our holiday blog, Mark Ruth Hannah and Jacob: Sunday, bus trip, and a tour of the catacombs

Set out a little later, and caught the open air bus to the Coloseum, to meet a tour fo the Catacombs.
This girl was Canadian, and a Art History Major, who made her money on taking tours.. She was Brilliant, just brilliant, Firstly we walked to the Crcus Maxximus, where the chariot races were held, a huge long arena, which is now 9 metres underground, but Mussolini removed the gas station that was there, and preserved it again as a park for the people, Its enormous. This is where they killed the Christians, not the Coloseum.. They were a blood thirsty bunch.
Then we walked to the Church with the skull of St Valentine, and put our hands in the mouth of Truth.
Then to the Castillo Catacombs.
Our Tour guide there was a Father Owen, from Melbourne.. He is a Salesian Priest, went to Marist Bros College in Hawthorn,brought up in BoxHill, very very interesting guy, gave us a pretty special tour, cutting in and out to avoid some Italian group he didnt like, and told a great story of the place, the history etc, where 9 popes were buried.. these were the first popes, so more like church leaders, than powerful rulers, that the Popes became in later days.. In fact their inscriptions read Bishop of Rome..
Finally ended at San Pietro in Vincoli, where the Chains of St Peter, and Michaelangelos sculpture exists.
She told a great story, about the chains first, that twice in his life, Peter was chained, and when the two sets of chains were placed together, years later, they welded to each other.. These are under the high altar in the centre of the church.
The second told the ongoing clash between Michael angelo and the pope of the day, and his revenge on him, by sculpting this fiery fierce pope in an almost gay, weak pose, so infact it was never placed in the Basilica in the Vatican, but rather left here..