Day 6: Colosseum, Churches, Spanish Steps and a Christmas Market
We could sleep in a little bit the next day since our tickets to see the Colosseum weren’t until 10 a.m. We got there a little early, but didn’t have to wait long to get inside once it was our time. It’s much bigger in real life than pictures show! We marveled the entire time about what an architectural marvel it is. We learned that throughout the years, it has been used for various things since it was abandoned after the fall of Rome. The fact that show much of the original structure remains is quite the feat. We walked along the entire top row and could stop and see the arena floor right before we left. There were 80 elevators run by pulleys to raise people and animals to the arena floor.
Our tickets included entrance to the Roman Forum, but the line was really long, so we went to find lunch instead. After lunch, we had a list of stops – 4 churches and a Christmas market.
We visited San Clemente, which is a 12th century church, built on top of a 3rd century church, built on top of a Roman temple. The artwork that they have managed to recover and maintain in both churches is amazing. There’s a painting of Jesus on the cross in the 12th century church that is almost completely faded, but you can still see it. There’s a few paintings of saints and one of the mass in the 3rd century church. They are still restoring and excavating the 3rd century church. It’s named after the 3rd pope, who died in 100 AD. It was most likely originally a house church that got expanded after Christianity was legalized.
Then, we visited St. Peter in Chains. It has chains that held St. Peter in prison. It also features Michelangelo’s Moses statue. The statue is quite impressive. It has horns on Moses, which is from an incorrect translation of his face radiating.
We then visited St. Mary Major, which was the 4th holy door we went through. The church was very crowded. They have a relic of the manger there. It was very beautiful inside. Pope Francis is buried at this church.
We then visited the church I really wanted to see in Rome – Our Lady of Victory. Inside is Bernini’s statue of St. Teresa of Avila in ecstasy. She is my confirmation saint. I had also heard recently that St. Therese and her family visited this church when they came to Rome before she became a nun and visited this statue. It was overwhelming to stand in the same spot! It’s a beautiful church!
We then headed to the Spanish Steps (at the top) to check them out. It was very crowded and we just went halfway down to enjoy the view. The sun had set, so we could see all the streets lit up with Christmas lights at the bottom with packed crowds. We then took a short walk to visit a Christmas market. We saw St. Peter’s lit up from a distance on our walk. Christmas World was a commercialized market, but our children loved it. We ate dinner there, looked around and enjoyed some singers. Then we headed back to our hotel.
Day 7-8: Mass at St. Peters and Traveling Home
Our last full day in Rome was a Sunday. We headed to the 10:30 am mass at St. Peter’s. We got there a full hour ahead of time, and we were glad we did. They started getting people seated as soon as the previous mass ended. It was a packed service and there were at least 20 priests helping with the mass. The service was mostly in Italian, but there was some English, Spanish and Latin thrown in at some parts.
Afterwards, we headed out to St. Peter’s square for the Pope’s Angelus and blessing. Some in the crowd were chanting “Papa Leone!” He spoke in Italian, but they had several big screens to help see him more closely and you could listen on the EWTN app in your own language if you wanted to. We just soaked it in. (Here’s the link: https://ewtn.co.uk/vod-live-from-the-vatican-angelus-prayer-of-pope-leo-xiv-december-21-2025/)
We then got lunch at what ended up being our favorite restaurant: Caffee Moretto. We then went shopping for souvenirs – keychains, rosaries, shirts, sweatshirts, cologne and groceries. We did run into a priest at one store who knew where Dayton, Ohio, was because he did his masters studies at the University of Dayton. We got our last gelatos and then headed back to the hotel to eat dinner and pack.
The flight home was a long day as we added six hours back in and our last flight was delayed by two hours. However, we got home with just enough time to get settled and then head to bed at our normal at home bedtime, which helped us all get over jet lag quicker so we could enjoy Christmas.
Missed the first part of the Italy trip blog? Check out days 1-3 here!
