Rome: 
Day Three:
Friday September 25th, 2015

The Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica and Square, The Sistine Chapel

Again we booked a front-of-the-line tour and saved ourselves hours of wait time in the interminable lineups. Highly recommended. Our tour guide said that the mornings are worse, and the summer is impossible with even longer lineups, high humidity and heat. Something to consider when booking your holiday.

The security to get through the doors was comparable to that at an airport, with metal detectors, X-ray machines to scan bags, and security guards posted everywhere.

We took the metro to the Vatican, a wee bit confusing as the Vatican is not listed as a major stop. However when you read the fine print the train does stop at San Pietro's Square and the Vatican.





 Our trip was much smoother than the previous day. Coming home from the Coliseum during rush hour, we were 'stuffed' on to the train and had serious concerns whether we would actually be able to force our way out when we reached our stop at Manzoni. Made me think of the trains in Japan where they actually have staff to push people on the trains. Very warm, and unfortunately not enough space to bring out my trusty fan. Yeesh.

We met our tour guide on a set of steps just outside the entrance. Hundreds of people from all over the world mingled with each other, anticipation spread across the faces of all. Easily identifiable as tourists by the radios hanging around their necks via multi-coloured straps.

When we asked our tour guide's name, she paused and thought for a moment, "You can call me Maria." Made me wonder just how confusing her real name must be. Her knowledge was outstanding. She talked for three and a half hours non stop, sharing historical facts about the architecture, paintings, and sculptures, about the architects, painters and sculptures themselves, and about the emperors, and the popes who all had a hand in the creation of this amazing place. 

   When I commented on her extraordinary knowledge, she told me that being a tour guide in Rome     

   is a very difficult task. Each person  must pass a series of rigorous exams in order to qualify.

Be prepared for sensory overload

I knew the Sistine Chapel would be magnificent, but I had no concept of just how much art was held within those walls. Sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and mosaics cover every available space. even the buildings themselves are architectural wonders.

My hands itched to stroke the smooth marble surfaces and I vowed I would return to my own sculpturing when I returned home. I am not a carver, I  create my work by building up layers with clay. I would love to try my hand at carving, a very different and challenging process. Perhaps one day I will give it a go.

Stunning work; the detail is amazing, but you can see the variations in style from piece to piece. In some the proportions are just slightly off, in others, perfection. I could have spent hours just examining each piece, but we were hurried along. So much to take in, I felt dizzy with the beauty.

    Floors

Many of these incredible mosaic floors were disassembled and moved from their place of origin to the Vatican and relaid piece by piece. An incredible feat.

Ceilings

Ceiling after ceiling is covered in the works of the masters. Raphael is my favourite, (sorry Michelangelo, but then, you did try to tell the Pope you were a sculptor, not a painter.) 

We walked through hallways, courtyards, and rooms filled with treasures beyond belief, and again I found myself moved to tears. There was a presence in those rooms, a indefinable something that hinted of a power untold.

So much history. 

Walking through all those rooms, I realized something. Our future generations will not have such a wonderful record as this, for our time in history.  Our new works of art are not so enduring, many realistic paintings representing our world have been replaced by photographs and digital images. They will likely not endure in the same manner. How sad.

I also realized that my true passion lies in realism. While I can appreciate the beauty in works of modern abstract and conceptualized art, it is the depiction of the details of life with accurate realism that moves me the most. Walking through the collection of modern art in one part of the Vatican reaffirmed this.

I was quite taken aback by the number of pagan symbols throughout the Vatican City. Egyptian obelisks, Green gods, even a couple of Sphinx's. The Christians were the ultimate recyclers. They used the pagan symbols and re-purposed them into their own.

St. Peter's Basilica 





A choir was slinging while we were standing in awe in front of the alter. The voices reverberated through the basilica like the music of angels. 









The Holy Door. Opened only during Jubilee years. Following a Jubilee year, the door is walled off until the Pope takes a ammer and knocks down the wall to pen the doors to the pilgrims arriving by the thousands to celebrate the Jubilee.
The last time the door was opened was for the Great Jubilee of 2000. There will be an extra Jubilee this year, in December. Thousands of faithful Catholics from all over the world will flood the city. 


Our tour guide bemoaned the craziness this will bring to her beloved city.