Day 13 – Sunday, October 27: Appian Way, Ostia Antica, Catacombs
Today was our second full day here on the Rome extension. We began the day with a moving moment on the Appian Way and ended with a solemn time down in one of Rome’s catacombs. The weather was absolutely perfect once again, with mild morning temps and most sunny skies with highs around 70s in the afternoon. We read from Acts 28 about Paul’s journey here to Rome as we left at 8:05.
Appian Way
Following a relaxing breakfast, we boarded our bus and drove about 20 minutes to a small section of the Appian Way. Paul would have used this ancient road that dates back to as early as 312 BC. Paul walked 170 miles of this road into Rome, beginning at Puteoli (where his ship landed after the shipwreck at Malta). We walked about 10 minutes on this ancient pavement. We enjoyed a quiet time of reflection and song on this Sunday morning, reading from Romans 12 and then listening to “Holy Forever.” It was a special time.
Ostia Antica
We then drove towards the coast of Rome to the ancient port of Rome, Ostia Antica. The site was massive (it had a population of about 200,000), with ruins from the 1st century BC through the Byzantine Period. Among the ruins we saw numerous houses, the theater (built in 12 BC), bathhouses, the Forum (Capitalium), and the Thermopolium. The site is somewhat similar to Pompeii three hours to the south. We even saw a Menorah here on one of the marbles. It’s very possible that Paul knew this Jewish community here (and perhaps visited this group of Jews?) when he was in Rome. Following the site to the site, we enjoyed an extended time in the small village of Ostia for lunch and gelato. 🙂
“We really enjoyed another day here in Rome. It began by walking on the same section of the Appian Way that Paul did as he entered Rome from the south. It was an inspiration time.”
Catacombs
At 2:10, we drove back towards Rome to the Catacomb of Domitilla. This is one of the five or six of the largest underground cemeteries in Rome (a total of 62 catacombs have been discovered). This one was a Christian graveyard and it dates from about 150-450 AD. This catacomb here consist of 4 labyrinth layers of graves spanning about 8 miles. It is believed that there were 27,000 tombs here (2,000 of them have are still untouched). It was incredible to see so many of them. It was a cool 17 degrees Celsius down below (64 degrees).
We ended the day by driving back to the hotel for some time of leisure before another wonderful sit-down dinner at 7 p.m. We enjoyed a free evening before retiring. Our last day here in Rome is tomorrow. We are looking forward to seeing the Forum and the prison of Paul, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon.
Day 14 – Monday, October 28: St. Peter in Chains, Colosseum, Constantine’s and Titus’ Arches, Roman Forum, Mamertine Prison, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon
