Basillica di Santa Maria Maggiore Rome

Known also as Our Lady of the Snows.

A grand basilica facing the Piazza dell ‘Esquilino, this church was founded in 432AD by Pope Liberius and completed under Pope Sixtus III. It is the biggest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and where the great architect Bernini is buried.

Above the 40 columns in the interior, find friezes portraying the Old Testament leading to the coming of Christ. Behind the high altar, find a magnificent portrayal of Jesus and Mary. Don’t forget to look up. The ceiling is decorated with a magnificent fresco by Guiliano da San Gallo.

Look for the Cappela Paoline (Pauline Chapel) showing a 9^th century painting of Madonna and child. On the 5^th of August, the altar is showered with white petals to celebrate Liberuis’ vision of the Virgin Mary, a day of when snow fell on Rome.

Other Churches to visit in central Rome

Churches in Rome to Escape the Crowds and Heat

Church of The Gesu, Rome

Church of Sant’ Agnese in Agone

Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio Rome

Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi, Rome

Parrocchia Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli Rome

Basillica di Sant ‘Andrea della Valle Rome

The Church of San Marcello al Corso, Rome

Read all my articles on Rome on my Rome a Survival Kit

Santa Maria Maggoire ceiling fresco

Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria Maggiore cupola

Grand hallway within Santa Maria Maggiore

Facade of the Santa Maria Maggiore

Churches in Rome to Escape the Crowds and Heat

School holidays restricted my Rome visit to August. The heat was tremendous and the crowds crushing. Both my children suffer health complaints. I was grateful for the churches in Rome. They are quiet, peaceful places where you can take a minute to admire the beautiful frescos and friezes.

Here are some of the churches that I visited in central Rome. Sadly, I didn’t have time to see all.

A page to each church via links give further details.

Basillica di Santa Maria Maggiore Rome

This grand church is located in the Piazza Del ‘Esquilino and is the largest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The great sculptor Bernini is buried there.
Read more about the Santa Maria Maggiore here.

Santa Maria Maggiore's grand interior

Church of The Gesu, Rome

This baroque church is located near the Piazza Venezia and is the mother church of the Jesuits. Its founder, St Ignatius Loyola, is buried beneath the great altar.
Read more about the Gesu here.

High altar of the Gesu

Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio Rome

This church is named after the Spanish soldier who founded the Jesuit movement. It can be found in the Via del Caravita.
Read more about Sant' Ignazio di Loyola here.

Altar within St Ignazio

Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi, Rome

Find this church in the Piazza di S. Luigi de’ Francesi, not far from the Pantheon. It is the national church of France in Rome and houses art by Caravaggio.
Read more about San Luigi Dei Francesi here.

Sombre altar of San Luigi Dei Francesi

Church of Sant’ Agnese in Agone

Found in the Piazza Navona, this church is renowned for its elaborate classical concerts. St Agnes, whom this church is named after, was martyred within the square at the age of only 13.

Read about the Church of Sant’ Agnese in Agone here.

St Agnese in Agone (W Commons)

Parrocchia Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli Rome

This church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, can be found in the Piazza Campitelli.
Read more about Santa Maria in Portico here.

Coppola of the Santa Maria in Portico

Basillica di Sant' Andrea della Valle Rome

This church is close to the Vittorio Emanuele building. Known also as the Church of St Andrew of the Valley.
Read more about Sant' Andrea della Valle here.

Ceiling frescoes of the Sant' Andrea della Valle

The Church of San Marcello al Corso, Rome

This titular church dedicated to Pope Marcellus, nestles within the Via del Corso in its own little Piazza.
Read more about San Marcello al Corso here.

The Glowing altar of San Marcello al Corso

Most of these churches have superb ceiling frescos, high altars and chapels housing works by such artists as the students of Bernini, Le Gros, Ludovisi, Rossi, Raggi and even Caravaggio.

I didn’t get to see the following churches but wish I had

San Giovanni in Laterano

The seat of the pope as the Bishop of Rome, this church is a few years older than St Peter’s. Both basilicas were built by the first Christian Emperor, Constantine in the fourth century.

The Lateral Palace was the abode of popes for 1000 years until moving to Avignon, then the Vatican.

The church has suffered looting and damage over the years. But its present grandness is underscored with giant statures of Jesus, John the Baptist and the apostles by Borromini. Outside is the tallest obelisk in the world, at 102 feet.

San Paolo Fuori le Mura

St Paul’s basilica is the largest in Rome (bar St Peter’s). Built by Constantine, it was destroyed by fire, but restored in the mid 18^th century. Admire the huge Byzantine doors dating from the 11^th century. The high altar is said to be the resting place of St Paul the apostle after being beheaded. Admire the Benedictine cloister by Vassalletto and the elegant columns enclosing a garden.

San Clemente

This church hides a fascinating history. It dates from the 12^th century with 3 naves divided by columns and pavement of geometric mosaic designs. View the Tree of Life mosaic in the apse. A 4^th century basilica can be found down a staircase where Romanesque frescoes can be found. An even deeper staircase leads to chambers believed to be where St Clemente lived. He was martyred by Hadrian in 88AD. An earlier pagan temple exists on the site.

San Petro in Vincoli

Near Piazza Cavour, this church was founded in the 5^th century on the site of where St Peter was tried and sentenced. Michelangelo’s greatest sculptures, Moses, are housed here. It was intended for St Peter’s basilica, being one of 40 figures to adorn a tomb. But the then emperor Julius II decided Michelangelo should paint the Sistine Chapel instead. On each side, find sculptures of Rachel and Leah.

Reference: Berlitz Pocket Guide to Rome (2016)

Church publications

Emergency Tips when Stuck in Rome without a Passport

My holiday in Rome was ruined when my son left his bag containing his passport and valuables in a bag on the bus. I had budgeted for my holiday and instantly could see I would have to spend longer there than was planned.

My daughter suffers from ME, which is a condition where she was unable to withstand the usual pressures of life. My son has asthma. This is what I did to ensure my children returned home safe and well.

Firstly, I took emergency measures regarding the passport situation. Read about this in two separate articles.
Getting an emergency passport abroad.
A Checklist  after you have lost your passport.

I had to think about the welfare of my children. We were in a strange country and contrary to belief, Rome is not as developed as one might think. Dig beneath the glossy images and you will find badly-run public services where help is not always forthcoming. Rome has a grubby underbelly with graffiti and rubbish on the streets. There are dark alleyways and grotty districts just outside the center of Rome where you don’t want to find yourself in after dark.

English is not spoken well by many officials. The language barrier proved to be a real problem.

Another problem is the inefficiency of the public services due to poor funding. Empty and graffitied kiosks litter Rome. The British Embassy in Rome is open just a few hours a day. The lost property office is located outside of Rome and closes at 1pm most days.

Because of these challenges, I had to keep myself and children fit and well. This is what I did.

1 Have a good breakfast at your hotel. Racing around Rome expends lots of energy. I packed a few extras in a doggie-bag for when we were caught out.

2 Contrary to belief, the trattorias and oseterias are not cheap places to eat. They charge extortionate prices for drinks and slam on hidden service charges. Instead, we had picnics every day in the park. There are some decent supermarkets in Rome, including the Coop, the Pam Local and CarrFour. We purchased healthy sandwiches, yoghurt drinks, fresh fruit and cookies every day. We ate well at the fraction of the price.

3 I had packed only enough clothes to last a week and the weather was boiling. To keep clean, I washed my clothes in the shower basin at the end of the day. I then pegged them out onto the balcony using socks. By morning, my clothes were clean and dry.

4 Drink plenty of water when in Rome. We went in mid-August when daytime temperatures soared into the mid-nineties. There are plenty of water fountains and the water is safe to drink. I refilled my water bottle whenever I could and kept sipping all day. I then applied lipstick to guard against chapped lips. A sun hat, cream and sunglasses are a given.

5 As both my children had health conditions, I ensured my travel insurance covered them. I also had an EHIC card (European Health Card) which is free. Just go on the Gov site to get one. But when caught out in Rome, you can’t always get hold of a doctor. I kept this option as a last resort.

6 My daughter suffered acute tiredness in the latter part of the holiday. My son’s asthma was aggravated by Rome’s pollution. We rested in a quiet, cool church. They are open to the public most days and they are not too crowded. They are also beautiful interiors where you can get lost in.

Read about Rome’s churches here.

7 I made sure I had plenty of cash that I kept it in a hidden pouch on a bum bag. I split this money between the three of us in case it got lost. Drawing money from an ATM had proved costly and I was stung. Read about the hidden cost of using VISA kiosks here.

Read all my articles on Rome on my Rome a Survival Kit

The CarreFour Supermarket Rome

A nice picnic in Rome is cheaper than any trattoria

Receipts from Pam Local

Altar of the Gesu Church

Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome

A water fountain in Orange Tree Gardens, Rome

Ostiense the Lost Property Office in Rome and Other Stations

The lost and found property in Rome is in a horrible little depot in Ostiense. My son had lost his personal belongings on the bus and reported it to the police. We were then told it was in ‘lost property’ in the main metro station. In Rome, it is the Termini. But no lost property is there. We were told to go to the wrong place.

Ostiense is nowhere near a bus station. In fact, it is tucked away and hard to find. An official told us to take a taxi there. Fortunately, our hotel was a 20 minute walk away.

Here is the address and contact details of Ostiense in Rome.

(or read all my articles on Rome on my Rome a Survival Kit)

Polizia Locale Roma Capitale

Ufficio Oggetti Smarriti

Circonvallazzione Ostiense, 191 - 00154 Roma

Tel (+39) 06 67693214

Email: oggettismarriti@comune.roma.it

Website www.comune.roma.it

Opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30am – 1pm.

METRO B o B1 (dir Laurentina) GARBATELLA

Sadly, my son’s bag wasn’t at Ostiense. With two days to spare until our flight back, we inquired at other Roman stations. We didn’t have time to try them all. Many of the bus drivers couldn’t speak English and we were given slips of paper, some of which was in Italian. In the end, we couldn’t locate my son’s bag containing his passport.

Still, if you find yourself in a similar situation, here are the contact details of the ATAC bus depots in Rome.

ATAC Bus depots in Rome

Acilia Via Enrico Ortolani n.303 Tel (+39) 06.46956416

Collatina Via Birolli n.6 Tel (+39) 06.46955222

Grottarossa Via Flaminia n.1060 Tel (+39) 06.46953012

Magliana Via Luigi Candoni n.101 Tel (+39) 06.46955371

Montesacro Via di Monte Sacro n.10 Tel (+39) 06.46955801

Porta Maggiore Largo Caballini n.1 Tel (+39) 06. 46954875

Portonaccio Via Portonaccio n.20 Tel (+39) 06.46953205

Prenestina Tel (+39) 06.46954469

Tor Pagnotta Via Mario Carucci snc Tel (+39) 06.46956922

Tor Sapeinza Via Prenestina n.605 Tel (+39) 06.46953610

Tor Vergata Via di Tor Vergata n.191 Tel (+39) 06.46955650

Trastevere Via delle Mura Portuense n.43 Tel (+39) 06.46956605

Read my article on how to get an emergency passport abroad.
A checklist on other things to do if you lose your passport abroad.

Or read all my articles on Rome on my Rome a Survival Kit

Ostiense Lost Property Office in Rome

Information kiosk in Rome

An ATAC Bus in Rome

The Termini Station in Rome

My Experience with the Roman Police and Ostiense

My son lost his passport on the bus and went to the police. After my experience with them, I was left with a terrible impression. Here’s why.

I found my son forlorn in the Police Station at the Piazza del Collegio in Rome.

The police spent an age filing a simple report. In Britain, the report would have been done in a jiffy.

The report was on scrap paper and in Italian. This police report was my only means of communicating my problem, as most of the officers couldn’t speak English.

However, one officer spoke decent English. She told us that my son’s bag had been taken to ‘lost property’ by the bus driver who found it. When I asked where this lost property office was, I was simply told, ‘ask anyone. It’s in the main terminal station.’ I wanted the address, but she never gave one. I therefore assumed there was a big lost property office in the central bus station in Rome.

We went to the Termini but there was no lost property there.

I eventually found out from a small ticket booth at the other end of the station that the lost property for Rome was in a grotty little station outside of Rome called Ostiense. It had by then closed. It was 1pm on Friday.

The lost property office in Ostiense is not in the Termini as I thought, but happened to be a 20 minute walk from our hotel. The horrid little place was shut until Monday so we had to wait. When it eventually opened, the police officer looked at me with disdain and announced, ‘no bag here!’ She didn’t even pick up the phone or make an effort to help. There seems to be a lack of communication between the police offices in Rome. They simply don’t seem to speak to each other.

I returned to the Piazza del Collegio police station and was met with a fat Italian smoking a cigar in the foyer. He couldn’t speak English so I showed him a copy of the police report. He spent ages reading this report which was in his own language.

He led us into the station upstairs and we were met with the same lack of listening skills as before. No one checked their computer for our earlier report and no one picked up the phone to call Ostiense. I was then given an ad-hoc form to give to the embassy as though a fresh report. I kept telling them I had already reported the missing bag, but no one listened.

I never found out where this ‘lost property’ office was from the police. My son was by then greatly distressed.

I returned every morning to Ostiense to be met with the same ‘no bag here!’ I flew home without our bag.

I have since barred my son’s phone and debit card, neither of which has shown activity. I suspect they languish somewhere in a Roman storage place waiting to be claimed. I firmly believe they have not been stolen.

Whenever I see a Polizzio car. I consider myself lucky that the British police are more advanced than the Romans.

Lesson learnt

Don’t assume the Roman police have the efficiency of the British Police. Their resources and training appear lacking.

Lack of funding equals early office closures and basic resources.

Look after yourself. Don’t assume anyone in a big city will, even an official.

Read all my articles on Rome on my Rome a Survival Kit

Police Station in the Piazza del Collegio

The Termini Rome: no lost property to be found

The grubby Ostiense in Rome

Poor funding equals deserted  kiosks in Rome

My Visit to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel Without a Passport

I managed to see Vatican City despite my son losing his passport and trousers on the bus that morning. We had missed our timeslot and I didn’t know when we would be flying home.

It was mid-August and boiling in Rome. The crowds were tremendous. We managed to get into the Vatican despite the odds. Read my other article on how I managed to do this.

Inside the Vatican, we were allocated a guide and given green earphones which you get to keep. A Canadian guide gave us a talk, his chilled-out brogue just audible beneath the throng. But my earphones would at times cut out. I realised it was due to wandering too far from him. Each guide seems to have their own frequency, shared only by his or her group of tourists. So I kept close by and the problem seemed to resolve.

We began our tour in front of large reproductions of Michelangelo’s frescoes.

The talk lasted about half an hour before we wandered into the Vatican Museums. Our guide kept raising his hand to ensure we didn’t get lost in the crowd.

We entered the galleries, which (I had read) was 7km long, but we didn’t do the entire length. The ceilings glowed with frescos. It was hard to pay attention when astonishing images bore down on you.

Here is a brief history about the Vatican garnered from my guidebook and on the day.

The Vatican A Brief History

Constantine, Rome’s fist Christian emperor, had the basilica built over the tomb of martyred St Peter. It was sacked in 846 AD by Saracens before Pope Leo IV had huge walls built around the church. It was known as the Leoning City, then the Vatican City.

The popes took residence there in the 13th century after being in exile in Avignon. The Vatican is now an independent state after Mussolini signed the Lateron Pact in 1929. Swiss guards protect the border. It has its own post office, currency, newspaper and railway station. You don’t need a passport to cross over, although I was told I may need mine due to my son’s had gone  missing.

The Vatican is approached via the Castel Sant’ Angelo bridge, adorned with Bernini’s windswept angels. Hadrian’s impressive mausoleum can be seen just over the Tiber. This fort provided a refuge for popes.

The impressive St Peter’s basilica looms ahead. Its immense proportions inspired Goethe’s quote, it is ‘like entering eternity.’

Michelangelo’s The Pieta has its own chapel near the entrance. Find Bernini’s Baldacchino over the high altar. A spiral walkway will take you up to the galleries. Find dizzying views into the basilica’s interior. At the top are stunning views of Rome and the Vatican gardens. But beneath this immense building are grottos, catacombs and the tomb of St Peter.

The Cortile Della Pigna is a good place to rest and admire the bronze pinecone fountain before delving into the galleries.

The Picture Gallery

The Pinacotaca Vaticana covers nine centuries of art with works by Fra Angelico, Perugino, Bernini and Caravaggio. Find Raphael’s Transfiguration and Da Vinci’s St Jerome.

A mindboggling collection of art and artefacts can be found from Egyptian art to contemporary. Find the Apostle library, the Borgia apartments, the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel.

The Museo Piour Clementino has wonderful Classical art.

A contemporary gallery with works by Francis Bacon provided the penultimate before the finale, the Sistine Chapel.

At this point, our guide bade us farewell and told us to simply look up.

The Sistine Chapel

The Cappella Sistina formed the climax to the tour.

This surreal place is located within the Apostolic Palace. Tourists sat on benches within a certain hush to admire the frescoes. I spent ages just looking up. Photographs aren’t allowed.

Sixtus IV had the Sistine Chapel restored in the 1470s before Michelangelo painted the ceiling under Julius II between 1508 and 12. Michelangelo returned and painted the Last Judgement in 1535- 41.

The frescoes, having faded with time, underwent restoration over twenty years ending in the 1990s. The chapel tells a story in three parts:

The southern wall: The Stories of Moses, painted 1508-1512.

The northern wall The Stories of Jesus, painted 1508–1512.

Over the altar: The Last Judgment, painted 1535-1541.

Notice an almost naked Jesus serving judgement in the center. This breathtaking scene is best viewed from near the chapel’s exit. Plenty of benches are provided for optimum viewing.

Also to be admired are the Raphael tapestries and frescoes by other artists.

What an experience! I will never forget it. But I had horrible problems on my mind.

My son’s passport was missing and I didn’t think we would be flying home on Monday. I braced myself for liaising with the Roman Police, the British Embassy and Lost Property.

Read about how I managed to get us home in two days on my other articles.

Michelangelo's Brooding Raphael In the Vatican Museums

Glowing ceiling Frescoes in the Vatican

The Vatican have 7 kms of galleries

Magnificent frescoes in the Vatican

The Last Judgement by Michelangelo (WCommons)

The Creation by Michelangelo (WCommons)