldn't thank her enough for providing us with the highlight of our trip so far.

We did make it to Trastevere, but it all seemed anti-climatic after the all the skulls.  One of our favorite churches is there - Santa Maria in Trastevere - believed to be the first church dedicated to Mary.  The original floor plan dates back to early 200 A.D. and the present church was built in the 12th century.  This amazing mosaic is above the altar.  I especially love the design in the mosaic floor.  I'm always amazed at the age of these buildings and that they remain standing.  

I love to run my hands over the marble and the ancient statues in these antiquated buildings thinking of who touched them before me.  Scott is always telling me to quit touching the stuff thinking that we'll be kicked out of Rome if anyone ever catches me!

We had a great lunch at a small trattoria here.  I keep forgetting to take food pictures and usually don't remember until our plates are clean.  We did each have a delicious pasta dish.

There are several places around Rome where armed guards are permanently stationed.  This is in the Piazza Sant'Egidio in Trastevere where a socially and politically-active Roman Catholic organization is located.  I guess they received threats several years ago and the guard is to protect the Community.

The Carabinieri guard the outside of the very stunning Great Synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto section of Rome.  The guards were placed there after the 1982 terrorist attack that killed a young boy.

The rest of today was spent riding the #116 back to the Borghese Gardens to tour the museum.  This was our second time in this museum and the Bernini sculptures were definitely worth another look.  Unfortunately, no pictures allowed but you can see some of them at this site.

This is a picture from the above site of our favorite sculpture - the Rape of Proserpina.  The movement of this piece makes it hard to believe that it's really marble.

Okay, enough culture for today.  Rain scheduled for tomorrow, so we'll probably hideout in another museum.