Visiting St Peter’s and crossing the raging Tiber

From the majestic Via della Conciliazione, the Christmas tree was clearly visible in front of Basilica San Pietro this morning. I went to St Peter’s this morning to meet a long-time friend, Mary Margaret Stein. The day could not have been better for a little walk-about in Rome. In fact, after weeks of incredible rain and dreary, dark, ominous days, this morning dawned bright and clear. Throughout the day the weather remained clear and almost balmy (well, if you dressed in layers and zipped up).

Mary Margaret Stein at Piazza San Pietro today

Mary Margaret had contacted me through facebook to say that she was coming to Rome during this month. It was a quickly put-together trip, she told me then… and today I found out how she had pulled it off with a really economic flight. I will keep all this in mind for the future. Traveling between California and Italy does not have to be expensive. Of course, she lives in Alaska now, so if she found good flights from there, there is hope from LAX, no doubt.

Okay, so we met at the entrance to the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the basilica. We spent a little time in the church, but then went out into the piazza, given the wonderful weather. We stopped in first at an exposition on the life of Eugenio Pacelli — Pope Pius XII. This is the 50th anniversary of his death.

The exposition had many photographs and documents (including some pages that show how Pacelli worked to oppose the Nazis before the rest of the world took stock, and his work to save the Jewish people). In addition to the photographs, there are paintings and artefacts, some articles of his clothing, and similar items. I have to say that I recognized all the photographs, for I have seen reprints in books and magazines ever since I was a child… but it was great to see the original prints.

It was also great to see his vestments, his red shoes, the tiara that he wore. These I had also seen in photographs. What I never saw in the photos was that much of the papal regalia that he wore had been designed for Pope Pius IX, who died in 1878, that is 61 years before Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope in 1939. Talk about recycling!

After the expo, we went out into the square just as a series of limosines were exiting… limosines of new ambassadors who had come to offer their credentials to the pope. We were not allowed to cross the square as these departed, but it gave us time to visit and speculate, of course. Once they were gone, we walked down Borgo Pio, then to the Tiber to do some damage control.

Muddy and flooded Tiber River

After 6 weeks of rain in Italy, the Tiber came dangerously close to overflowing its banks. It was within a meter of doing so last weekend. Five days ago there was an alert that the Tiber might overflow its banks. Now it is now subsiding, but we could see the marks of how high the river had come thanks to the silt and mud on the walls. It is still higher than I have ever seen it in previous years… and very muddy. There is a lot of debris floating through and getting caught in the arches of the bridges, but the fast flowing river is returning to its normal depth. This is a relief.

Evidence of debris in the flooded Tiber River

Of course, all that helped us to work up an appetite. We crossed the Tiber and made our way down Via Vittorio Emanuele II, toward the Chiesa Nuova. There, in Piazza Sforza Cesarini, is a little family-style place to eat called Trattoria Polese. This is my favourite of all eateries on the planet. We were slightly ahead of the dinner crowd (we entered at 12.50) but soon enough the trattoria filled up. The owner waited on us and we took our time with a wonderful meal where everything was genuine, from the mozzarella to the sweet basil, from the saltinbocca to the gelato. I was happy to see how much Mary Margaret enjoyed the flavours and the textures… The conversation was as delicious.

Trattoria Polese, in Piazza Sforza Cesarini: my favourite of all eateries on the planet

It was during our leisurely meal that I discovered why Mary Margaret had come to Rome… but I’ll save this for tomorrow. It is already very late.