Day 8: Roma Religiosa

Rome, Italy

After breakfast at our hotel we met our very knowledgable tour guide, Andrea, for a walking tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. What a day! So much to take in, and I’m still just amazed at the size of the Vatican. Our tickets gave us immediate access to tour the Vatican vs waiting in the long lines already wrapping the surrounding walls by 9AM. It was interesting to see the positioning of where canons were housed in the walls of the Vatican and see the marks of bullets near the walking path connected to Castle San’Angelo from when the Pope was under attack by Catholics and Protestants rebelling. Andrea navigated us through the crowds into the entrance and to the replica of Apollo. Here he provided us with so many details to prepare us of what we would see as we moved along on the tour, shared great insight in the many stories and theories behind the masterpieces inside, and made sure we knew what was a priority to see before shuffling around the dense crowds. Poor Jeff & Bryan – they had to wear pants and long sleeved shirts on the only day of really high heat we’ve had (86* with 96% humidity). Mom and I were also warm, but thankful to be able to wear a more lightweight 3/4 length shirt that’s really not offered for guys. The majority of areas were not air conditioned, but our tour guide was great at finding some if the natural breezes and spots in the shade to stop along our tour. I continue to be blown away by just how productive Michelangelo was! His pieces of art are so very sophisticated…I’d love to find a 23 year old today that would appreciate/dedicate the time to/have this passion to construct something like the Pietà statue (Mary holding Jesus) he made at that age (took 1 year). Or the many theories that correlate his studies of human anatomy found within the outlines, shapes or details of his work. Simply fascinating, and amazing what one individual accomplished in his lifetime. Our tour began in the Pio-Clementino Museum, and then continued on to the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. In the Vatican Museums we specifically got to tour the Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of Maps and the Raphael Rooms. I was amazed to see the difference between the tapestries woven in Belgium vs Rome. Our tour guide shared that the Pope ordered Raphael to draw pictures (life size) of what each tapestry should look like and shipped them to Belgium to be weaved, as they were the true masters of tapestry (they just lacked the creative/correct proportions when you see other Belgium tapestries designed in Belgium. i.e. Toes and feet that didn’t look right, and odd looking version of Jesus, etc). In the museum we also spotted the copper peacocks taken from the Castle Sant’Angelo. The Gallery of Maps was also very interesting to see just how accurate the maps could be with the use of math to measure and map out vs the high tech systems and tools we have access to today. Before entering the Sistine Chapel (sorry, no pictures allowed in here), Andrea shared so many interesting items to observe within the paintings in here. One of the most interesting to me is what this painting forever changed for the life of artists. Up until this time, artist were requested to create specific scenes/sculptures by the individual paying for the piece of work. At times, an artist would work for years and have the purchaser decline and pay nothing. After starting the painting, Michelangelo got upset with Pope Zacheria and fled to Florence…a few days later he wrote a letter to the Pope apologizing. From here, Michelangelo outlined what he wanted to paint to the Pope and he agreed to proceed. From here on out, artists finally gained the creative freedom to build what they want and sell their work freely vs be demanded to create only what those in power requested. We also learned that most skilled artists were skilled illusionist at times – if you look closely the painting on the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel is not even in size. Is starts smaller and grows larger in size as you look across (at first you think it’s just because you’re closer to one end that it appears larger; but, this was actually a mistake made by Michelangelo). It also totally makes sense that there’s no truth to him painting this ceiling on his back (as our tour guide pointed out this meant he would have had to army crawl across the scaffolding if the scaffolding was made tall enough for this, leaving no room for lighting, paint, etc). Anyhow, we enjoyed taking in all the beauty and looking at the paintings in great detail within the Sistine Chapel! We strolled through more of the beautiful courtyards connecting all the buildings within the Vatican to the Basilica – the largest Christian place in the world. Here we got to see the Pietà, and were immediately impressed by the massive (90ft tall) bronze Baldacchino (canopy) by Bernini. All the side alters looked to have large paintings on display, but we quickly learned these were actually made of mosaics tiles that each took ~30 years to complete! There were specific families that were dedicated to hands/feet/faces because this detail required a certain skill set. As we worked our way to the main alter, we saw the ornate staircase to the tomb of St Peter/thrown of St Peter and I was immediately awestruck by the display of the Holy Sprit made of alabaster above the throne (our tour guide pointed out that this wingspan is about as long as he is tall (~5ft 10 inches)). It was incredible to see and get a better understanding of the four relics within the Basilica: St. Veronica, St. Helena, St. Longinus and St. Andrew As we turned the corner of the main alter, I was immediately affixed on the final masterpiece of Bernini: the Monument to Alexander VII (1678). The Chigi Pope is surrounded by the allegorical statues of Justice, Prudence, Charity and Truth with the hand of death showing there is no escaping death (just time before it happens with the hourglass in hand). I loved the meaning behind this statue and the elaborate marble work (pieces of marble were placed together over a frame to create the illusion of this blanket of marble). After seeing the numerous side alters, we proceeded underground to the catacombs which house the remains of the popes. After seeing the beauty of the Basilica I can truly appreciate and admire the work of the popes and why they would feel gratified to have this as a final resting place. As a side note, the Pope is currently in town. We plan to try to head to mass at 7:30AM tomorrow to possibly see him, but we’ll be on a tour of the coliseum, etc when he typically emerges at noon (on Sundays). Fingers crossed we’ll have the opportunity to see him in person! Finally, we learned the famous smoke stack used to announce the newly appointed pope is not actually part of the structure! It’s a simple smoke stack added to the roof when needed. Tonight we had dinner at Ristorante Da Meo Patacca…another charming setting in between busy Rome. We arrived a few minutes before our reservation, so we wondered around the block and found a beautiful church/convent. Just as we were leaving their bells began to chime, so we stood looking at the bell tower just as the sun began to set! For dinner, we sat on the patio below the starry night sky, in between the cobblestone street and ivy covered buildings. We were soon greeted by our waiter and the restaurant was sure to entertain with their own musicians on staff (beautiful singing & music). I’ve uploaded a few pics and short video for a preview (there was even an act with a lady showing her panties to one of the singing men out of an upper window…only to have her overly animated father catch what was going on. Soon he was singing along and tossing water out the window on the other singing man)! For dinner we enjoyed a seafood salad, various meats and cheeses and olives. We had some more amazing pasta – Aribatta, Amertricana, and one in a wild boar sauce. Bryan and Jeff both tried the Ox Tail, mom had a pork chop and I tried shaved filet with arugula. All a delicious compliment with the house wine! Time for bed as we have a busy day ahead (touring the colosseum, etc.)! Ciao! Ps. Adding in one picture I forgot to add from our trip back from Cinque Terra. We passed the “Marble Mountains” (Apaun Alps) where the marble used to construct the statue of David came from!