It has always been my childhood dream to go to Vatican and Rome. So I took a short break from school during Holy Week and planned my solo adventure. I’ve seen posts about Rome and Vatican being too crowded during this time of the year because of the pilgrims and overwhelming amount of tourists but my mind and my heart are really very determined to hear the Easter Mass at St. Peter’s Square so I was not a bit discouraged and happily proceeded. This was my first purely solo trip as I was often with family and friends during vacations so I was also excited to see if I will  actually enjoy being with myself.

In Italy, the holidays during the Holy Week are from Good Friday until Easter Monday. I arrived in the afternoon of Good Friday at Rome via the Italian high-speed train Frecciarossa coming from Turin. The trip was about 4 hours. I got an airbnb accommodation (at Via Giorgio Scalia) within walking distance from the Vatican (12 mins to the Vatican Museum, 20 mins to St. Peter’s Square) because I wanted to be able to just walk there and arrive early for the Easter Mass. The place is also very close to the Cipro metro station which makes going to the other tourist destinations in Rome such a breeze.

GOOD FRIDAY

On Good Friday, the Pope leads the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) at the Colosseo. I initially wanted to go there but did not push through upon the advice of a friend because it starts at 9:15 PM and will end rather late. I went instead to St. Peter’s Square. From my airbnb flat, I walked clockwise to get to St. Peter’s Square, passing by the Vatican Museum. That turned out to be a really good decision because seeing the Vatican at night, for the first time, really touched my heart in a very special way. The mood was so solemn and there weren’t too many people (I assume everyone was at the Colosseo). It was also a good time to pray.

I decided to complete the clockwise loop going back, for me to see a lot. I saw Trattoria da Angelo alla Cupola not far and decided to take my authentic Roman carbonara from there for dinner. Walking back to my apartment from there was very scary, though. You see, the Vatican is a fortress and there’s a part of Viale Vaticano which isn’t really for walking. I trusted GoogleMaps to get me home and it made me pass a rather deserted street along Viale Vaticano. No one else was walking there and only a few cars passed. It was a residential area but was uphill so it was physically challenging and heart-racing. I did pray really hard as I knew that if I encounter some bad elements in there, my body would never be found. But I made it alive, so I’m thankful! 😀

BLACK SATURDAY

I booked a Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica half-day tour with Viator to skip the long lines on Black Saturday. It was a peak season for travelers and queues to enter these areas are painstakingly long. Touring with a very good guide who has an Art History degree is really awesome as she made me appreciate and look at all those pieces in ways I couldn’t have had if I went on my own. These people know their history and know what they are talking about which made me really enjoy the tour. Let me run you trough some of my favorites:

Inside Vatican Museum, you could really see very grand things that fit the tastes of the early popes. This one is the most beautiful and the grandest of all ceilings, I guess.

The young Raphael has several rooms of paintings here, with the School of Athens being the most famous among them. The fact that he was painting there at the same time that Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was pretty cool.

This is the only piece of art Michelangelo ever signed. He signed it across the chest of the Virgin Mary as he heard rumors saying it was somebody else’s work. He never signed anything after as he was so ashamed of how his pride had made him do that to the religious sculpture.

As a Christian, knowing that you’re this close to St. Peter’s tomb was really so humbling.

In the afternoon, I decided to explore central Rome and see these wonders.

EASTER SUNDAY

This is the highlight of my trip – to attend the Easter Mass at St. Peter’s Square. If you google how to attend a mass, you’ll know that a ticket (which is free) has to be obtained from the Prefecture of the Papal Household in advance and you have to fax (yes, you read that right, FAX – no option to email) a form requesting for tickets. I did fax them via an internet faxing service but I did not get any response and didn’t get any ticket. But, even if I didn’t have a ticket, I still went to Vatican hoping I could get in because I believe that the Pope is for everyone, with or without tickets 😀 All people queuing had tickets with them. Most of them were part of a huge touring group.

My efforts did pay off. The guards only inspected the bags and didn’t look for tickets. Security was very tight (with Brussels bombing happening a week earlier) but they really weren’t asking for tickets for people to get in. And so I got in! And heard my Easter Mass at Vatican! The experience was surreal! I also met the Marianos, a Filipino family living in Italy and I heard the mass with them. They also did not have tickets and we all were able to go in together. 🙂

Seeing people from different countries, speaking different languages, coming together for the same faith that binds us all was an experience I’ll never forget.

The best part for me was when I shook hands of people I don’t know, saying “Peace be with you” and getting the same thing said to me in a different language. 😀 And yeah, the Holy Communion at St. Peter’s Square was very special to me. 🙂

Rome has been awesome. I will definitely be coming back. My wish at the Trevi Fountain will not fail me. 😀