After our delicious pizza at Lievito Pizza, Pane, we hopped a taxi to the highest point in EUR, to a gigantic church we have seen so many times when driving in from the airport but had never visited — the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

Like so many other buildings in EUR, the church was originally intended to be part of the 1942 World’s Fair. Although its construction began in 1939, it was not completed until 1955.

 

 

As you get closer, you realize just how massive the church is.  That’s a man standing to one side of the door.

 

 

The inside is striking. Unlike most churches in Rome, it is based on a Greek cross plan.  And it is full of interesting art.

 

 

 

The dome is absolutely striking.

 

Off to one side is the baptistry, with a beautiful mosaic dome. The baptismal font, by Andrea Spadini, depicts the baptism of Jesus.

 

 

 

As we left the church, a hearse pulled up. A Maserati hearse.  We didn’t know that Maserati made hearses, but there it was.  Talk about going in style.

We walked down the monumental staircase and then noticed a lovely little cafe bar.  It was fancy, as cafe bars go. It turned out to be a famous bakery, Cavalletti Caffe, which is famous for its millefoglie.

Millefoglie literally means “1,000 sheets” and it’s a slew of paper-thin layers of delicious, light pastry filled with alternating layers of pastry cream, often accompanied by fruit.  We shared a slice with raspberries, proud of ourselves for having “earned” it with all our walking up and back down from St. Peter and Paul’s.

 

But our wonderful day in EUR was not over yet.