That morning, I went to the top of the monument of Victorio Emanuele II by elevator with my Italian Rationalism class. It has the most amazing view of the entire city of Rome.
That afternoon, I went to the Vatican Necropolis with my classmates in the St. Peter's and the Vatican course. Our professor for that class works at the Vatican and was able to arrange for us to have a private tour of the tombs that lie below the basilica. The tombs were discovered around 1950 when Pope Pius XI gave permission to dig under the high altar to see if St. Peter's remains were below. It is said that St. Peter was buried in the location that is under the high altar in the location known as plot P. In a niche of plot P, a set of bone fragments and stone etchings were found. The stone says "Petros Eni" which translates to "Peter is here." The bone fragments have been analyzed and are said to be the remains of a robust man from around the 1st century AD. We were able to see these exact bones and stone fragments in the tomb below the high altar! It was really moving to be able to see St. Peter's remains.
We were also able to go into one of the burial tombs that lies below the basilica. Sadly, we were not able to take pictures during the necropolis tour. We were able to take pictures while we were in the basilica though. Our professor was also able to take us behind the red ropes so we could see places in the basilica not always opened for public view.
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