Wow, I cannot believe it's day 50 of this trip. Ten more days before I hop on my return plane to Philadelphia. Where has the time gone?
What a fantastic day in Rome! Third day in a row of gorgeous sunshine and mild temperatures. I spent today touring Rome with some new friends. This morning as I was settling down for breakfast in the hostel kitchen, a couple of gals were chatting about the online ticket to the Vatican and what does it get the ticket holder into, etc. It turns out these two ladies (Joanna from Australia and Louisa from Atlanta) had a 9:00 am entrance time for the Vatican Museum - as did I! We all decided to go together and it turned out to be a spectacular decision as we spent the rest of the day together exploring Rome. Well, Joanna had to leave us around 3:00 to catch her train to Florence.
9:00 am - Vatican Museum: We started with the Pinacoteca picture gallery which had a few interesting paintings - Da Vinci, Raphael, and others. After the picture gallery, we explored the Egyptian and Mesopotamia artifacts, followed by Roman and Greek statues. Then it was onto the tapestry room and the map room. Next were the Raphael rooms which were incredibly beautiful. Then of course, comes the pièce de résistance:
Michelangelo's The Sistine Chapel. Words cannot really explain the magnificence of this chapel. "Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece without precedent, that was to change the course of Western art. He returned and between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgement on the altar wall for Popes Clement VII and Paul III" (Wikipedia). Photography is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel but Wikipedia has an excellent link for the ceiling and the altar wall if you would like to get an idea of the magnificence of this chapel. Seriously though, everyone needs to travel to Rome to see it in person.
12:00 pm - St. Peter's Basilica: We then took a back exit from the Sistine Chapel to make our way into St. Peter's Basilica. Construction of the present basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter's Basilica of the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. "Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world" (Wikipedia). In addition to being the largest church I've ever seen, it also houses one of Michelangelo's most impressive sculptures: the Pietà. Sadly, this sculpture has to be located behind bullet proof acrylic glass due to a deranged geologist who took a hammer to the sculpture in 1972, severely damaging it. Even behind glass, it is still one of Michelangelo's most impressive sculptures (after David). I was unaware the tomb of Pope John Paul II was now located in a chapel within the Basilica. It is stated that the main altar sits directly over the tomb of St. Peter.
After leaving Vatican City, the gals and I decided it was time for lunch. Then we went to Castel Saint'Angelo, but decided against actually touring the Castel. The Castel was build as a tomb for the emperor and used through the Middle Ages as a castle, prison, and a place of refuge for popes who are under attack. There's a corridor which runs from Vatican to the Castel. I toured this 8 years ago, but we changed our minds about seeing it today. Then it was time for some gelato. Joanna had to leave us at the point to go to the train station.
Louisa and I decided to catch a few more sites. We went to the Pantheon because Louisa had not yet seen it, then explored a couple of churches nearby for the artwork: a Michelangelo statue in one and some Caravaggio paintings in another. We then decided to check out the Capuchin crypt. You might remember when I went to the Bone Church while in the Czech Republic a few weeks ago. Wellllll, the Capuchin crypt is a similar site. The bones of more than 4,000 friars who died between 1528 and 1870 are in the basement of the Church of Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione, which have been lined up in a series of six crypts as works of art. Photography was not allowed in the crypt so I cannot shock and appall you with personal photos but did find one online to show the "artwork" that I saw today (see above). There are lots more photos online of this weird crypt. My question is: what is up with these monks creating these weird works of art with the bones of the deceased?
The last thing we did today was take a nice long walk around Rome just to see it in all its glory at night. Ending our day exhausted but exhilarated when we finally reached the hostel around 7:00pm. To tired to even consider dinner, we bid each other farewell and went our separate ways. Then it was time for a shower and to pack up and prepare for tomorrow's trip to Naples. All in all, it was a fabulous way to end my time here in Rome but I will be sad to leave this amazing city behind.
No surprise: catch all of my Day 50 photos on my GToE photo site.
3 comments:
Did they reattach the pieces that Lazlo Toth removed with his hammer? And I don't see any photos of these new friends? Also, the bone thing is as creepy here as it was in the Czech Republic. Also, try to find some Micali stuff while in Naples, bene?
Yes, the sculpture was restored. Forgot to take photos of the new friends. Yes, bone thing is creepy. Will do my best to find some Micali/D'Arezzi stuff in Naples.
Oh, actually there is a photo of Louisa. If you look at the photos from the Vatican Museum, there's a picture of the Belvedere torso (a marble torso of a man). Behind the sculpture to the right in the photo is a woman reading about the sculpture. That's Louisa. No photo of Joanna.
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