ROME: Day 3 – audience, palaces… you know… the usual

The pilgrimage group attended the papal audience today. Nothing special to report about that other than the atypically dreadful weather.

Lunch is at a place on the Gianicolo called “Scarpone”. It has been a favorite for years and it has the advantage of parking. In better weather you have a nice outside area. Too wet today, alas.

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We sped off from the restaurant to the Apostolic Palace where we had a private tour arranged.  A long time friend of mine in Rome, and sometime commentator here, took us to the Pauline Chapel and also to the Redemptoris Mater chapel.

The hideous nightmare from the time of Paul VI in the Pauline chapel had been undone by Pope Benedict’s most provident demolition and restoration.  What a refreshing thing it was to see his name in the Latin inscription over the door.

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Gone is the half-a-deviled egg jammed into a shot glass look.  Now it looks like a real altar.

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Part of the Sala Ducale.

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After the Apostolic Palace we went to the Palazzo Farnese, where we had a permission to get in and see the sights.

Afterward, we walked across the way and had Mass at Santa Brigida and then visited the rooms of the saint.  Here is a large bone, relic of the saint.

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Also in the room is the table top on which she wrote and then slept and then died.  She wanted to die on wood, like our Lord.

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Off to supper.  Some focaccia.

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Grilled eggplant, peppers, etc.

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Mozzarella… the real thing.  I dream about this stuff when I am in the USA.

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Saltimbocca alla romana.

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And back out into the Roman evening for a stroll to bed.

The façade of Sant’Ignazio.

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It was a long and very challenging day with perhaps a little too much jammed in.

Tomorrow we are back at the Vatican Museum and then some time in the gardens and Mass at the Governatorato.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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13 Comments

  1. VexillaRegis says:

    Dear Fr,
    greetings from St Birgitta’s native Scandinavia, where the saint, as usual around her day (Oct 7th), offers us warm and sunny wheather ;-) 18 ¤C. Have a nicestay in Rome!

  2. NBW says:

    The Saltimboca alla romana looks magnifico! The altar is beautiful!

  3. Bea says:

    Sant’Ignazio.
    Of happy memory.
    If you see a mutual friend (Mons. JO’B) please give him my kind regards.

  4. anna 6 says:

    Send our love to Papa Emerito if you see him in the Vatican Gardens!
    Enjoy the rest of your trip. Don’t miss Old Bridge for gelato when you are at the museums!

  5. jameeka says:

    Ya..Ya.. the usual….may the weather improve, and pretend you are there for the first time..
    thanks again for the photos!

  6. Gratias says:

    Thank you for letting us visit vicariously. I was there last November for the Summorum Pilgrimage at St. Peter’s and then at the Una Voce event at Borgo Pio hoping to see you but did not know how you looked like. Enjoy Rome and please come back unless the make you Bishop of the Internet Ocean Sea.

  7. StWinefride says:

    It’s nice to see you enjoying all that great Italian food! :) Shame about the weather, hope it will be better for the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage end October.

  8. Ioannes Andreades says:

    If you heard someone’s stomach growling from across the Atlantic, it was mine the instant I looked at the saltimboca.

  9. frjim4321 says:

    Very nice. Except for the rain looks like a great day.

  10. Robbie says:

    Rome is one of those places like London. You can go there over and over again and enjoy it every single time.

  11. StWinefride says:

    Rome is one of those places like London. You can go there over and over again and enjoy it every single time.

    Amen!

  12. Kathleen10 says:

    It all looks and sounds so wonderful! The altar is so incredibly beautiful. Thank you Fr. Z.

  13. Siculum says:

    Thank you for including us all on your trip, Father. Really glad to see the sights you’re showing us, including the chapels and museums. They’re all most worthwhile. I want to go learn more about St. Brigid now.

    Father, you’ve provided us a great deal of wonderful spiritual and intellectual nourishment, but your pictures of temporal food leave me hungrier than ever. Now struggling with the sin of jealousy…

    On the subject of mozzarella: Have you ever been to Trader Joe’s? I think they have some stores in Madison and Milwaukee. If you ever get the chance, look for Ciliegine Fresh Mozzarella or similar, or my favorite, Aiello’s Marinated Celigene Mozzarella (marinated in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, and crushed red pepper). Makes a delicioza rare treat, even if not overly cheap.

    Others have said, “Thank you for letting us visit vicariously.”, and “If you heard someone’s stomach growling from across the Atlantic, it was mine the instant I looked at the saltimboca.”

    Amen to that.

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