Rome Hotel: Trevi Fountain or Piazza Navona?
Sep 23rd, 2016, 10:48 AM
#42
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ger, yes, the Jubilee of Mercy runs through November 20th.
Here's a link with some info: http://dynamiccatholic.com/year-of-m...FUU8gQodZSkFoQ
Since you mention being a Catholic you might enjoy making a pilgrimage through the Holy Door (Porta Santa) at St. Peter's. You mention having been in Rome before so I imagine you've seen at least one of the four at the major basilicas? They're opened for jubilee years and this one - the Year of Mercy - is an extraordinary one in the classic sense of the word (outside the ordinary times, every 25 years).
If you want to walk through the Holy Door you can register online in advance:
http://www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va...strazione.html
I know some people who have been able to talk their way into the line, while others could not. I played it safe and pre-registered with a friend and we went through the designated line to be able to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter's.
The Holy Door at St. Mary Major, meanwhile, is just open to anyone once you get through the security (which they set up for this jubilee and which a guard told me would go away afterwards...this may or may not be true).
Some of the events have drawn fewer people than some expected - so you might have a long line, you might not. The classic advice to try to go early in the day to avoid the largest crowds always applies to visiting St. Peter's in my opinion!
Here's a link with some info: http://dynamiccatholic.com/year-of-m...FUU8gQodZSkFoQ
Since you mention being a Catholic you might enjoy making a pilgrimage through the Holy Door (Porta Santa) at St. Peter's. You mention having been in Rome before so I imagine you've seen at least one of the four at the major basilicas? They're opened for jubilee years and this one - the Year of Mercy - is an extraordinary one in the classic sense of the word (outside the ordinary times, every 25 years).
If you want to walk through the Holy Door you can register online in advance:
http://www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va...strazione.html
I know some people who have been able to talk their way into the line, while others could not. I played it safe and pre-registered with a friend and we went through the designated line to be able to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter's.
The Holy Door at St. Mary Major, meanwhile, is just open to anyone once you get through the security (which they set up for this jubilee and which a guard told me would go away afterwards...this may or may not be true).
Some of the events have drawn fewer people than some expected - so you might have a long line, you might not. The classic advice to try to go early in the day to avoid the largest crowds always applies to visiting St. Peter's in my opinion!
Sep 23rd, 2016, 11:06 AM
#43
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,464
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ducinaltum:
Wonderful. thank you.
I am a very poor Catholic, but you have given me something to consider in honour of both my Mother, Grandmother and my Mother-in-law, who were very devoted.
Bless you ...Ger
Wonderful. thank you.
I am a very poor Catholic, but you have given me something to consider in honour of both my Mother, Grandmother and my Mother-in-law, who were very devoted.
Bless you ...Ger
Sep 23rd, 2016, 12:13 PM
#44
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a lovely thought - it's always nice to have ways of honoring and remembering our loved ones. 
Oh I should mention, at the white tent at the base of Via della Conciliazione they had a sheet with some reflections which were a nice way of making the wait in line productive/reflective and made it feel more like a little pilgrimage. Naturally this isn't necessary but I wanted to mention it since it'd be easy to miss depending on the angle from which you approach the square.
Oh I should mention, at the white tent at the base of Via della Conciliazione they had a sheet with some reflections which were a nice way of making the wait in line productive/reflective and made it feel more like a little pilgrimage. Naturally this isn't necessary but I wanted to mention it since it'd be easy to miss depending on the angle from which you approach the square.
Sep 23rd, 2016, 02:53 PM
#45
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,866
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We have stayed at the Hotel Arenula twice and loved it...great location about halfway between P Navona and the center of Trastevere.
The historic core of Rome is amazingly walkable. We walked to both Trastevere (for dinner several times) and P Navonna during our visits...maybe ten minutes from our hotel.
However, that hotel does not have a lift, so I would get a first floor room...unless you are young.
ssander
The historic core of Rome is amazingly walkable. We walked to both Trastevere (for dinner several times) and P Navonna during our visits...maybe ten minutes from our hotel.
However, that hotel does not have a lift, so I would get a first floor room...unless you are young.
ssander
Sep 24th, 2016, 10:53 AM
#47
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
annhig, that's a good question! If someone's been to one of the major basilicas in Rome they've seen one, they just might not know it. St. Peter's, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran (which is actually the cathedral), and St. Paul outside the Walls each have a designated door known as the Holy Door, open only during Jubilee/Holy years. In the modern era these have been every 25 years, with a few exceptions, and are normally sealed with mortar and cement on the inside to prevent use with the exception of the designated Holy Years. Google 'holy doors in Rome' or something similar and you'll see the images which you may recognize.
They are opened for a particular kind of pilgrimage for the anyone, but particular graces are attached to a pilgrimage made by Catholics.
There's a lot of symbolism with gates and doors (ex. "...ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you...") and the act of making the pilgrimage intentionally (mentally/physically/spiritually) and walking through the door connects that symbolism to the pilgrim's actions in meaningful ways.
In thinking how insufficient my answer can be in a short span and not wanting to go on endlessly I just googled and found this explanation. It's long but I learned things myself (like how the removing of the wall is a symbol of removing obstacles of our own that keep us from God, the connection of striking the door three times as a symbol of the water from the rock that Moses drew in the Old Testament, etc).
http://catholicstraightanswers.com/w...the-holy-door/
It's perhaps longer than your question may warrant but thanks for asking the question because at least I just learned some new things about the meaning of the doors!
They are opened for a particular kind of pilgrimage for the anyone, but particular graces are attached to a pilgrimage made by Catholics.
There's a lot of symbolism with gates and doors (ex. "...ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you...") and the act of making the pilgrimage intentionally (mentally/physically/spiritually) and walking through the door connects that symbolism to the pilgrim's actions in meaningful ways.
In thinking how insufficient my answer can be in a short span and not wanting to go on endlessly I just googled and found this explanation. It's long but I learned things myself (like how the removing of the wall is a symbol of removing obstacles of our own that keep us from God, the connection of striking the door three times as a symbol of the water from the rock that Moses drew in the Old Testament, etc).
http://catholicstraightanswers.com/w...the-holy-door/
It's perhaps longer than your question may warrant but thanks for asking the question because at least I just learned some new things about the meaning of the doors!
Sep 24th, 2016, 10:56 AM
#48
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry, forgot the most basic answer - on the other side is simply the basilica. The Holy doors are on the same side as the normal entrances people walk through any given day, but are just typically closed off by the cement.
Sep 24th, 2016, 01:45 PM
#50
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,956
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think the number of visitors to Rome for the Jubilee year has been much below expectations. I don't think it's had any effect on hotel prices.
I used to stay at the Hotel Arenula and liked it quite a lot. Its location is as close to central as you can get. Lately I tend to stay closer to Termini station, because it's cheaper and being near to Tourist Central isn't as important to me now as it once was.
I used to stay at the Hotel Arenula and liked it quite a lot. Its location is as close to central as you can get. Lately I tend to stay closer to Termini station, because it's cheaper and being near to Tourist Central isn't as important to me now as it once was.
