WHAT A CITY! Rome demands all caps and italics. From the second we set foot on the rainy streets, it was love at first sight. The noise! The smells! The scooters! The people exclaiming in Italian! I get it now. The worldwide and centuries-long obsession with this country. Add the two of us to Rome’s millions of fans.

Rome reminded me so much of New York in that it is impossible to do it all, so having a theme was really helpful here. We decided to focus on two things: eating as much pizza as possible, and visiting a ton of churches and basilicas.

Of course, we also ate some delicious pasta, Jewish Roman artichokes, many cappucino, conquered (or at least didn’t miserably fail at) another public transit system, and visited the biggies: the Coliseum, the Forum, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica. For those five sites plus a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter, our old faithful Rick Steves was in our ear with his excellent guided tours. The best was when we saw a fellow tourist also communing with Rick, and we could give each other a thumbs up.

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But back to the theme. For the pizza aspect, Ben is such a huge pizza fan that Italy is the Holy Land. He googles pizza places, he watches YouTube shows about pizza (yes, those exist), and loves sampling slices from all over. We had a long list of pizza places to hit up in Rome, and Ben managed to get to five of them in five days, which is a pretty solid track record (I had to take a break after the first three).

1. Trapazzino: pizza sandwich!
2. Bonci: This famed Roma pizzaria also has an outpost right in Chicago, meaning we have had the privilege of visiting Bonci twice in one year. We are truly blessed. This is tied for Ben’s favorite, and was my hands down favorite.
3. Giuletta: A fancier sit down place, delish.
4. Emma: I didn’t make it to this one, but Ben soldiered on and got a great slice. 
5. Antico Forno Roscioli: tied for Ben’s favorite.

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Obviously I love pizza, but I discovered a new love on our pizza tour: suppli! These crispy hot treats were ubiqutious as appetizers in our pizza spots and all over the city. Cracking one open was like opening a present. Usually there was a type of rice inside, but at Bonci there was pasta. As in, DEEP FRIED SPAGHETTI! One of the best things I have ever eaten, hands down. I just want one right now and every day for the rest of my life. 

For the second part of our theme, I knew we would be visiting a bunch of churches, and I love organized fun. Plus, I’m reading a history of the Catholic church and wanted to practice my new historical knowledge…so I made a bracket for what I called The Sistine Cup (alternate title: Ides of March Madness. Get it?! From Julius Caesar?). The challenge: 16 churches in one day, looking for the prettiest church in Rome. Here are the churches, cathedrals, and basilicas we visited:

San Gioacchino in Prati: This was right next to our Air BnB, and simply gorgeous.

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Basilica Parrochiale Santa Maria: famous for the bare ceiling and sumptuous side chapels with Bernini statues and Caravaggio paintings. They have a smart system in place here: to light up a particularly famous side chapel, you have to sometimes drop a euro or two into a box and push a button to illuminate the art. Everyone wins! 

Santa Lorenzo in Lucina: this had a unique square ceiling with beautiful red and bright green squares. And each side chapel was more ornate than the last ( perhaps a bit of competition amongst the prosperous Roman families who sponsored each one?)

Santa Maria Dei Miracoli: Pretty, but we are playing in the big leagues here and it really couldn’t compete. But VERY NICE. 

Chiesa de Santa Maria della Vittoria: Really ornate columns. 

Sant’Andrea al Quirinale: This little Faberge egg of a chapel was the last project of Bernini, and reportedly his favorite. It has an exquisite gold elliptical dome in warm shades of gold. While the gold in Russia seemed tacky, here it just glowed. This was a stunner. 

Santa Prassede: This church was great. It has ancient mosaics and an organist playing Ed Sheeran. A winning combination!

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Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore: WOW. Simply stunning and jaw dropping. The white side chapels looked like they ascended straight to heaven.

Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli: The only thing I remember about this beautiful church was the very large and impressive alter. This is the last place we went before lunch, in my defense. 

Church of St. Louis of the French: When we walked in, the low lighting made me feel like I was in a museum after hours. You feel the warmth from all the candles. This had French flair  (fitting, since it is honoring Saint Louis) lots of pink marble, and a very impressive ceiling. 

Chiesa di Sant’ Ignazio: Huge and airy and warm and dark. Beautiful. 

Chiesa dei Gesu: I was getting a little tired at this point, but the photos speaks for this church. Plus, it’s a Rick Steves fave. 

Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli: This basilica was very female-oriented, with portraits of women lining the main room and unique details, like a golden dragon in the ceiling and honeybees in the stained glass window.

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Basilica of Our Lady In Trastevere: When we visited, services had just started so we couldn’t go in, but we were moved by how many people were there on a Wednesday night and the lovely mosaics.

Chiesa di San Francesco a Ripa Grande: At this point we were just stumbling around in the dark trying to meet our goal. 

San Benedetto In Piscinula. This tiny church was truly special and ancient (estimated to have been built around 1100), with a rustic, homey, light, welcoming feeling, It was a perfect end to our day.

The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica were not in the running (that’s not fair, it would be like the Warriors playing against….a high school team. Look at how much I know about sports. Boom.) After visiting all sixteen, we holed up at the aptly titled Hole Bar in the Travestere, ordered some drinks, and went through each match up.

For the most part, we were in agreement, but had to make some difficult choices in the final four. The breathtaking detail and grandeur of every church, cathedral and basilica was incredible. As Rick Steves said in his walking tour of St. Peter’s, whatever your faith or beliefs, you cannot help but be blown away by the majesty of these spaces. While it wasn’t the ultimate winner, at one point I was in a stunning “side chapel” of the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore and as I looked up, thought to myself “this is the most beautiful room I’ve ever been in. I didn’t know rooms could be this beautiful.” Videos and photos don’t do these walls and ceilings justice.  

Right before tucking into some pasta, completely worn out, I’m happy to report that after about 7 hours, 27,837 steps, walking into 16 churches and basilicas and dropping my jaw at each one, we have a winner! Sant’Andrea al Quirinale! The love put into every detail, the intimate size, the way the sunlight glinted through the golden dome. This was a breathtaking place of worship in a wonderful city.