Day 10: 6 July 2010

Even on a return to Rome and a 3 night stay, we still had to get up early to see the remaining sites we wanted to get to.  Our first stop was St. Peter’s to climb the dome.  There was no line to the dome once we got through security at 8:30.  In the interest of time, we took the elevator half way up, then walked the 300+ stairs to the top.  A third of the way up we were able to walk next to the mosaics on the inside of the dome.  Further up, the wall slanted sidewards on our climb, then up several spiral staircases before reaching the top.  We had a great view of Rome from St. Peter’s.  Definitely worth the early morning trip to get there.

Decided to make a quick stop at Castel Sant’Angelo with the Roma Pass as well.  In 30 min. we sped through the castle, which the popes used for protection in case of attack.  Most of the rooms house some artwork, but not really anything of interest.  Much to our disappointment, there wasn’t really much to see inside at all, which made it easier for us to leave and return to the hotel for checkout.

On the way out of Rome, we drove to the Appian Way (the highway of Ancient Rome) and made one last stop at the Catacombs of San Callisto.  Went on an English speaking tour down into a network of tunnels where about 600,000 early Christians were buried in levels in the ground.  It was a maze down there, and we were only on a small part of one or two of the four levels that exist.  Most of the tombs were empty open spaces in the walls since the tunnels were plundered by barbarian tribes at one point.  However, there were still some marble plaques intact indicating people buried here, as well as several drawings on the wall.  I was so excited to find the fish symbol on one of the walls!  Altars were also set up in a few rooms that were used to for celebrating Mass in secret.  We were a bit rushed on the tour, but it was definitely an interesting take.  After the tour we walked down the pedestrian way on top of the catacombs that is now a park with olive trees and the Stations of the Cross along the way.  With the exception of skylights poking up from the ground (for ventilation and to let air in to harden the dirt dug below), you really wouldn’t know that there were tunnels underneath.

Following our visit to San Callisto, we hit the road for a 3hr. drive south to Sorrento.  The drive actually took an extra hour with a few stops and the slow roads on the Sorrentino Peninsula.  The only standout part of the drive was when we spotted Mt. Vesuvius in the distance.  There was no doubt about it that this was it b/c it even had the look of a volcano at the top.  Arrived in Sorrento around 8:30ish, just in time to catch a beautiful sunset down the street from our hotel.  Checked in to Hotel Meridiana, then took a short walk down the street to one of Rick’s recommended restaurants.  Tried the gnocchi alla Sorrentina (red sauce and mozzarella cheese baked in the oven) and the house pizza.  Both were good portions and tasty!  Yay for quality food and good value two nights in a row!