Buongiorno, grazie, scusa, and ciao are four words I used frequently on our vacation last week. In Italian, they mean “good day,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “hi.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 4, my wife Connie and I boarded the first flight on our eight-day adventure to the country that gave the world pizza and pasta. We landed in Rome on Thursday morning, where our daughter, Abigail, greeted us.
This is the third year we have flown to Europe for a vacation/adventure with Abby. She is working on her PhD in Physics through the University of Madison, Wisc. at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.
Last year’s vacation took us to the Mecca for printers — Mainz, Germany, the hometown of Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, the inventor of the letterpress.
If you read this column on a regular basis, you know that my wife and I are Catholic. Vatican City is the ultimate pilgrimage for Catholics. With a population of less than 800, it’s the smallest sovereign country in the world both by area (121 acres) and population.
On Friday morning, we rose early for a hike to Vatican City. We had tickets for a 9 a.m. guided tour of the Vatican Museums. Approximately 20,000 people visit the Vatican each day. The highlight of the museum tour was the Sistine Chapel—specifically, its ceiling painted by Michelangelo.
After lunch, we made our way to St. Peter’s Basilica, which is called the spiritual heart of Christianity. It is the burial site of the Apostle Peter, the first Pope of the Catholic Church.
The exquisite church is also home to many timeless masterpieces including Michelangelo’s Pietá, a marble statue he carved at the age of 24. A Pietá is any artwork showing the Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus.
One of the top things every tourist must do in Rome is ascend to the top of St. Peter’s cupola (dome). We took an elevator, leaving us only 320 steps to what many consider the best view in Rome. On Sunday, we returned to the Basilica for a 10:30 a.m. Mass in Latin with a couple thousand other faithful Catholics.
Every 25 years is a Jubilee or Holy Year in the Catholic Church, a time of forgiveness and reconciliation. With an anticipated increase of 20 million visitors in 2025, much of Rome was being refurbished. I’m glad we chose this year.
While in Rome, our guide, Abby, also took us to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Borghese Gallery art museum.
Our guide was very particular when it came to eating on our trip. She would not let us eat at large establishments near tourist hot spots. The restaurants we had reservations at were well-researched and often off the beaten path. Our Friday lunch in Rome required a 20-minute bus ride and a 15-minute walk one way. It was worth it. Two brothers ran the establishment. The approximately 12’ x 18’ dining room accommodated only 24 patrons. Excluding our group of three, it was mostly locals.
We didn’t spend the entire trip in Rome. Our next stop was the small town of Assisi, the birthplace of seven saints, including St. Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint of Italy, the founder of the Franciscans, and the namesake of San Fransisco.
We spent only one day in Assisi, but it was one of our favorite places because it had a slower pace and was less crowded with tourists.
We spent the last three days in Florence, the capital of Tuscany. Our airbnb was an apartment in Palazzo Libri, a building built in the 14th century. This means that this structure was there when Columbus discovered America.
Considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, art was the main focus in Florence. In the Uffizi Gallery—the 10th most visited art museum in the world—we saw paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and stood before Bottichelli’s painting, “The Birth of Venus.” We also stood in awe of Michelangelo’s statue of David at the Accademia Gallery.
More churches, including the Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze), and Santa Croce Basillica, which contains the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Danti, were likewise on the schedule for Florence.
According to my iPhone, we walked 66.51 miles during our stay in Italy. It may be time for a new pair of shoes.
