Rome Day Five: A Visit To Pope Francis’s Humble Tomb And A Hike In Another Park In The Eternal City

It was my last full day in Rome after attending Pope Francis’s funeral. I was up early and was going to hike in another of the city’s parks, this time in Pineto Regional Park, located near  Vatican City.

First I decided to walk to Basilica of Mary Major where Pope Francis, breaking with tradition, was laid to rest in a humble tomb. It was cloudy when I left my hotel around 6 a.m. and I walked past the already busy Termini train and metro station.

The streets and sidewalks near the station were also bustling with motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

I walked past the large shopping area near the train station,

an onto  Via Gioberti. This street was much quieter.

It was only about a half mile walk to  the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. This Basilica had a special connection to my life. My mom was a devoted Catholic. She prayed the rosary daily and would make  rosaries for the missions, her family and friends. Her arthritic fingers worked the tiny beads almost until her last days on this earth. She was devoted to the Virgin Mary, especially to  Our Lady Of  Snows. As a child I remember the literature she would receive in the mail from  Our Lady Of Snows Shrine in the United States when   I would check the mail daily for my Humpty Dumpty or Boys Life magazines.

After I took the bar examination,  I decided to drive to California before I began my legal career. My parents were not to found of the idea.  But,  after selling part  a coin collection  I received from my grandfather  and using all of my savings (I had about $700)  I would spend the next month roaming this beautiful country. I spent more than half my money on gas and ran out in Utah but that is another story. On the way home, after borrowing $20 from a priest at a mission on a college campus in Missouri, I was driving through Illinois and, saw  in the AAA books,  I was near the National Shrine of Our Lady Of Snows.   I took photos and purchased a small rosary for mom. She was delighted and so proud of me for stopping at this Shrine so dear to her.

Well back to Rome and the connection to my  mom. I soon approached the beautiful Basilica of Mary Major. I had learned this Basilica was the site of the original Our Lady of Snows. This is the church were, according to legend a wealthy childless couple and Pope Liberiys each had a dream where the Virgin Mary appeared and instructed them to build a church in the place where snow would fall the next night. The following day, in mid Summer, August 5th,  snow fell on the site of the Basilica on the Esquiline Hill in Rome.

It was here, and not in Saint Peter’s  Basilica, as was the custom,  Pope Francis wanted to be interred. It was early, 6:30 a.m. and there was already a line forming at the entrance to the Basilica.  The Basilica was going to be open for visitors paying their respect to Pope Francis at 7 a.m. I stood in line and met a pleasant young woman from Poland who was working as a research scientist  at Oxford in England.

The line had grown considerably in length when I had reached the security checkpoint at 7 a.m.

I entered the  magnificent Basilica and neared the  modest tomb of  Pope Francis. His tomb was in a niche prepared for him near  the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani.

It reflected on the life  and teaching of this humble and great man and  his messages of love of eveyone and his fierce  defense of God’s creation, our natural environement.

After  passing his tomb I  spent some time in this beautiful Basilica . Music from a Mass filled the church. It was a very peaceful and spiritual expereince for  me which I will never forget. Here is a link to a gallery on  my blog web page with some more photos from my walk to visit  Pope Francis’s tomb. Rome Day Five  Pope Francis’s Tomb visit  walk. April 28 2025.

 

After my visit to Pope Francis’s tomb at Basilica I walked back to the Termini metro station, and rode the metro to the Valley Aurelia  station behind the Vatican  City .I exited the station and found myself in a busy mixed residential and commercial neighborhood. 

.After a few minutes of getting my directions oriented, I found the trail into the Pineto Regional Park behind a shopping mall. 

At first the trail, on the map,  followed a sidewalk through a mostly residential neighborhood with many apartment buildings.

There were some open fields and woodlands along the trail and here I saw a beautiful European bee eater. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a photo of this beautiful bird. I did get a photo of an Eurasian blacktop singing in the trees along the road,

a commons house sparrow

and a common wood pigeon.

The road continued past the apartment building and took me into a quiet secluded neighborhood with older homes and businesses. It was on the edge of the Pineto park.

Bindweed and

poppy flowers bloomed along the road.

I believe this is rockrose flower being visited by a honeybee.

I walked past the last home, and some barking dogs and entered the trail in the park. It was more scattered shrubs, reeds and brush with only a few taller, older scattered trees.

Here I saw a few folks, again walking their dogs. It seems like everyone in Rome had a dog and liked to take them for walks.

The trail was narrow and overgrown with vegetation. It took me up a steep hill where it was even more overgrown and eroded. I was hearing a lot of birds but it was hard to see or photograph them in the dense vegetation.

I learned that the Pineto Regional Park was in a valley that ended at the Vatican and that the quarries furnances ,  limestoem and stone cutting shops that built Saint Peter’s Basilica were located in this valley. It was once known as the Valley of Hell. Later it became a villa for a wealthy family with vinyards and farmhouses.

I continued the steep eroded trails passing a few more folks walking their dogs and two teenagers on mountain bikes.

As the trail continued up the valley it took me to a woodland with cork trees. I saw these  trees for the first time on my recent visit to southern Spain.

Many flowers bloomed along the trail, I am no expert and rely on Google lens and my iPhone App for these identifications, please correct me if  I misidentified any,  I believe this is a wild sweet peas,

this  a purple milk  thistle

this a smooth golden fleece,

this  tassel hyacinth

and this  oxeye chamomile.

The  many flowers blooming along the trail attrated some butterflies, I believe this is an orange tip butterfly,

and this a  speckled wood butterfly.

The warm April sun warmed the cool morning air. It was a beautiful day to hike on the hillsides in the park.

I hiked up on the eroded trail,

past more cork oak trees,

and then  began my hike down the other side of the valley.

I walked down the ridge through more fields of flowers. 

However, I was a little disappointed in not seeing any more birds, the only one I was able to photograph was this Cetti’s warbler.

I took a side trail which took me through a wetlands,

where I navigated some muddy trails and ponds.

Here I saw  the last critter I would encounter on my  5 mile hike. An Italian wall lizard.  Here is a link to a gallery on my web page with some more photos of the plants and animals I saw on my hike in the park. Rome Day Five. Pineto Regional Park flora and fauna. April 28 2025.

It was now late morning as I was finishing my hike on the trail.  I had hoped to see more wildlife but I still enjoyed walking in these woodalnds in the middle of Rome. I left the park and hike back to the metro station. Back at the Termini station I found a Chinese restaurant where I had a nice lunch.  Here is a link to a gallery on my web page with some more photos from  my hike in the park. Rome Day Five. Pineto Regional Park . April 28 2025.

After returning to my hotel I edited some photos and began packing for my flight back to the States the next morning.   Late in the afternoon   I decided to look for a place to eat. It was now raining again so I had to stay closet to my hotel. I was very lucky to find the Alla Lupa, a quaint family owned restaurant a few blocks from my hotel. I was served by a wonderful woman and had the best minestrone soup since my last visit ti Rome 12 years ago.

My main course of spaghetti and tomato sauce was just as good, The pasta was cooked to perfection and the sauce was flavorful and delicious. I even had a glass of house wine, I am not a wine drinker but it was very good.  It was a perfect last meal  in Rome. I walked back to my hotel in a light rain.  Back at my room I edited some photos and looked for news regarding the delays at the Newark Airport where I was scheduled to land  late  in the afternoon on Tuesday. I also reflected on my emotional visit to the tomb of Pope Francis as I dozed off a few blocks away .

“Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a new beginning… because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth, is the beginning of something that will never end,”  Pope Francis