Day 16 - Sorento to Rome

May 06, 2025

Day 16 (number change) - Sorento to Rome

We left Sorrento this morning and headed to Rome! The eternal city.

Along the way we encountered a pretty decent rain shower, the first real rain we’ve had. We had two stops planned along the way to our hotel. First stop was the Tre Fontane monastery. This Trappist monastery is famous as it is the alleged location where Paul was beheaded. Paul had appealed to Caesar from Jerusalem, and so he had traveled to Rome where he was kept under arrest for two years before Nero had him beheaded. Supposedly his head bounced three times and created a spring on each bounce. Hence the name Tre Fontane, or Three Fountains.

The church was quite lovely and included a pillar relic that was used to behead Paul.

The monastery is also known for producing goods like chocolate, beer, and wine that are sold to help fund the monastery. We enjoyed a light lunch there and bought some chocolate for later.

Next we headed to the Basilica of St. Pauls Outside the Wall. This large basilica is considered part of the Vatican. So we left Italy, so to speak. The building itself was originally built in the 4th century, added onto over the years, burned down in the early 19th century, then rebuilt. This basilicas claim is it is the alleged burial place of Paul. The church has a small crypt where you can view a portion of the burial chamber.

After checking into our hotel, we headed over to the center of Rome where we viewed the Roman Circus, which is normally just an open area, but was covered in tents for a running event to cure breast cancer. We then circled the Forum and Coliseum viewing them from outside. So here are random photos from our walk.