Last week started off with one of those days that just will not go to plan, despite how hard you try. I’ve realised it’s best sometimes to just embrace that, go with whatever the day throws at you and write it off.
I was scheduled to do a Catacombs and Crypts tour. Not the usual small group though, this was a private booking for a three hour visit to include private pick up, a visit to the Catacombs, then back to the Capuchin Crypts. There are several Catacombs which one can visit whilst visiting Rome. They’re all outside of the city walls, as one of the rules of Ancient Rome was that the dead were to be buried beyond the city limits. These locations were initially quarries which were then repurposed as burial sites. Whilst they no longer contain remains they are networks and labyrinths of tunnels, chambers and tombs with some beautiful decorations and some of the earliest Christian artwork that exists. The most popular ones to visit are the the catacombs of San Calisto, Priscilla and San Sebastiano. The latter of which I was due to take my three clients to as part of Monday’s tour. The night before, I decided to check something on their website and discovered that they were in fact closed the following day. Dammit. I quickly started searching for another one to substitute. The next one I checked…also closed, then the next, then the next. Turns out, thanks to seasonal maintenance work, there wasn’t a single catacombs site open on Monday. Disaster!
So I had to greet the customers at their beautiful hotel the following morning and do something which I absolutely hate doing; start a tour with bad news! (Incidentally, it was not the first time I had to do that. The other week the closing of the Holy Doors took many people by surprise and having to deliver that news to one group resulted in tears from one lovely lady. As well as me feeling extremely sorry for the man who had battled stage 4 cancer all year and was only just fit enough to make the journey from the USA to Rome, specifically to go through the Holy Doors! What a disaster!)
Anyway, I was really hoping these clients were first time visitors to Rome so I could whizz them round the city in the luxury minivan and allow the beauty and monuments to compensate. Unfortunately, they had visited many times before and requested just to do the Crypts part of the tour instead. So off we went to the Capuchin Crypts that are located on Via Veneto.
I love doing tours here, it’s a wonderfully unique place with such an intriguing history. The Order of the Capuchin Friars was founded in 1528 in Viterbo by two brothers Matteo and Ludovico. They disagreed with the relaxing views of the Franciscan Order which had been founded by St Francis of Assisi in 1209 and wanted to create a stricter order focused on piety, penance and poverty for the purpose of serving those in need. They came to Rome in 1529 but at the end of that century they were forced to relocate after a severe flood. Eventually, after several different locations Pope Urban VIII of the Barberini family constructed a new, permanent home for the friars which they inhabited in 1631. This complex includes six small chambers or crypts underneath the church which have been creatively decorated in a rather unusual way…with bones. There are many stories surrounding how this came to be but the most accepted is that the bones were from 3,700 skeletons of past friars which were collected from the previous friaries and left in these chambers. Sometime between 1732 and 1775 an artist on the run took sanctuary here and spent his time rather wisely! He decorated the crypts in a weirdly wonderful way, full of symbolism linking back to the order. I recommend adding this to your list of places to visit in Rome.
So on this particular doomed morning, I arrived with my three lovely clients, a mother, father and daughter from the USA. However, the crypts didn’t actually open for another 15 minutes! This really wasn’t going well! I filled the time with chat and a look around the church before finally entering the crypts. However, it went from bad to worse. The admission team informed me of a rule change and since the start of the new year only specific guides could carry out tours inside! I begged them to let me do just this one as I was already there with the customers but instead was just thrust the piece of paper stating the new rule! I couldn’t believe it! I then had to explain all the history and information to the clients outside, I went in with them under the strict instructions not to explain anything to them at all! I spent the next hour subtly talking out the corner of my mouth and trying not to point! What a disaster! Luckily, I was blessed with lovely clients who were exceedingly understanding and grateful nonetheless.
My day continued on the theme of epic failure as I decided to detour on my way home, to go and see the two angel statues created by Bernini. They were originally created for the Ponte St Angelo bridge, but Pope Clement IX deemed them far too precious to be left outside in the elements so took them for himself. They’ve subsequently ended up in one of Rome’s many churches! As I entered the church, the bell rang to mark the beginning of the noon mass. I turned to leave, thinking a return visit another day was needed. I heard the opening phrases from the priest and I realised he was talking in English. I turned back around and something pulled me to a pew and encouraged me to stay. So I ended up attending mass! After which, I realised I had read duff information and it wasn’t even that church which housed Bernini’s angels after all! I gave up, went home and had a cup of tea! Hopefully the rest of the week wouldn’t carry on in the same vein!
Brand New Day 