Walk through the Religions of Rome

My tour is designed to show a small view on how this religious capitol has progressed throughout the years, from the days of gods and goddesses to the present religious conflicts. There were so many places I could begin my tour at the remains of the Temple of Venus and Roma in the Roman Forum behind the Santa Maria Nova church. We’ll start with this Temple because it was originally the most prominent in the forum and is now barely replicated behind the Santa Maria Nova not far from the Arch of Titus. This Temple was built to honor the goddess Venus the mother of Roma Aeneas and the ancestor of Roma Aterna whose cult localized on the Velia. This Temple showed how strongly the emperor was influence by Greek Architecture. The visible remains date back to 307 when the emperor Maxentius restored it after a fire. This is thought to be the last pagan temple that remained in use in Rome. It was closed in 391 AD by Theodosius. It remained intact until 625 when Honorius I stole the bronze tiles off its roof to create the Old St. Peter’s Cathedral.

We can now see the many pagan temples and Christian churches around the Forum as we head up the Sacra Via the road directly in front of the Santa Maria Nova. You’ll notice that some of the churches may look sealed like temples whereas others you can go inside. Many temples were converted and reused. This is one of the reasons these buildings are still there. We’ll follow the winding road from the Basilica of Maxentius, past the temple of Romulus. At the fork in the road steer left away from the S. Lorenzo in Miranda church that was originally the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. Here you’ll find the Temple of Vesta and behind it where the rose garden lies in the ruined courtyard is our next stop, The House of Vesta. This is where the Vestal Virgins were housed. Thought to go back as far as the second king of Rome Numa Pompilius or even as far back as Aeneas who brought the eternal fire from Troy to Rome along with the images of the penates (household gods). Six daughters from patrician families between the ages of 6 and 10 were chosen to be the Vestals for 30 years. 10 years learning her duties, 10 performing them, and 10 teaching novices. After 30 years Vestals returned to the world and some even married. Until then however they took a vow of chastity that if broken meant that they would walled-in alive inside the Campus Sceleratus. The man was publically flogged to death in the Forum. As guardians of the eternal fire it was prophesized that the end of the Vestals was the end of Rome.

We can backtrack now and continue to follow the Sacra Via by S. Lorenzo in Miranda, turning left in front of the Tabernae Novae, and making a right to stay on the Sacra Via while that road ends. Head straight past the Arch of Tiberius at the end of the road, straight ahead you’ll see the Temple of Vespasian make a left right by this and you’ll follow the Clivus Capitolinus, up the stairs to begin your climb up Capitoline Hill. You’ll see a small miniature of the she-wolf off the side of a building to your left as you reach the top of the hill. In this piazza the Capitoline Museum will be on your left. This is the next stop on the tour. Inside the Capitoline you can finish your tour of the Roman gods. You’ll find that much of the artwork and statues of pagan emperors were preserved here only because they were not identified correctly. As Christianity became the religion of Rome, people did what they could to destroy the pagan past. It made sense to them at the time. Sadly however, as they did this they destroyed part of their own past and assets to humanity.

Exit the Capitoline Museum to the left and head down the stairs. When you get to the bottom turn to your right and head right back up those stairs again. This is the Santa Maria Aracoeli. This is the church that stands in the spot where according to medieval tradition; Tiburtine Sibyl appeared to Augustus to announce the coming of Christ. Enter and look at the ancient 8th century artwork. There is a tomb of a cardinal along the west wall, beautiful fresco in the south isle, and the beautiful high alter with marble ambones from the early church.

Exit down the stairs and turn left away from the beautiful white building, the Vittorio Emmaunele. Follow the Via del Teatro di Marcello pas the Theatre of Marcellus crossing the street by the Santa Nicola in Carcere and making a right onto the Olitorio Jugario. Turn right onto the next road Lung. Dei Cenci. Follow this road as it curves around to the back of a white building with different architecture just after you pass the Piazza Monte Savello. You’ll notice Italian Police blocking off any entrance. This is the Synagogue inside the Jewish Ghetto. It is an important trip in our journey around Roman religion. Inside the Jewish Ghetto the culture is different. There are fewer cars, almost every shop is selling kosher food, and most men are wearing kippahs. When school lets out at one you can see children in a white and blue school uniform throughout the streets. The culture here is amazing. The guarded Synagogue is beautiful but contrasting from the rest of Roman architecture. The ghetto tells the story of past racism and religious discrimination that the world must never forget. The police outside the Synagogue however, tell the story of a modern problem with anti-Semites. The food here is amazing, I highly recommend stopping for a bite to eat and taking in this culture within Rome.

However will now continue to follow past the Synagogue along the Lung. Dei Cenci a road that follows the river Tiber. This walk will be a long one we’ll pass many beautiful bridges along the way. You’ll pass the Ponte G. Mazzini, Ponte Pr. Amadeo Savoia Aosta, and Ponte Emmaunele II. The bridge you’ll want to cross at is Ponte S Angelo, facing the beautiful Mausoleum of Hadrian. As soon as you turn to the left, you’ll see St. Peter’s square and the incredible Cathedral. This is the Vatican, a major part of modern Rome is to be the religious capitol of the Catholic, and in many ways the entire Christian world. This is where St. Peter is buried. These buildings were designed to honor him and to honor God. Two miles away, at a downhill slope hidden where you cannot see it, there is the largest mosque in Europe. The Vatican allowed it to be created although many people felt that it shouldn’t be. How can the largest mosque in Europe be in the capitol of the Christian world? What does allowing this mean? What should we do with the past? Artifacts from an era are missing because one religion decided to try and erase parts of another, but then again would Christianity have been as successful if Rome had continued to allow the pagan temples to remain? What can we actually learn?