Eurotrip 2023: Day 3 – Santa Maria Maggiore, Lateran and Pantheon

On our third day in Rome, I still woke up quite early at 5:30 am. I still felt a bit tired, yet excited. I also immediately checked the weather app on my phone to see the temperature and the forecast for the day. There was a small chance of rain, which we had to learn to adapt with.

I also heard Papa and Mama having their usual morning call with our family at home, who had been checking in on them.

Compared the the day before, we left a little late at 9:30 pm. The first thing we planned to visit was the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

As we stayed near Termini in Esquilino, Santa Maria Maggiore was only a couple of minutes away from us.

I just realized as soon as we were already outside the Collegium Russicum that Mon and I have worn a pair of shorts. We were to visit several churches, and I was not sure if we would be turned away. I was too preoccupied not getting my pants wet with the possible rain to forget about this.

We had our first view of Santa Maria Maggiore when we first arrived in Rome. It was safe to say we were so excited to see the church up close.

A week before our flight, I did my best to read about Rome and the places we’d be visiting like my life depended on it. I was reading hard as we did not book any tours for any of the places we’d visit.

Nevertheless, I had Wikipedia and other websites opened the entire time, so I could share interesting things at attraction as we go by.

I’ve read that the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore was one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, and site of a snow miracle in the middle of one summer in the 4th century attributed to the Virgin Mary.

Also right in front of the basilica was the Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, with the towering Colonna della Pace topped with the bronze statue of the Virgin and Child by Guillaume Berthélot and Orazio Censore.

Other things that I was most interested at were the priceless artworks not only in Santa Maria Maggiore but around Rome (and Paris) as well.

I had an ‘art’ phase back in early 2010s, when I used to consume several documentaries on European art, especially the Renaissance. It was a reintroduction after my initial run with it as started to learn foreign languages in college, but without the pressure of getting a grade.

I have likewise watched ‘Angels and Demons’ several times in the past, and I was a bit familiar with some of the places and artworks there, especially those by Bernini.

And Santa Maria Maggiore had several Bernini-related things.

As soon as we entered the portico, there was already a bronze statue of King Philip IV of Spain by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Girolamo Lucenti to the right, where the station of the basilica’s security is located.

But this statue was, in my opinion, compared with the interior of the basilica. The 16th century gold coffered ceiling was nothing we have ever seen, which made us wonder how much grander the ceilings of the other great churches in Rome we were to visit.

Papa had to stand and look up for a couple of minutes, just taking in how beautiful and grand the details were.

Mama and Papa took the time to just sit down not only to pray, but also rest their legs. Although only a couple of minutes away from our AirBnB, it was still a substantial walk especially for someone their age.

Mon and I also managed to walk around the basilica, admiring the artwork, the baldacchino of Fuga, the apse and the dome when I noticed the tomb of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

It was inscribed with “IOANNES LAVRENTIVS BERNINI: DECVS ARTIVM ET VRBIS HIC HVMILITER QVIESCIT” which translates to “Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, glory of the arts and of the city, humbly rests here”, with the coat of arms of the Bernini family.

We also dropped by the gift shop to look around, and saw another Bernini. But this time, it was Pietro Bernini’s ‘Assunta‘ (The Assumption). Pietro was also Gian Lorenzo’s father, and the relief was made in 1610.

It was one thought I always had in Rome: I could not believe how old everything was. I kept on comparing the age of these works and structures to the time Magellan set foot in the the Philippines in 1521

From Santa Maria Maggiore, we then went to the Vittorio Emanuele II station, so we can take the train to San Giovanni in Laterano, which is also one of the four papal basilicas in Rome. It was only around 11:00 am, but we would have to navigate again.

I mentioned this several times in the past: I am generally good with maps, but somehow on the ground, I mess it up because I feel the pressure of the designated navigator.

Case in point, we exited San Giovanni station. We got out to the streets, yet I managed to have everyone walk a long way to Via Spezia instead of the gated walls of Laterano directly in front of us. Mama and Papa were not pleased.

We headed back to where we began, and just had our lunch at Burger King. The staff in the counter was a Filipina, who looked please to speak to someone in Filipino that day.

We also underestimated the amount of food we ordered, which meant we had a whole box of fries and chicken nuggets with us as we headed to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano.

If the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore was big, Laterano was huge. It was big. We spent a good 15-minute period outside the basilica just to admire the architecture and its details.

There was also a security check before we entered its premises, and we had to request from the staff if we can bring the leftover Burger King with us. We promised we would not eat those at all.

When we got close to the basilica, I recall looking up in front of the papal seal and felt overwhelmed with its height. That was the time again it hit me hard we were in Rome.

Before entering the basilica, we still had to claim our 3-day Omnia Vatican and Roma Pass (which we got from Klook 3 months before the trip). As we waited, the staff was speaking mostly in Italian and French to the customers before us.

There was a British couple before us, and it took a bit long for them to be done, as the staff was struggling a bit in English with the couple’s heavy accent.

When it was almost my turn, I decided that I could be upfront and request that if it’s okay for us to speak in French, as I felt more comfortable with it than Italian. She obliged, yet the whole discussion we had meant we had to speak mostly in French, with Italian words sneaking in accidentally.

Fortunately, we managed to spit out what we meant to say, and just laughed off the uncommon exchange.

If the exterior of the Laterano could be indicative of what we’d see inside, we were not wrong. The inside of the basilica was expansive, with the similar gold coffered ceiling above us.

It was a common misconception that St. Peter’s Basilica was the seat of the Pope, but in fact, it was Laterano, which was also the seat of the Bishop of Rome a.k.a. the Pope. It was also the oldest church basilica in Rome.

Also, while Santa Maria Maggiore, Laterano and San Paolo Fuori le Mure are located in Rome, they have an extraterritoriality status and therefore properties of the Vatican City State in a treaty signed in 1929 aptly named “The Lateran Treaty” during Mussolini’s time. This is also meant that the papacy recognizes Rome and Italy, while Italy recognizes the Holy See’s sovereignty over the Vatican City (including these 3 papal basilicas beyond the walls of the Vatican City).

What was most remarkable for me was the nave of Laterano with its 12 niches  (reportedly created from the designs made by Francesco Borromini) decorated with colossal statues of the 12 apostles, each which were around 4.5 meters.

We spent a couple of minutes moving from one apostle to another, admiring the details and the height.

Also towards the altar was the bronze tomb of Pope Martin V, with coins covering it as well as the floors around it. I tried looking for an explanation why this was the case, but could not find a definitive answer. My theory was it was a sort of Trevi-esque equivalent of wish, with the intercession of a once pontifex maximus.

Part of the Omnia Vatican we had was entry to the Cloister of San Giovanni in Laterano. It was a medieval chiostro constructed in 1222.

Again, it was mind blowing how old these places are. It was constructed 300 years before we were colonized by Spain in 1521; and for comparison, Jose Rizal was killed killed 375 later in 1896.

We were not sure whether the ‘installation’ of artifacts around the cloister was on purpose i.e. if most of the exhibit was deliberately put on display on the floor. Still, we were in love with the twisted columns in the cloister, as well as the olive tree right in the middle of courtyard.

There were also not so many people in this area, as it had its own entrance fee at €3, which was too bad as it was a stunning, relaxing surprise inside Laterano.

By the time we got out of Laterano at 2:00 pm, it began raining. We decided to have coffee at Daroma Caffé, in the hopes that the rain would pass before we head to our next destination: the Pantheon.

As much as we wanted to visit the Sancta Scala, we eventually decided against it as we had no idea how long it would take to go there, let alone figuring out where we had to take the Omnia Bus to the Largo di Torre Argentina stop.

From Daroma Caffé, we walked all the way to the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano despite the rain, as it was supposedly where the pick-up point was. Almost at the the Lateran Obelisk, we saw the big, bright, yellow Omnia bus approaching but on the other side of the road. We could not possibly just run with the rain, traffic light in green, and my parents walking slowly.

So we waited. And we waited long.

I was under the impression that the next bus would arrive in 10 minutes (as mentioned online).

But 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and then 25 minutes came — there was still no bus. Mama and Papa were both visibly unimpressed at that point.

It was only after 30 minutes of standing in the rain that the bus came.

It was personally worth the wait, though. Even if the wind was blowing a bit towards our direction in the open windows of the bus, we had a great time listening the audio commentary as we passed by the various attractions around Rome.

It was also the first time that we got a glimpse of the entrance of the Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, Campidoglio, and Circo Massimo among others as we approach our stop at Largo di Torre di Argentina.

I recall how happy I was to see the Colosseum, thinking that we’d be there the next day in a hopefully better weather.

I was praying so hard that the time we visit the Colosseum won’t be rainy.

The rain weakened a bit as soon as we disembarked at the Largo di Torre di Argentina, but we still had our umbrellas on. We could not afford getting sick that early into our trip as we were barely halfway through.

Even without looking at the map from time to time, the walk was literally a straight path through the length of Via dei Cestari.

The slow build up of tourists was also not easy to miss, as it meant we were already near the Pantheon.

From the Piazza della Rotonda, we just stood outside for a couple of minutes to observe the Pantheon. It was massive. I remember the scene from ‘Roman Holiday‘ where Gregory Peck accidentally spilled coffee at Eddie Albert, and the Pantheon was seen in front of him and Audrey Hepburn.

After a couple of minutes, we started and struggled to figure out how to get inside. There was a long line despite the drizzle, and it was a bit confusing where the end of the queue was.

At one point, we stood at what we thought was the end of the line, only to be told that line stretches beyond than that. How embarassing!

The number of people wishing to see the Pantheon was no joke. On the other hand, it still moved quite quickly that it took us only 10 minutes before we finally stepped inside.

Words can’t describe how massive the Pantheon was. From the monolithic columns of its portico, to its cylindrical interior and its imposing Oculus, the previously pagan structure was really an architectural marvel.

Despite the line of people waiting to get in, it did not feel crowded inside. It may either be due to the sheer size of the Pantheon, or there were also an equal number of people who head out as those who came in.

As we stood near the velvet rope preventing people from going right in the middle of the Pantheon, I could still see raindrops coming in from the Oculus, which then drained at the middle.

One interesting feature of the Pantheon I was most excited of was Raphael’s tomb. While this was the Renaissance painter’s final resting place, I likewise look forward to his last capolavoro in the Vatican Museums, ‘Il Trasfigurazione‘.

There was a small crowd around it, possibly people who have seen the movie ‘ Angels and Demons’ where Raphael’s tomb was a subject in one of their cat chases around Rome. (They only recreated this, as they were not allowed to shoot inside the Pantheon).

We also took the opportunity for Papa and Mama to rest. It was already past 4:00 pm when we reached the Pantheon, and it has been already a long day of churches for all of us.

We left the Pantheon at around 5:00 pm (of course not without Mama having her photos taken with the monolithic columns), before we headed out to Piazza Navona. But before going there, we made a quick stop at McDonald’s at Corso del Riscanimento in Piazza delle Cinque Lune.

While it was only a short walk from McDonald’s to Piazza Navona, Papa was already visibly tired.

We reached the piazza with him wanting to just stay by a bench between the Fontana del Nettuno and the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi.

Mon and I just took several minutes to walk around the piazza, with Mama eventually joining us by Quattro Fiumi to observe its details and, again, its Egyptian obelisk (she also recognized it from ‘Angels and Demons’, which she watched before our flight to Rome).

At around 5:30 pm, we decided to call it a day and go home.

Given that Piaza Navona was a long way from the nearest metro station, we just booked a FreeNow car from Via del Salvatore (cost: €16.35). It took a while for the driver to arrive, but we’d rather wait it out than make Papa walk the whole way to Barberini.

By the time we got back at the AirBnB, Mon and I immediately left for Mercato Centrale to buy dinner. We still had some Burger King leftovers from lunch, and we bought some more pasta and veggies.

We also usually just watch a re-run of primetime news during dinner.

After dinner, Mama and Papa rested a bit before sleeping early for the night. As for Mon and me, we have discussed that we could perhaps head out in the evening just to stroll around Rome as my parents rest.

We realized we will not see Rome in the evening if we keep on sleeping early as well.

So head out we did.

At around 9:00 pm, we left the AirBnB with no destination in mind, except to just walk around Rome and see city with its lights on. And we were delighted we went on with that.

Rome looked really different in the evening. We had a glimpse of its beauty in the evening even in Termini and Santa Maria Maggiore, so what more when we go much further from our AirBnB.

From Termini, we first walked all the way to Piazza della Repubblica, which was STUNNING. The yellow light used everywhere just gave Rome its otherworldly feel.

From Piazza della Repubblica, we walked some more towards Piazza San Bernardino (and St. Regis at Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was beautiful, by the way).

We stopped right in front of  the Chiesa di Santa Susanna to admire the details, and eventually have our photo taken using our small tripod and the timer of our phone.

At that point, I could tell that Mon was also confused where we were exactly headed, as I freeballed the evening from one place to another. One thing was for sure: I just wanted to see Rome at night.

From Piazza San Bernandino, we walked some more and reached Piazza Barberini. We were here the day before, but I realized that evening that perhaps we could drop by Palazzo Barberini.

Palazzo Barberini was the location of Princess Ann’s embassy, where she snuck out one evening.

There was a small alley, Via dei Giardini, which was the location of the parting scene between Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn as the latter returned to her life as a princess after her escapades around Rome.

And I wanted to have my photo taken in the exact location. Thanks to Mon for taking this.

While both Mon and I were wearing shorts, he was also wearing leather sandals, which meant he was already feeling cold from walking for the last one hour.

It was around 15 degrees Celsius already at 10:00 pm. We initially tried going to Barberini station, only to find the metro already closed.

Mon was obviously not having it, thus I eventually offered to book a FreeNow back to our AirBnb from Piazza Barberini (cost: €13.50).

It was after all my fault we reached Barberini because of one Roman Holiday homage photo.

Still, I thought it was a night well spent.

Steps: 15,044