William Hay Mus.B

WILLIAM HAY Mus.B

Canterbury 2000

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A few anecdotes from my most recent adventures in Italy

Dusk at the Colosseum14.08.2001  - As soon as I arrive at the station I am greeted by a friendly Chinese lady offering free tourist information and accommodation booking. She books a hotel room for me which is only three blocks from the main railway station, Roma Termini, and gives me a free street map which is more use than the one which I bought before leaving the UK. After finally figuring out how to enter the building, I am pleasantly surprised by the room costing me only L35,000 a night (a bargain!


St. Peters Basillica15.08.2001 - After a surprisingly cheap and particularly tasty shot of cappuccino, I head for the Vatican. It's just after half past nine and already the heat is stifling and the place is buzzing with tourists. I choose to avoid the Vatican Museum as the queues are about two hours long and the tour itself takes at least 5 hours! A nice recording of some plain chanting inside St. Peters, if only it was live!

Via del ConciliazioneOnce down via del Conciliazione, Mussolini's grand 1929 state boulevard, I cross the Tiber and head for Chiesa Nuovo on a quest to find the final resting place of the Patron Saint of Rome, St. Philip Neri.

Chiesa Nuovo

The stunning apse

The stunning facade and golden interior of Chiesa Nuovo

The holy grail itself! - 

A saintly shrine with altar and casket containing the relics.

St. Philip Neri


Basillica Santa Maria Maggiore16.08.2001 - Closer exploration around the vicinity of my hotel reveals relics of the actual manger from Bethlehem, decoratively preserved in the Basillica Santa Maria Maggiore.

Golden Reliquary

Pius IV

The golden casket containing the relics with Pius IV guarding them meditatively!

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Last updated on Wednesday 22nd Aug, 2001