The Vatican is like no other country. It's one of the 3 countries surrounded by another country (I've been to Lesotho, now I just have to go to the Republic of San Marino to complete the trio).
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| Entrance to the Vatican |
We booked the tour from the official Vatican website that encompasses an audio tour of the Vatican and tickets to go in to St. Peter's Basilica. Little did we know that it would take forever to walk from the Vatican to St. Peter's Basilica and we would have to wait in line forever at St. Peter's if we didn't get the tour that includes both. So we changed our ticket when we got there, but because it was peak season and the previous day was a holiday, there were MASSES of people. We must have waited in line for an hour even with tour/timed tickets.
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| Courtyard with St. Peter's Basilica in the background |
The guided tour wasn't pleasant at all. There must have been 30+ people, and we would all be squished together with BO and all, trying to see what the guide was talking about. The guide was pretty good, however, and had a spunk about him. He was also kind of sexist and kept on hitting on one of the elderly ladies (similar age to him) in a way that was more trying to get her closer so she can see. He was very knowledgeable, but the sheer number of people and rush we went through was too much. The Vatican Museum was HUGE, but the rooms and doors were very narrow, so it really felt like we were being herded as cows. Since the Sistine Chapel (with Michaelangelo's "Birth of Adam") was the prime feature, starting from 10 rooms away, it was soooooo crowded - to the point where I couldn't even see the floor.
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| Masses of people in the "bust" room |
Afterward we reached the Sistine Chapel, we went back to the start and went on our own pace, separating from the group, and did the audio tour because we had already bought it anyways (7 euro each I think). It was much more pleasant, we could go our own pace, and just dial in the red number next to certain items.
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| "Sphere within a Sphere" by Arnaldo Pomorado in the Courtyard of the Pinecone |
Aside from being herded, the place was AMAZING. It almost seemed selfish of them to be hording all these precious, beautiful works of art and statues in such a small space.
There were collections from Egypt: sarcophagus, sphinx, ancient tablets, ancient papyrus and mummies.
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| Egyptian statues |
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| Pine cone from Egypt that the Courtyard of the Pinecone is named after |
There was a room of mainly busts. One with famous sculptures of Roman gods/goddesses, room of the 9 muses, room of animals.
Here are some featured sculptures:
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| Mercury and our guide |
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| Caesar? |
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| Room of Animals |
Here are some featured sculptures:
The courtyard had some of the most beautiful sculptures such as these:
Apollo, whose face is supposed to be the inspiration for Michaelangelo's David.
Apollo, whose face is supposed to be the inspiration for Michaelangelo's David.
Laocoön and His Sons: priest of Poseidon who tried to expose the Trojan horse ruse by using a spear, but instead snakes were sent to kill him and his sons - unclear whether it was because he was right or because he did wrong.
Belvedere Torso: Said to be what Michaelangelo based his statue of "David"'s body off of.
Room of the gods:
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| Muses |
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| Plato? and Homer, and a very fine, wise man |
There was an amazing gallery of Tapestries with floor to ceiling tapestries that showed the life of Jesus on one side. There was a gallery of maps that that huge maps of every province in Italy with the middle hallway indicating the mountains in the center of Italy (world's largest pictorial geographical study). The ceiling was gilded with gold.
When we took our time, we realized the first time we had bypassed the Raphael rooms. So if we didn't come back and take our time, we would have missed The School of Athens and Rodin's Thinker, Matisse, and Salvador Dali!
The Sistine Chapel is truly amazing. The creation of the world is in the center on the Ceiling with the "Creation of Adam" in the middle. There is truly something amazing in this painting showing the serene yet also very muscular Adam lounging as he receives life from God.
Sadly we missed the famous spiral staircase - but it's okay, we had a full day!
At the end, we "snuck" in with another group through short cut from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica so that we ended right in St. Peter's Basilica without having to wait in line. Our tour actually gave us that privilege, but we we had left the tour a while ago.
St. Peter's Basilica:
The Basilica was so big, it took some time to take it all in. It was neck straining to be staring up and looking around for so long. We just looked on Wikipedia for all the information. There was an option to climb the stairs (or take the elevator) to the top of the dome for a fee, but AB was pooped.
During the terror of Nero and the persecution of Christians, St. Peter was martyred, crucified, and buried. Later, his tomb was moved to St. Peter's Basilica, constructed by order of Constantine in 324. It is a longitudinal building with a nave, 4 aisles, and a transept (cross shape). Charlemagne, King of Franks, was crowned here.
After the original church was in disrepair, the new foundation was built in 1506, and later Michelangelo took over construction until his death in 1564. It took 150 years and many artists to complete the basilica. The basilica is the largest church IN THE WORLD! It has beautiful Renaissance architecture and is one of 4 churches in the world that hold the title of Major Basilica (all in Rome). The dome is a daunting 190m long and 136m (448 ft) tall, and stands as the tallest in the world. It can fit 20,000 people.
Bernini constructed the great colonnade in the front with a first century obelisk in the center. St. Peter and Paul stand at the staircase to the basilica. Notable works of art within include Bernini's baldachin (large bronze canopy over the alter) and Michelangelo's Pieta.
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| The Baldachin |
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| The Pieta |
Along the wall are various statues depicting Jesus' side being pierced, St. Helen (emperor Constantine's mother), St Veronica who wiped Jesus' face with a cloth, and St Andrew (St. Peter's brother crucified in Greece).
We didn't visit the grotto, which contains the tomb of St. Peter as well as queens, kings, and popes.
Pantheon
The first day we tried to visit the Pantheon, it was closed due to one of the many random holidays in Italy. So we watched street performers and took pictures under the corinthian columns in front.
When we did visit, we were awed by the pure size of the structure. Although it is nearly 2000 years after its construction, it still stands as the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. It is pleasing to the eyes because it is as wide as it is tall (43.3 m or 142 ft). At the very top is actually an opening to the sky (oculus), so the floor has tiny holes that allow rain water to drain through. The dome is actually made from successively less dense material as it gets to the top, reducing the burden of the dome.
The Pantheon was a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods (per name), built around 0BC. The original was burnt down. If anything, it appears fire was the biggest nemesis of ancient buildings.
Thankfully, it was dedicated as a Christian Church, so it remains as the best preserved ancient temple. However, you can still see holes on the outside where marble used to be attached, but has been stripped for use in other buildings.
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