Rome, Italy Temple

Temple 107

Rome, Italy

March 28, 2019

     After our fun time in Ghana and South Africa we flew to Rome where we met up with Ivy’s parents and her aunt Patti. We were ecstatic to see them and couldn’t wait for our trip with them! When we got there we rented a car and immediately headed to the temple. 

     The temple had only been open for fifteen days when we arrived. Because of this when we tried to get temple housing weeks before we weren’t able to. We had to wait until a certain day until they began making reservations. Ivy called the temple the day they began making reservations and, although the temple housing was already filling up to nearly booked out everyday, we were able to get reservations for two nights, and for free because they weren't able to take money yet.

     As we drove to the temple we were talking about how blessed we were to get a reservation and how excited we were to go to the Rome temple. It was announced in 2008 and so to now see it done and to go to it was like a dream come true. We drove down a freeway and then the temple, with its iconic Angel Moroni, jumped out in front of us. The temple is a ways out from the center of Rome (which is why we rented a car), but a busy freeway passes nearby and there is also a massive mall where all who visit there can easily see the temple. It seems to be in the perfect location, just as all temples are. 

     We first drove around the temple and admired it. Right off the bat we could tell it was a special temple. The temple grounds and each building on the grounds were well done and perfect. To have a temple where Paul the Apostle taught and where so much Christian history took place is incredible. 

     We checked into our rooms, which were separate for men and women. We had missed the last temple session for the day so we decided to go into Rome. We drove into the city to a metro stop and drove around until we found some parking. We took the metro in and came out by the Circo Maximo where chariot races were held. We walked down to an old, random pyramid and around some streets and found really good pizza and gelato places. The gelato was incredibly delicious and we would recommend to anyone going to Italy to make sure to eat a lot of gelato. 

     We then went back to the temple and went to the visitors center. It’s breathtaking to say the least. The visitors center has the Christus statue and also the 12 apostles statutes behind it. There’s so much detail and things to learn about it that we couldn’t remember everything. The best is to watch videos about all of it that the church has put out. 

     There’s a stained glass mural in the visitors center that is amazing. There’s so much detail throughout the entire thing. It depicts different stories from Christ’s life with Christ standing in the middle. There’s even seashells, sand from Galilee, and other things in the glass that the artist put in. 

     The next morning, well, Darcy and I couldn’t sleep because we shared a room with two Italians and they snored like crazy, so we got up at 5:15. I got ready and went outside and flew the drone and got a lot of photos. The temple is beautiful at all times of the day. 

     Ivy, her mom and her aunt were in one room together that was fifty feet from the temple, and so they left their curtains open all night so they could look out of their windows and see the temple. They showed us (Ivy’s Dad and Joe), their room and it really was a perfect view. 

     We left into town and took the metro in again that morning because the temple didn’t open until later. Vera unfortunately got pushed out of the crowded subway car and fell on the ground, losing her shoe under the car. When it drove away though I was able to jump down and grab it off the tracks. It was sad but quite funny afterwards. We got off at the Colosseo stop and as soon as we exited the station we were standing in front of the Colosseum. We walked around the spectacular building and took a lot of photos but continued on our walk around Rome. 

     We walked to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Plaza Navona, and the Vatican, while eating pizza and gelato along the way. It was all beautiful and impressive, but we honestly couldn’t wait to get back to the temple. 

     We went back to the temple, took more pictures, and admired the grounds for a little longer before going in. The temple is unique in shape, being oval instead of rectangular, and has two spires on it. We went inside and were amazed as we walked in. There’s a massive curved staircase in the front that has a chandelier in the middle of it and below the chandelier is a giant twelve-pointed star in the floor tile. Everything, as always, was the best quality and the most beautiful materials were used. 

     The session was really crowded and they had to bring in extra chairs. The session was in Italian, but it seemed as if most of the people there were foreigners visiting, with some even being from Russia. 

     The first room we went into had a gorgeous mural of an Italian landscape with the ocean and cliffs in it. We love how most temples incorporate the landscape of the area into their murals and is something we look forward to seeing in new temples. 

     In the Celestial room we hugged and kissed and sat in the beauty of the room. It was packed but still peaceful. There was a massive, square layered chandelier in the middle, and throughout the rest of the temple everything was curved to fit the oval shape of the temple.

     The temple experience was great and uplifting. We left the temple and enjoyed the visitors center again. From the visitors center, at the right time of day, you can look through the windows at the temple with the Christus statue behind you and the reflection of the statue is shown in each panel of the window surrounding the temple. There are so many small details of beauty throughout the temple and the grounds that it is more than we can remember, such as the olive trees on the grounds are over 200 years old and are from Northern Italy. 

     We loved Rome, the sights, the food and the weather, but the temple was our favorite part of Rome. If ever in Europe or traveling through Rome we highly recommend, no, we strongly encourage you to find a way to get to the Rome temple because it is definitely one of a kind.