THE SEVEN PILGRIM CHURCHES (GIRO DELLE SETTE CHIESE)

When in Rome, but in Italy in general, one might often hear about the Giro delle Sette Chiese (literally Tour of the Seven Churches), i.e. the Seven Pilgrim Churches.
What's that? It's both a real tour in Rome and a commn saying.

The real tour

The Seven Pilgrim Churches are the main churches, or Holy Year churches, in Rome that pilgrims visit with a walk tour to obtain indulgence.
The first information about visiting the major churches in Rome date back to the VII century A.D..
It was with the insitution of the Holy Year, or Jubilee, in 1300 A.D. that it bacame an use to visit the main churches. Two centuries later St. Philip Neri formalized the tour to combine conviviality with the sharing of the religious experience.
Actually speaking St. Philip Neri acted as a modern tourist guide. Along with other people he was accompanying the pilgrims during the tour. In addition he managed to have the help of the Mattei family that was opening the gardens of their villa, nowadays Villa Celimontana, to offer a simple meal to the pilgrims. The meals were also made more convivial by musicians and singers.
Actually speaking Rome is a city that has received thousands of visitors since a long time ago.
Road maps and manuscripts containing the indications of major landmarks were available at the times of ancient Rome.
The first guidebook of Medieval Rome that we know about was prepared in the 12th century.
Therefore it is not suprising that 5 centuries ago the need for organized tours already existed.
The Seven Pilgrim churches are:

St. John Lateran

St. Peter

 San Paolo fuori le mura

 Santa Maria Maggiore

 San Lorenzo fuori le mura

 Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

 The seventh church was, in the original pilgrimage, San Sepastiano fuori le mura (on the left). Starting form the year 2000 Jubille it has been replaced by Santa Maria del Divino Amore (on the left).

Common saying
  
When one says that you are doing il giro delle sette chiese, it means you are wasting time ot you are trying or to get a hearing without being successful. It may also mean that you were late to an appointment because you went around before getting to your final destination.