After spending a week in Tuscany we took the train back to Rome for a day and a half. Our first stop that afternoon was the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, the 10th church we had toured during our stay in Italy. We waited in line about 30 minutes to get through security but the church is so big that it didn’t feel too crowded.
It was a little overwhelming because there was so much to look at and so many different rooms and alters. The original main part was completed in 432AD and then added on for many centuries. Two saints and 6 popes are buried here.
The relic of the holy crib, the manger on which the baby Jesus was laid, is entombed in this alter.
The next morning we were exhausted from walking non-stop for almost 2 weeks so we got tickets for the “hop on, hop off” double decker bus. It was cooler this morning and there was the first threat of rain since we had been in Italy.
We passed the Colosseum and the line to get in through security was wrapped around the building almost twice.
We were going to get off here but it started to drizzle so we stayed on the bus a little longer to see where it would take us.
The drizzle stopped and we got off at the top of the Spanish Steps.
The 11th church we visited was the Trinita dei Monti, at the top of the Steps. They were having a mass this morning so I only quickly peeked in. It was built in 1585 and St. Theresa and many of the Borghese family are buried here.
The view from the top of the Steps.
Shots from the top of the double decker bus that afternoon. The crowds were crazy around the Vatican City so we didn’t get off there. After a full day of sightseeing we had dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. All of the meals we had were great. The next day we were taking the train to Naples for the day so we hit the sack early.
