Day 12: Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Saturday is here! Thus, the weekend. An early morning start took us to the Catacomb of San Callisto. I'm not "catacomb-ed out" by any means, but this catacomb was nothing surprising. Yes, there were at one point nine popes buried there and the original tomb of St. Cecilia as well, but I was not super surprised. All of the tombs were completely empty, and the frescos were typical run of the mill frescos that we have seen in other catacombs or early christian communities. Jonah was still being spit out of a sea monster, which as we know is reference to the earlier myth of the god Juno....

My day really started when we popped out of the catacomb and I saw "San Giovanni in Laterano: Autobus 618). I turned to Chris and said, "Screw food, we're going there first." Dr. Bednarz has this on the list of things to do in Rome, so why not when we are already this close. So, we walked down the Appian Way (a road that Paul most likely traveled on as referenced by Acts 28), to the bus stop....


Arrival at St. John Lateran, Benedict XVI's Bishop seat,  was absolutely stunning. As we turned right into the Piazza Giovanni, we stared down what is the largest obelisk in Rome. Standing at 45.7 meters high...Then, we saw the beautiful facade (much mimicking the facade of St. Peter's)....everyone kept attempting to capture the entire front of the church, but had to stand at least a football field or two away from the entrance to get a photo in its entirety....Massive. 

Observations from St. J....Above are two photos depicting St. John the Evangelist, of who the church is named after. Both, although different mediums, show John with an eagle at his side or behind him. Irony..this symbol associated with John is said to be because of his high theological style in his gospel; a gospel which is actually written by who we think is John the Less, a scholastic of sorts under John the evangelist. At the same time, John is notorious for giving symbols in his apocalyptic literature that is the Gospel of John and Revelation. A large symbol in this case would be an eagle symbolizing Rome. The evil force and cause of all evil in the world, the nation persecuting christians during the time John writes his bible, uses the eagle as its main protector or symbol. Therefore, in John's apocalyptic literature he uses the eagle as Rome...Back to the original point, it's interesting how we see depictions of an eagle with John. Much to the Roman ignorance at the time, they probably read John's gospel, recognized the triumph and victory it portrayed, and slapped an eagle to his name. 


On our way back home, Dr. Bednarz decided to take me, Chris, and Jacob to Santa Maria degli Angeli...Most churches here in Rome have baroque-style facades in front of your basic "gaudy baroque mess" interior we are so used to seeing by now. However, this church is built over the frigidarium (cool baths) of the Baths of Diocletion. The facade is brick ruin,and upon entering, is another gaudy baroque-mess. However, this mixing is absolutely beautiful. Not only did this church meld the architecture and design of Roma and modern eras, but also the ideals...Galileo seemed to have a huge hand in this church.  Could he have been a patron looking to gain honor from a church? It was true that his heliocentric ideals, borrowed from Copernicus, were seen as heresy. The patron-client relationship would attempt to praise Galileo in hopes that he would support the church and the church would speak well about Galileo in time of inquisition. Below are a couple photos depicting the astrological ideals meshing with the catholic, and captions below each. 

Facade of Santa Maria degli Angeli

Photos above and below this one show the complete astrological calendar. It is read with a light beam shining in through the upper left hand corner of the photo above.

Lastly, the ring of the cupola (symbolic of churches)  is a beautiful stained glass of the planets and stars. 

OHHHHHHHH and one more thing happened today ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

nam nam nam!