Catacomb (n.) - used for brushing cat hair.

I finally had a chance to use the transport option of the Roma Pass I purchased a few weeks ago, which was useful since I have several bus and metro rides to take. I took the Metro this morning to San Giovanni that was one of the first significant Christian establishments in, or just outside of, Rome. Besides the church itself, another famous landmark here are Scala Sancta, Holy Steps. According to the Christian tradition, these are the steps that led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem upon which Jesus Christ stood during his Passion on his way to trial. They were, reputedly, brought to Rome during the 4th Century. apparently even though they were dissembled and transported thousands of miles away, they still hold religious significance. These steps may only be ascended on one's knees. I took the Metro and a bus to reach the Appian Way, the famous and extremely significant roadway leading to Rome. I had a quick lunch after getting dropped off an then headed out a little bit to seek out a couple of geocaches along the way and stopped by a few of the roadside attractions.

After a few quick finds, I headed to the nearby catacombs. There are a couple very significant catacombs around here that are quite extensive. I went by the catacombs of San Callisto but they were closed for lunch/siesta, so I wandered around a bit and had lunch, a beer, and then visited the nearby Fosse Ardeatine memorial. This was a solemn memorial site where 335 people were executed by the Germans in retaliation for an attack the previous day against German policemen in occupied Rome. Read the Wikipedia entry linked above for the sad, shocking story.

After visiting the memorial, I headed back to the Catacombe di San Callisto. This had significant Christian heritage and was once the burial site for several of Rome's first popes. The catacombs were used at a time when burial was prohibited within the walls of Rome and the Christian poor didn't have the means to own large burial plots. The tour was fairly short and not extensive in length, but informative enough to be interesting at least. They made mention of the history of the Jesus Fish symbol and its Greek (gotta love em) origins and mentioned that these catacombs held 500,000 people. A last stop before waiting at the bus stop was at the Church of Domine Quo Vadis which is supposedly where Peter saw Jesus while fleeing Roman persecution. There is a stone inside the church that is supposed to be a copy of the footprints left by Jesus.

After finishing the hike along the Appian Way, I took the bus back into town and got dropped off at the Circus Maximus metro stop. I headed to the Borghese Gardens, however since it is so popular I wasn't able to get access to the museum. I headed down to the Santa Maria della Concezione to check out the creepy monk crypt. The ossuary contains the remains of 4,000 friars buried during a time when the Roman Catholic Church permitted burial in and under churches. The underground crypt is divided into five chapels which are decorated with the remains of those friars. Some of the skeletons are intact and draped with Franciscan habits, but for the most part, individual bones are used to create elaborate ornamental designs. There is a plaque at the entryway of one of the chapels that reads "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be." Access is granted on a donation basis and is definitely worth a stop by if one is already a few hundred meters away visiting the Triton's Fountain. I wandered for a little while longer before deciding to take in a movie and saw 'State of Prey' in English (though with Italian subtitles). By the time it let out I was pretty tired and ready to go to bed and end another day in Rome.