Audentes Fortuna iuvat, or Fortune favors the bold. Here’s an example,

We were out walking one day. Laura pauses to look at a Madonnella, which you can see in the upper left of the photo below. Then we spot a strange arched passageway. Because David can never pass up an opportunity for a short cut, we have to check it out.

So, we go over. It’s not terribly inviting, but we enter anyway.

We find ourselves standing in an unexpectedly pretty passageway, with frescoes on the ceiling (shown in the photo at the top of this post) and walls. It’s known as the Passetto del Biscione. We had read about it, but never found it before. In ancient times, the passage led to the Theater of Pompey. Today, it’s a shortcut to or from Campo de’ Fiori.

Inside the passageway, we stumble upon a charming little Madonnella, framed by two cupids. According to the Rome Tourism website, a Madonna that was once housed here was the basis for the Roman saying “andare a cercare Maria per Roma” (“go look for Mary in Rome”), because the Madonna was so well hidden in this passage that it was very difficult to find her. I also like how that saying is ironic today, since there is a Madonna pretty much everywhere you look in Rome.

Just a few more steps, and we exited the little passageway.

Here’s another example. We encountered an open gate: it led to a little alley, at the end of which was what once must have been an elegant entrance, surmounted by an arch. In we go …

To our left, we found a small courtyard, so we entered that. On one side, there was big building under scaffolding. Against another wall was a fountain made from an ancient Roman sarcophagus.

But then we listened… and heard singing coming from the building with the scaffolding.

We found ourselves inside a church we had not heard of before, Sant’Ambroglio della Massima. We only figured out the name from the construction permit posted on the scaffolding. Today the church has a Nigerian congregation. Service had ended, but their choir was practicing, so we sat for a bit and enjoyed the music. Only later that evening when we were sitting having an aperitivo did we run a Google search and learn that we had inadvertently visited a church with a very scandalous history! These little surprises are all around you in Rome — and you’ll never know what you find when you boldly explore the Eternal City.