Day 15 - Visit to the Vatican City
Today we took to the streets of Rome once more and hopped on a much less crowded bus than yesterday. We skirted our way through several busy streets until we arrived at the high walls of the Vatican City, which is a separate country located within Rome. Vatican City is actually the smallest country in the world (but they can fit a crumb ton of people in it)!
While we waited for our guide of the day we watched as a camo military vehicle pushed its way through the crowds of people assembled before the great wall. Shortly thereafter a police car drove in and parked beside the military vehicle. The officers climbed out and began putting on bulletproof vests. I kept thinking to myself, I really hope this is the typical daily routine. Today they had scheduled a strike for the public transportation of Rome, so from 8AM to 5PM no public buses would be working. Thankfully we were able to hop our bus to the Vatican before the strike started. (The Italians are kind in that they hang up signs all over the city to let pedestrians know when and how long the strike will continue for.)
Our group watched the police and military men climb out of their vehicles and stand alert, watching the surrounding crowds. This is apparently pretty normal since this is a place that could be the target of an attack, but for us it was kind of unnerving since officers pacing with loaded weapons often means trouble. I at least had never been anywhere where I saw men walking around with large guns. Kinda spooky! I was not sure at the time if this was somehow related to the strike, but I don't think that was the case.
While we waited for our guide of the day we watched as a camo military vehicle pushed its way through the crowds of people assembled before the great wall. Shortly thereafter a police car drove in and parked beside the military vehicle. The officers climbed out and began putting on bulletproof vests. I kept thinking to myself, I really hope this is the typical daily routine. Today they had scheduled a strike for the public transportation of Rome, so from 8AM to 5PM no public buses would be working. Thankfully we were able to hop our bus to the Vatican before the strike started. (The Italians are kind in that they hang up signs all over the city to let pedestrians know when and how long the strike will continue for.)
Our group watched the police and military men climb out of their vehicles and stand alert, watching the surrounding crowds. This is apparently pretty normal since this is a place that could be the target of an attack, but for us it was kind of unnerving since officers pacing with loaded weapons often means trouble. I at least had never been anywhere where I saw men walking around with large guns. Kinda spooky! I was not sure at the time if this was somehow related to the strike, but I don't think that was the case.
While waiting outside we were given our radios so that we could spread out some and still hear what our local guide had to say. I love these radios! It makes it so much easier and so much nicer to tour an area, especially when everyone cannot be standing right in front of the guide. However the ear buds they hand out with the radios are rough and do tend to hurt, so if you have sensitive ears or are looking for comfort then it is encouraged that you bring some ear buds from home. We were given our tickets and sent through the security line. Entering into the cramped area beyond the security lines gave us even more reason to appreciate the radios as the noise of hundreds of people talking all at once would surely have drowned out the local guide.
On the other side we met up once more before walking with our guide out into the open courtyard of Vatican City. At this time we were inside the borders of the Vatican, however we still had to enter the museums. Our first stop within the museums was the Pigna Courtyard (Pinecone Courtyard) named after the pinecone shaped structure at one side of the courtyard. In the center of the courtyard is a large golden sphere. As we approached it we began to pick out the details of a crack in it which opened up to reveal another sphere within. This structure is Arnaldo Pomodoro's "Sphere Within Sphere". It is surrounded by a chain to serve as a fence around it. However we gazed open mouthed as Dimitri stepped over the chain and approached the structure (the little voice inside of my head is saying, "Dimitri, get back here before you get us thrown out and embarrass us!"). He then proceeded to touch the large sphere and push on it so that it began to spin around in circles. Even once he stopped pushing it, it still continued to move for a little bit before stopping.... that was cool! There were a series of benches located along the walkway. Due to our cool radios we had around our necks we were able to scatter along the benches while we got a little introduction to the Vatican and some of the things we would see along the way. The benches were very welcomed as we were tired. The days of walking eventually build upon a girl. |
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Once we were done with our orientation we began our journey through the Vatican. One of the first places we visited within the Vatican Palace was the Octagonal Court, a lovely courtyard featuring several statues. This courtyard showcases several of the statues found within Pope Julius II's collection. Some of the pieces within this court, such as Belvedere Apollo and Laocoon, have been in their spots since the 1500's. We did not have much time to explore and enjoy all the statues since we had a long day ahead of us and many other things to see.
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I really enjoyed the Round Hall (which was completed in 1779) with its bright red walls and impressive statues surrounding the tub in the center. However my favorite thing in this room was the floor which was covered in bright, 18th century, extraordinary mosaics. I guess that is my advice, don't forget to look up and look down! The Round Hall was built to resemble the Pantheon. I think someday I will have a sea monster mosaic on my bathroom floor! Haha!
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The Gallery of Maps is one of the great halls within the Vatican Palace. It was commissioned by Pope George XIII. The artist was a friar and geographer by the name of Ignazo Danti. It took him three years to complete 40 panels of maps of Italy. I watched closely so that I could pick out the different areas we have visited and where we still will visit. I also enjoyed some of the other little items they placed upon the map, such as a ship in the ocean. The ceilings were done by Cesare Nebbia and Girolamo Muziano in a mannerist style. They were beautiful and featured many different images and artworks. Simply stunning
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We soon entered into rooms where the entire wall was covered in paint and decoration. You could not help but stand in awe at the sight and the majesty of it all. One of the rooms, painted in 1854 by Podesti, celebrates Mary's Immaculate Conception in bold, bright, and incredible colors. The ceilings also are absolutely incredible and beautiful! After this we entered into four rooms which were painted by Raphael and his workshop.
While Michelangelo worked on the Sistine Chapel Raphael was working within the Vatican Palace, painting rooms for the Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X. These two artists kept their work top secret to prevent influence between the two since both were highly thought of at this time. However while Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel, Raphael snuck in to see what we was doing. He was amazed at Michelangelo's work and the colors he used, particularly the deep blue that Michelangelo was known for. After this sneak peak Raphael's work integrated some of what he saw in Michelangelo's ceiling. Michelangelo accused Raphael of plagiarism as some of Raphael's works closely resembled what Michelangelo had done. Even after Raphael's early death Michelangelo still insisted that the late artist had taken much of what he knew of art from Michelangelo. You can see the change in Raphael's style after he saw Michelangelo's work. Additionally Raphael relied heavily upon the use of a workshop team to help him paint the four rooms within the Vatican Palace. Raphael would draw his images on the walls and then he would have his team paint it in. The four rooms that Raphael worked on were: Sala di Costantino ("Hall of Constantine"), the Stanza di Eliodoro ("Room of Heliodorus"), the Stanza della Segnatura ("Room of the Signatura") and the Stanza dell'Incendio del Borgo ("The Room of the Fire in the Borgo"). The final room, Sala Di Costantino, was the last one that Raphael worked on before he passed away in 1520. The room was then completed by his workshop team following his death. |
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Of course a visit to the Vatican City is not a visit without going to see the infamous Sistine Chapel. No pictures are allowed inside, and so I honored that. Still, when entering the majestic walls of the Sistine Chapel in all of its glory I found myself just a tad disappointed. The ceiling features nine central stories of Genesis. The center story is the iconic image of The Creation of Adam where Adam and God are reaching out to each other is actually rather small. It is no larger than any of the other stories. I had imagined this large ceiling with that image spread across it. Don't get me wrong, it was still absolutely incredible! Michelangelo did an incredible job despite the challenges of actually creating this masterpiece. This project is something that deserves awe, it deserves the attention it gets. It truly is awe inspiring! Michelangelo reportedly had to stand on a platform and look up to paint these pieces. That sounds quite painful to me!
After spending some time sitting and admiring the lovely ceiling and decorations of the Sistine Chapel we gathered up together and left so that we could walk to St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's is one of the two largest churches in the world. The Basilica is said to be the burial place of St. Peter and the first Pope and Bishop of Rome and there is strong historical evidence to back this up. St. Peter is also said to be one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. Due to the location of the tomb, beneath the ground the church sits upon, many other popes have been laid to rest upon the church grounds. This has been the case since the early Christian period. This version of the church was completed in 1626. It was built over what is now called the Old St. Peter's Basilica which stood in this same location from the 4th to the 16th century. There has been a church here since the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great was in power. St. Peter was actually crucified in Rome where he was considered to be a martyr. He was one of the leaders in the creation of Christian churches. However his story ended in Rome at the time of the reign of Emperor Nero. He was crucified in the year of 64 AD following the Great Fire of Rome. The apostle insisted that he be crucified upside down because he was unworthy to die as Jesus had. He was crucified next to the Egyptian obelisk which at that time stood in the Circus of Nero. This obelisk is located in the modern St. Peter's Square to signify a witness of sorts to his horrible death. For years following the crucifixion St. Peter's grave was marked by a red stone bearing his name. Eventually a monument was placed over the site. Nearly three hundred years later the Old St. Peter's Basilica was built over the Circus of Nero and over the grave site of the apostle. The area beneath St. Peter's Basilica holds the remains of many people who, throughout history, were killed. Evidence suggests that it was a burial site before the Circus of Nero was built. It was still used as a burial site following as well. Many other Christian martyrs requested to be buried here so that they would be close to St. Peter. Years passed and eventually the Old St. Peter's Basilica fell into disrepair. It was not until the 1400's that Pope Nicolas V considered rebuilding it. With Alberti and Rossellino as the architects an entirely new church was planned. It was also ordered that stones and other materials be taken from the Colosseum to help build this massive church. After Pope Nicolas V's death Pope Julius II took over the planning of the church. He made it larger and grander than the previous pope had planned for. It took a total of 120 years to build St. Peter's Basilica as we now know it during which 20 popes were in reign. We approached the entrance to the grand Basilica from the side. Our first view of the area was the expansive St. Peter's Square sprawled out ahead of the church. There were two fountains within the large area as well as the Egyptian column. There were a bunch of chairs set up in front of the church as if there was going to be an assembly. This meant that much of the area was also blocked off for whatever event they were preparing for. As a group we moved into the Basilica. This is an incredible church that can be seen towering high over Rome. When you enter into it you can see just how large and expansive it is. The high ceilings and ornate decorations really do take your breath away. I was eager to move forward and approach the altar, however I stuck with our group and with our guide. Upon entering we also noticed that much of the north aisle was blocked off. This included Michelangelo's Pieta. We later found out that it was blocked off due to a visit from the President of Romania. As we drew closer to the main altar I could not help but get closer. I finally broke away from the group and weaved through the crowd until I was standing right before the large and glorious altar. While doing so I lost my radio connection with the group. I took my pictures and admired the detail and beauty of the altar and the dome. When I was ready I found my way out of the core of the crowd. I then followed the static of the radio in my ear until it started to clear out. Finally I rejoined the rest of the group. We ventured through some of the other halls and areas of the Basilica that weren't closed down. While it is large there are not a whole lot of places that you visit while down on the ground level. After a walk around we found ourselves at the entrance once more. We said farewell and thank you to our guide and crowded around Dimitri to hear his plan before dispersing. Dimitri told us that we had half an hour or so before he would lead whoever wanted to walk back with him back to our hotel. We were to meet at the yellow postbox located to the side of the Basilica. While I loved seeing the grandeur of the church I was tired and wanted to relax a little in the hotel. Mom and Emily went back inside to look around a little more while I waited for Dimitri to head out. |
Below we have some other places that Emily and Mom further investigated while in Rome.