Saturday, July 21, 2012

Vatican City

The ceiling in one of the Vatican galleries
Today was our last day in Rome and we spent it in Ostia Antica.  First, however, let me go back to yesterday afternoon and our visit to Vatican City.  Having a private guide like Christiano take us through the Vatican was worth every penny.  Because he has advanced degrees in both history and art history, he was full of information about all the museums and gave deep meaning to what we were seeing.  How fortunate for us that he had actually studied at the Vatican!

Believe it or not, Vatican City holds more art than the Louvre and has 4 miles of galleries.  We saw only a tiny fraction of the treasures housed there.  It's been said that if you stopped to look at each individual piece of art for 30 seconds, it would take 6 years to see everything! Wow!  We saw the Gallery of Sculptures, of Animals, of Tapestry, of Maps, and several others.  Here are some pictures from those galleries. I didn't take too many pictures because we were moving pretty quickly and didn't stop for long at any one piece.



From there we continued to the Sistine Chapel, which is beautiful beyond words and my favorite part of the day (although St. Peter's Basilica was amazing!) We were not allowed to take pictures and it was very crowded with tourists, but worth the visit. It's common knowledge that Michelangelo painted the ceiling either standing or on his back from scaffolding constructed to reach that high,  but I didn't know it was his first painting job! Michelangelo was from Florence and considered himself a sculptor and an architect, not a painter.  He didn't want to paint the Sistine Chapel, saying to Pope Julius II  "You want me to paint the stables?" Can you imagine saying that to the Pope?  Although he was a genius, he was very arrogant! He hired assistants to teach him how to paint frescoes, and once he learned, he fired them and continued the work on his own.  His ceiling tells the story of Genesis and the creation of Adam and Eve.  Christiano pointed out the difference in the size of the people between his first frescoes, when he was just learning, and the later ones when his vision was strong! If you look at a close up of the ceiling, you can see his first attempts on the far left.  See how small the figures are compared to those on the right?  Isn't that interesting? Btw, for those who don't know art (that's me) a fresco is created by painting over a layer of wet plaster.  The paint stains the plaster as it dries, which is why we can sand it many years later and the colors only become brighter. On the back wall of the chapel is Michelangelo's famous fresco "The Last Judgement" which tells the story of man's last day on earth and his rise to the heavens or his fall to purgatory. Christiano explained this painting in great detail, and the Pope's subsequent displeasure with it.  I have so many fascinating stories about Michelangelo, via our terrific guide, but I'll save those for when I come home and if you ask!

Michelangelo's Pieta.  It was his first sculpture and the only piece he signed.


We're inside St. Peter's Basilica.  The altar in the backgound is made completely of bronze taken from the dome of the Pantheon.
 Our last stop was St. Peter's Basilica, the most important cathedral in Christendom because St. Peter was believed to be the first bishop of Rome.  The church was created only in gold and marble, materials  that symbolize eternity.  The altar is made of bronze taken from the dome of the Pantheon.  Additionally, housed behind protective glass is Michelangelo's first sculpture, Pieta, which he created when he was 24 and is the only piece of work that he signed.  It is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding her dying son. As Christiano explained, the mastery is in her hands.  Her left hand is clutching her only son because as his mother, she doesn't want to let him go.  However, the right hand is open and facing up, showing her resignation to the will to God. It is a moving piece, and seeing it was a powerful experience for the four of us.

Italians park wherever they can find space.  The roads are VERY narrow in the city and the traffic patterns looked chaotic! I was so thankful we didn't have to drive! However, the Italian seemed to know what they were doing!
One more interesting bit - in Rome, if your car is short enough, you don't have to parallel park!
I hope I didn't overwhelm you with information. :)
Tomorrow we take the train to Siena!  Ciao!

9 comments:

  1. You know me, I want to hear all the stuff. I remember some about Michelangelo from Art History but need to know more!! Safe trip to Siena. Ciao!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great information! You certainly found the right guide. I saw the Pieta when it was in NY and also found it extraordinary and very moving. Look forward to the next post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kate, great information. I'm so glad you get to share this with us. Now, one of my favorites would be the food! Does it compare to our Italian food...I bet not. Keep posting as I certainly enjoy reading your adventure.

    Karen M.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks guys! Im glad Im not overwhelming you with info. I was worried! Karen, the food is superb! Ill talk more about it in my next blog. Tomorrow we take our cooking class!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kate the blog has been fantastic. I look forward to each posting. Keep up the great work.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the blog. It lets me play along at home. I also think you are going to love having it down the road when you are remembering this fantastic experience.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The cooking class looked like great fun. Can't wait until you ALL cook an authentic Italian meal for the rest of your family! I've been spending much time looking at details of the places you've been and are heading to...fascinating. Love hearing from you and seeing photos of your gang!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks everyone! I'm having fun writing the blog! Each time we experience something new, I think to myself "I have to remember to tell everyone about this!" To Judy - We'll TRY to cook you an Italian meal, but I guarantee it won't taste the same as it did when we had Lella yelling
    at us in Italian. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kate, I'm loving your detailed blog! I get so excited and I don't want it to end! I can't wait to hear more!

    ReplyDelete