Sep 9 - Wedding in Italy - Visiting Rome

Marco and I had one free day to visit Rome.

It was a misty morning, but warm. We went to Rome's Colisseum and both agreed the Roman colisseum in Tunisia was way more impressive, probably because it was in better shape and had no tourists. We strolled up the Foro Romano, the remains of the old Roman city. It was misty here and the sun was struggling to break through the clouds which gave a nice atmosphere.

We went through a neighborhood across the river called the Trastavere. It had small winding streets and pink and orange stucco homes with fountains in the squares.

Then we went up a big hill into a large park called the Gianicolo. We were a little lost and found ourselves on a dirt path in the forest. It started to rain - a warm rain. We hurried up the path. At one moment we turned and saw a spectacular view of the city -- domes and statue-topped monuments in a sea of red rooftops. So pretty we stopped and stared in the rain before moving on.

Finally we got to the Vatican. The sky cracked open and really started to pour in torrents so we took shelter under the curved collonade that surrounds the square in front of San Pietro (St. Peter's Cathedral). Tourists without umbrellas (like us) scurried, and the ones with umbrellas queued in a colorful umbrella line to enter the Vatican.

When the rain stopped we entered the Vatican. It was an overwhelming display of power and might. The huge cathedral had dramatic sculptures all over -- men in the throes of holy ecstacy, their faces and bodies twisted in mad passion. It was massive and spooky and I even felt light headed, almost claustrophobic. It was one of the stranger and more disquieting atmospheres I've ever experienced in a church/temple/mosque on travels, and I've visited many. This is the Church of power and world domination, a far cry from the neighborhood church atmosphere of prayer and contemplation.

We did see Michaelangelo's Pieta, however. A truly amazing sculpture.

Marco and I took some air outside. The Sistine Chapel was closed for the day (a disappointment) so we visited the new tomb of Pope Jean-Paul II. It was underground in a long thin, white-walled hall that had popes' tombs all along it's length. It was quiet and sterile but gave me the same spooked, claustrophobic feeling that the Cathedral above gave me. I was surprised by these strong reactions. Odd place all around.

We got soaked in the rain the rest of the day. That didn't stop us from liking Rome, however. What a beautiful city.

In the evening we drove one hour north of Rome to Lago di Vico, the site of tomorrow's wedding. Most of our friends had arrived, but many had been delayed by the rainstorms. We know them all from INSEAD (a international business school where Marco got his MBA in 2003). They are a fascinating and fun group of people who come from Portugal, India, Germany, South Africa, Denmark, Japan, Brazil to name a few (and there's more). Not really the typical people you expect when someones says "business school". We drank wine and said many hellos. It was good to see them again. It had been two years since seeing many of them.

We went to our hotel which was actually a farm in the countryside. Slept well.